Kazakhstan achieved independence in 1991 and since then film activity increased in the country. "Nomad", at first sight, reminds me of those vast productions that are built around a national cinema, with the participation of capitals and talents from other countries (including Passer, Steiger, Forman, Ibrahiimbeyov, Becker, Hernández, O'Connor, Dacascos and Lee). However, production, which was well advanced in 2004, stopped due to shortage of funds. When the US firm Weinstein Company joined production, to round off the needed 40 millions, the Czech director Ivan Passer and the Swiss cinematographer Ueli Steiger were replaced, and alterations were made to the script written by Azerbaijani producer and playwright Rustam Ibragimbekov, to put greater emphasis on romance and bloody battles.
The reasons that I can think of to explain these drastic changes are that, first, Passer was repulsed by the representation of violence in films, which, in the eyes of the Weinsteins, did not make him suitable to narrate the struggle for territorial unification of Kazakhstan; second, USA cinema, by culture or tradition, exalts sex and death (where every lovebite and every blood jet have their currency equivalent), and third, that the Wensteins had the typical pretenses of a new partner, such as wanting "everything different" (to their liking), wanting to reaffirm their ownership and contribute "ideas", even if the material already shot had enough quality.
Aside from the unfortunate casting of Mexicans Kuno Becker (in the central role of the descendant of Genghis Khan who, in the 18th century, unified the tribes of Kazakhstan) and Jay Hernández (playing Erali, his best friend) as Kazakhstani youngsters, "Nomad" is better than what bad opinions claim. Any complaints of dialogues, as the hero telling his woman that she has the scent of the Moon? Well, I have heard worst lines than that, written by gurus of post-modern cinema, and people go wild about them.
"Nomad" is a wide epic fresco with a youthful spirit (so you can ride along with Kuno and Jay, anyhow), with aesthetic rigor in costumes and decorations and attention to cultural traits, customs and protocol of the region, as far as talent and money could afford them; with majestic views (sorry for the anti-landscapers) and exciting action and risky scenes. There is nothing new in the story of the two young males in love with the same woman, or the teacher who trains and then lets his disciple take flight, but as an adventure product, as a free historical account about the fulfillment of a mission/prophecy, the movie achieves its entertainment and artistic objectives, despite the alterations and changes of director and cinematographer.
Sadly, Passer, who died in January 2020, never filmed again, but, in spite of the Weinsteins, "Nomad" is a not a contemptible addition at all to a short filmography in which contention, rigor and scrutiny in project selection ruled.
The reasons that I can think of to explain these drastic changes are that, first, Passer was repulsed by the representation of violence in films, which, in the eyes of the Weinsteins, did not make him suitable to narrate the struggle for territorial unification of Kazakhstan; second, USA cinema, by culture or tradition, exalts sex and death (where every lovebite and every blood jet have their currency equivalent), and third, that the Wensteins had the typical pretenses of a new partner, such as wanting "everything different" (to their liking), wanting to reaffirm their ownership and contribute "ideas", even if the material already shot had enough quality.
Aside from the unfortunate casting of Mexicans Kuno Becker (in the central role of the descendant of Genghis Khan who, in the 18th century, unified the tribes of Kazakhstan) and Jay Hernández (playing Erali, his best friend) as Kazakhstani youngsters, "Nomad" is better than what bad opinions claim. Any complaints of dialogues, as the hero telling his woman that she has the scent of the Moon? Well, I have heard worst lines than that, written by gurus of post-modern cinema, and people go wild about them.
"Nomad" is a wide epic fresco with a youthful spirit (so you can ride along with Kuno and Jay, anyhow), with aesthetic rigor in costumes and decorations and attention to cultural traits, customs and protocol of the region, as far as talent and money could afford them; with majestic views (sorry for the anti-landscapers) and exciting action and risky scenes. There is nothing new in the story of the two young males in love with the same woman, or the teacher who trains and then lets his disciple take flight, but as an adventure product, as a free historical account about the fulfillment of a mission/prophecy, the movie achieves its entertainment and artistic objectives, despite the alterations and changes of director and cinematographer.
Sadly, Passer, who died in January 2020, never filmed again, but, in spite of the Weinsteins, "Nomad" is a not a contemptible addition at all to a short filmography in which contention, rigor and scrutiny in project selection ruled.