HOT: Kundun and Mongol Double Bill, Riverside Studios

Second part of our budget challenge for the day was a 6.50 pound Riverside Studios double bill of two Central Asia ethnic minority movies: Scorsese's biopic about the Dalai Lama and grand-scale epic of the story of Genghis Khan. Kundun was beautifully shot, especially the scenes inside the Dalai Lama's ornate place. However, the stilted Chinglish/American accents delivering grave Buddhist sayings, scattered with sometimes cartoonish characterisations, made the whole tone of the film feel false. On the other hand, sub-titled Mongol was interesting and highly enjoyable, switching from intimate stories (Genghis Khan, the family man?) to grand sweeps of battle. The movie certainly piqued my interest as to how much of the storyline was true and was so evocative that Tim even had a dream that he was Genghis that night!