Ivo Marloh’s documentary about the Mongol Derby captures the beauty and bedlam of the 1,000-km cross-country race
To non-horse-riders the subject of this looks like the most extraordinary exercise in masochism and self-harm, and yet there is a kind of fascination in it. The film is about the Mongol Derby, a brutally punishing 1,000-kilometre endurance race across Mongolia, recreating Genghis Khan’s 13th-century horse-messenger trail.
Riders have to use the wild horses they’re given and ride all day for about 10 days, changing mounts every 40 kilometres. They are intensively tracked and monitored with Gps, with hyper-alert support teams of doctors and vets, although psychotherapists would probably also be a good idea. The contestants face tough terrain, the possibility of encountering wolves and probable/inevitable injury – or, as someone cheerfully puts it: “faceplanting”, which could lead to broken necks. It looks as terrifyingly dangerous as the Tt races in the Isle of Man.
To non-horse-riders the subject of this looks like the most extraordinary exercise in masochism and self-harm, and yet there is a kind of fascination in it. The film is about the Mongol Derby, a brutally punishing 1,000-kilometre endurance race across Mongolia, recreating Genghis Khan’s 13th-century horse-messenger trail.
Riders have to use the wild horses they’re given and ride all day for about 10 days, changing mounts every 40 kilometres. They are intensively tracked and monitored with Gps, with hyper-alert support teams of doctors and vets, although psychotherapists would probably also be a good idea. The contestants face tough terrain, the possibility of encountering wolves and probable/inevitable injury – or, as someone cheerfully puts it: “faceplanting”, which could lead to broken necks. It looks as terrifyingly dangerous as the Tt races in the Isle of Man.
- 6/8/2018
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Other winners include Michael Inside, The Drummer And The Keeper and Rocky Ros Muc.
The 29th Galway Film Fleadh handed out its annual awards last night (July 16) and named Robert Mullan’s Mad To Be Normal as best international feature.
The 1960s-set film stars David Tennant as real-life hippy psychiatrist Rd Laing and co-stars Elisabeth Moss as his girlfriend Angie Wood.
The awards ceremony took place after the Irish Premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.
The prize for best Irish feature went to Frank Berry’s Michael Inside, the story of a young Dubliner (played by Dafhyd Flynn) whose life disintegrates when he is sent to prison.
Nick Kelly’s The Drummer And The Keeper, about an unlikely friendship between the bipolar drummer of a rock band and an teen suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, won best first Irish feature.
Rocky Ros Muc, directed by Michael Fanning and telling the story of boxer Sean Mannion, won the best...
The 29th Galway Film Fleadh handed out its annual awards last night (July 16) and named Robert Mullan’s Mad To Be Normal as best international feature.
The 1960s-set film stars David Tennant as real-life hippy psychiatrist Rd Laing and co-stars Elisabeth Moss as his girlfriend Angie Wood.
The awards ceremony took place after the Irish Premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.
The prize for best Irish feature went to Frank Berry’s Michael Inside, the story of a young Dubliner (played by Dafhyd Flynn) whose life disintegrates when he is sent to prison.
Nick Kelly’s The Drummer And The Keeper, about an unlikely friendship between the bipolar drummer of a rock band and an teen suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, won best first Irish feature.
Rocky Ros Muc, directed by Michael Fanning and telling the story of boxer Sean Mannion, won the best...
- 7/17/2017
- by orlando.parfitt@screendaily.com (Orlando Parfitt)
- ScreenDaily
Stars: Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, Jamelia, Tamer Hassan, Simon Szabó, Nikolett Barabas, Mark Phelan | Story by Csaba Pindroch & Zoltan Furedi | Screenplay by Ivo Marloh, Dénes Orosz, Róbert Koltai | Directed by Róbert Koltai, Éva Gárdos
I’m not sure which title is worse: Diamond Heist, the name of the film I was tasked with reviewing; or Magic Boys, the name given to the streamed movie I actually watched. One suggests a generic, bargain-basement action thriller involving tons of money and violence but no stakes whatsoever, while the other hints at a cheap Magic Mike knock-off. While it’s possible that both of those concepts could lead to entertaining movies, the final product is a wholly disappointing amalgamation of both.
A quick IMDb search reveals that the two titles belong to the same film, which rarely means anything good but makes sense as it’s obvious from the start that the makers...
I’m not sure which title is worse: Diamond Heist, the name of the film I was tasked with reviewing; or Magic Boys, the name given to the streamed movie I actually watched. One suggests a generic, bargain-basement action thriller involving tons of money and violence but no stakes whatsoever, while the other hints at a cheap Magic Mike knock-off. While it’s possible that both of those concepts could lead to entertaining movies, the final product is a wholly disappointing amalgamation of both.
A quick IMDb search reveals that the two titles belong to the same film, which rarely means anything good but makes sense as it’s obvious from the start that the makers...
- 4/1/2015
- by Mark Allen
- Nerdly
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