Son of Mongolia

A strange film as beautifully jumbled as the political environment out of which it sprang, like a handsome weed, "Son of Mongolia" is a travelogue of unique and authentic richness, an amusing Far Eastern horse opera of picaresque character, and a scientifically valuable anthropological document in which the Soviet film industry may well take pride. Objective and modern, yet permeated with a fresh folk quality that goes back to the reckless and lovely Tartary of Genghis Khan, it rises above all its inescapable Soviet-isms into a new frontier region of plains, mountains, tents and herds, a world still appreciably beyond the range of Western cameras.

Directed by Ilya Trauberg, Son of Mongolia leans on a strong ensemble — Tseveen Chimidiin, Sosorbaram Badrakh, Bat-Ochir Danzan — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1936.