CRITICS’PICKS

Directed by Russian veteran Sergei Bodrov, “Mongol” is very much a throwback. The story of the formative years of Genghis Khan, it’s made with the stately, unhurried pace of old Hollywood, which repaid the compliment by selecting it as one of the five foreign-language Oscar nominees. Given that the great Khan is nearly a deity in his part of the world, it’s not surprising that the characters come off as more mythical, but it’s unlikely that anyone will be heading for this epic expecting Noel Coward-type dialogue. Rather, as shot by Sergey Trofimov and Rogier Stoffers, “Mongol’s” feeling for stunning vistas and wide-screen composition makes it something to see.