watch now! detail...
man's voice:for hundreds of years, a great asian regionbordered by russia and china has been hometo my people, the kazakhs, nomadic tribesmenroaming from one pastureto another. since the timeof our legendary ancestor genghis kahn,hordes of foreign invaders have triedto conquer this land and put an endto our peacefulway of life.
man:of all those who threatenthe lives of my people, none were more brutal,more relentless than the fiercejungar tribesmen from mongolia. ( shouting ) ( horses whinnying ) ( all speaking at once ) man's voice:the jungars brought warand destruction. our tribal leaderscould not unite againstthis deadly enemy.
so many fledfrom the horrors of war that it becameknown as the "flightwith bloody feet." many of us remain, hoping to seethe fulfillment ofthe prophecy that one day a warrior descendentof genghis kahn would rise upand unite all kazakhs in a revoltagainst our enemies. i, oraz,
have always believedi would see this cometo pass, and i have searchedfar and wide for the promised child. surround him. are you the one they calloraz the wise? yes, i am oraz. the great khanof all jungars, galdan, commands usto bring you to him. you may tellyour great khan
that i amnot a jungar, and i do not have toobey his command. such wordscan cause a man's death. however, my orders areto bring you in alive. - take him.- ( shouting ) man: you are wise, oraz. you know that if wereturn without you, we couldlose our heads. that would beunfortunate.
i would not wishyour childrento curse me. i have found him,great kahn. so you are oraz. i have heardmuch about you. it is said that youunderstand the languagesof all animals. - is this true?- that is only given to god. although youwon't deny that youunderstand horses. people say thatas well. perhaps then you willchoose a horse for me,
the finest of the herd. ( whinnying ) oraz:the chestnut stallionwith the white streak, that is the best horse, a horse fitfor a great khan who makesthe earth tremble. do you know whatawaits you if you are wrong,wise man? - ha!- ( whinnies )
hey, kazakh. by god, you're right. the horse you choseis fit for a great ruler. you are right, kazakh.you're gifted. and for this, i will make you themaster of my stables and pay you yourweight in gold. oraz:gold cannotreplace freedom, nor does it bringhappiness.
beware of your words,oraz. your path may bea perilous one. my path has already beendetermined by the stars, and i must follow it. you speak withsuch certaintyabout the future. how brightly willmy star keep burning? you know yourselfeven stars fall from the skies, and new starsare born.
wise one,this new star-- i must know.tell me his name. i will know thatwhen i find him. oraz:whatever perilsawaited me in my path, i never lost hope. one day i askedthe almighty, "o creator, when will you sendmy people the fearless warriorwho will unite allof our tribes
and drive this foefrom our land?" ( bird squawks ) ( baby crying ) at that moment, i heard a child cry and suddenly, i knew that the saviorof my people had just been born. ( singing lullaby )
danger! danger, great kahn! oh, great galdan, i've hada terrible vision of a child bornto a kazakh sultan who will one daycross your path and endyour golden reign. you must hunt downthis wolf cub and kill him at once.
so the kazakh was right. sharish,find this kazakh child - and kill it.- yes, my lord. - as-salaam-alaikum. - alaikum-salaam. the childof the prophecy. ( coos ) are you lookingfor someone, oraz? i have already found him.prepare for a jungar attack. jungars!
jungars!protect the carriage. ( grunts ) give me the child.hurry. ( woman screams ) hey, kazakhs! leave him! i will killhim myself. ( cheering ) where is the child?
there is no child here. as-salaam-alaikum,sultan. ah. i need to talkto you. talk. sultan:i'll listen to you. jungars attackedthe caravan that'sbringing your wife here. i know. they've all been killed,
my wife and my son. your son lives. i was ableto save the boy. my boy. how will irepay you, oraz? i'm used to travelinglight, sultan. i cannot let you go without some reward. ask me,
what do you wish? give me your son. how can your tonguespeak such words, oraz? i haven't letthe jungar know that your sonis alive. there is no safer placein the world for him than with me here in my palace. somebody told the jungar
about the caravan. they were lookingfor him. you ask for that which is mostprecious to me. go and raise him a good warrior. remember,keep your back straight. keep your heels down. feel the rhythmof the horse.
feel his spirit. the horse is a kazakh'sbest friend. he is your wings. you must learnto take goodcare of him. oraz:i gathered them fromall parts of the steppe. i picked only the best, each froma different tribe. they all worked hardto become true warriors, but two boys outshinedall the others.
mansur and his bestfriend erali. i was the only onewho knew that one of themwas a son of sultan wali. - let's go.- yeah. how many eyes - does a nomad have?- two. four. two in frontand two behind. all:as-salaam.
tell me your names and tribes. - barak, agai tribe.- zar, ermek tribe. - azamat, tursyn.- kairat, kuntu tribe. - mansur, i'm a kazakh.- bolat, ermek tribe. - ere, uzbek.- i'm erali, a kazakh. - eren, alighe tribe.- you said you were a kazakh. don't you knowthe name of your tribe? mansur and isay kazakh.
these boys are the hopeof our nation. you have trainedgood students. well done.let's move on to our next lesson. ( yelling ) you are growing older and older, my friend. i ask you, o great one, in the memory ofour deceased ancestors,
that our land be freeof our enemies and be reborn. our ancestors roamedacross this great steppe. once, long ago, the nomads led bythe great attila defeated rome, the mightiest of empiresin the west. in the east,
they took china. but most of all,they loved their land, and they alwayscame back. and the kazakh roamedfrom south to north, after the spring, together with their herdsand flocks. ( bleating ) no one has yet writtenthe true historyof our people. only the elders tellof our warriors
and their great victories. i want you to know which peopleyou belong to and to swear loyalty to each other. our colt was born on the nightof the new moon. mansur: he's a goodhorse, gahar. what's his name?
- i call him moonchild.- that's a good name. why are you lookingat me? you're the onewho's looking. no, i'm not.it's you. hey, kazakh,come out and fight. or are you a coward? gahar: mansur,don't you recognize us? erali, is that you? scared you, didn't we?
i'm not scaredof anything.let's go! uh-uh-uh-uh. straight... oraz:after 10 yearsof relative peace, the mighty jungar army invaded our landonce again. meanwhile,my boys had grown up. honored oraz,sultan wali requests that you accompany himto abulkhair's camp.
that's enough. i'm gonna beat you. perhaps. man: gather, everyone. o almighty, let the horsesbe strong. let the landbe prosperous. let my people'sspirit rise. may our enemiesbe overcome.
let the game begin. - amen.- all: amen. yes! if we do not reachan agreement soon, our homelandwill disappear. that is why i've calledthe tribes together. tell us whatyou are suggesting, honored abulkhair. one of us should bedeclared as the leader,
and an alliancemust be formed. i suggest we unitewith the russiansto the west. i submit to no one. abulkhair, i'm certainif we form an alliance, we will loseour freedom. the kazakhs havealways been a free people, subject to no lawbut god's and our own. if we are to die,let us die free. sultan: honored barak,
no one doubtsyour courage, but we mustjoin together or be destroyedby the jungar armies, - as the prophecy decrees. - it's nonsense! - it's an insult.- wait, listen to abulkhair. abulkhair: now what? ( girls singing folk song ) mansur,are you asleep? - no.- i need to talk to you.
my heart is bursting. i have not been ableto sleep all night. something's happenedto me, something i havenever felt before. what?what is it? i feel...i feel dizzy as if i am high abovethe ground looking down. and yourknees tremble, and the starsare falling,
and you walked alongthe bank of the riverand stood in the rain - and wanted to shout out loud.- yes. i now realize the kindof woman the motherof my children should be. in other words,you are in love. yes. it happenedon the swing. she was next to me. her eyesand her voice. why did i notnotice it before?
as-salaam-alaikum. alaikum-salaam. i see sadnessin your eyes, my son. you should lookinto my eyes. you will seean even greater sadness. our hopes for unitingthe kazakh peoples... have collapsed. you and eraliare like my two hands. and now much isexpected of you.
oh, misery! i bring terrible news. darkness fallsover the land, a curse on the reignof galdan, the great kahn. ( chanting ) i bring news, my lord,terrible news. great galdan, o ruler of the steppes, my master and protector,
your wisdom is boundless,and your reign is just and truly magnificent, but the child, the one fromthe prophecy,the kazakh, has not beendestroyed. he lives. woe to us all. he will bring ruinto the jungars. your mighty starwill be extinguished,
unless-- you must findthis kazakh and put an endto his life. now this kazakhwill die. ho! i haven't seenmoonchild in ages. he's grown. yes, we haveall grown up. here. you...
dropped itfrom the swing. you can keep itif you want. i can't. why? because my friendloves you. he is likea brother to me. me too, but i'mnot your sister. you have the scentof the moon. does the moonhave a scent?
black flag--something happened. protect him, almighty. oraz:the jungar army wasapproaching turkistan, laying waste to our men, killing the men, enslaving the women. it would not be longbefore they destroyed the walls of turkistan. we cannot leave turkistanto the enemy.
if we survive,we can rebuild the city. now we must thinkabout saving lives. and who would lead usinto battle? who could unitethe tribes? you have a son, sultan.his time has come. where is he, oraz? when will i see him? how willi recognize him? you wantedyour son to grow up
to be a warrior. warriors are recognizedin battle. i will come back. you go with them. we will find you. moonchild,take good care of her. look after your sister. did you talk to her? no, i did not.
did you? we will let fate decide. our earth oilburns well. the childrenand the othersare leaving the city. only those who carryweapons will remain. there are ancient hiddentunnels under the city. meant for escape? we can all vanishwithout a trace. do the jungarsknow about it?
unfortunately,often they know more than we need themto know. - here, give her to me.- thank you. stay with your brother. zenep, zenep,i'm going back. - why?- whatever happens, i want to be with them. what about us? you're safe now.the gorge is there. gahar, gahar!
kasim, kasim! stop her.she's leaving us. - gahar: why are you following me? - man: mansur ordered me to. gahar: well, i order youto stay at the porch. - i will not let you go alone.- please, kasim. - ( whinnies )- ( screaming ) ( laughing ) sharish:where are you goingand why? - i will not tell you.- of course you will.
i will sooner die. ( screaming ) - he's still a child.- who is he to you? he's my brother. do you wantto save his life? if you marry me,i will let him live, and you will bear mea real warrior. your brotherwill stay with me. if you harm yourselfin any way,
he will be torturedto death cursing your name. take her to our camp. woman: to be the wife of a great warriorlike sharish is an honor thatvery few womencan boast of. ha! it's good to cry. a woman's tearswash away her sadness,
like a long rain. aww...( laughing ) hurry and prepare her. she must be readywhen my son returnsfrom his victory. man: we cannot take thiscity with swords alone. we must ask galdanfor stronger weapons. no... i will takethe town myself. the kazakhswill never surrender.
i suggest you makeanother proposal. i propose a fight: one against one. you win, we leave; we win,you surrender. there will be a duelbetween two warriors. if the kazakh wins, they leave. if the jungar wins,
we will surrender without a fight. i think weshould accept it. did they give the nameof their warrior? - it's sharish.- sharish! ( murmuring ) may i speak, teacher? you taught us to fightany opponent. - and today we are all ready.- soldiers: we are ready!
you'll be satisfiedwith me, teacher. bless me. i believe you, erali. but mansurwill fight sharish. ( horse whinnying ) it was sharishthat killed your mother. man:o almighty, help our warrior prevailover his enemy. let the spirit of hisgrandfather ablai
help him defendhis people. did you pray, kazakh? for you are about to die. am i? you tried this20 years ago. - ( warriors chanting )- sharish: ha! ha! ( warriors chanting ) ( drums thundering ) ( yells )
( shouts ) ( warriors shouting ) - ( whinnying )- hy-ah! hoo-ah! ( groans ) ( armies chanting ) ( cheering, groaning ) erali! erali! - what's wrong?- the jungars have captured gahar.
gahar?we have to free her.don't tell mansur. ( cheering, chanting ) forgive mefor not being able to call youmy son for so long. i'm proud of you. i did my duty. i avenged my mother. tell me about her. i will.
i promise you. you motherwas a noble woman. my son. oraz:messengers were sent to the tribesof the great steppe to announce thata new leader had arisen. hope began to stirin the breasts of our people. and they gave theirnew leader a new name-- ablai.
- ( cooing )- ( men chanting in distance ) ablai will see no one. i am erali! so be it. erali... i'm leaving. what happened? i must go. erali, we haveto be together.
i need you. did you knowfrom the beginning that you werethe sultan's son? no, i didn't. and it makesno difference to us. you were a brother to me. and you are stilla brother to me. well, if i am stilla brother to you... then you will understand.
i didn't tell himanything, teacher. you did the right thing.people need a leader. he mustn'tleave the city. your noble heartknows its course. i do not havea noble heart. it's justthat i love her. erali:goodbye. forgive me, my boy. ( spurs horse )
why didn't youstop him, teacher? i cannotchange his destiny. he was born to help youachieve your mission. i don't understand. what is my mission? you werechosen by the stars to become a warrior who will uniteall kazakhs. i shall beleaving you tomorrow.
there comes a timewhen a young eagle must be thrownout of his nest onto the rocky mountain... to see how he flies. is there anything elsei need to know? be aware of betrayal. great galdan! sharish has beenstruck down in battle! ( men heaving, grunting )
great khan! the kazakhs send us this. open it. who killed him? a new kazakh warriorhas appeared. they call him ablai. ablai is mansur!the wolf cub i told you about. i want youto kill this child. so, he does exist.
( sobbing ) silence!i will avenge him! i will avenge him. ( bird crowing ) what news do you bring? ( whispering )this is the timewe spoke of. mansur/ablai's voice:o hallowed tree ofmy childhood, i've come to youfor strength. i pray for wisdomfrom my ancestors
and i pray for the safetyof my dear friends... erali, gahar. where are they now? i need their help. and i miss them... - ( whinnying )- ( rumbling ) ( grunting, shouting ) man:do not kill him! galdan wants him alive.
man:these new weapons he broughtare like thunder itself. - sanji.- yes, lord? can you use theseon the kazakhs? yes, galdan.easily. - ( cannon blasts booming ) - ( horses whinnying ) ( folk music jangling ) the enemy is ours! - victory!- ( children giggling ) ( folk music playing )
it has always beenthe custom of the steppe to greet one's hostwith respect. we kazakhs put our handupon our heart when crossinga stranger's threshold. but how am i to do that when it is tiedbehind my back? i see that you respectthe customs of the nomads. but where is it written that a warrior is capturedaway from the battlefield?
it is i who captured you! so i will cut your head offlike you did my brother's. you brother wasan enemy of my people. and i killed himin a fair fight. i will honorthe commandmentsof the nomads. genghis khan'scaptured descendant cannot be executed. but he can be forcedto face our trials. if you pass,i will let you go.
but if you do not pass, you will perishin our prison. it's your choice. ( crowd chattering ) moonchild! hey! hey, where did youget that horse? it was my fatherwho gave the horse to me. it belongedto the kazakh girl. take care of him.he's a good horse.
give him some yellow grass.he likes that best. ( grunts )hy-ah! ( both grunting ) ( groaning ) ( giggling ) how did that manknow my horse's name? - what are you talking about?- the prisoner. moonchild recognized him too. that can't be.
it's impossible. he called him moonchild. what else did he say? he told mehe was a good horse. would you liketo prove that he is? how? tomorrow... ( whispering inaudibly ) mansur/ablai's voice:i have let myselfbe captured.
i would ratherdie in battle. o almighty,help me defend my honor in the face of the enemy. soldier:get up. get up!time to fight. ( drums pounding ) ( shouting, cheering ) ( grunting ) come on, pay up.
let's go.you too. the kazakh won. he won again.he's unbeatable.( chuckles ) - isn't that your horse?- yes, it's my horse! untie him. moonchild.god protect him. mansur... please. ( gasps ) you proved thatyou are a braveand skillful warrior.
before you, no one hasever survived this test. according to our laws, - i must now set you free.- no! no! he must be killed! otherwise,the spirit of sharish will neverrest peacefully. i respect your grief, but revengehas blinded you.
if we break our own laws, our ancestors willturn away from us and the bond betweenthe living and the dead will be broken. what choice do i have? the prisonermust die in a duel. and there is onewho can defeat him. huh? where is the prisoner?
over there. where are you going? i have food for the kazakh. no! you cannot pass. get out of here! get up, kazakh! listen to me. your time has come. this is your last fight.
if you win, great galdanwill set you free. who are you? i am hocha,galdan's daughter. you were magnificentthe other day. just as you werewhen you defeated sharish. i am honoredto hear such praise from oneas beautiful as you. unfortunately,you are doomed. they will not let you live
even if you win the fight. you could lose your headfor telling me this. i have already lost my head. i have long waited for a warrior as strongand as brave as you. i know a way to save you. you must marrya jungar woman. if you marry me, you willbe a prince of our people. thank you,but i cannot accept.
your opponent hasalready been brought here. he has never known defeat. tomorrow, you willlose your head for certain. man:you will never seeyour opponent's face. and he willnever see yours. put it on. ( crowd cheering, shouting ) begin.
( panting, grunting ) ( crowd gasping ) damn the evil! curse you, kazakh! i knew it was you...from the first blow. don't show your tearsto the enemy. do not blameyourself. we have donewhat we weredestined to do. gahar is here.
save her. ( whimpering ) ( weeping ) ( wailing )no! bury him withthe honor he is due. it will be so. i promised you your freedom. and you shall have it... tomorrow.
show him to the tentfor honored guests. tonight, we willcelebrate his victory! ( snake hisses ) more, my poisonous friend. i need enough venomto kill a horse. o almighty one, help me to take his life. for you, honored warrior. mansur!it's poison!
- ( woman hooting ) - ( men grunting ) get on, quick! come on, moonchild! mansur/ablai's voice:did you know that thiswould happen? how can it be that birdsfrom the same flock, like best friends thatgrew up to become brothers, are forcedto kill one another? oraz's voice:like night and day, good and evilare always together.
someone mustgive his life so that anothercan prevail in the name of loveand justice. why are youlooking at me? no, you are looking at me. ( laughs ) i am not. you remember itold you you hadthe scent of the moon? do you know whati really wantedto say?
i wanted to say... i love you. ( throat-singers chanting ) - ( men shouting )- ( horses thundering ) i sent messengersto all the tribes. - and the troops?- maybe they are late. what is wrongwith us, father? we kazakhs are nothelping each otherin this time of need. my son--
it takes time. tribes are tryingto gather theirwarriors even now. i hope that you're right. i'll stall for time. honored ablai, we filledthe tunnels as you ordered. very good. what were you doing there? i want to fightthe enemy too, master. you're too young.go back to your family.
i don't have a family. the jungarskilled them all. - what do they call you?- erali. erali, come and staywith me, hmm? mm-hmm. hasten the tribesto our rescue. grant that with helpwe may survive. the kazakhshave sent a messenger. tear him to pieces!
do it! - ( grunting )- ( crowd cheering ) that is our fateif the tribes do not unite. give them until morningto surrender. oraz:i am the onlyone who knows what awaitsthe jungars tomorrow. but this battlecan only be won with the helpof all tribes working together as one.
i pray that theyarrive in time. ( chattering ) honored ablai,sultan barak is coming. but he's two days away.the river is flooded. he's trying to get across. get some rest. don't worry. i saved it.with this, no one can beat you.
take care of our child. ( drum thundering ) khan:raze the cityto the ground! take no prisoners! as for ablai, i command you tobring me his head. they will kill all of us. honored ablai,we are ready to attack. - we have to wait.- what?
until they are closer. son, we could all escapethrough the tunnels. there is no escape. i ordered themfilled with earth oil. honored ablai! - the sultan is sending men--- how many?! ( gasping )i don't know-- he is-- we'll fight to the death.
all great spiritsof kazakh warriors, help us today in thisfight for our land. why are we fleeing? we have themoutnumberedby thousands! cowards!stop running! fight to the death! all of you! stop! we are jungars! man:the tribes are here!
reinforcementshave arrived! let us fulfillour destiny. - amen.- amen. ha! ha! stay and fight!cowards! traitors! to the death! fight! kill ablai! bring me his head! ( screaming, grunting )
oraz:the battle bythe great walls of turkistan lasted 100 daysand 100 nights. blood flowed like riversfrom both sides. as they foughtthis epic battle, my people finallycame together as one, as our forefathers hadunder genghis khan many years before. this is how weconquered the jungars... who had neverknown defeat.
boy:let me go! ( boy grunting ) man:shall i kill him, ablai? kazakhs don'tkill children. bring him along. this sword... belongedto the great khan, defender of our land. you are his descendant.
and now that you havedefeated the jungar... the kazakh people are ready to follow you as one. i will be worthyof their trust. all kazakhs! all:ablai! ablai! ablai! ablai! ablai! ablai! - man #1: who are you?- man #2: messengers with a special trust. grandfather!grandfather!
come here, my boy.( sighs ) ( sniffs )ah... - what is in the sack?- open it. it is the faceof the earth. here are thetianshan mountains. here live the indiansand the afghans. and this is... ka-za-khia.it is immense. - who sent this?- ablai khan.
"from this day forth, all jungars and enemiesof our people must know that from the-- mansur/ablai's voice:"from this day forth, all jungars and enemiesof our people must know thatfrom the tianshan mountains to the aral sea lies a landthat has been inhabited by the kazakhssince ancient times.
all who dareto encroach upon this land will be beaten and driven out as was been doneto the jungars. we will greet our friends with open arms, but to our enemies, we will show no mercy. ablai khan."
( women singingfolk song ) ( woman vocalizing )
