All the pieces are in place in “Nomad (The Warrior),” and yet this movie doesn’t work.
Back it up: Actually, it’s more fitting to say that all the pieces are here and decidedly not in place. This movie comes at you as though the reels had been mixed up or accidentally shredded. But unlike “Grindhouse,” it offers no “Reel Missing” announcement.
“Nomad” is yet another movie about that cinematic hotspot, Kazakhstan. And this one was actually filmed in that central Asian country, which is more than you can say for “Borat.”
It’s the 18th century, and the great and glorious Kazakh people – sorry, slipped into “Borat” mode there – are weary of being pushed around by other tribes and peoples.
A baby, of royal birth, is rescued from a massacre and put under the care of a warrior-mystic (Jason Scott Lee). The child grows up to be a great fighter and leader, because, you know, it is ordained.
He’s played by Mexican actor Kuno Becker, a charismatic type. His best friend and blood brother is played by Jay Hernandez; and naturally, both men are in love with the same woman.
There are larger stakes, of course, including the fact that the future of the Kazakhs rests in the hands of our hero. A few battle scenes should tie things up, though not particularly neatly.
“Nomad” falls squarely in the tradition of folk-legend movies, and the gorgeously costumed riders in this movie are just another variation on samurai and cowboys from other cultures.
It all looks great and some of the story elements promise the basics of friendship, love, revenge. But it comes out in a jumble.
The film had a strange production history, beginning life under director Ivan Passer (a mystifying Czech talent with a couple of masterpieces and long silences to his credit), but apparently going on hiatus for a while.
Russian director Sergei Bodrov (“Prisoner of the Mountains”) completed the film. But perhaps more significantly, somebody seems to have messed with the editing in post-production, which might account for the choppy feel. Maybe the long version of “Nomad” is a winner, but you can’t tell from here.
A scene from “Nomad.”
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