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The Horde is a 2012 Russian film that takes quite literally the idea that saints are created through suffering. Among the impressive recreations of Tatar life in the 14th century, it devotes most of its two-plus-hour running time to seeing just how bad it can get for a person and how quickly and capriciously fortunes can change.
Set near Moscow during the area’s occupation by The Golden Horde, the film opens with the ascension to Khan of the warlord Janibek along the traditional means: he just ups and strangles his brother, the current Khan, and takes over. A short time later, Janibek’s mother Taidula’s eyesight fails, and he requests magicians and sorcerers to try to cure her. Among those recruited is Alexei, the Metropolitan Bishop of Moscow. Alexei is given a simple choice: cure Taidula’s blindness or Moscow will be burned to the ground.
Once this premise is set, the film settles in for a long haul, depicting Alexei and his assistant Fedka’s increasingly brutal experience among the Tatars, an ethnic mix of Turks and Mongols who became part of the Khanate during the rule of Genghis. In a society based on nomadism and battle, the Horde takes a fairly casual approach to issues of murder and slavery. Janibek likes magicians, but he doesn’t hesitate to beat a performer nearly to death when his magic trick is exposed. Bear in mind that Taidula thinks her surviving son is unbearably soft and far too generous to be a Khan. With people like these in charge, the chances for kindness dwindle and the potential for cruelty skyrockets.
Between the severity of Janibek and Taidula and the increasing wretchedness of Alexei and Fedka, there isn’t much humor or humanity for a viewer to connect to. The one oasis in this desert is the character of Timer, one of Janibek’s warriors, who is assigned to keep an eye on Alexei during his odyssey. Timer comes closest to being a relatable character, and his inclusion makes the latter half of the film almost bearable.
There’s no denying that there’s plenty of production value on display here. The Tatar city manages to be compellingly detailed while being covered in dirt and grime. The disparity between the wealthy few in the Khan’s circle, the toil of the servants, and the debasement of the slaves comes through loud and clear as Alexei descends through the levels of his personal hell. It’s just that the journey is so unrelenting and its end so sudden and arbitrary as to erode its effectiveness.
In depicting the life of one of Russia’s great religious figures this way, The Horde could be suggesting that suffering itself may be enough to earn a miracle—or perhaps that saints are simply those who endure the worst trials. Either way, I’m not sure it’s necessary to subject the audience to quite this much of it themselves.
DVD Review:
The Horde is available in a bare-bones release, consisting solely of the feature itself. It includes an extremely rough English audio track and a Russian audio track with English subtitles. Unless you absolutely cannot stand subtitles, I’d recommend avoiding the former.
