Nomad: The Warrior

“Nomad: The Warrior” primarily follows two tribes at war with each other. The Kazakhs are nomads. They live freely, roaming the landscape. The Jungars are an oppressive tribe. They impose themselves on the Kazakhs, taking what they want by force. Although the Kazakhs are descendants of the great Genghis Kahn, the film portrays the tribe as leaderless and on the brink of extinction.

The Kazakhs only hope is for a prophecy to be fulfilled in which a savior is born. The brave warrior is to unite the tribes and challenge the Jungars in order to regain what rightfully belongs to his people, and bring long awaited freedom.

MORALS

Movies without sex/nudity in them are few and far between, especially those carrying an R-rating. It was extremely satisfying to watch “Nomad” without seeing any sex or nudity. It was also very relaxing that not one cuss word was heard.

There is a scene where a young clothed captive woman is being prepared for a forced marriage. The Captor’s mother briefly cups the young woman’s breasts in a mocking manor. This is done over her garments and is not sensual. The rest of the film contains a single kiss and a scene where two fully clothed women are dancing in place for a few seconds.

“Nomad” earns its rating through the violence that is displayed. However, it is done in a tasteful manor when compared against other movies. You will not see severed torsos squirting blood several feet into the air, or a fallen warrior with his guts strewn across the battlefield. The closest the movie gets to this degree of violence is a scene in which a man is torn apart through the use of horses. His limbs are each tied-off to a horse and than pulled in opposing directions. The act is filtered through a mob of warriors, so the idea is realized without an unnecessary amount of gore being displayed.

There is a decapitation, but you don’t actually see the head leaving the body. This may sound like a minor detail, but it doesn’t take much for an act to go from violent to straight up grizzly. In the battles you see arrows flying and swords swinging. There are depictions of dead bodies lying on the battlefield. There are wounds that can be seen after they have been inflicted. For the most part “Nomad’s” violence is very comparable to “Indiana Jones.”

SPIRITUALITY

“Nomad” makes many references to a god, and although a few different iterations are used, “almighty” was the most popular. Both the Kazakh and the Jungar would call upon “almighty” to help them with their needs. Yet both tribes would also call upon their ancestors for spiritual guidance. So, it seemed that although the people believed in a single god, they also believed in spiritual interactions with the dead.

The most, if not only, request of “almighty” was to help in vanquishing one’s foe. At times, part of the reason for fighting was vengeance. Once the foe was conquered, the victor would take all of the glory and give no credit to the one of whom it was asked. It felt like there was some reliance on a god, but not enough to build a faith upon.

“Nomad” recognized a good and an evil. In line with this a theme of sacrifice was made. In order for one to live, another must give his life. I thought this was a powerful observation. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 NIV)—a very necessary choice we must make in order to be saved from an eternity in hell.

MY TAKE

As Christians, we are to always seek God and look for ways to strengthen our walk with Him. Our litmus is the Bible. If anything compromises our obedience to God, we should run from it and continue to seek Him. I try to imagine Jesus sitting with me, watching the movie with me. I wonder if he would laugh at what I’m laughing at, or enjoy the same outcome that I do.

I thought “Nomad” was enjoyable and had some encouraging themes. I didn’t feel uncomfortable watching it, which is hard to do with most movies nowadays. The entire film is subtitled, but is very legible, and due to the moderate dialog, it is easy to follow. “Nomad” has an R-rating, but could probably pass as a PG-13.

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.