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Storm Over Asia

Name: Storm Over Asia
Director: Vsevolod Pudovkin
Released: 1928
Duration: 127 min

Representation Score

3.0/10

Limited

1928

Director

Vsevolod Pudovkin

Runtime

127 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Storm Over Asia is a sophisticated piece of agitprop that uses montage to explore class struggle. It successfully disrupts colonial narratives by centering a Mongol protagonist who moves from a victim of exploitation to a revolutionary figure. However, the film's impact is limited by its narrow focus on masculine-coded political struggle. The absence of women and LGBTQ+ identities results in low scores for gender and LGBTQ+ representation. Ultimately, the film excels in its critique of imperialism and its elevation of the proletariat, making it a powerful, if gender-imbalanced, historical drama.

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Category Breakdown

Does Storm Over Asia have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any non-binary or LGBTQ+ identities or stories. The main character is a straight man involved in a masculine struggle.

How does Storm Over Asia portray gender?

Limited

The story follows traditional gender roles, emphasizing the male struggle of the partisan. Women are mostly absent from the main political and combat storylines.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Storm Over Asia?

Good

The film focuses on a Mongolian protagonist, offering strong non-Western representation. It avoids the white savior cliché by giving the Central Asian protagonist a significant role in driving the story.

How does Storm Over Asia represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film criticizes Western capitalist institutions and imperialist forces. It prioritizes secular, socialist progress over religious or tribal customs, which are presented as obstacles.

Does Storm Over Asia include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no characters with visible or invisible disabilities used as central narrative elements or portrayed with ability to act.

Present on Screen

The film centers a non-Western protagonist, giving them a significant role in driving the story and disrupting traditional colonial clichés.
It offers a profound critique of Western capitalism and imperialist structures.
The protagonist's journey effectively challenges controlled political identities through revolutionary liberation.

Limited or Absent

Women are largely absent from the main political and combat storylines.
There is a complete absence of LGBTQ+ identities or stories.
Characters with disabilities are not used as central narrative elements or given ability to act.

Official Synopsis

In 1918 a young and simple Mongol herdsman and trapper is cheated out of a valuable fox fur by a European capitalist fur trader. Ostracized from the trading post, he escapes to the hills after brawling with the trader who cheated him. In 1920 he becomes a Soviet partisan, and helps the partisans fight for the Soviets against the occupying British army. However he is captured by the British when they try to requisition cattle from the herdsmen at the same time as the commandant meets with a reincarnated Grand Lama. After the trapper is shot, the army discovers an amulet that suggests he is a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. They find him still alive, so the army restores his health and plans to use him as the head of a puppet regime. The trapper is thus thrust into prominence as he is placed in charge of the puppet government. By the end, however, the "puppet" turns against his masters in an outburst of fury.

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