Genghis Blues

The movie revolves around the country of Tuva in Central Asia. Tuvans have an unusual style of singing, throatsinging, which produces several tones at once, sometimes very high or low. A blind American bluesman, Paul Pena, teaches himself to sing this way, and ends up going to Tuva to compete in their triennial throatsinging contest.

The description of the movie does not come close to describing it. Somehow the late Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Richard Feynman is involved, and his curiosity and vision drive the events. The amazing talent of Pena is shown in an unexpected context. And the culture and worth of the Tuvan people, exemplified by their national artist, Kongar-ol Ondar, is highlighted.

This documentary shows what is best about the human race, how fate draws people together, and what we have in common in spite of our obvious differences. It is one of the most inspiring movies I've seen.

Incredible journey, told in this documentary. It was well paced, never boring, humorous and inspiring. An amazing accomplishment from such a fascinating person.

Rating 8 out of 10

The story of blind bluesman Paul Pena's trip to the little known republic of Tuva is certainly an unusual one. He learns about Tuvan throat singing by hearing it on a shortwave radio, learns how to throatsing himself. When a Tuvan throat-singing master visits the States, Paul and the singer encounter each other. Along with Friends of Tuva and a small film crew, Paul embarks on a trip to Tuva, meets the throat singer, and enters in a competition. Paul is a remarkably gifted musician, and the film manages to capture that as well as some of the pain, anxiety, and fear that he is feeling. Still, this documentary could have been filmed and edited in more capable hands. How Paul is feeling about his experiences as a blind person in a foreign place is not presented with the kind of power and clarity it could have been presented with. And the feeling arises watching the film that there are many elements to this story that the documentarian is not willing to explore. Still, Genghis Blues is a fascinating record of a meeting of cultures and musical styles.

I loved it, but my friends did not because they said it was too much of a documentary. Egad - what did they think it was going to be?!! Yes, it is very much a documentary, but Paul Pena (the main character)was such a warm character who was so REAL. Kongar-ol Ondar's (the superstar of Tuva) happiness was wonderfully infectious. The insights into the country of Tuva would satisfy any armchair traveler. I enjoyed the music, in spite of the wierd throat noise, but my friends (we are 36, 50, 52 yrs old) found the low gutteral tones off-putting. My advice is that if you would like to see a very original movie made in a very remote place (Tuva is not even in my big new Times atlas!) about a blind man with a big warm heart, and you don't mind documentaries - run and see it!!!

This documentary is so unbelievable and so entertaining, it should be best doc feature at next year's academy awards. The stranger in a strange land tale goes in so many heartwarming directions. And you have never, ever heard music like this. Go!