Genghis Blues

You may have heard about "harmonic singing" or "Throat Singing," in which the performer can isolate two-to-several harmonics on their vocal cords, giving the impression that more than one voice is singing. Such a description is like saying Shakespeare wrote a couple of plays.

Harmonic singing is endemic to the nation of Tannu Tuva, once a member of the USSR, now just Tuva. Brought to some notoriety by famous physicist Richard Feynman and his student Ralph Leighton, Tuva is a beautiful place, reminiscent of Montana--if Montana had been settled by the Mongol Hordes.

But throat-singing is an enchanting, mystical, unreal sound--and one that takes some getting used to. "Genghis Blues" chronicles the journey of a blind bluesman to Tannu Tuva, after he stumbled across a Radio Moscow broadcast of Tuvan throat-singing, his journey to Tuva, and the people he meets there.

Nominated for best documentary oscar (insert trademark nonsense here) for 1999, this film is a must-see for those who enjoy vicarious travel to places you've never even heard of.

I can't recommend this doc. more highly. It's wonderfully warm, touching and fascinating all the way through. I saw it at the SBIFF where it was a last minute entry; had it been entered for the audience choice award I am sure we would have voted as did the Sundance audience! Genghis Blues tells us about Tuva, a remote area, bordering on the north of Mongolia. (Remember Richard Feynman and the book, Tuva or Bust?) This is the portrait of the amazing journey of blind San Francisco bluesman, Paul Pena, to the 1995 2nd International (UNESCO-sponsored) throat-singing contest in Kyzyl, Tuva. It's a triumph from start to finish. See it!

I really like this movie. It's a window into another world that I knew nothing about previously: Mongolia. It's amazing hat the filmmakers actually journeyed there with Pena. That's the part I enjoyed the most. And the music is great, too. I've been looking for the soundtrack CD to this movie, but no luck yet. I think this documentary should have gotten the Academy Award - but I guess that's politics. I also enjoyed the character of the Mongolian throat singer. He seems like such a nice guy, and on top of that he is a politician in Mongolia. I highly recommend this documentary for anyone who wishes to be entertained and watch something of substance.

In 1995, an eclectic group of San Francisco musicians and their friends took a trip to the remote Russian-Mongolian region of Tuva, where one of them entered a throat-singing contest. The whole thing was filmed and this is the result.

Paul "Earthquake" Pena is a blind San Francisco blues singer-guitarist-harmonica player who has worked with the likes of B.B. King, Jerry Garcia, John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt, and T-bone Walker. In the early '70's, he made a rock album that included the song "Jet Airliner", later covered and made into a hit by the Steve Miller Band. The important thing about Pena, as far as this film is concerned, however, is that he is a self-taught master of Tuvan-style throat-singing.

Throat-singing is a style of singing where one sings two or three notes at once, with some very interesting harmonic effects. As pointed out in examples in the film, the sounds are similar to nose-flutes, Jews-harps, Australian dijeridoos, and leaf-blowers.

Pena's adventures begin when he goes to a concert in Frisco given by Kongar-al Ondar, who is described as the Elvis of Tuvan throat-singing. Ondar hears Pena sing and invites him to go to Tuva to compete in a throat-singing contest. A somewhat bizarre organization known as the Friends of Tuva arranges the trip for Pena, his trombone-playing friend, a recording engineer, and an eccentric elderly DJ. They also arrange to have the trip filmed by Roko Belic and his brother.

The film is mostly about how Pena wins the hearts of Tuvans by singing traditional Tuvan folk songs, and then combining the singing style with the Delta blues he specializes in. It also concentrates on the friendship that is forged between Pena and Ondar.

While this is not exactly top-of-the-line stuff (Hi-Def video just ain't no substitute for film), and we never really learn about anyone besides Pena and the late physicist Richard Feynman, who co-founded the Friends of Tuva, this is truly a fascinating movie, so I gave it an 8.

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.