FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 2000. All Rights Reserved

Film by Richard Zywotkiewicz Genghis Blues directed by Roko and Adrian Belic Opens Friday, April 21 Plaza Theatre Bluesman Paul Pena has played with the greats: T-Bone Walker, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt. He wrote hit songs and continued his grassroots performances in the San Francisco Bay area for years. And in 1995, the blind musician became the first American ever to compete in an unusual contest of multi-harmonic – and highly guttural – throat singing. Pena discovered Tuvan throatsinging from a short wave program broadcast on Radio Moscow 15 years earlier. So enthralled was he, that Pena and some friends wrote to the country of the music’s origin, Tuva, then a tiny province of Russia on the north border of Mongolia and in the heart of Asia. As this 88-minute documentary points out, it took nearly two years for the government to respond. When they did, a meeting with a throatsinging master was arranged and it was soon discovered that Pena had the ability to sing in the highly difficult Kargyraa style. Genghis Blues is full of beautiful images, but it’s Pena’s vibrancy and humanity which drive the film. The bulk of this engaging documentary follows the bluesman and friends on the trip to the remote country and his subsequent performance at a week-long competition. The Tuvans were amazed by Pena’s mastery of their art form, and in 1995 he became the throatsinging champion, also winning the people’s hearts. One of the things good documentaries do is follow a dramatic arc. This film is no exception, though structurally it fails because of its uncompromising depiction of the truth. Pena’s dilemma near the film’s end could have been stretched out a bit more and perhaps set up a little earlier for more dramatic effect. However, filmmakers Roko and Adrian Belic choose to let it play out how it happened – in a very compressed manner. Genghis Blues is by no means an outstanding documentary, but its main strengths – the huge heart of Paul Pena, the people of Tuva, and an offbeat twist on the fish out of water story – make for an enjoyable hour and a half.

| Back To This Issue Table of Contents | Back To Main Index |