‘Blues’ sings new tune; Spike & Mike up to old tricks
Genghis Blues
Starring Paul Pena. Directed by Roco Belie.
Wadi Rum Productions.
★★★★☆
■ ‘Throatsingi.ng’ brings
cultures together in an
Oscar-nominated movie
The camera zooms in on a
white-tipped cane rapidly skim
ming the surface of a lonely con
crete sidewalk. The frame widens
to reveal a man blindly navigating
the streets of San Francisco. Tra
ditional harmonic sounds of The
Autonomous Republic of Tuva
linger in the background.
Even from the opening scene of
“Genghis Blues” it becomes ap
parent that this movie’s Oscar
nomination for best documentary
is well-founded. Such a profile
rarely delivers the depth of infor
mation as “Genghis Blues” does
in such an entertaining and artis
tic fashion.
The story focuses on a blind mu
sician who finds peace in the land
of Tuva, a country nestled between
the Soviet Union and Mongolia.
He bonds with the indigenous
people who live in this nirvana
through the art of “throatsing.”
Paul Pena, an American blues
player who played with T-Bone
Walker, B.B. King and The Steve
Miller Band to name a few, first
heard throatsing on a shortwave
program on Radio Moscow 12
years ago. This form of singing is
the isolation of the higher fre
quencies that are heard when reg
ular notes are sung. Somehow, the
Tuvans found a way to withdraw
these overtones, the movie ex
plains.
After Pena figures out how to
reproduce these sounds by listen
ing to a tape, he attends the first
Tuvan throatsinging concert tour
in the United States. This is
where he meets Kongar-ol Ondar,
a throatsinging champion from
Tuva, who changes Pena’s life.
Upon hearing Pena’s throats
ing, Ondar convinces him to trav
el to Tuva and enter the triennial
Throatsing Symposium. Here,
Pena is nicknamed “earthquake”
because the ground shakes when
he sings. In 1995, he becomes the
first American to be named the
throatsinging champion in the
style of kargyraa. He’s also voted
as the audience favorite. The peo
ple of Tuva embrace Pena, not
only for mastering their song, but
their language as well.
Though Pena creates an amaz
ing friendship with Ondar and
achieves a solace he doesn’t find
at home, a string of bad luck
forces the crew back to the U.S.
Back in San Francisco, Pena re
flects on harnessing the power
within himself to overcome life’s
obstacles. “Genghis Blues” is an
inspiration to us all.
“Genghis Blues” is now play
ing at the Bijou Art Cinemas, 492
E. 13th Ave.
By Sara Jarrett
.
Courtesy of Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation
A scene from ‘Swing Sluts,’ an animated short, shows Summer and Tiffany trying to get hip to the swing scene.
Spike & Mike’s 1999 Sick and
Twisted Festival of Animation
Various animators. Produced by Spike
Decker. Mellow Manor Productions.
★★★★☆
■ Animations range from
truly perverted and sick
to the hilariously funny
There’s nothing quite like car
toon blood, silliness and, ahem,
misguided gerbils — think
Richard Gere — to get the week
end off to a roaring start.
The 11th annual Festival of Ani
mation launches itself into movie
house crowds with as much furi
ous action as ever. If you’ve never
seen a previous screening, leave
your political correctness at home.
The 2000 festival’s highlights
include: babysitting balloons get
ting a sort of revenge on their tod
dling charges; a thrilling tale of
action starring Radioactive Crotch
Man; a spoof on Beatlemania
called “Beat the Meatles”; and
“Home, Honey, I’m High II: What
You Should Know About Drugs.”
Not all of the 20-odd vignettes
are funny, which doesn’t matter
because the longest piece is six
minutes long. “Bowlin’ Fer
Souls,” featuring Satan searching
for stray souls to send to hell, is
arguably the best of the bunch.
The festival opens Friday at the
Bijou, with shows each night of
its run at 8:50 and 10:45 p.m. The
first eight people in the door for
Friday’s and Sunday’s 8:50 show
ing receive a barf bag kit with
poster; other prizes and goodies
will be given away,as well.
By Jack Clifford
The best dance party in tusene is always al Scandals.
2 2 2 2 Centennial Blvd. (Next to A u 11 e n Stadium)
343-1735
Scandals proudly presents
we
Music starts at 8:30 p
Warrior
long. $l off at door with BO m.