Well, I've been very derelict in posting to this blog with all the hectic craziness of back-to-school and finishing up my Barlow Aesop book manuscript... but what a great way to get back into posting here, in order to say something about a genius film, Genghis Blues. I saw this documentary by accident in San Francisco, back in 1999 when it first came out (I was still living in the Bay area then...) - I was absolutely captivated, by the sounds of the singing, and by the story of these people - Paul Pena, the blind American blues musician, Kongar-Ol, the Tuvan throat singer... and even the ghost of Richard Feynmann without whom it seems that it would never have been possible for all the pieces to fall into place.
This movie is unforgettable, and I was wondering very much what my husband would think of it. Would it be off the scale for his bizarrometer? Too weird for him to enjoy? Not so - he loved it. He kept saying during the movie every ten minutes or so, "This is so weird." And it is weird. But it's true. And you cannot help but love all of it!
The DVD we watched included a marvelous interview with the Belic brothers who made the film. In the interview they reported that Paul Pena had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I checked at Wikipedia, and learned that he passed away in 2005. I wish he were still with us, but he had a lot he could give thanks for.
When you watch this movie, you really think that music maybe could save the world.
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