The Two Horses Of Genghis Khan

A selection of the prestigious American Film Institute Film Festival in 2009, THE TWO HORSES OF GENGHIS KHAN is a sweepi... (more)

A selection of the prestigious American Film Institute Film Festival in 2009, THE TWO HORSES OF GENGHIS KHAN is a sweeping cinematographic spectacle from renowned Asian director Byambasuuren Davaa. This film presents a stiff look at the crushing after-effects on Mongolian heritage in the years following the Chinese cultural revolution, in which priceless artifacts of music and art were destroyed, including the family heirloom of this story’s protagonist – a nineteenth century horsehead violin engraved with the words of an old and largely forgotten Mongolian folk song. Unlike almost any other song, the verses of the song after which the film is titled embody the history and paradigm change of the Mongolian people. For singer Urna Chahar Tugchi, the song becomes the touchstone of her cultural identity after making a promise to her late grandmother to bring the family’s old horse head violin back to the homeland. Her grandmother was forced to destroy the beloved violin in the tumult of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and now only the head and neck remain intact, along with a few if the verses of the folk song that were engraved on the neck. With the dark days of the revolution now past, it is time to fulfil the promise. Arriving in Ulan Bator, Urna brings the remaining parts of the violin to Hicheengui, a renowned maker of horse head violins, who will build a new body for the old instrument and attempt to restore it physically. However, the most difficult task still remains – locating the song’s missing verses. Urna begins her arduous journey to outer Mongolia to search for the missing verses of THE TWO HORSES OF GENGHIS KHAN. (less)