Cinema Club Film Screening: “Two Horses of Genghis Khan” (Mongolia, 2009)

Directed by Byambasuren Davaa

“Two Horses 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 horse head 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 of 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 fulfill the promise.” – Corinth Films