| Mengo Means Star | ||
|---|---|---|
| This clip is not available for streaming at this time. Please contact WPA. | Tape Master: | 638 |
| Catalog #: | 313346 | |
| Clip Number: | 313346-1 | |
| Orginal Film: | PREMIERE 5580 | |
| Timecode: | ||
| Location: | Siberia, USSR | |
| Year Shot: | 1983 (Actual Year) | |
| Audio: | Yes | |
| Color: | Yes | |
| Headings: | CULTURAL GROUPS: Yakuts LOCATIONS/ASIA: Russia (USSR), Siberia | |
| Description: | "In Siberia, traveling by helicopter, a native ensemble moves about the tundra to entertain the Yakuts. The group consists of young people who sing, dance, improvise, perform drama about their lives, frequently utilizing puppets. They are appreciated by the Yakuts, who look forward to this entertainment. The company also appears professionally in the major cities of the country. The Yakuts have made much progress in their lives but still preserve their folklore, and this entertainment troupe continues the tradition in their programs." 00:59:57:- MS's of four Yakut women (Mengo dancers) in traditional dress dancing by the sea, seemingly imitating the movements of seagulls. MS's of a Yakut man playing a Jew's Harp on the icy tundra. EST shots of the remote, wintry area, followed by EST shots of urbanized area. LS of a helicopter landing. Shots of a man and his dogsled team crossing an ice floe. LS of a man on a bobsled passing a car. LS of a speeding Soviet military truck, carrying a missile [note: perhaps the truck isn't carrying a missile after all. Perhaps it is a log]. LS of a reindeer herd. MS's of Mengo members (Mengo is a Yakut dance company) leaving their HQ, boarding a bus, heading for a gig at their home village (which they arrive at by helicopter). MS's of the Mengo troupe being welcomed by their Yakut comrades as they exit the helicopter. Great zooming MS of a Yakut boy in heavy winter clothes sitting in snow. 01:05:08:- Great LS's and MS's of male Mengo performers peforming with Irish-style handmade drums, dancing in the snow (folk dancing, folk music). Great MS's of the smiling Yakut audience. MS's of a 2 man performance in which one plays a hunter and the other plays a wolverine (some silly moments, the two wrestling in the snow). Cut to another 2 man performance as a portly Mengo man sings an operatic tune, while a thin local sings and acts like a chicken (weird, very silly); the large man relents to the poppy tune, joins his comrade in song and leads him to the helicopter; LS of the helicopter taking off. 01:10:28:- MS's of the Mengo performers at Mengo HQ, practicing their dancing and singing skills in a ballet room (running through choreography while their Soviet trainer watches on). Some great CU's of their overzealous Yakut friend getting into it. MS's of the Mengo witch doctor performance: odd dance routine, some assistance from red lights. 01:13:54:- CU's of pellicans, small tribal charms made of ivory (akin to tiki dolls). Cut to MS's of several Mengos dressed like the charms (funny suits, great!), dancing in the snow while a sexy Yakut woman dances seductively around them (includes great LS of woman dancing, the hazy sun in BG). Intercut are peculiar MS's of the witch doctor. 01:15:06:- LS of a communter plane descending. MS of Mengo troup exiting plane, looking cheerfully about. MS's of them folkdancing and playing drums on the runway; ends with great shots of the zealous Yakut being tossed into the air numerous times. LS's of the performers in rather summery Yakut dress, folk dancing in a courtyard, them in a hilly field. Silly MS of a Mengo man rising from bushes, looking about amusingly; he spots a deer and calls for his hunter friend; MS of a man holding reindeer antlers above his head, pretending to be the animal... this evolves into a bizarre yet well-choreographed reindeer hunting skit. 01:18:53:- MS's of four Mengo females elegantly dancing on a red-lit Soviet stage; their movements and costumes are simple yet extravagant; sequence features variations of the split-screen oh so familiar to late 1970's film and TV. Cut to skit where six Mengo femmes fight over the love of the wiry zealous Yakut (silly, kind of cute and charming); ends with a marriage ceremony. Good MS's and panning LS of the outdoor Soviet crowd. Cut to CU's of a Mengo puppet show. 01:23:10:- LS's and MS's of Yakuts walking to and into the Mengo HQ. MS's of Yakut youth in the ballet room, practicing routines (the next generation of Mengo). More MS's of Mengo females doing the seagull dance atop a cliff overlooking the sea (taken out of context, tjis highly stylized dance looks damn silly). | |
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