Legong (film)

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Movie
Original title Legong
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1935
length 55 minutes
Rod
Director Henry de La Falaise
script Henry de La Falaise,
Gaston Glass
production Henry de La Falaise,
Constance Bennett
music Abe Meyer
camera William H. Greene
cut Edward Schroeder
occupation
  • Goesti Poetoe Aloes: Poutou
  • Goesti Bagus Mara: her father
  • Njoman Saplak: her half-sister
  • Njoman Njong Njong: the boy

Legong (Subtitle: Dance of the Virgins ) is an American feature film of Henry de La Falaise from the year 1935 . This silent film was shot in Bali in 1933 in two-color Technicolor with local amateur actors. It stands in the tradition of ethnological feature films such as Murnau's Tabu and Robert Flaherty's films .

action

On the day of the temple festival in Tampaksiring women bring offerings for their gods, among them the chaste virgin and temple dancer Poutou. The local gamelan orchestra accompanies the religious rites. Poutou discovers Nyong, a boy from northern Bali who is new to the orchestra , among the players .

Poutou lives in the village with her father Gousti Bagus, who breeds fighting cocks , and her younger half-sister Saplak. Upon Poutou's return from the temple, the father immediately notices that she has fallen in love and approves of her early marriage. While Poutou goes to the market to meet Nyong, Bagus takes part in the cockfight.

A barong dance is performed in the temple - a mythological story about a prince who is turned into a lion by a witch. After the performance, Bagus invites Nyong to visit. On his way to Poutou's house the next day, Nyong sees Saplak for the first time, who is bathing naked in a pond. At the same time, Poutou is eagerly preparing the meal for Nyong's visit. Nyong makes an appointment with Saplak. At the meeting he falls in love with her.

When he visits Bagus, to his horror, he offers Saplak's hand. Bagus refuses Nyong's consent because Poutou has already chosen the boy to be her husband and otherwise she would be shamed. Nyong then sends Saplak a message asking them to flee together after the upcoming temple dance. Poutou - believing Nyong has asked for her hand - sets off to dance her last Legong in the temple. Before that, however, a Djanger dance is performed.

While Poutou is getting ready for her performance, she discovers Nyong's message to Saplak. Dejected, she seeks solitude after the dance. She sees Nyong meet with Saplak to escape, and falls from a bamboo bridge into a river.

At the cremation ceremony for the recently deceased, Gousti Bagus lights the pyre for Poutou.

background

The shooting took place in Bali between May and August 1933. Actors were exclusively locals. Immediately after filming in Bali, De la Falaise and Glass traveled to Indochina , where they shot the last two-color Technicolor film with Kliou: The Killer . Legong cut the film after their return to the USA. Abe Meyer wrote the original score . Legong had its premiere in New York on October 1, 1935, Kliou not until 1937.

Although Legong is not a documentary film , it shows recordings of authentic Balinese dances - including Legong , whose name the film bears.

The film was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and released on DVD in 2004 with newly recorded gamelan music. The reconstruction took place using three different copies from the USA, Canada and Great Britain.

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