Yakutia in the late 19th century: Habji and his wife Keremes have just buried their second child and are preparing for a hard winter. Instead of providing them with the assistance he promised, the local prince orders them to take in the Russian convict Kostya. At first, everyone tries to find a common language, but soon Kostya resolves that he is going to be master of the house from here on out. NUUCCHA offers viewers a unique perspective of a grim chapter in Siberian history.
The camera's gaze repeatedly alternates between the real, the fictional and the invisible. In Munkuev's colonial drama, the oft overlooked culture of the Yakutian tribes receives a special and respectful kind of attention, in a treatment so immersive that it threatens to swallow the viewer.
Yakutia in the late 19th century: Habji and his wife Keremes have just buried their second child and are preparing for a hard winter. Instead of providing them with the assistance he promised, the local prince orders them to take in the Russian convict Kostya. At first, everyone tries to find a common language, but soon Kostya resolves that he is going to be master of the house from here on out. NUUCCHA offers viewers a unique perspective of a grim chapter in Siberian history.
The camera's gaze repeatedly alternates between the real, the fictional and the invisible. In Munkuev's colonial drama, the oft overlooked culture of the Yakutian tribes receives a special and respectful kind of attention, in a treatment so immersive that it threatens to swallow the viewer.
