Original subtitles

On 25 August '06 director Cristian Nemescu was killed in a car crash.

You are about to watch his movie just the way it looked at the time.

In memory of Cristian Nemescu (1979-2006)

MEDIAPRO PICTURES presents

A film produced with the support of the National Film Centre

May 1944

The British and American armies

are still engaged in bombing Romania.

Their aim is to undermine the government's determination

to remain the ally of Germany.

The number of casualties among the military,

and especially among the civilians, is increasing.

Cut it out.

We are hereby urging the population to strictly follow

the rules of civil defense in case of bombing.

Upon the first warning signs, take immediate refuge in shelters.

- C'mon! C'mon, already! - C'mon, already!

- But where's Grandpa? - We forgot Grandpa.

Attention! Do not panic!

Don't waste your time trying to locate valuable items

that you might want to save from destruction.

Yes, sugar pie, it's not that I don't want to come home,

we've had this conversation before.

There are days when I just have more work to do.

Come on, I'm not having an affair...

Hold on just a second, there's a call on the other line.

Wait. No, don't call me back later.

Hold on, I'll get Luiza to pick it up. Yes, Luiza's here.

Come on, honey... here we go again with why she's here.

She's here because she's got work to do. Wait, there's another call.

These raids, the first after April 6, put the Podgorica leaders,

who enjoy Western support, in a tight spot.

They have to face the increasingly numerous anti-NA TO demonstrations.

Luiza! Come on, what are you doing? The phone's ringing.

Talk to you later.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, office of the State Secretary.

The Yugoslav Federation was bombed again, yesterday.

Wait, don't put her on the phone.

Yes.

How's my little princess? Now, I just talked to mommy

and she told me you haven't finished your milk...

Ok, put mommy back on the phone.

Look, something urgent has come up, I have to go.

I'll call you later, ok? Bye.

- What? - NATO's calling.

So, what am I supposed to do? Have them call the minister.

Well, they said he's gone, he's already left.

May 1999

costume designer

film editor

production designer

director of photography

sound

executive producer

story by

produced by

directed by

Fall in line!

C'mon!

C'mon, already!

Ready to go?

These guys are stalling with their bloody engine.

Some uniforms you got...

Fit us like gloves. They're for special ops.

Can't feel the cold, can't feel the heat in 'em. NATO standards.

Marian! Come here!

Tell the American commander you'll be doing the translating.

He wants to take a look around.

- You're the boss. - Me, me...

He has a deadline.

And we have to go quickly.

Let's attach the engine to the wagon and get it over with.

He wants it done fast. He is in a hurry.

- He's asking you nicely. - Marching band!

The Yugoslavian news agency reported that NATO missiles have hit

Bosnian and Croatian refugee camps in Marcici, south Belgrade.

The Serbian press claims that the bombing

has damaged yet another bridge across the Danube.

- Hello! - H i! You came to pick Monica up?

- I'm giving her a ride to school. - Your father bought you this car?

Yeah. You like it? It's the coupe model...

I'm thinking of running for mayor myself, if the money's so good...

Let me go see if she's up.

What do you want?

Your prince is here.

Yeah!

Morning, sir.

Spit it out.

Boss, the 9:30 freight train is on its way.

Help yourself to some chicken, my daughter's not eating.

- You got the items list? - Got it.

Morning, miss.

Come!

- How's it going, princess? - Tell me what you're doing here.

I thought we'd agreed we weren't going to see each other anymore.

Hold on, I thought you re kidding or playing me, stuff like that...

Baby, come on, I was crystal clear. That's it. It's over.

Es finito, comprende?

So aren't you at least going to tell me what happened?

Nothing happened. That's the whole point.

You changed the spokes on the car's wheels, eh?

That's it for today.

Take good care of the parcels.

Boss, on the 2 o'clock train we've got 10 boxes of 3.5 ball bearings.

We're selling those at 500 a pop.

10 boxes of tractor ball bearings, say we send those to Galati.

I took PVC, double glazings, wire and some other stuff in bulks

I reckoned we'd sell those on the local market.

On the 8 o'clock freight train we've got 10 cases of beer,

wine, soda and stuff,

we'll sell those through Gelu's supermarket.

And so on... cigarettes, we've got 2, 4, 6 times 5 cars... 30 boxes.

Take out more. They won't catch us, the goddamn asses.

And don't go selling them to Gelu, he pays after selling the stuff.

It's ok, I've got a new deal all set. Next?

Right. Paint, cement... 100 each.

Spare Dacia parts from the 8 o'clock freight train.

And then there's the fertilizer on the Valcea freight train.

- I promised the mayor 20 sacks. - I see...

I'm guessing it all adds up to about 40 million.

This is the one for the factory.

- For the factory, huh? - Yeah.

Well, aren't they closing the damn thing down? So I can buy it.

Come on. Take a decent share from every car.

We'll record them as losses

Man, these gypsies are killing us. They emptied half a car again.

And I'm the one who always gets the blame...

I'll catch them! I'll teach them a lesson to stop stealing.

Isn't anyone going to answer that phone?

- Capalnita station. - Constanta station calling.

I'd like to speak to the shift supervisor, please.

- Speaking. - Yes? Hello!

A train carrying NATO equipment will pass through your station.

It's guarded by American soldiers.

- Yes, I understand. - It's been granted free passage.

Listen carefully!

Don't make any problems! They have government approval.

Don't make any problems!

I'd like to feel your hot skin under my lips. I love you.

It's me. Listen, a train with Americans is on its way.

I don't know, just about now. In, like, fifteen minutes.

Okay, man. I got it. Thanks.

Hey, guys, listen up! Gather round.

Tell all the guys to come to work.

We're going on immediate strike.

Yeah! Great!

Doiaru wants to put us out of work

so he can buy the factory real cheap.

The time has finally come to make ourselves heard!

- Yeah! - Let's go! Victor, come over here.

By the power vested in me... Excuse me. Yes.

Hello, sir. You've got yourself a problem.

A train with Americans will pass and the word is out.

Good thing you called me. Yes. I'll be right there.

By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Come on, sign here. I have to go.

Kiss the wife.

Cut it out!

Here!

Come on, guys! Come on!

We're not going home till somebody hears us. Come on, move it.

Trifan, you're in charge of holding that banner up and across.

Thieves! Thieves! Thieves!

Come on, Trifan!

Thieves! Thieves! Thieves!

STRIKE

Give us our money! We want our money!

What's going on here, folks? Are you out of your minds?

We're picketing, we've gone on immediate strike.

On the railroad tracks?

Listen, guys, a train with Americans is on its way.

You want us to make fools of ourselves?

We know. That's why we're doin' it. Maybe somebody will hear us out.

So what if Doiaru hears you?

The investor bailed out cause Doiaru looted the factory trains.

We've filed for bankruptcy and you ain't doing squat about it, Mayor!

Thieves! Thieves! Thieves!

Boss...

A train with Americans is headed our way.

Some big shots or something.

Carrying NATO military equipment.

Bucharest has granted them free passage.

Maybe, but I'm the boss here. Have them stop for a check-up.

Folks, people are going to hear bad things about us.

Clear the railroad tracks and I'll buy all the oil in your factory.

God bless you, Mr. Mayor!

We'll not sell ourselves so cheap! We're going all the way, brothers!

All the way! Thieves! Thieves! Thieves!

Give us our money!

You know what? You're free to do whatever you want.

That's why we've got democracy, right?

Good afternoon. Dorel Mateescu. Doiaru. Railroad station master.

What's your freight car carrying?

Well... it's American military cargo.

Headed for Kosovo. It's a NATO car.

And its content is top secret.

- I want to see your papers. - Well, don't you get it?

It's military cargo.

We've got approval from high up, from the Government.

No, you're the one who doesn't get it. I have regulations to observe.

Without proper paperwork I can't let you pass.

The officer would like to know if there's a problem.

...and those pricks in Bucharest. This is my station.

Without them, you re not passing! Enough said. Put them on track 2!

What's going on here?

Check out what s happening!

Mister, what do you think you're doing?

You hang around here, I'm going upstairs to take care of business.

Day One - The Train

Day One - The Train

So, how long have you had your bags packed?

So, had you got on that train, you would've gone to Craiova? Pitesti?

Couldn't I have just as well asked Petre to take you there?

If only your mother were alive to see you today...

What, you think it's got nothing to do with that? It has, dammit!

If she hadn't died when you were born she could've told you herself.

I don't even know how you could think of such a thing!

What, I don't take good care of you?

Everything you've got here in this room...

Tape recorder, clothes, records, whims Who gave you those, dammit?

Sometimes when I look at you, I can swear it's her that I see.

Well, maybe that's just it.

You women are all alike.

I can understand why you'd want to leave this shit hole of a village.

Start studying! Maybe next fall you'll go to college, in the city!

What the hell!

You're smart. You're beautiful.

I'm going to end up alone anyway, but that's just the way it is.

Shouldn't you be in school right now?

- Yeah, I should. - I'll have Petre drop you off.

Fuckin' son of a bitch!

What are we gonna do, man? Go home?

No way! We're going to carry on with the strike.

Screw me, we do that every day.

Okay, Mitroi...

Heard the news? The Americans have come to our village.

- Go on, sonny-boy... - The Americans are in our village.

- Well, how... Where? How? - They're at the railroad station.

- You mean, right now? - Yeah! Go see for yourselves.

Have you heard?

The Americans... Yes, here, in our village.

- The Americans... - I saw the Americans...

- Does the mayor know about it? - Well, of course he does!

Did everybody see a new episode of "Esmeralda" last night?

- Yes! - Okay.

Today we're going to study two verbs: "quiero" and "trabajar".

Let's read out loud, come on!

Quiero ir al teatro, pero no tengo tiempo.

Write down the translation:

"I want to go to the theatre, but I don't have the time."

Who would like to conjugate "trabajar"?

So many of you? You want me to call someone out?

Go ahead, Despina.

Trabajo, trabajas, trabaja, trabajamos, trabajais, trabajan.

Good... Now, using the same inflection,

let's try "quiero". Who wants to give it a go? You!

Quiere... quiero...

No, no. Neagu, you try!

I yearn for the blossom of your breasts. Your beauty makes me ache.

Stop! Attention everybody!

"Es" is the inflection for the second person, singular.

For the first person, we use the inflection "o".

Everybody look at the blackboard, please! The correct conjugation is...

- American soldiers in our village! - Young guys?

I don't know, but we gotta go take a look after class.

Yo quiero means "I love you"

then we have: Tu quieres, el, ella quiere,

nosotros queremos, vosotros quereis, ellos, ellas quieren

They say a train with Americans has arrived!

So, if you say "quiero bailar" it means "I want to dance".

"Quiero irme a casa", "I want to go home".

And now, attention!

To say "I love you", add, like in Romanian, the pronoun "te".

As you know from the movies, "yo te quiero" means "I love you".

Don't forget to watch the 395th episode of "Esmeralda"!

- Tonight! - Wait, I wanna tell you something!

So. Ladies, young ladies and, well, the rest of you,

to celebrate the end of this boredom,

or, as the great scholar Gogu would call it, "the 12th grade",

I'm inviting you all to a great party, the day after tomorrow.

There are going to be chicks, booze, cool music, all that stuff.

So everyone's invited to my uncle's, in the city!

Everyone!

Listen, aren't you guys together anymore?

He was starting to piss me off.

Going on and on with "Baby, you're so fine".

That sort of crap.

None of them is good enough for you anymore, huh?

- Hey! Where's the boss? - Hello, Mayor.

Hello. Where's the boss of the Americans?

- Hello, guys. - Hello.

I wanna talk to their boss. I'm the mayor.

Here he is.

It's okay, it's okay, I'll do the translating.

- Tell the colonel that... - It's "captain".

Tell the captain that we're very happy to invite him

and the rest of the wonderful guests...

...to celebrate the anniversary of our village, tomorrow evening.

- Tomorrow night, you told him? - Yeah, I told him.

- Mr. Mayor! - Oh, hi.

Long time no see in these here parts.

Well, what can I do, I'm so damn busy. You can see for yourself.

I gotta... The stuff I asked you about, those sacks of cement...

- How's that going? - Oh, it's been taken care of.

I just need some guys to come by later on, to go pick up the sacks.

Praise the Lord. What's that I heard?

The radio guy said you wanted to buy the factory...

What's up with that?

My daughter's all grown up now. She needs a nice dowry, you see?

Good for you. If she and Paul are getting along well...

Let's get together one day, talk things over.

Listen up, we're having a meeting at the village hall in an hour.

- Yes, Mr. Mayor. - It's the village anniversary.

- Wasn't that a month ago? - So what if it was?

Girl, that guy is so cute!

Now, who keeps texting you, girl?

Aww, girl!

He kind of looks like Ricky Martin, doesn't he?

- Can you hear me? - Yeah.

You can. Good afternoon.

Dear fellow villagers, as you well know

or as you may have heard... or seen...

a train carrying American soldiers arrived in our village today.

Apparently, from what Mr. Doiaru has told me,

there are some paperwork issues in Bucharest...

None of our business, anyway. So till the papers get sorted out,

it is our duty, both as citizens and as good Christians,

as God fearing people... to warmly welcome our guests from overseas.

As far as village affairs go,

the arrival of the Americans can only do us good.

Because, if we get publicity,

we will draw new investors to our village.

Yeah, so Doiaru can rip them off, too!

Not to mention that our guests

are potential investors too.

We will welcome them into our pubs and our hotels.

And we'll all benefit from this.

I'm hereby announcing the anniversary

of our village's 100th year, tomorrow evening.

Didn't we do that, already?

I know we've done that already, but we're going to do it again.

There's going to be barbecue, beer,

everything it takes to make sure it comes out nice.

And he keeps staring at her.

So she's gulping down the food and at some point the guy goes,

"Ma'am, you eat like a sow." And she goes...

Yes, honey.

Okay, I'll call you back later. Something important has come up.

- When did this come in? - Just now.

- So, what do they want from me? - Haven't got a clue.

Well, send it over to Defense. See, it says here "urgent".

Okay.

And don't forget to call the NATO guys.

Yeah, yeah.

Tell them it's all going to be taken care of.

Okay.

The Ministry of National Defense It's not our problem. It's for the Ministry of Transportation.

The Ministry of Transportation Yeah, we'll clear it up, but...

I don't think it's going to make it there today.

But it'll be there tomorrow. Yes. Good day, sir.

Claudia, change the header, so that I can sign it. Quickly!

The Board of the Romanian Railway Company

- There's no more room! - Go! Go!

Day Two - The Village

Day Two - The Village

And that's the story of the first black man I ever saw.

I was but a boy back then,

but I'll never forget how the simple countryman,

the Romanian peasant, welcomed this stranger warmly.

And we are all capable of such deeds, us Romanians.

Mr. Mayor, what happened with the black guy?

Well, you see, kids...

At first, people didn't even realize he was American.

Because we know that black people live in Africa.

Only afterwards did we find out that America's full of blacks.

But in those days,

people didn't fear differences in appearance, so to speak.

They offered the poor man shelter for two weeks.

Until we chased the Germans away.

But, meanwhile, the poor guy died

because he was badly injured and we didn't know how to cure him.

Okay. Now let's talk a bit about the history of the United States.

Or, for short, America. Or, even shorter, the USA.

The country's capital is located in Washington.

But that's not the largest city, you know.

The largest cities are LA, New York...

and so on.

The country is made up of states. Such as Texas, California...

Anyway, just like our country is made up of counties.

Such as llfov, lalomita, Vaslui, Bacau and so on.

The country's economy relies on...

...seduction. It's all about seduction.

Sure, it also depends on what you wear.

A short skirt and a big cleavage will always draw all eyes to you.

That's where intelligence comes in.

Namely, your demeanor. My advice is that you be...

...open, but without giving in to their first offer.

This is the time for us to speak up, without fear,

to tell them what we really want and who we are.

That's right!

I want us to hold a civilized protest tonight, at the mayor's party

Now, you're all going to bring banners.

We're going to write down clearly what we want.

That is, "Give us our money!". "You thieves!", "We want to work!"

"We're hungry!"...and so on.

Good morning, dear listeners of this wonderful community.

To honor the event that all of you have certainly heard about,

we re kicking off a program of musical bonding, so to speak,

with Romanian music

and sweet American songs for the soul,

meant to bring us a bit of warmth,

not that it's not hot enough.

What I mean is the warmth in our hearts and souls.

Right... On the other hand, a well-informed citizen

was kind enough to inform us this whole village anniversary,

which is actually made up, is closely connected

to our mayor's wish to raise

some money for the local budget.

They say that the budget has been depleted of some massive sums.

Moving on, I have here a list of musical requests.

I will begin reading them now.

Mihai.

Monica.

- Ionescu. - I noticed you like Monica.

You don't stand a chance.

For sure. She's only gone steady with the coolest guys around.

She got bored of them all.

She was with Alex, the metal-head. He was one of them angry rockers.

Then Mihai, the guy who graduated last year... my sister's crush.

Anyway, he went off to college in Bucharest. The end.

She dumped that guy ages ago. And yesterday she cut Paul loose.

- Come on, you pick him! - I'm not picking that geek!

We reshuffle the teams and I'll pick him, man.

Dude, check out your team! You take him! Andrei!

Move it! You're on his team. We're taking the other one.

Ok? Come on, you've got a killer team.

- Move it! - Come on, pass it!

You passed it to this dweeb?! He can't even move his feet?!

And he's playing in his PJ s, too!

C'mon girls! Put everywhere!

Yo, Mihai! Get it over with those lights, already, will you?

Well, those lights...

Don't touch! Leave them like this!

Bless you!

Doiaru, you should really take something for your allergy.

Dear Vasile, I've got something I wanna ask of you.

Anything, Mr. Doiaru. I've got it covered. Go ahead.

Well, there's this gang of gypsies, they really get my goat!

Everyday they're out stealing from freight trains. There, by the turn.

You could have your men guard them. They get so bored anyway.

I got it. Listen, Doiaru, we've known each other for ages.

What's with these Americans?

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but...

The mayor is out throwing parties and all...

Well if they don't have the papers what am I supposed to do about it?

Just because they're American they think they can outsmart us?

Like we're Romanians, so we're all morons, or what?

They have to obey the law. Hey, Stelica! Watch it!

- Boss! Boss! - What's up?

- This is 1-7. - I know, man. Go ahead.

Hold on, it's for me. Go ahead! What's up?

The mayor is calling you over to put up road blocks.

Come on, man. I started the barbecue. You comin'?

Of course I am.

I'll see you at the party.

Vasile, you're not gonna forget about that thing we discussed, ok?

Of course not, didn't I tell you already?

He wants to know if those customs papers have arrived.

No, nothing's come in.

Tell the man I don't take bribe.

What, you think if we're in Romania

you can buy us out just like that? Third world country, right?

Yo, Marin, you're so snazzy, girl!

Hey, suck my dick!

Yes!

I came to take the Americans to the party.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

Hold on, I'll go tell them.

Good evening! Please, Captain...

He's father Nicolae!

My deputy!

- Soda, Mayor? - Oh, give me a break!

Where are you? Here you go! C'mon!

Leave me alone!

- Mr. Mayor, God bless you! - God bless!

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

honorable community officials, dear fellow villagers

I have the utmost pleasure and honor

to bid you all welcome to the anniversary of our village...

This year, we are privileged to have among us

a few distinguished guests from abroad,

who have come all the way from the United States of America!

This being said, let's have some Romanian fun!

Change the station already, I've had enough of this asshole!

You tell me, how can anyone not hate these Americans?

Hello.

Yes. No... I can't hear you.

Hello? I can't hear you. Speak up, please!

- Yes... Hello. - Who's there?

Yes, yes, hello, Minister.

Yes, yes, hello, Minister.

Yes, they're right here with us. We're at a party.

Yes, yes...

No...

That's not up to me, sir.

Well, see...

The station is administered by the Romanian Railway Company.

And the man in charge of the station is Mr. Doiaru.

Yes, but I promise you that I'll make sure

their stay here will be hassle-free.

Good bye!

I just got a call from the Minister.

Good evening!

It is my great pleasure to introduce to you

the instrumental music group, "Band of the Universe".

Together with yours truly, Nicky "Priceless",

the ambassador of traditional music,

we're inviting you to dance. "Trade romale"!

The next song goes out to all the lovers.

But especially to Stana, she knows why.

I love you, princess!