Original subtitles

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Production company TOR presents

You'll be living intensely, with all your might.

If you die out here...

you'll be lying with the face up on the ground...

and out of your body there will grow...

Do you get me, Sir?

There will grow a tree of life.

And on its branch, after many years,

there will sit a bird of paradise.

Or a plain crow... or an owl.

And the bird will be swaying.

And in the same rhythm your heart will be beating.

My heart?

Maybe its echo.

An illusion of the heartbeat?

Of lasting, being in non-existence.

THE LESSON OF A DEAD LANGUAGE

based on a novel by Andrzej Kuśniewicz

script and dialogues by

starring

music

sound editing

scenography

costumes make-up

producer

director of photography

directed by

Being in non-existence.

Mr Wasserzug, come here!

You were calling?

Look!

- What? - It's a bedbug!

There are no bedbugs here.

We poisoned them all, I swear. Not one left.

Were there any bedbugs here? Who says so?

Who saw them?

You want to tell me it's a ladybird?

Have you got it?

Mr Oberleutnant, a bedbug or a ladybird...

Maybe it's something else? There are beetles and...

glow-worms - you must know that, Mr Oberleutnant!

And?

Is it a bedbug?

There can't be one left before nightfall!

They'll be gone.

Consider them gone.

[Yiddish]

Good morning, Mr Oberleutnant!

See, Mr Traut,

such a great guest in our hotel!

A great guest! What kind of guest is he?

There are plenty others like him.

All of them are officers now.

But he's a commanding officer of the staging point.

The representative of the army.

Mr Roth, your town of Turka and the staging point!

As if you compared your hotel to George Hotel in Lvov.

Big deal, George Hotel!

[singing in Russian]

It's a disgrace, a sacrilege.

A firearm touched by a woman should not be used - out of the question.

You really think so? But it's a woman who's a patron of the hunt.

Rubbish.

She's an immortal goddess and a virgin... Artemis.

Identified with Roman Diana. I should have her image on me.

Take a look.

Is it Diana?

Artemis of Ephesus.

There are other ones - of Gabii, Versailles...

with a dog and a bow.

She's smiling. How many tits has she got?

What for?! Two are enough!

She's a goddess of fertility as well.

Of the animals and the shine of the Moon...

Of births and sudden deaths.

Mr lieutenant, is that gold?

Of course not!

Brass copy bought in some market.

A souvenir for tourists from Naples or...

Although I found it in Ukraine.

That's some souvenir then.

Is it your lucky charm?

An amulet? A talisman?

You could say so.

Beautiful firearms you've got there, Mr Szwanda.

Especially that rifle.

It's Mannlicher-Schönauer. Check how clear the telescope is.

Emil Busch, Rathenow.

Well?

It's perfect.

I must show you my light machine-gun.

It's very accurate.

But I've used it just two or three times, you know.

Once I shot a flying hawk...

And at a criminal while I was riding a horse... Cantering!

But I missed.

And the third time... well...

I fired a salute.

You don't say?

I admit I miss sometimes but it's a disgrace for a true man!

Mr lieutenant, after you.

One day I'll ask you to lend me that rifle, for practice.

Of course!

Our dedicated railwaymen never fail.

He's not even a minute late, that bastard.

Who washes your clothes, Mr Lieutenant?

That Wassrzug's girl?

Yes. Why?

Liza Kurt, the gate woman, could do it in her working hours.

Why spend the money?

Nurse! There's a patient in here!

Look how swollen it got!

What's with you, you bastards! Go back to the car!

What did I tell you?!

Let me, Mr Lieutenant.

Drink Mrs Luiza Von Bar's health.

Prosit!

Thank you!

- Keep it as a souvenir. - Thank you!

Good luck!

Puligny-Montrachet.

Year 1911.

I can't believe it! I've already got one of these!

What do you reckon, Walaszek?

Is it from before the Battle of Solferino?

Wait a second!

Do you want one?

I'll smoke it afterwards.

The captives have found 9 bodies way back from Carpathian Campaign.

- Our people? - No, Russians. Follow me, please.

They must have hidden under that tree.

The lightening stroke them during the storm.

Don't be stupid. It was winter.

Have you seen a thunderbolt in winter?

The grenade must have hit the dugout.

Exhume the bodies. Bury them at the Russian cemetery.

Speak to the priest - the funeral ought to be modest.

Transport the bodies? Where will I get the carts from?

All the horses take the wood to the sawmill.

Silence!

The motherland is turning a blind eye to you anyway!

You're as snug as a bug in a rug out here!

You want to join the infantry? You dream of Russian frontline?!

Maybe Italian? Which one do you prefer?

Mr Lieutenant, you know I have problems with my ears.

So?

Everything's going to be done. I'm going to be ruthless.

Good.

- One more thing, Mr Lieutenant. - Well?

They're off again.

- How many? - Three men.

- When? - Last night.

Can't something be done?

Mr Pelechaty was supposed to keep watch over the night.

He says civil matters are more important right now.

A gathering at school's director, they were singing socialistic songs...

Very well then. Maybe they'll send someone from Sambor.

Any tobacco?

What did Oberleutnant tell you?

To make a funeral.

There's a good man. He's got faith in his heart.

Moyshe, tell us... is Oberleutnant an uhlan?

Yes, an uhlan.

Are you an uhlan, too?

Austrian uhlan!

You stupid girl!

Why are you afraid of lice, Sir?

A louse runs away from sick and dying.

It's a wise insect - it's stupid people who fight it!

Please!

That's enough!

That's right, lieutenant. The line is clear.

Dirt, ignorance and superstition on one side

and on the other - hygiene, medicine, order and European civilization.

Get us some water!

Schnella! Hurry up!

Korzec...

Of course! Manufactured in Korzec.

Where did you get that, Mr Szwanda?

Have you got any idea what kind of plate that is?

Maybe the old forester who lived here before me had left it...

Or maybe we've brought it from Kufstein.

You must already know we come from Tyrol.

What a profanation!

We had more, but they got broken, as it happens in the household.

Stupid girls drop everything.

- Let me... - Be careful!

Look at that green!

It's phenomenal.

Kompanie halt!

Halt!

Who's there?

Columbus Circus!

- Show your documents. - What?

I'll show you documents.

Here you go. Everything's in order.

These are our posters.

Here's the one from Miskolc. It was a month ago.

The commanding officer himself arrived.

We've been doing shows all over the Empire!

Galicia, Moravia, Bukovina...

I'm the manager.

On behalf of the Armeeoberkommando,

I'm confiscating the horses for military purposes.

Mr Officer, that's impossible!

This must be some kind of misunderstanding.

These horses stood before the military commission in 1914

and they were recognised as unfit for military service.

I can show papers, documents!

These are extraordinary horses - they're trained, they're artists!

You can't do it to me, Mr Officer.

Who said I can't?! Don't make me laugh!

Austro-Hungarian army can get all the horses it wants!

Forget the humour, don't be so official.

K.K. army is enormous!

And my circus is tiny.

No wonder they can't get on with each other.

But when a man meets a man...

they always find a way to reach an agreement.

Hold right there, Mister!

Get lost, you rascal!

Out to your kennel, you skunk!

Bug off!

See who I have to work with? The best men joined the army.

I gave my best men to the Empire!

Herr Kopad right outside Przemyśl, or that great juggler - Kohaut...

before we reached Verden.

I'm left with losers and punks!

Scheisse...

Hende hoch!

Fahren!

I'm going!

Schnella!

Breathe in.

Deeper.

Once more.

Right.

You can put your clothes on.

Did you remember to monitor your temperature?

I've tried.

Are you really so curious about those alpine peaks?

I'm supposed to cure you...

and lead to your recovery.

Treating me is your job, it may even be your hobby, I don't know.

But recovery? I'm afraid you're kidding yourself, Herr Doctor.

I'm not.

As to the alpine peaks, you could do with some time in sanatorium.

For example Merano... Switzerland would be even better.

When the war is over of course.

There are mountains all around us here.

And that's the greatest joke you could've made to your illness.

A good choice of place.

To be honest, I was sent here right from the field hospital.

So that's a matter of good luck. Congratulations.

Your condition is not as serious as I thought.

I'm going to prescribe some excellent medicine containing calcium.

Cavities in your lungs should heal.

Calcify.

Is it Salome?

How did she get in here?

That's her. By Gustave Moreau.

A friend sent it to me from Lvov.

- Could I? - Of course.

I'll prescribe syrup for your cough.

And some Arhenol.

Delectatio morosa,

isn't it?

I see you love symbols, Mr Lieutenant.

Do you know why, doctor?

I always need to feel the presence of witnesses.

Can you understand?

You must admit that the most fascinating thing on Earth is death.

It's watched and tapped by us, like I was by you, on both sides.

I mean we want to encounter it as well as inflict it.

Yes.

We could call it savouring, tasting...

That's only consistent.

That's the only way we're being loyal towards Her.

You see, such speculating leads to...

Mr Lieutenant, you need rest.

Peace, rest...

And some outdoor exercising.

J'aime I'horreur d'etre vierge et je veux vivre parmi I'effroi...

Lieutenant!

Mallarmé's poems are like poison.

You shouldn't feed yourself with it.

Psyche and soma are one.

Please remember that.

Can I get you some tea?

That officer has two or three months of life left.

Sergeant Major Ivan Pelechaty, Sir.

Why didn't you keep watch over the night?

Three more captives have fled because of you.

I've already caught one of them.

At ease.

Where?

In Lutowiska.

He was spending the night in a haystack.

The forester tracked him down.

Lutowiska? That's on the way to Ustrzyki. He was going west?

Smartass, right?

- Isn't he Russian? - He is. But a Smartass, too.

Mr Lieutenant...

Look, what I've found in his pocket.

Full of misspellings. Is he a spy?

Worse. He's an agitator.

- Where's he? - I've put him in a cell.

I'll have to let that Gypsy who steals horses go because of him.

I don't want them to conspire.

Get him here.

Wańka! Let's go!

See, sergeant?

Don't sleep, unless you want to get robbed!

Stop laughing or I'll beat the shit out of you!

Sit down.

Name?

Budrov. Ivan Alexandrovich.

- Where are you from? - Tobolsk.

- It's in Siberia? - Yes, it is.

Far away?

I don't know.

How can you not know? 2, 3 thousand versts?

Maybe 3 thousand.

- To the east? Right? - Yes.

So why were you going west, not east?

You don't know.

You don't know but I do.

Mr Lieutenant knows it, too.

Very well then. Tell me what that is.

- This? - Yes.

It's for smoking.

- Is it? - Yes!

- I put tobacco in it. - Really?

That's enough!

Cigarettes, you son of the bitch!

You're a spy! Bolshevik agitator!

You'll be executed!

A spy? I'm not a spy!

I was only making cigarettes. I'm not very wise.

Execution? For what?!

Please translate, sergeant major.

He claims he's illiterate and he was using the paper to make cigarettes.

Ask him where he got it from.

He said he found it next to the railway tracks.

Maybe he really is illiterate?

Let me try something.

EXECUTION IN 5 MINUTES

I don't know how to read. I can't.

He may be illiterate, Mr Lieutenant.

Wańka...

You're as stupid as they get!

I wonder, Mr Lieutenant...

Why do they flee?

Are they homesick?

Stupid men.

The war will finally end, won't it?

Up!

Go on!

Up! Don't stop!

Pull it!

Go on!

That's enough!

Now the other way round.

My brothers!

Comrades and workers!

You're about to bury our brothers who died for this country...

But this is not their homeland!

We'll bury those poor people in this land...

Don't do this to me, man!

The war started because of international imperialism.

Come down, you idiot! They'll shoot you!

Capitalism is a cannibal of nations.

It feeds on our flesh and drinks our blood.

Come down or I'll shoot you.

The morning of freedom in near!

You bastard! Go on, shoot me!

Father, wait! What are you doing?

Father!

You dirty dog!

23 minutes late.

What are you talking about? It's not a scheduled train.

My calculations are based on stationmaster Sambor's report.

Maybe it's some kind of Bolshevik sabotage?

Second lieutenant Von Traut, 7th infantry regiment.

I've got 8 days off.

I've spent 2 days on the road by far and I can't stand it anymore.

The moaning of wounded men, the stink of chloroform, lice...

These are my documents.

Gleisdorf near Graz?

We've got a mansion there.

I'm from Graz, too. Lieutenant Kiekeritz.

I assume you have a bathhouse here.

If I don't change my underwear, I'll die.

Then you should've chosen the next station.

They even do brine baths there.

That's alright. I'll get you there.

You want to encounter pain... or rather inflict it?

Does killing have no meaning to you either?

Worse!

I find it exciting at times. Fascinating.

Then we have something in common.

At some point, you know what I mean...

When you already have your finger on the trigger...

And you know that someone's fate depends on that one move...

A pain of some woman, children's despair... You know it all.

Nevertheless the urge is stronger than anything.

Physical, sensuous lust which darkens your mind, overpowers you.

There is something greater though.

That feeling, I wouldn't hesitate to call it divine,

when you can pull the trigger but you don't.

The verdict is reprieved because you wish so.

It's like you compared 'lead me not into temptation'

to coitus interruptus.

'Teufel...

Teufel komm raus! '

Cabins 6 and 7 are ready.

Please, come in, gentlemen.

Would you like an extra soap?

These soaps smell like flowers, as opposed to that army soap.

Make yourself at home.

At home?

In my parents' house all mirrors are covered with crepe.

My mother and aunts have gone to church to pray I didn't die at war.

While the worst that can happen is me catching gonorrhea.

I beg your pardon! All my girls see a doctor regularly.

What about their spiritual wellbeing? Do you take care of that, too?

I presume you're kidding, monsieur.

Fabbie, my dear!

Your daughters are wonderful!

Lieutenant Von Traut!

- What are you doing here? - I'm passing through.

I've got 8 days off. I've got off here to take a bath.

Well done! You must've proven your bravery.

I mean the vacation. You must be dirty and lousy.

What about you?

Lieutenant Kiekeritz, commanding officer of the staging point.

Get us some champagne! We should celebrate our meeting!

You should know I met that hulk at cadet school!

Just a moment!

Komme Sie hier, bitte!

He's going to sell everything, he's terrified.

Good morning.

Very well.

And here?

Saint Nicolas, saint George... Archangel Michael.

Will you sell?

How much?

How much?

I've sinned!

Shoot me!

What's happening? What's wrong with him?

It's our Orthodox priest from Turka. He's hiding in here.

He thought you were going to arrest him for that funeral.

Tell him not to bother me.

Ask about the price.

- How much? - Get out!

How much?

Any amount is appreciated.

The roof is leaking, many repairs at hand...

Don't overdo it though.

Dear Mum,

forgive me I haven't written often enough lately.

Though I'm not short of time, because I haven't got much to do here.

I guess Autumn infects me with its melancholy

and paralyzes my good intentions of writing to you.

Nevertheless I am thinking of you, I'm with you very often.

Sometimes I can feel your hand on my arm.

Like you were leaning over to see what I was reading.

Again I am sending a few items that I've managed to find here.

Nothing extraordinary, as usually.

I can't help but think even those crumbs are worth saving though.

Don't be surprised I talk about it in the middle of that devastation.

I'm starting to understand that my passion for collecting

is in fact a hopeless and desperate attempt to save the remains.

As usually, put it all on the cabinet in my room.

But the icon should be hidden in the drawer.

Sunlight is not good for it.

Put those two glasses in your cupboard.

At the earliest opportunity, show them to doctor Mozer.

Ask him what they're worth and where they come from.

He'll know best...

What's wrong, sergeant?

On headmaster's request,

I interrupted the performance of the circus.

Why?

It was obscene.

Mr Sourrye. I've got master's degree.

I'm the headmaster of the gymnasium.

I had to protest against that demoralizing show!

Especially that the students have been present.

The whole 8th form was watching it!

It's scandalous! Hypnosis?

Ignorance and superstition! In 20-Th century!

Mrs Słomkowska can confirm some girls almost fainted!

Take my side, Mr Officer! That's not fair!

We've been doing that show everywhere and no one complained!

On the contrary - people wanted us to give an encore!

I must express my protest!

Take care of that, sergeant.

Goodnight.

The show is over!

Go back to the circus, people!

Uhlan, pretty as a picture...

Uhlan!

I'm going to get you...

Go home!

Laskowski, Żenciur - I've seen you! Come tomorrow with your parents!

- Watch the rye or it will get sour! - You'll remember me!

I'm not an uhlan, nor am I pretty. See for yourself.

'Pretty as a picture' - that's what people used to say before the war.

You can't blame me I am an uhlan.

If it was up to me, I would stop being one.

Don't even tell me that, Moyshe!

Would you like to pay me a visit tonight?

We're thinking of organising a séance.

Will you be there?

It would mean a lot to me.

Who are you right now?

[speaking unknown language]

Who are you and what do you know about the tree of life?

I am rabbi Hillel Levi Shallit.

The one whose grave you visited in Skvira in Ukraine.

Yes, alumnus Alfred.

I'm calling you an alumnus because you're still in your infancy.

You haven't managed to break free from the cocoon yet, like insects do.

You're still...

an immature young man...

Despite your age...

That's why you'll be granted the grace of taking in and forgiveness

because you'll die young.

Soon... Very soon.

Is that what you wanted to know?

What you meant?

Is that an answer to your question.

Here it is!

[speaking unknown language]

Walasek, what is she saying?

Can you understand her? What kind of language is that?

How should I know? Hebrew, maybe Turkish...

No, it's some dead language of Kabbala.

A language that never existed.

Yet it means something.

Mr Lieutenant, there's a freight train coming from Użok.

Let it pass through.

Who would've figured?

I wouldn't.

Well, well...

Did you really meet that rabbi in Ukraine?

No, he died, miss.

One hundred years ago.

How's business?

Bad, very bad...

Could it be any different? 5 years into the war?!

The timber is lying there, there's no one to transport it.

But the prices of wood go up.

So you'll make a lot of money!

Take it back! Who's going to earn?!

You want to know, who? Baron Goebbels.

Baron Lieblig.

But Traut...

Touch wood!

You're right. Knock, knock.

Such a wealthy man as our baron Lieblig

he's always making money!

Local government tells us to lend him a helping hand...

The army sends him prisoners to the sawmill...

The trains are waiting at the stations in Turka, Jawor, Rozłucz...

You know it only too well.

Is Mr Lieutenant here?

Where else? He hasn't been up for a week.

First floor, room 1.

What's wrong with that lieutenant?

You don't know? He's dying, Mr Traut.

It's tuberculosis.

Doctor is sending you a picture.

He's going to pay you a visit tomorrow or a day after.

He asked me to remind you to take medicines.

Why did you have to catch a cold though?

Put it next to the icon.

I should hang it.

No, that's the right place for it.

- There's the best company. - That's a sin.

- Why? - She's a pagan.

But a virgin, too.

I don't get it.

It doesn't matter.

Who's that?

I don't know. Some rider.

It doesn't matter.

It's pretty.

You can have it.

It's valuable.

It's a reproduction.

Don't move. Be careful.

Beautiful as ripe cherries.

That'll be my souvenir, Herr Oberleutnant.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

Where were you, you bitch?!

Leave me alone!

That's not right. Don't do it!

Leave her alone!

Do you need help?

I cannot fight evil.

What shall we fight and what for anyway?

We live in void.

We have impressions and hallucinations sometimes...

But no one really knows, what it is.

Mrs Olga!

No!

Come with me.

He's gone.

You can't make noise here. People are asleep.

Mr Oberleutnant is sleeping upstairs. He needs his rest.

He's ill, He needs peace and quiet.

He's sick - a weary hero. Can you understand?

Get out or I'll call the military policeman.

Off you go! I can already see the policeman.

Mr Lieutenant is up! That's very good!

You look fresh and healthy!

That's great! That's the most important.

- Thank you very much. - You're welcome.

Oh! Mr Szwanda came by and left something for you.

Wait a second.

He wanted to go upstairs but I didn't let him.

I didn't know you were up.

- Here you go. - The rifle.

I'll come back for it later.

Actually, no.

- I'm taking it to the woods. - Here you are.

Oh my God!

Mr Lieutenant...

Mr Lieutenant!

Dear Lord...

Are you by any chance... a servant of god Seth?

Nonsense.

It's all...

nonsense and absurd.

Stationmaster!

Nurse Irina! Help me!

Help!

Welcome ladies and gentleman!

It's an honour to have such noble guests!

At your service, my respects...

Mr Roth, have you got any idea who that is?

No.

It's Mr Englender from Borysław. Powerful Mr Englender!

Wood?

What's wood?!

Wood and oil!

Help me!

Mr Lieutenant? What happened?

Damn it!

What's going on?

Is he drunk? Dead? Is he dead already?!

Why here?! You stupid cow!

Take him out of here!

Such important guests and she's bringing him here!

Mr Roth! Do something!

Doctor Stieglitz, please.

Yes, it's very urgent.

Doctor Stieglitz, yes!

Kaput!

The war is over! They've signed capitulation act!

No more dying, no more killing! Everyone go home! To your mums!

Doctor? It's Roth. Help us!

Lieutenant Kiekeritz collapsed.

Yes, at the hotel.

That's right. Please hurry!

Mr Lieutenant...

Mr Lieutenant...

You must live.

The war is over.

You're going to go back home. We're going to live peacefully.

You'll see. We'll be dancing at your wedding.

Prepare the injection.

Remember...

when I said it was fascinating?

It's not. It's pointless.

We need to get him upstairs.