Original subtitles

Star Media presents

Alexei Kravchenko, Svetlana Kolpakova

Yuriy Borisov, Arina Zharkova

Maksim Kerin, Alina Lanina

Maria Smolnikova, Vitaliy Khayev

Sergey Sosnovskiy, Maria Kuznetsova

Sergey Peregudov, Vladislav Vetrov

Viktoria Tolstoganova, Leonid Gromov

Created and directed by Milena Fadeyeva

Director of Photography Radik Askarov Art Director - Sergey Kokovkin

Costumes by Alexei Kamyshov Music by Ivan Uryupin

Montage by Marina Vasilyeva Sound Director - Leonid Shushakov

Executive Producers - Eduard Aliyev, Tatyana Statsman

Produced by Ekaterina Pogorzhelskaya

Produced by Andrey Anokhin, Vlad Ryashin

Movie of Milena Fadeyeva

THE ANCESTRAL LAND

Timka, there is no light anywhere in the house.

Something must have happened.

But Lilya, we’re not afraid of darkness at all, are we?

We’ll now make the beds and go to sleep.

If you don’t know how to make beds in darkness, I’ll help you.

- It’s not a problem. - It’s not a problem, you’re right.

I’ll go and look, I think we had candles somewhere.

You grew up so big...

And you became smaller. You are very thin.

Do you remember how we went to the puppet theatre for a performance?

How could I forget? It was the “Little Hunchback Horse”.

Yes. It’s now on again.

I wanted to offer you to go there again,

but you’re so big now that I don’t think you’ll be interested.

Why won’t I be interested? I didn’t grow up! It’s very interesting!

Lie down, lie down.

When I slept in the cellar,

I was telling Polkan at nights about the Hunchback Horse.

He was as faithful to me. He used to help me a lot.

It was so cold, but I would lie close to him and go to sleep.

He warmed me up with his furry body.

He wouldn’t even move until I woke up.

- Where is this Polkan now? - In the other world, where else?

Polkan died of hunger. Times were very difficult then.

We used to eat shit at the market from one bowl.

I met Polkan by that dog bowl.

God...

We shall forget it somehow, Timka.

My honey. We shall try to forget it.

As if nothing like that had happened.

Our life will be different now. It’ll be calm and happy.

I love you very much.

You’re my angel, you’re my rescuer.

Everything will be fine.

When Alesha comes back,

and he’ll come back for sure... we’ll have a strong and happy family.

Tomorrow we’ll go to watch the “Little Hunchback Horse”

and in the evenings we’ll read books aloud.

We’ll read Robinson Crusoe too. Do you still like Robinson Crusoe?

Timka...

Sleep.

Who is there?

Lilenka...

Alesha... my honey... my beloved...

Be quiet, be quiet...

Aleshka, there is no light, that’s why the bell doesn’t work.

Aleshenka. I think I’m drunk.

Lesha, do I smell of vodka?

I’m stubbly and dirty.

Leshenka...

Forgive me, I couldn’t help it and drank.

He told me such a story, he survived such hell...

Lilenka, who?

Our son, Alesha.

Get ready for unloading. One by one, go, go!

Hands behind your head! Kneel! Kneel, I tell you!

Kneel! Faster! Go out, faster, and kneel!

Comrade Colonel, 48 dead.

In one of the wagons there are three bodies with knife wounds.

It looks like the criminals killed some of the lowly guys.

I wish they cut each other’s throats and died, all of them,

while they were going by the train.

I’d honour them with funerals in the common grave

and even invite the musicians to play over their bones.

Search them all with great attention.

If they killed somebody in the train, it means they are armed.

If any of them brings a knife to the camp,

you, Gaganov, will personally account for that.

- Do you understand? - Yes, Comrade Colonel.

Stand up one by one and run to the truck.

Run, run, run, run, run!

Faster, faster! I told you to run!

“We were cursed together and we’ll go down together” - these are his words.

He was attracted to her, because she was the only one who could understand him.

He didn’t tell anybody about his crime - either his mother,

or his sister, or Razumikhin.

He only told her,

and later they’ll go to do the hard labour together...

I beg your pardon. Go on, go on.

Maybe I’m saying something wrong?

Talk to the end, and then we’ll decide.

- OK. - Go on.

At the end of the novel, Dostoyevskiy gives Sonya and Raskolnikov

hope for resurrection, return to the right life

filled with love to each other and to other people.

How do you know all that?

Do you like Dostoyevskiy?

I do. I also like Chekhov and Tolstoy. I like Ivan Shmelyov very much.

Shmelyov? It’s incredible.

He is an immigrant.

Let me ask you, where did you get Shmelyov’s books?

I inherited them from German Petrovitch Arbuzov.

He was a professor, he taught literature in Leningrad.

He was also a very good man and he taught me a lot.

After his death, I read all his books.

Then maybe you shall study Russian language and literature?

No. I want to teach children.

Brilliant!

Let me help you.

Where are you going?

I’m meeting somebody.

Your face seems familiar.

Men who lack imagination always say that

when they want to introduce themselves.

You’re right.

The standard phrase is “Have we met before?”

We haven’t met before. Thanks for the light.

I was afraid that you won’t come.

I was afraid that you will change your mind.

Let’s go.

Ignat? Akimov!

This is you...

Hello, hero.

Good afternoon, Comrade Captain.

- Did you get a medal? - I did.

Congratulations! Stay healthy!

The ferry is leaving now.

Your wife is a real beauty.

She worried so much while waiting for you.

She is not my wife.

Then she will be.

Remember my words - she’ll be your wife, Akimov!

Lady, did you come to us from some movie?

What a beauty!

Hello.

This is it. Feel at home.

Did you forgive me?

How could I not?

You have been waiting for me for so many years.

All these years, I was only thinking about you.

Since my childhood and up to now. How is it possible?

I’m now as scary as a devil. How will you look at me?

With love.

They consider us to be cheaters but we’re faithful.

We’re unknown but we’ll be well-known.

We’re considered dead but we’re alive...

It’s not fair, Pharaoh! The stakes are uneven!

Stop talking nonsense, bro! I bet 300!

100, Pharaoh!

...we’re punished but we don’t die; they upset us but we still feel happy;

we’re poor but we make many people rich;

we don’t have anything but own everything;

that’s why we don’t know despair.

If external person smoulders,

the internal person renews day by day...

Is it the Bible?

The New Testament.

The Second Letter to the Corinthians of the Holy Apostle Paul.

Are you pious?

I’m a believer. A priest.

I have been listening to you for three days in a row.

I don’t understand anything but it calms my soul.

It means your soul is alive. It’s asking for faith. What is your name?

M-174.

My relatives called my Stepka.

I’m Father Nicolay.

Leave “father” for yourself. I had only one father.

I won’t call anybody else a “father”.

It’s your right. Call me Nicolay.

Stepan, as soon as you entered the barrack, I noticed you.

I wanted to talk but you were not in mood for conversations.

I know from my own experience that travels to the camp

leave one exhausted both spiritually and physically.

You’re alive, Stepan. Don’t bury yourself.

You’ll have a long life. Honest and right.

I’ll sit here for 25 years and then start living honestly and rightly.

Love lives in your soul. Don’t extinguish it.

It’ll add to your strength.

Through it, you’ll endure everything. You won’t stay here for long.

How do you know about love?

It’s not knowledge, it’s a skill.

I can see a man. I hear his thoughts.

I feel a human heart.

What are you doing, bastard? Who do you dare open your mouth at?

Buba, stop it. Don’t overdo it.

Who did you raise your dirty tail at?

Get under the bench, bastard! Under the bed, bitch!

Get away, beasts! To the wall! On your knees!

Warden, take the body away.

Dress the wound. Act. Don’t make me wait.

Alexei Makarovitch, I still can’t get used to your new traits.

It comes from the front time.

You operate so quick as if another wounded is waiting for you.

The war ended, though.

A clamp. No idle talks. A needle.

Time to sew.

Scissors...

Bandage him and send to the ward.

Watch how he’ll recover from the anaesthesia.

Good afternoon, Alexei Makarovitch.

Hello. We shall put an end to this mess.

It’s a clinic and not a military hospital.

How will be survive without smoking?

One can’t smoke on the hospital.

It’s time for us to return to the peaceful life.

Alexei Makarovitch, forgive me. I’ll get used to it.

Olya, you shall forgive me. I shall get used to you.

Now I recognize the usual Alexei Makarovitch!

Do you remember Shurochka Zharkova?

I didn’t lose my memory during these five years.

How may I forget our Shurochka?

She asked me to let her go to the front, like a father.

She was killed by Smolensk.

Girl, girl...

…the walls of which are still standing.

This great monument

to the heroic deed of the Russian people remains...

Alesha!

Dr. Morozov, don’t tell me you have five minutes.

I have an hour.

I suppose, Lilya Mikhaylovna, that you have swimming trunks

and towels in your bag.

It means that Timofey and I will go to dive into the river from the bridge.

No! We’ll have a swimming race!

Well...

Attention, convicts! The column is to keep strict order.

Don’t stretch out. Don’t step on the feet of a convict ahead of you!

It’s prohibited to talk in a column!

You may only look forward and not turn back!

Keep hands behind your back.

A step to the right or to the left is considered to be an escape.

The guards will shoot without warning.

Line up to the left! March forward!

Widen your step!

- Move it! - Faster!

Faster!

Our Father in heaven, our protector, soul of the truth,

executor of all deeds, treasure of good and creator of life,

come and settle in us, cleanse us from all the evil

and save our souls, oh Lord...

You better keep silence.

They might hear you.

If they do, it means God wished for that.

They knocked my teeth for that. I lost almost a half.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, take mercy on me, the sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, take mercy on me, the sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, take mercy on me, the sinner.

Hello, Yakov Dmitriyevitch. How are you doing?

I don’t complain. I returned to my favourite occupation.

I’m painting a portrait of one well-known party leader.

Great! Your talent shan’t be in vain.

You can’t work as Pavel Arkadyevitch’s driver all your life.

No, no, with your talent, with your skills...

Pavel Arkadyevitch! Hello! I...

Did you bring it?

- You shall at least say hello, Pasha. - Hello.

Hello. It was delivered from Riga this night.

Did you check everything?

Of course I did!

The beginning of the 17th century. Petersburg.

It was the property of a very noble lady. Here, you may read all about it.

Don’t you like it?

How one may not like such an exclusive piece?

I’ll show it to Innokentiy tomorrow.

What has happened? Is something wrong at the plant?

What plant are you talking about? It’s my wife.

Alyonka? What is wrong with her?

It looks like my Goldilocks is sleeping around.

What, Alyona?

What do you need my mutilated body for?

Be quiet, be quiet.

Alyona...

I came to the city only for six months.

I’ll earn some money and go back to the village.

I need to bring my daughter up.

Yes, of course.

You won’t go to the village with me.

There, you’ll have to milk cows and carry heavy buckets.

Will you marry me? Will you bring my daughter up?

- I’ll give you a son. - You’re lying.

I’m telling the truth.

I lived with Babakhin for eight years but I didn’t want to have a baby from him.

But I want to have a baby from you. He’ll be like you.

I’ll leave Babakhin and go with you.

I’ll do everything that you’ll order me to do.

I don’t need much.

I’m just afraid that it’s a game for you.

You’ll get bored with it soon.

When you couldn’t have me, you burnt as if in a fire.

But now, when you have me, the fire may die off soon.

You don’t understand anything...

you don’t understand anything about my love, Ignat.

I will love you as I used to love you.

I don’t even need you to love me back.

I just want you to be close to me, just be close...

Did you set my house on fire before the wedding?

Of course, I did. I burnt your house.

I broke glass in the windows of your wife-to-be.

I did many things, Ignat.

There is no use remembering them now, though...

I don’t want to have my hair cut.

Nobody is asking you.

Why shall I cut my hair?

Because if you don’t, the teacher in the nursery won’t let you in.

Why won’t she?

Many children in the nursery have lice.

The teacher told everybody to cut hair.

They’ll check your heads every day.

Why get upset over it? The hair will grow back.

When will it grow back?

In a month or two.

Will dad come back in a month or two?

If we wait for him really much, he will.

Vitka Bobrikov said that all dads have already come back from the war.

Those who haven’t were killed by the Germans.

Your Vitka Bobrikov is a fool. You may tell him that, do you get it?

OK. I’ll tell him that.

Let’s go.

Egor?

Egor, whom am I talking to?

- What pies are these? - Potato pies.

- Oh, no. - Come on, let’s go.

Shall I shave you or cut your hair?

Cut my hair so that lice may be discovered.

Do you want a fashionable haircut?

I swear, young man - the fringe will be short

and lice won’t be able to hide there.

You’re a hairdresser, aren’t you?

I am.

In old times, people called me a “barber”.

A barber. No.

I want to be neither a hairdresser nor a barber.

I want to sell pies.

I get it. I understand you very well, young man.

Pies are much more interesting than hairy or bald heads.

Bald...

Mum, is our dad bald?

No, he is not.

This is good.

Thank you. Here you go.

Egor, be careful.

- Yakov Dmitriyevitch! - Yes.

Hello.

Hello, Varya. This is for you.

The flowers are beautiful. Take them.

Thanks. Where did you come from? And with the flowers?

Mum, didn’t you see him?

This gentleman was sitting in the barber’s salon.

You’re so attentive! You have a great son.

- Thanks. - Great, Varya! Dubasov.

- Morozov. - Oh, you!

I beg your pardon but we need to go.

May I see you off a bit? Just a bit.

You changed a lot, Varya. Are you still alone?

Yes, she is. Our dad hasn’t come back from the war yet.

I see.

Dubasov, aren't you selling pies, by any chance?

- Egor! - Of course, I am not.

That’s too much for me. I’m an artist.

However, if you, Morozov, love pies so much,

I’m ready to treat you to some.

Yakov Dmitriyevitch, there is no need to.

It’s all right, let’s go.

Mum, let him give me some.

How many ice-creams do you want? Two?

- Two. - Or maybe four?..

Where is your God, Nicolay? Where is he looking?

Or did he turn away from us?

Stepan, grief brings patience, patience brings experience,

and experience brings hope.

Hope is what remains.

You suffered much more and you still have a lot to suffer.

God is testing you through two types of patience.

Your first patience was a fighting patience,

patience of a warrior who saw one aim ahead of him - the victory.

The second patience is humility - patience of a prisoner,

patience of a convict.

Stop! Brigade, stop! Line up!

You’re being transferred to another object.

Faster, faster!

Faster!

How long have you been in the camp, Nicolay?

29 years, 7 months and 18 days.

This camp is the 11th for me.

When the Soviets came to power, when they started to ruin the churches,

I was thrown behind the bars.

I was young;

I graduated from the religious seminary and became a monk.

In three months, the Bolsheviks imprisoned me.

During the interrogation, I told the investigator

about his daughter’s disease.

I told him what I saw.

I saw blood coming up to her throat,

and then flowing out of it.

In a few days she died.

He choked on blood flowing from her throat.

The doctors failed to stop it.

They almost beat me up to death then.

Since then, I don’t tell anybody about what I see.

Do you still believe in salvation?

I do - with all my soul and my heart.

And you believe too, Stepan. But you’re afraid to confess to yourself.

They confiscated all my books and holy scriptures.

The Bolsheviks burnt the Bible and Holy Gospels.

When I ended up in prison, I started writing the Gospel

into a notebook from memory.

Since then, that notebook has always been with me.

I’m hiding it. It’s my biggest treasure.

You’re a good person, Father Nicolay.

See? You’ve already called me “father”.

Here, here. M-174. T-089.

Change the place. Go to carry the logs.

He can’t. He has problems with his back.

He has been suffering all night.

Are you a doctor? I told you to execute. Do as I say. Faster!

I hid a piece of bread at breakfast.

Eat it, Father Nicolay. You seem exhausted.

No! No!

Don’t touch me! No!

- Lilya! My girl! - Don’t touch! No!

- Lilka! Lilenka, this is me... - No!

- You’re at home, everything is fine... - Don’t touch me, don’t!

You’ll wake our son up. Lilya, this is me. This is me, this is me!

Don’t be scared. We’ll treat her.

This is not a disease. It’s the war.

My girl... be quiet, be quiet...

Where have you been?

Pasha, one may go numb after this! What kind of game is it?

I want to ask you the same question. What game is it, Lena?

I repeat my question. Where have you been?

I warned you. I went to my native village.

Lesha and I want to make a monument to our father.

Stand up and come up to me.

Now look me in the eye and repeat what you said

looking me straight into the eyes.

Pasha...

It hurts, Lena. Your lies hurt.

I knew that sooner or later it’ll happen.

You’re a beautiful woman and you’re young.

I’m not young and I don’t interest you as a male.

I knew that you’ll have a lover. I was ready for that.

However, I wasn’t ready for your lies.

You have always been above that.

We became very close.

We grew to trust each other. You knew about all my deals...

Pasha, this is...

This is a betrayal, Lena. A betrayal. Do you understand?

It looks like I didn’t know you well.

And you didn’t know me well.

Pavel Babakhin doesn’t forgive that to the women.

Lie down. You don’t look like yourself.

From this day on, I won’t share a bed with you.

Canteen

Brigade 32! Get the food.

Brigade 32. 46 people. Five are absent.

The bowls!

Those who have eaten, hand the bowls over!

There are not enough bowls for everybody!

Lame? Didn’t you recognize me?

Did you recognize me, criminal?

Wipe your eyes! This is me, Monya! Do you get it?

Hello, Monya.

And I couldn’t understand whether it’s you or not.

Get out of here. Let a person sit.

Sit down, let’s talk.

Have you been in the camp for long?

What were you convicted for?

Monya... I’m not a criminal.

I fought at the front and was taken prisoner.

I was convicted for that.

Holy mother of bastards! How many years do you have to serve?

Twenty five.

I got the same number.

You fought but you’ve been convicted as a criminal.

Well, Lame, the Motherland kissed us in the same way -

you for your bravery at the front, and me - for a murder.

- What brigade are you working for? - Number 32.

You’ll be with me now.

Sit down with us, let’s drink some strong tea.

I don’t sit at one table with the likes of you.

Shut up, bastards!

I don’t get it, Lame.

You became a traitor. It’s the end of you.

I forgave you, bitch, but you are continuing with this shit!

Motherland will forgive me, not you, criminal bastard.

On the floor! On the floor, everybody!

Lame, don’t challenge my authority. I’ll finish you off cleanly.