The Student (2017) - full transcript
Vince would kill for a good grade...
Your principal called.
Do you have anything to tell me?
She told me
you've been bunking off for weeks.
That's not true.
I only bunk off for swimming.
Why?
You told her you have sinusitis?
Sinusitis!
Why are you lying?
Why?
Are you taking drugs?
Venya, are you on drugs?
OK.
You're going
to swimming class tomorrow.
That's not all.
You'll make up
what you've missed.
I'm not going again.
Can you write me a note?
What's the matter?
Are you afraid of drowning?
Tell your gym teacher
to let you swim by the side
if you're afraid of drowning.
It's not that.
Are you embarrassed about your body?
That's normal.
Nobody likes their own body.
But you have to do sport,
to stay in shape.
I don't care about my body.
- Are you ashamed of something?
- Like what?
I don't know.
Maybe...
Boys your age
sometimes
have uncontrollable erections.
Or maybe...
you're shy of changing
in the same room
as the other boys.
I don't have
uncontrollable erections.
Well, that's not good!
Not having uncontrollable erections.
You know...
You can always tell me
if something's wrong.
What shall I write in the note?
Just tell them:
"No swimming classes
because of uncontrollable erections."
You want to make a fool of me?
Tell them it's against my religion.
What?
Tell them swimming classes
are against my religion.
You don't have a religion.
How would you know?
It has to sound realistic.
Otherwise I'll look like an idiot.
Against your religion!
Nothing funny about that.
Did you get that off TV?
- But if it's against...
- No!
...my religion.
I've agreed to cover for you
but you're talking nonsense.
I'm not going to write that.
The girls!
I said no jumping!
No jumping!
Hi, Tkacheva.
Why aren't you in the water?
Go on!
Three lengths for you!
THE BIBLE
- I don't have time.
- What?
- Just so you know.
- I wasn't asking.
I don't have time today
or tomorrow.
We're going to the movies after.
Who with?
Katia,
Kostia.
Kostia!
Tomorrow we're going sunbathing.
I can't.
I have to read and you disturb me.
I don't even talk to you.
You talk all the time.
I have to concentrate.
Concentrate, then, jerk!
So what does it say?
"Samaria shall become desolate
for she has rebelled against her God.
"They shall fall by the sword,
their infants shall be
dashed in pieces
"and their women with child,
ripped up."
Nice!
The indignation of the Lord
is upon all nations,
and His fury upon all their armies.
He destroyed them utterly
and gave them to the slaughter.
The stench of their carcasses
will rise
and the mountains run
with blood.
The bullocks and the bulls
shall fall with them.
Their land shall be blood
and their dust made fat with fatness.
For the day of Jehovah's vengeance,
the year of retribution for Sion.
Don't I have enough problems?
Don't I have enough problems?
Say something!
Can't you swim in your trunks
like a normal person?
Are you listening to me at all?
Why won't you look up?
Do you hear what I'm saying,
you idiot?
Please...
This is because of taking drugs,
isn't it?
It's obvious!
He's a typical junkie!
Let's step outside for a minute.
I'm his mother and he won't talk to me.
That's normal.
But you...
You've got qualifications.
What are you qualified as?
Pedagogue. Psychologist.
Psychologist, perfect!
OK, psychologist.
Go and win his trust.
It's what you're paid for.
I don't even know
how many toes he's got!
Or if he finds the water so cold
he dives in with all his clothes on!
Look, I'm a single mom with 3 jobs.
You make me come to school
for no good reason
and keep asking me stupid questions.
As if my son's some kind of criminal!
It can't go on like this!
Stop summoning me to school
all the time!
What actually happened?
He won't wear trunks?
In the other class.
Make him put them on!
It's your school, not mine!
He doesn't want to swim?
Then make him!
That's what you're here for!
Or am I missing something here?
Let's all calm down, please.
No one's attacking you.
I should hope not!
That'll do.
That's enough.
What?
Mom...
I'm fucking sick to death of you!
Fuck!
It's you who makes me sick!
Calm down.
Fuck him!
Let go of me!
Stop it!
Well?
It's not the first time.
He arrives late and says
he was at the gynecologist's.
He keeps pushing it.
Sometimes provocation
is a cry for help.
Do you need help?
He doesn't need any help.
Madam,
could you please sign the inventory?
Yes, but quickly.
Excuse me.
What do you suggest?
Let him apologize
and swim a few additional lengths.
In his trunks, of course.
Luckily, no one got hurt.
The case is closed.
I won't apologize.
Yes, you will.
I didn't do anything wrong.
- You got it wrong, not me.
- Oleg, sit down.
"He that sent me is with me.
"He hath not left me alone.
I do what pleaseth Him."
Who sent you?
Stop this nonsense!
Calm down.
He never says hello.
The Lord says...
"Women shall wear modest apparel
"with shamefacedness and sobriety."
Not bikinis!
"...with good works,
"as becomes good, pious women."
That's why I'm declaring war
on depravity.
The Lord says:
"Whoever looks on a woman with lust
"has committed adultery
with her already in his heart."
It's a sin, Madam Principal.
I'm against such lechery,
and I'll no longer strip off,
for God says:
"He that rejects me
has one that judges him.
"The word that I have spoken
shall judge him in the last day."
Mummy's going to punish him now!
Move!
Go hide under mummy's skirt.
Guys, let me go!
I'm expected at home.
Is it OK for girls
to do swimming class in bikinis?
Wait...
What's wrong?
Yes, it's perfectly OK.
They're not yet aware
of their physical appeal.
Well...
It's like a game to them.
A game? Is that what we want?
Madam Principal,
that's not the point.
I don't approve of such games
among male members of staff.
Madam...
Stop it, I saw your little grin.
- What?
- Just then.
As we talked about games,
bikinis
and unconscious physical appeal.
I don't like that grin.
I didn't grin.
Here we are...
"Appropriate swimwear."
That's the way it's formulated.
It's all written down!
That's an excellent alternative.
No mention of the bikini at all.
Bikinis are awful.
Everything exposed, breasts falling out!
Yes, absolutely!
That's the way
the children should be dressed.
A full swimsuit.
Should I leave it for you?
Yes, of course.
Madam Principal.
I always wear a full swimsuit.
Do boys have to wear
full swimsuits too?
Don't overdo it.
No, really!
What if some smart girl asks me
why we've banned bikinis?
I thought you were the smart girl.
You'll be able to answer.
What class have I got now?
Class B.
I have no idea
how to explain this to the kids.
Stop nit-picking.
Is that a new hairdo?
No.
Your hair...
It's a new cut, isn't it?
No.
Why?
Is something bothering you?
A word of advice...
Try to look more modest.
You work in a school.
Fine.
Let's split!
Thugs! Hooligans!
Come on, up you get.
Tip it over. He can't get out.
Come on!
Go on, tip it!
Don't go breaking it!
Hang on, wait...
Go on, get out of there.
Don't forget your backpack.
Your backpack.
Here, take it.
Pick it up.
Don't hang about.
That's only because...
I can't fight back.
We're actually friends.
Some friends they are!
I wonder what it looks like
when they hate someone.
They hate you.
Because you don't want to be friends
with them and all that.
Grisha!
They'll pay
for what they've done to you.
"The axe is laid
unto the root of the tree.
"Every tree which brings not forth
good fruit is hewn down
"and cast into the fire."
Here we go!
One...
two...
three...
four...
What are you doing?
Legs together. I'll show you.
Sir!
Come on, Tkacheva.
That's good.
Don't just drop.
Hold your stomach tight.
That's good. Carry on.
Sir...
Don't just drop back.
That's good.
Wait!
Oleg, you see that?
That's daring.
Really daring.
It's not that simple.
He really wants to hurt us.
We must have offended him.
- I offended him?
- Yes.
You must have done something
unwittingly.
What do you care, Lena?
What?
Move over.
Go on, move over, that's my spot.
I didn't have
this much muscle before.
Where?
Here, look.
I'm serious.
Feel my pecs.
They're not what turned me on.
Hello, madam.
Hello, sir.
Hi, Tkacheva.
Move along,
there's nothing to see here.
Something hurt him.
So he's hurting us back.
I don't care.
Of course you don't.
You never care about anything.
Puberty is
a temporary mental disorder,
I don't want it to become permanent.
Cut it out, there are kids all around!
Are you crazy?
Let's go.
Therefore I say to you,
do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
nor about your body,
what to wear.
For the pagans run
after these things.
Is not life more than meat,
the body more than clothes?
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness.
All these things
shall be given to you.
So do not worry about tomorrow.
For tomorrow will worry about itself.
What did you do that for?
I have 3 jobs...
Quiet...
Can't you wash? You stink.
Change your clothes.
It makes me sad
when you say these things.
You're my mother
but you get on my nerves.
But you're dear to me
and I worry about you.
I see that. Why did you do this?
I do care. Here, read this.
What for?
"Marriage shall be honourable
and the bed undefiled.
"But whoremongers and adulterers
God will judge."
You understand?
God will judge you, Mom.
You're growing up...
This isn't about me.
I'm not the one who got divorced.
"Unto the married
the Lord commands:
"let not the wife depart."
- Stop it!
- Wait, there's more.
Here...
"Whosoever shall put away his wife
"causes her to commit adultery."
Your father drove me mad,
you hear me?
He has a bastard, a scumbag!
That was your father!
Don't talk to me about adultery!
Yes, Mom.
You slept with your psychiatrist.
Not my psychiatrist.
And it's none of your business!
"There is nothing covered
that shall not be revealed."
- Venya...
- Mom!
God will judge you.
Can you imagine that? No.
No, you can't.
You think of hell
as pitchforks and frying pans.
Do you know
what the torture really is?
"The Son of Man
shall send forth his angels.
"They shall gather out of his kingdom
all things that offend
"and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire."
That's what it says there.
- It's not funny.
- Of course it isn't.
Of course it isn't funny.
"Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto thee." Please.
God has a beautiful plan for you.
Remember that.
It didn't come from me.
But you're in charge
of religious education.
We study basic Orthodox culture.
We talk about life and death,
the family, marriage...
And sex?
No, we don't talk about sex
because we study Orthodox culture.
I do nothing to subvert his mind.
But he...
He quotes the Bible all the time.
I see nothing wrong
with a young man...
a young man...
turning to Holy Scripture.
He's not turning to Holy Scripture.
He couldn't care less
about Holy Scripture.
He just wants to annoy me.
God moves in mysterious ways.
Don't give me that nonsense!
"God moves in mysterious ways..."
I used to have a normal teenager.
Now he's gone nuts!
He sits there preaching,
threatening me with hell,
saying it's God's punishment.
He said that?
Yes, because I divorced his father.
Hell isn't the nicest place.
You know, Father...
I wish he collected stamps
or jerked off all the time,
like normal boys his age do.
I'm afraid
I can't help you with that.
But if there's something
you're feeling guilty about
and you need to talk...
What guilt, Father?
Please.
- Are you happy?
- Of course not.
That's what I thought.
Why?
You have that look about you...
like a hunted beast.
Is it that obvious?
I have a trained eye.
That's my experience talking.
What should I do?
Pray.
I have no faith.
Venya tells me to pray every day.
You have more faith
than you think.
People who pray live longer.
It's been scientifically proven.
Really?
Come here.
- Were you baptized?
- How should I know?
My grandma must have had me baptized.
- But I don't go to church.
- I see.
Put your hands together,
palms upwards.
Like this.
And now what?
Now kiss it.
Kiss what?
My hand.
Now you can go.
Stop.
It wasn't me who blessed you,
it was God.
Go.
Enough talking.
Line up.
Hello.
Grisha. Where's your helmet?
It's because I was late.
Your helmet made you late?
No, if I'd walked.
What if you get hit by a truck
without a helmet?
It's no big deal.
Who told you that?
I don't have a helmet, that's all.
All right, I'll talk to your father.
Madam!
Please don't.
He says he'll buy me a helmet.
Then let him buy one!
- I still won't wear it.
- Why?
Because...
Hello, girls.
It makes me look like a retard.
And me?
How do I look?
On you it's OK.
Pass them on.
Pass them on to the others.
Quiet, Kudriashov!
Last week we talked
about different sexual orientations
and the related issues
of interpersonal relations.
You were telling us about men
sticking it up each other's ass!
- We had nothing to say.
- Are you finished?
Today, we'll be talking
about protecting yourself against
sexually transmitted diseases.
Did everyone get a carrot?
Now, then...
Condoms.
Can I have a couple?
I'm not doing this!
These idiots use them as balloons
and the rest of us know already.
God blessed them
and said unto them:
"Be fruitful
and replenish the earth."
He didn't say: "Fill condoms."
Are you done?
Now we're going to practice
so you know what to do.
Tear the wrapper open...
Not with your teeth,
you can damage the condom.
Yuzhin, what's going on?
You told us to practice.
Calm down!
In case I didn't make myself clear,
we're practicing on carrots.
They have nothing to do with it.
I warned you it wouldn't end well.
Can a carrot get you pregnant?
Or give you an STD?
This is rubbish!
Carrots have nothing to do with sex.
That depends!
My penis isn't a vegetable.
Here, I put it on. What now?
Calm down!
Why are you testing your vegetable
sexual fantasies on us?
"It is well for a man
not to touch a woman."
Get dressed.
If I see your phone again
I'll confiscate it.
It's good for a man
to touch a woman,
but he should wear a condom.
You're saying the Bible is lying?
I'm not interested in the Bible.
This is biology.
You're teaching rubbish.
Put a rubber on!
The Bible says...
I don't care. Get dressed!
"Let a woman learn in silence
with full submission.
"I permit no woman
to have authority over a man.
"For Adam was formed first,
then Eve.
"The woman was deceived
and became a transgressor,
"yet is saved through childbearing."
How can she do that
if no man has touched her?
How can she do it
if the man wears a condom?
You're teaching it
but you don't have a clue!
Come back immediately
and get dressed!
Yuzhin, get dressed!
Where are your underpants?
Where are your underpants?
I'm asking where his underpants are.
Here they are.
Get dressed, now!
Back to your seats.
In view of this situation...
Listen to me.
I must insist on the importance
of sex education...
There's no need!
Is anyone here married? No!
There's no need for sex education!
Can you explain why he's naked?
Ask him yourself!
She tells us
we should trust our instincts.
What instincts?
She's acting
as if there were no rules or laws.
She thinks we can stick anything
inside us,
and do it with men,
women, whatever!
But the Bible says
that these are abominations,
that those who practice homosexuality
deserve to die!
It says it very clearly:
faggots deserve to die!
Calm down!
That was 2,000 years ago.
We're living in the present,
with new rules.
What kind of rules,
if anything goes?
What rules come before
those laid down by God?
That'll do.
What interests me right now
is why you were naked.
To try on the condoms
she handed out to us.
You gave condoms
to the children?
She wanted us to practice.
What happens next?
We learn how to copulate correctly?
And the exam?
"Children, take out your penises."
Put your things away and go!
Class is over.
Put your things away.
The show is over.
Quickly!
Goodbye, madam.
The show is over.
Goodbye.
Get dressed!
You'll catch a cold.
This isn't just puberty.
I hope you realize
that boy has serious problems.
Let me decide
what I realize for myself.
What got into you?
Do you think
that playing around with...
sex toys
has anything to do with education?
They're not sex toys.
I don't care what you think
about same-sex practices,
but keep it to your own home!
That's your right!
But you have no right
to use the teaching process
in order to promote your own ideas!
I wasn't "using" anything.
Homosexuality is a normal part
of our reality.
Scientists are still undecided on that.
You shouldn't bring it
into a school class.
Scientists aren't undecided.
Animals have been shown
to have homosexual relationships.
I've heard that.
We're not animals!
They're children, not animals!
Off you go, Yuzhin.
Biologically, we're all mammals.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
It's my job to teach them reality
from a scientific viewpoint.
Is a carrot in a condom scientific?
Is sticking carrots
into condoms scientific?
That's not science.
It's dirty, filthy and vile!
It has nothing to do with science.
You're teaching biology to children.
So be so good as teach them,
in a theoretical way,
how the thing in question works.
What thing?
The organ... of sex.
The sex organs!
Yes, the genital apparatus.
The sex organs.
It's the same thing!
Teach them how it functions,
anatomically.
Everything has a Latin name.
Yes, there are Latin terms, diagrams...
So use those terms
and the corresponding diagrams.
I shouldn't have to tell you.
You're a biology teacher!
- And then?
- What?
What if, then,
one of them abandons his girlfriend
with a baby,
or gets infected, or infects her,
with an incurable STD,
because we miss our only chance
of explaining to them?
Elena...
Wait.
But, really, carrots...
Carrots!
What were you thinking?
No wonder the boy was confused
and frightened.
Hello, Madam Principal.
What are you doing here?
Get out and close the door!
Of course...
I appreciate
your progressive teaching methods,
but this time you went too far.
Consider this a warning.
- To me?
- Who else?
I wasn't the one getting naked
and preaching nonsense!
Thanks for that!
- Shut up!
- Change your tone!
Calm down, both of you!
Come now...
You really enjoy being so modern.
Open the windows!
Let some air in here.
You can go.
In the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit...
Bless me, Father. Irka...
Later.
Venya!
- Where do I put the bucket?
- Leave it there.
I wanted to tell you...
Veniamin...
I understand you perfectly.
What do you understand?
That you're protesting,
that you disagree with the way
you're being taught in school.
You're part of it.
Not completely.
I'm only a visitor here.
My home is the Church.
That's your problem.
Can I go now?
Listen, Venya...
The Church needs people like you.
You don't know what I'm like.
I do, I can see it.
You're the sort
who lives for his faith.
I don't live for my faith.
I'll die for it.
Golden words!
But you don't have to die right away.
There are many ways to serve God.
You know that's not true.
You have a comfortable position, eh?
Other religions make fun of us
because of that.
Other religions
have suicide bombers, martyrs,
who give their lives for their faith.
No Christian
does anything like that today.
It's because
you don't read the Bible.
You've created a convenient God
who forgives anything,
and you've settled for that.
But the Lord says:
"I have not come
to bring peace to the earth,
"I have come to bring the sword,
"to set a man against his father,
"to set a daughter
against her mother.
"One's foes are one's family."
Also...
"As for my enemies
who didn't want me to rule over them,
"slaughter them in my presence."
There's nothing at all
about "living for one's faith".
God has other plans for us.
"I came to bring fire to the earth.
I wish it were already kindled!"
You're absolutely right.
That's why you're exactly
the one we need.
What for?
What for?
For starters, I'd like you...
to read...
this brochure.
I don't need that, I have the Bible,
It's a sword
that cuts through people.
Some can withstand it, others fall.
Come and listen to the sermons...
Sermons?
Better to preach
in Chechnya or Afghanistan.
You'd be killed the very first day.
That doesn't matter.
"Those who lose their life
for my sake will save it."
And how many souls have you reached?
Two? Three?
There are thousands of us.
Millions.
That's not important.
Souls aren't a currency.
"There'll be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents
"than over 99 righteous people
who need no repentance."
Those who listen to your sermons
know nothing of God!
All they have to do
is open the Bible and read!
Venya...
This is your pride talking.
You're possessed by demons.
Demons!
I don't need your church.
What good is it?
With its old women, candles,
and Mercedes-driving priests!
Don't blaspheme.
The church is God's house.
God's? Does God need all that gold?
Or all these square meters?
The Bible says:
"God, who made the world
and everything in it,
"does not live in temples
made by man."
Thus speaks the Lord!
"Heaven is my throne
and earth is my footstool!
"The Son of Man came not
to be served but to serve,
"and to give his life
as ransom for the many."
That's what we pray for in our churches.
The Lord says:
"When you pray, be not like
the hypocrites, who love to pray
"in the synagogues
that they may be seen.
"Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward.
"But whenever you pray,
"go into your room and shut the door
"and pray to your Father in secret.
"And your Father,
who sees in secret, will reward you."
I don't know what you're praying for
or preaching.
We supposedly worship the same God,
but you clearly
haven't read his book.
Otherwise
you'd have left your churches,
canceled your sermons, and gone home
to pray to your Father,
who is in secret.
You're using God.
Venya!
You could've told me
you were bringing a friend.
Not a friend, he's a cripple.
Yes, it's true.
One of my legs
is shorter than the other.
Don't say things like that.
"When you give a dinner,
"don't invite your friends
"or your brothers or rich neighbours,
"in case they invite you in return
and you are repaid.
"When you give a banquet,
"invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame and the blind."
Sit down, Grisha.
"You'll be blessed
because they can't repay you."
That's great.
But we only have
two fish fillets for dinner.
And not enough potatoes
for three of us.
I don't really have to...
Don't listen to her.
The Lord fed 5,000 people with 2 fish.
There are only 3 of us.
- It'll be enough.
- It won't.
If it's not enough
it's because you have no faith.
I have more faith than you think.
But I demand
that you let me know
next time you invite someone
for dinner.
The Lord says:
"He who loves his parent
more than me isn't worthy of me."
You don't have to love me
more than your Lord,
but at least respect me.
"Whoever comes to me
and does not hate his parents,
"wife and children, brothers
and sisters, even life itself,
"cannot be my disciple."
Sorry.
OK, I'll try to hate you,
since your God requires it.
Grisha, say grace
and we'll start eating.
I could read out of the Bible too
and get on your nerves.
A thanksgiving prayer.
You should thank God
for giving us our daily bread.
I don't really know how.
You do it.
Don't be shy, Grisha.
Any food is a gift from God.
OK, then. My God...
Thank you for the food
you've given us.
Thanks for cooking
a delicious dinner.
It smells great.
The fish must be fantastic.
Grisha!
Thank you very much
for allowing me
to share this meal with you all.
And sorry. Next time we'll be sure
to give you some warning.
I had a chocolate bar, so...
Grisha, stop!
- Thank you.
- Stop it, I said!
What's wrong?
Everything!
Venya...
Are you ever afraid of anything?
No, because the Lord is with me.
Everything I do and say
comes directly from Him.
You're so strong.
I'd really like to be like you.
But I haven't come up
with anything like that.
The Lord says:
"Do not fear those who kill the body
"and after that can do nothing more.
"I'll warn you whom to fear.
"Fear him who, after he has killed,
has authority to cast into hell.
"Fear him!"
Do you want some tea?
Sure, Mom, tea.
Tea.
Grisha,
you're going to limp all your life,
until you die!
Then you'll rot,
unless you get your act together
and take the Lord's hand.
It's OK.
Now you're with me
they'll bully you even more.
But the Lord says:
"Blessed are you when people
revile you and persecute you
"and utter evil against you
on my account.
"Rejoice and be glad,
"for your reward is great in heaven."
The tea's ready!
Coming.
It's ready.
Are you coming?
I'm reading.
Reading...
You've been reading all week.
Elena...
Thanks, Oleg.
Hold on, just one second.
Elena, that's enough.
Just a second.
A student goes nuts
because of religion.
I understand, it's a problem.
But will it make things better
if you go nuts too?
I have to understand him.
"Have to"?
Look what it says here.
"Now there was leaning
on Jesus' bosom
"one of his disciples,
whom Jesus loved."
"Leaning on his bosom
one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved."
Elena...
Or here.
"Everyone will know
that you are my disciples,
"if you have love for one another."
Elena, enough!
No, look: "love for one another"!
Maybe the answer is simple.
What if Jesus was homosexual?
And his disciples
were a gay community,
who "had love" for one another?
You'll end up in jail.
I'm not making it up,
it's all written there.
Seriously, that's enough.
Get a fork and let's eat.
Put this thing out on the balcony.
I'll be right back.
It's not a "thing", it's a weight.
The fish is getting cold!
Yuzhin.
I think you did that
just so you could
get naked in front of me.
Yeah, that's right!
So I'd now imagine you naked,
whereas I'd never even thought
about it before;
and consider the possibility
of having sex with you and so on.
And so on, right!
I had a good look at you there.
Is that bad?
Am I a bad girl?
This is pointless.
I already knew your face.
But down there
you have quite a package, Venya.
I haven't thought about you
for a second.
I don't care about what men think,
only about what they want.
- You think they want you?
- Yes.
All men want me.
Except for me.
You more than anyone!
"You're from below, I'm from above.
You are of this world, I am not.
"I told you
that you would die in your sins."
I like that.
When you talk like that.
You can touch me here.
"He said to them:
I watched Satan fall from heaven.
"I've given you authority
to tread on snakes and enemies.
"Nothing can hurt you."
Or...
here.
"Whosoever shall offend
a little one that believes in me,
"it's better for him
that he were cast into the sea."
I'm not afraid of the sea.
I can put on a bikini... or not!
Stop it!
What's wrong, Venya?
You want to.
It won't hurt. Don't be scared.
I won't tell everyone what we did.
No one will know.
I'll know. That's enough for me.
I'll look at you preaching
and I'll know who you are,
inside and outside.
"All who believed
had all things in common.
"They sold their goods
and distributed the proceeds to all,
"as any had need."
As the Lord says...
"Do not store up treasures on earth,
where moth and rust consume,
"and where thieves
break in and steal.
"Take no gold, or silver,
or copper in your belts,
"no bag for your journey,
or two tunics, or sandals.
"Instead, strive for His kingdom.
"These things will be given to you.
"He has brought down the powerful,
"filled the hungry with good things,
"and sent the rich away empty.
"Woe to you who are rich!
"For you have received
your consolation.
"Woe to you who are full
for you'll be hungry."
Veniamin, that's enough.
Why are you laughing?
"Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will weep."
I see, but how is all this related
to industrialization?
It's directly related.
This is a sermon.
I was explaining why
there's no need for industrialization.
It is needed. It's a historical fact.
You are just an old and fallen woman.
You don't believe in anything.
I see, Yuzhin.
You can be very successful
as a clown.
But it won't help you now.
People used to believe in something.
But everything changed,
they needed money,
and they forgot about communism.
Now there's something
to believe in again.
You're trying so hard
to get everyone worked up.
But we won't.
Bad marks will get the better of you.
It won't cost us anything.
You're helping
with your ridiculous presentations.
You were completely off the subject.
Sit down. Zero!
Quiet!
Back to work.
Introduction to chapter 14.
Taking advantage
of the coming crisis,
Stalin announced a great change
and the arrival of socialism.
The country's enormous challenges,
demanding a centralization
of all forces,
led to the foundation
of a strict political regime,
mainly based on state terror.
We'll see how you do
in the exam, Tkacheva!
Yes, Stalin eliminated
those who opposed his regime.
However,
he did manage to engage the people
in the modernization process.
Your next presentations are:
"Stalin as an effective manager",
"Repression, fear and punishment",
and "Effective selection of cadres".
Can you repeat that last one?
No!
"Truly, I tell you,
the one who believes in me
"will do the works that I do
"and greater."
All right,
but I've been through a lot.
I believe in God. I'll heal you.
Venya, you have to understand,
that this is, you know, congenital.
They were testing the amniotic fluid
and pricked me in the leg.
They wanted to know
if I'd be disabled
and needed to be aborted.
So they pricked me
and that made me disabled!
It's because your parents sinned.
But you shouldn't pay for their sins.
I'll tell your leg to grow,
and it will grow.
But you must believe.
What are you doing?
Taking off my pants.
You're going to lay your hand
on my leg, right?
Yes, right. Take them off.
Shall I lie down?
I don't know.
Yes, lie down.
Sorry, can you help me?
What do I do?
You must believe.
O God...
Look at this leg...
The other one.
It's the other one that's shorter.
O God,
look at this leg.
Not that leg, this one.
See how it is shorter.
See how this man is suffering
for the sins of his father.
And mother.
That's the wording:
"sins of his father".
And now, God,
he'll address
You himself, for he believes in You.
And he will say: "Help me, God."
Go on, say: "Help me, God."
- Help me, please, God.
- Without "please".
Help me, God.
And I say to his leg...
Grow, leg!
Grow, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Grow and be as the other leg!
Be the same, straight and beautiful!
Grow, leg!
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Grow!
Grow, leg!
I don't feel anything.
You must believe.
I kind of believe.
Maybe it takes a bit of time.
It took the other leg
a while to grow.
We can try again tomorrow.
It'll work for sure tomorrow,
I promise.
Grisha...
What are you doing?
Where?
Here.
Nothing.
Take your arms away.
OK.
Give me your mark books and get out!
- Him again?
- Yes.
He incited them all to do this.
I'll tell your parents!
Get down from there!
Why do I always have to intervene?
Venya, stop it!
Good Lord! Really, Yuzhin!
What was this class on?
Evolution.
He refuses to accept it,
saying God created the world
in seven days.
Six!
Dinosaur fossils are fake
because they're not in the Bible,
vestigial organs
have unknown functions,
and atavisms aren't remnants
of stages of development,
but a punishment of the Lord,
as are all diseases.
The Bible says so!
We're not studying the Bible here,
but Darwin!
Wrongly!
We didn't evolve from monkeys.
Why don't you discuss this
with the holy father?
Why?
"Why?"
To teach children
both creation theories.
So they can choose
the one they prefer?
There's only one scientific theory.
It's proven.
The father isn't competent
to explain it.
Anyway, there was no creation.
No one created anything.
The world isn't a fixed creation.
It's constantly evolving.
It wasn't created in seven days
after the Big Bang.
Six days! Six!
On the seventh day God rested.
I think God rested
for the entire week.
Anyway, there were no days then.
That took nine billion years!
But you know nothing
about that, do you?
But tell me...
You mentioned the Big Bang.
What came before that?
We don't know.
Maybe another universe.
You just said it:
"We don't know."
Can't we accept
that we don't know everything,
rather than filling the vacuum
with a fairy tale?
So, Yuzhin...
Where was God before creation?
Sleeping?
Or was he away somewhere?
And who created God?
Does the Bible say? No.
There.
You really should talk to the father.
Instead of repeating to this child...
Look what he's doing!
Instead of repeating to him
that the Bible is all lies.
You could find a compromise.
Among other things,
the Bible says that bats are birds.
I can't give credit
to such stupidity.
It's just wrong.
Bats
fly perfectly.
In the broad sense
that means they're birds.
That's what the Bible means.
I see.
And the whale is a fish, right?
Because it lives in water.
And the sun turns around the earth
because that's what it looks like?
Where are you going to take us with this?
Back into the trees?
We never lived in the trees.
We're not apes.
You're going too far.
You're being too dogmatic.
It doesn't suit you.
What do you mean?
You've become bitter.
You're a clever woman. Think about it.
I don't understand you.
She doesn't understand.
Right! I don't understand you
and I don't want to!
There it is!
That's your nastiness coming out.
Anyway, I've warned you.
We'll have a constructive talk
with the father,
and invite everyone concerned.
We'll talk about the apes.
Take off the mask, you'll suffocate.
Everyone's free to go.
Goodbye.
Why do you stand there so shy?
So lacking in courage?
In the fields
My boots trample down the flowers
I see
You using that white photograph
To wipe your tears
My little girl
Why do you cry?
You are kind
and you're wrong to break your hands
My sweet
Have you never before seen
Wrists bound in handcuffs?
I can see
That happiness
has suddenly been snatched
From your hands,
so beautiful and soft
I can see
That your whole body
trembles and shivers
But your jailer
has turned away and gone silent
My little girl, why do you cry?
You are kind
and you're wrong to break your hands
My sweet
Have you never before seen
Wrists bound in handcuffs?
I know we shall never meet again
May God grant you,
if He exists and is just
May God grant you,
if He exists and is just
Ten years, as a wedding present
My little girl, why do you cry?
That's enough.
Shouldn't overdo it.
My sweet, have you never before seen
Wrists bound in handcuffs?
I'd do anything for God, even die.
And you?
Me too, then.
I'd do anything for you.
Good.
I've been thinking...
About what?
Thinking about what?
Someone's standing in our way.
Who's that?
Can't you guess?
Krasnova?
That's right, Grisha.
I thought of her right away.
Why does she stand in our way?
Because of biology?
- Know what kind of name Lvovna is?
- No.
It's a Jewish name.
She hates us because she's Jewish.
Maybe it's just her second name.
Like others have Petrovna
or Semionovna.
No, it's not "just" her name.
Think about it.
She's against me and my Christianity.
"There are many deceivers,
especially those of the circumcision.
"They must be silenced,
"for they teach for sordid gain
what it's not right to teach."
Is that in the Bible?
Yes!
And she's like that.
She's an idle talker,
a deceiver,
teaching what it's not right to teach.
That's why...
she should be silenced.
Venya, that's not right.
You and I are God's punishment.
We must silence her.
No, that really isn't right.
Remember she said that...
in the Stone Age
cripples didn't survive.
They were eaten by wild animals.
She meant that nature
would have rejected you.
Me?
Who else in our class is a cripple?
I've always thought she's nice.
No, she isn't.
Remember how she asked
if you could ski with us
or if you needed special equipment.
She wanted to reject you, Grisha.
What do you mean, "silence her"?
I don't know, but...
we have to do something...
to make her shut up for good.
Like what?
Something to make her understand
that God is not to be mocked.
Something, but what?
An accident that's pleasing to God.
With her motorbike.
Go on...
If her brakes failed.
How can it be done?
By unscrewing the nut
on the brake cable.
Guys! Clear off, OK?
My kid can't get to sleep.
- Sorry.
- We're not talking loud.
"It's a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of God."
Get the fuck away!
I left the key by the mirror.
What? I don't understand.
I've packed my stuff.
Why?
You didn't even notice.
What's happened?
Nothing's happened.
You're always reading the Bible.
You don't give a shit about me.
All right, I'll put it down.
What's going on, Oleg?
It's true, Elena.
This is ridiculous.
- Sit down so we can talk.
- No, that's enough!
I won't read any more today.
It's not just
that you're reading the Bible,
it's all you ever talk about!
Look at the wall. What's all this?
"No resurrection."
"Jesus wrongly believes
the world will soon disappear."
I'm sorry that you have no interest
in my interests.
It's not that I have no interest.
It's just scary.
- Don't be scared.
- Enough!
Just sit down and let's talk.
God's driven you nuts.
You think you're too educated
for religion?
But you can't live without it.
You're like a doctor
snorting coke to test it.
You've become a religion junkie.
You're wrong.
- Oleg.
- What?
Leave that thing.
You look like an idiot.
It's not a "thing", it's a weight.
Call me when you become normal again.
Father, give me strength.
I really need strength
because I have to hurt people
to make them praise You.
I will terrify them.
And I'll terrify myself.
My mother will cry.
Father...
Do you hear me, Father?
My leg didn't grow.
Maybe a little bit.
Is it possible we messed it up somehow?
The only thing that was wrong
was your faith.
No, my faith is OK.
Then the leg would have grown.
Do you have doubts, Grisha? Is that it?
For God's sake, Venya, of course not.
"Those who use my name in vain
shall not enter the kingdom of heaven."
Let's try it again, yeah?
There's no point if you doubt me.
I don't doubt you.
Venya, please!
Stop taking your pants off.
Lay on your hand
and talk to my leg, please.
In the name of the Lord,
grow, leg, grow!
It won't work.
I can feel the way you look at me.
You're far away from God.
I'm completely with you.
Sorry to interrupt.
No.
What are you doing here?
I wanted to talk to you.
What were you doing?
My leg's too short.
Venya was helping me make it longer.
Not only your leg! Now I understand.
- What do you understand?
- You're just a fag.
Me?
Yes, you're groping the cripple.
"Men shouldn't touch women,
no bikinis..."
No sex either.
Stop talking nonsense.
I thought it was me making you tense.
Shut your filthy mouth!
It was clean enough for kisses.
Not anymore?
- I'm warning you...
- I feel sorry for you.
There are hotter guys
than your cripple.
I feel sorry for you both.
Just don't forget
to put condoms on your carrots.
Shut up, you bitch!
Loser!
Don't you ever come close to me!
Do you understand?
Faggot!
Venya?
Are you making a cross?
Did somebody die?
Remember when you were little
and your little hare died?
Jorik was a rabbit.
Right. Jorik the rabbit.
Your father made a wooden cross.
Do you remember?
We buried it in the yard.
Your hare.
Your rabbit. Jorik.
Aren't you tired?
I talked to the father just recently.
He says you're gifted.
I've been talking to him a lot
just lately.
It's important to me.
"Woe also to you lawyers!
"You load people with burdens
grievous to be borne,
"and you touch not the burdens
with your fingers."
Right. He says lots of good things
about you.
I don't care.
Be careful.
I'll be gone soon
and won't be able to look after you.
Where are you going?
To my Father.
To your father?
He called me.
What did he do?
My Father is calling me.
And you'll just go to him like that?
"You should rejoice because I say
"I go to the Father,
who is greater than I."
If you only knew how happy I am!
But you know what'll happen?
He'll play with you,
then throw you away.
You won't fit into his life.
The same as me.
No one has ever managed to.
He'll chew you up
and spit you out, understand?
Do you understand?
Mom, keep out of it.
Get down.
Do you hear me, Yuzhin?
Get down.
And take down that thing.
Why?
Because this is a school,
not a church.
We don't put tools for torture
on the walls.
I see.
You can't stand to see the cross
because you're Jewish.
Because I'm Jewish?
What makes you think that?
The thing is...
You want us to think that
the world is a coincidence
and that there's no God.
You're a Jew and you hate Jesus.
Do you know
what the Bible says about Jews?
Do you?
The Bible says:
"Salvation is from the Jews."
That's a lie! A huge lie!
Saint John's Gospel, Chapter 4:
"Salvation is from the Jews."
Satan's talking through you.
Then Satan talks through the Bible.
God will punish you.
He'll send His angels
to overthrow you when you flee.
I'm going to take that down
when you've gone.
You're the one who'll leave
and never come back,
until God calls the living
and the dead on the Day of Judgment!
Give me your hand and get down.
"Get behind me, Satan!
"Your mind is not on things of God,
but on those of men."
Give me your hand.
"Away with you, Satan!
"You shall worship God,
and serve Him only."
I'm going to help you.
Come on, get down.
You're going to burn!
She touched me!
It's a bit lopsided.
She puts her helmet on
and starts her moped.
As usual. She starts driving.
She doesn't suspect a thing.
She reaches the crossroads
and brakes.
But in vain. The brakes don't work.
She gets hit by a jeep.
Her helmet is no use.
She's tossed onto the road.
Then she gets hit by a car.
You're laying it on thick.
Right.
But it's possible.
Want some?
Why hasn't it happened yet?
I don't know.
We have to wait a bit.
Maybe she hasn't had
to brake hard yet.
"The very hairs of your head
are numbered."
We'll wait.
This was a great idea, Grisha.
Well done.
I bless you.
Thanks.
So now...
I'm sort of your...
disciple, right?
Yes, my disciple.
Your favorite disciple?
Yes, my only favorite disciple.
What are you doing?
What?
I just thought...
- What? That God wouldn't see?
- I wasn't thinking.
"Neither is there any creature
that is not naked to his eyes."
And to mine!
Did you fall into Satan's clutches?
No. I just thought you wanted to.
How could I want to?
It is said:
"To lie with a man
is an abomination."
I know, Venya.
"Whosoever commits these abominations
shall be cut off from their people."
I know. Sorry.
Shut up. You'll be cut off.
You just said
I'm your favorite disciple.
I let you get close to me
but you're just a pervert.
No, I'm not.
I've done everything you told me.
I didn't tell you to kiss me!
Let's just say
it was a misunderstanding.
I should have guessed.
Guessed what? I never lied to you.
I prayed with you,
but there's only lust in your heart!
No. And I'm sure God
would have done the same.
- What?
- Yes.
Shut up!
No wonder your leg isn't growing.
It's God's punishment
for being a fag.
I won't do it again.
Get out of here! Go on!
Then you'll have to do it yourself.
Tamper with Krasnova's brakes.
What do you mean?
It's really dangerous.
You haven't done it?
She could really be killed.
You haven't done it, you traitor!
You don't want to kill her.
You don't know what I want!
You can't kill someone, Venya!
Shut up, Judas.
"Whoever isn't with me is against me.
"Whoever doesn't gather with me scatters."
Forgive me, Venya, please.
Stay where you are!
Read this.
Read it out loud!
"Almost all things
are by the law purged with blood.
"Without shedding of blood
is no remission."
Yuzhin, over the past few weeks
you've been doing
a lot of strange things.
But what bothers me
is your lack of progress
with your studies. Your marks.
They've never been outstanding,
but now you've really slipped.
- Can I say something?
- No.
We want to hear Yuzhin.
Well?
Say something.
What do you have to say?
If he makes that face,
it means he won't say anything.
Venya, please understand
that our intentions are good.
We wish you well
and want to help you.
He doesn't need your help.
He thinks the end of the world is coming
and we should get ready
for the Day of Judgment.
Maybe I could...
Yes.
Maybe you can find the right words.
I have several extracts with me.
"Times are hard and troubled now.
The enemy..."
The enemy!
"...has created a new weapon
to destroy the Church of Christ.
"He has sent
so-called science against it,
"but it is a false science.
"God's word
is replaced by a worldly one.
"And God's temples
are replaced by temples of vanity:
"theaters, circuses, exhibitions...
"Instead of God and the saints,
contemporaries are venerated:
"singers, writers, actors..."
Father...
Saint John of Kronstadt wrote that
years ago.
Times are hard so it's important
for every human being
who has that talent
to spread the word of God.
And to stay in the fold.
Venya, you know
the parable about the servant
who hid his talent in the earth.
And you know how it ends.
You too have a talent.
And God doesn't want you to hide it.
Father...
you've just mentioned his talent.
Yet for years
no one's cared about him.
What does talent have to do with it?
It has nothing to do with talent.
Your boy has launched a crusade.
Venya, you forgot your tools.
You can speak later.
We want to hear Yuzhin.
He could tell you
some of his anti-Semitic gems.
Anti-Semitic?
Why do you have resort to hyperbole?
Yes, anti-Semitic!
And it's not "hyperbole",
if we must get all highfaluting.
My son isn't anti-Semitic.
Elena, you should be careful
what you say.
I know what I'm talking about.
You're a grown woman, he's a kid.
He's just provoking you.
Are you going to lecture me?
You're embarrassing yourself.
If anyone's embarrassing me,
it's you.
Can you deal
with your private issues elsewhere?
- We're discussing a student.
- Sorry.
At least agree among yourselves
before you accuse my son.
You teachers are all arguing!
Whose example can he follow?
Please don't add to it.
If I were you, I'd keep out of it!
Elena!
Wait!
We work with children as they come
to us from their families.
We can't make candy
out of your piece of shit!
My son isn't a piece of shit,
he's a treasure!
Who do you think you are?
Your treasure attacked me
with anti-Semitic insults.
Elena, he's a kid.
Right, he's a kid.
This anti-Semitism...
Does it concern you?
Say what's on your mind!
How would it concern me?
Your origins
have made you sensitive about it.
You take it too much to heart.
What origins are they?
You have, I presume... Semitic blood.
So I'm Jewish?
Well, you are...
Say it straight!
Say it. She's a Jew!
Why don't you say it?
The Nazis had other words!
Get a grip on yourself.
It's you who should get a grip.
If I can calm things down a bit.
Look.
There's a new edition
of a wonderful paper
by Saint John Chrysostom.
I've made a few extracts.
They're open to discussion,
of course, but...
This is without reference
to Elena Lvovna.
This, for example...
"One should avoid
the company of Jews."
What are you doing?
It's not me!
"There's no difference
between a synagogue and a theater.
"The synagogue
is a dwelling of demons.
"A true Christian should not enter."
It's just to ease the tension a bit.
You should get a grip too.
No, carry on!
Read us some more, Father.
It's really interesting.
Or do some of your magic tricks.
Cast the devil out of him!
That'll do him good.
Veniamin,
you're a very determined young man.
The whole world is open to you,
but you're at an impasse.
Have I suggested that you join us?
Have I?
That offer still stands.
Venya, answer him.
What?
What did he just say?
She touched me.
Elena Lvovna touched me.
I did what?
She touched you?
What do you mean, "touched"?
How?
She touched my arms, my legs,
and down there, several times.
I...
No, I'll say no more.
Did you touch him?
I don't understand
what he's talking about.
He has serious problems.
Veniamin!
Why are you talking such nonsense?
Must he put up
with your advances?
Madam, I demand
that you bring her to her senses.
To my senses?
I'm the only one here
thinking straight.
The only one who's resisting.
He's hoodwinking you
and it's addling your brains.
He's infected you with
his pseudo-prophetical hysterics.
I understand now.
What do you understand?
Now I see why you've been
so obsessed for the last two weeks.
Obsessed? What do you mean? Explain.
For the past two weeks
all she's been able to think about
was the Bible and Yuzhin.
Yuzhin and the Bible.
Now I understand.
What do you understand?
Oleg, you're an idiot. I despise you.
Again!
What's wrong with you all?
Is it a conspiracy?
What is this?
What is it? Respect for religion?
There's the shepherd
and we're all sheep,
and he sits above
while we're down here, right?
But who chose him?
That's just it! No one chose him!
Look, it's a great idea
that there's a father
looking after everyone.
But it's only a great idea
when we're children,
until we've grown up.
A father who sees everything,
who punishes as he likes,
who's irrational and cruel!
Can't you see that
it's a totalitarian dictatorship?
Stop this immediately!
- She touched me.
- What?
We were alone
and she said we needed to talk.
She came close to me
so I climbed on the table.
She touched my leg.
I tried to get away,
but she held me firmly
and touched me.
She touched me...
here...
and there...
And there too.
I cried out, but she told me not to.
Then I started to pray
for God to forgive her.
"God, forgive her.
She knows not what she does.
"Forgive her, Lord,
"and have mercy on my mortal body.
"Forgive her so that she isn't cast
into the fire."
He really needs to have mercy
on your mortal body.
What did I do to you,
you bastard?
My God! What are you doing?
You all saw that.
She...
Slapped him!
Why don't you turn the other cheek?
Krasnova, stop it!
Now I really have touched him!
Enough, Krasnova!
Now it's definitely over, Elena.
The Bible says:
"For the Lord disciplines
those whom He loves,
"and chastises every child
whom He accepts.
"Do not spare the rod.
"The child will not die."
She is lying again!
Fight him with his own weapons.
You will not hit anyone anymore!
You're dismissed.
You're fired.
- Madam Principal...
- I warned you.
I warned you.
You've become a problem for all of us.
And now I have to...
Now I have to say what's on my mind.
You're a disgrace to the school.
A disgrace to the profession.
Collect your things
and get out of here!
Get out of here!
It'll be all right.
Well...
I'll pray for you.
Drink some water.
Drink some and calm down.
Take deep breaths.
He was perfectly normal.
There's been an accident.
What?
A student has died
of a cracked skull.
Who?
It ended up happening, Elena Lvovna.
I wasn't wearing a helmet.
He'll kill you too.
If not today, then tomorrow,
And nothing will happen to him.
It's so cold in my head.
The wind blows in it.
Elena Lvovna, have you finished?
...for that reason.
Hitting a student
in front of every...
I'm not going.
Go!
I'm staying.
I'll have you escorted.
Oleg, take her out.
Elena, stop it.
Call security. Go on, call them.
We'll call security.
Do you understand?
I'm not leaving here.
I'm not leaving here.
Because...
Because I belong here!
I'm here...
I'm here because I belong here!
And you don't!
I'm not leaving here because...
I belong here!
I'm not leaving.
I belong here.
But he doesn't!
Directed by
Kirill Serebrennikov
Based on Marius von Mayenburg's play,
Martyr
Viktoriya Isakova
Pyotr Skvortsov
Aleksandr Gorchilin
Yuliya Aug
Svetlana Bragarnik - Irina Rudnitskaya
Producers: Ilya Stewart
Diana Safarova - Yuriy Kozyrev
Cinematography
Vladislav Opelyants
Production design
Ekaterina Shcheglova
Costume design
Tatyana Dolmatovskaya
Make-up
Igor Boyko
Sound
Boris Voyt
Editing
Yuri Karikh
Music
Ilya Demutsky
Written and directed by
Kirill Serebrennikov
Do you have anything to tell me?
She told me
you've been bunking off for weeks.
That's not true.
I only bunk off for swimming.
Why?
You told her you have sinusitis?
Sinusitis!
Why are you lying?
Why?
Are you taking drugs?
Venya, are you on drugs?
OK.
You're going
to swimming class tomorrow.
That's not all.
You'll make up
what you've missed.
I'm not going again.
Can you write me a note?
What's the matter?
Are you afraid of drowning?
Tell your gym teacher
to let you swim by the side
if you're afraid of drowning.
It's not that.
Are you embarrassed about your body?
That's normal.
Nobody likes their own body.
But you have to do sport,
to stay in shape.
I don't care about my body.
- Are you ashamed of something?
- Like what?
I don't know.
Maybe...
Boys your age
sometimes
have uncontrollable erections.
Or maybe...
you're shy of changing
in the same room
as the other boys.
I don't have
uncontrollable erections.
Well, that's not good!
Not having uncontrollable erections.
You know...
You can always tell me
if something's wrong.
What shall I write in the note?
Just tell them:
"No swimming classes
because of uncontrollable erections."
You want to make a fool of me?
Tell them it's against my religion.
What?
Tell them swimming classes
are against my religion.
You don't have a religion.
How would you know?
It has to sound realistic.
Otherwise I'll look like an idiot.
Against your religion!
Nothing funny about that.
Did you get that off TV?
- But if it's against...
- No!
...my religion.
I've agreed to cover for you
but you're talking nonsense.
I'm not going to write that.
The girls!
I said no jumping!
No jumping!
Hi, Tkacheva.
Why aren't you in the water?
Go on!
Three lengths for you!
THE BIBLE
- I don't have time.
- What?
- Just so you know.
- I wasn't asking.
I don't have time today
or tomorrow.
We're going to the movies after.
Who with?
Katia,
Kostia.
Kostia!
Tomorrow we're going sunbathing.
I can't.
I have to read and you disturb me.
I don't even talk to you.
You talk all the time.
I have to concentrate.
Concentrate, then, jerk!
So what does it say?
"Samaria shall become desolate
for she has rebelled against her God.
"They shall fall by the sword,
their infants shall be
dashed in pieces
"and their women with child,
ripped up."
Nice!
The indignation of the Lord
is upon all nations,
and His fury upon all their armies.
He destroyed them utterly
and gave them to the slaughter.
The stench of their carcasses
will rise
and the mountains run
with blood.
The bullocks and the bulls
shall fall with them.
Their land shall be blood
and their dust made fat with fatness.
For the day of Jehovah's vengeance,
the year of retribution for Sion.
Don't I have enough problems?
Don't I have enough problems?
Say something!
Can't you swim in your trunks
like a normal person?
Are you listening to me at all?
Why won't you look up?
Do you hear what I'm saying,
you idiot?
Please...
This is because of taking drugs,
isn't it?
It's obvious!
He's a typical junkie!
Let's step outside for a minute.
I'm his mother and he won't talk to me.
That's normal.
But you...
You've got qualifications.
What are you qualified as?
Pedagogue. Psychologist.
Psychologist, perfect!
OK, psychologist.
Go and win his trust.
It's what you're paid for.
I don't even know
how many toes he's got!
Or if he finds the water so cold
he dives in with all his clothes on!
Look, I'm a single mom with 3 jobs.
You make me come to school
for no good reason
and keep asking me stupid questions.
As if my son's some kind of criminal!
It can't go on like this!
Stop summoning me to school
all the time!
What actually happened?
He won't wear trunks?
In the other class.
Make him put them on!
It's your school, not mine!
He doesn't want to swim?
Then make him!
That's what you're here for!
Or am I missing something here?
Let's all calm down, please.
No one's attacking you.
I should hope not!
That'll do.
That's enough.
What?
Mom...
I'm fucking sick to death of you!
Fuck!
It's you who makes me sick!
Calm down.
Fuck him!
Let go of me!
Stop it!
Well?
It's not the first time.
He arrives late and says
he was at the gynecologist's.
He keeps pushing it.
Sometimes provocation
is a cry for help.
Do you need help?
He doesn't need any help.
Madam,
could you please sign the inventory?
Yes, but quickly.
Excuse me.
What do you suggest?
Let him apologize
and swim a few additional lengths.
In his trunks, of course.
Luckily, no one got hurt.
The case is closed.
I won't apologize.
Yes, you will.
I didn't do anything wrong.
- You got it wrong, not me.
- Oleg, sit down.
"He that sent me is with me.
"He hath not left me alone.
I do what pleaseth Him."
Who sent you?
Stop this nonsense!
Calm down.
He never says hello.
The Lord says...
"Women shall wear modest apparel
"with shamefacedness and sobriety."
Not bikinis!
"...with good works,
"as becomes good, pious women."
That's why I'm declaring war
on depravity.
The Lord says:
"Whoever looks on a woman with lust
"has committed adultery
with her already in his heart."
It's a sin, Madam Principal.
I'm against such lechery,
and I'll no longer strip off,
for God says:
"He that rejects me
has one that judges him.
"The word that I have spoken
shall judge him in the last day."
Mummy's going to punish him now!
Move!
Go hide under mummy's skirt.
Guys, let me go!
I'm expected at home.
Is it OK for girls
to do swimming class in bikinis?
Wait...
What's wrong?
Yes, it's perfectly OK.
They're not yet aware
of their physical appeal.
Well...
It's like a game to them.
A game? Is that what we want?
Madam Principal,
that's not the point.
I don't approve of such games
among male members of staff.
Madam...
Stop it, I saw your little grin.
- What?
- Just then.
As we talked about games,
bikinis
and unconscious physical appeal.
I don't like that grin.
I didn't grin.
Here we are...
"Appropriate swimwear."
That's the way it's formulated.
It's all written down!
That's an excellent alternative.
No mention of the bikini at all.
Bikinis are awful.
Everything exposed, breasts falling out!
Yes, absolutely!
That's the way
the children should be dressed.
A full swimsuit.
Should I leave it for you?
Yes, of course.
Madam Principal.
I always wear a full swimsuit.
Do boys have to wear
full swimsuits too?
Don't overdo it.
No, really!
What if some smart girl asks me
why we've banned bikinis?
I thought you were the smart girl.
You'll be able to answer.
What class have I got now?
Class B.
I have no idea
how to explain this to the kids.
Stop nit-picking.
Is that a new hairdo?
No.
Your hair...
It's a new cut, isn't it?
No.
Why?
Is something bothering you?
A word of advice...
Try to look more modest.
You work in a school.
Fine.
Let's split!
Thugs! Hooligans!
Come on, up you get.
Tip it over. He can't get out.
Come on!
Go on, tip it!
Don't go breaking it!
Hang on, wait...
Go on, get out of there.
Don't forget your backpack.
Your backpack.
Here, take it.
Pick it up.
Don't hang about.
That's only because...
I can't fight back.
We're actually friends.
Some friends they are!
I wonder what it looks like
when they hate someone.
They hate you.
Because you don't want to be friends
with them and all that.
Grisha!
They'll pay
for what they've done to you.
"The axe is laid
unto the root of the tree.
"Every tree which brings not forth
good fruit is hewn down
"and cast into the fire."
Here we go!
One...
two...
three...
four...
What are you doing?
Legs together. I'll show you.
Sir!
Come on, Tkacheva.
That's good.
Don't just drop.
Hold your stomach tight.
That's good. Carry on.
Sir...
Don't just drop back.
That's good.
Wait!
Oleg, you see that?
That's daring.
Really daring.
It's not that simple.
He really wants to hurt us.
We must have offended him.
- I offended him?
- Yes.
You must have done something
unwittingly.
What do you care, Lena?
What?
Move over.
Go on, move over, that's my spot.
I didn't have
this much muscle before.
Where?
Here, look.
I'm serious.
Feel my pecs.
They're not what turned me on.
Hello, madam.
Hello, sir.
Hi, Tkacheva.
Move along,
there's nothing to see here.
Something hurt him.
So he's hurting us back.
I don't care.
Of course you don't.
You never care about anything.
Puberty is
a temporary mental disorder,
I don't want it to become permanent.
Cut it out, there are kids all around!
Are you crazy?
Let's go.
Therefore I say to you,
do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
nor about your body,
what to wear.
For the pagans run
after these things.
Is not life more than meat,
the body more than clothes?
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness.
All these things
shall be given to you.
So do not worry about tomorrow.
For tomorrow will worry about itself.
What did you do that for?
I have 3 jobs...
Quiet...
Can't you wash? You stink.
Change your clothes.
It makes me sad
when you say these things.
You're my mother
but you get on my nerves.
But you're dear to me
and I worry about you.
I see that. Why did you do this?
I do care. Here, read this.
What for?
"Marriage shall be honourable
and the bed undefiled.
"But whoremongers and adulterers
God will judge."
You understand?
God will judge you, Mom.
You're growing up...
This isn't about me.
I'm not the one who got divorced.
"Unto the married
the Lord commands:
"let not the wife depart."
- Stop it!
- Wait, there's more.
Here...
"Whosoever shall put away his wife
"causes her to commit adultery."
Your father drove me mad,
you hear me?
He has a bastard, a scumbag!
That was your father!
Don't talk to me about adultery!
Yes, Mom.
You slept with your psychiatrist.
Not my psychiatrist.
And it's none of your business!
"There is nothing covered
that shall not be revealed."
- Venya...
- Mom!
God will judge you.
Can you imagine that? No.
No, you can't.
You think of hell
as pitchforks and frying pans.
Do you know
what the torture really is?
"The Son of Man
shall send forth his angels.
"They shall gather out of his kingdom
all things that offend
"and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire."
That's what it says there.
- It's not funny.
- Of course it isn't.
Of course it isn't funny.
"Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto thee." Please.
God has a beautiful plan for you.
Remember that.
It didn't come from me.
But you're in charge
of religious education.
We study basic Orthodox culture.
We talk about life and death,
the family, marriage...
And sex?
No, we don't talk about sex
because we study Orthodox culture.
I do nothing to subvert his mind.
But he...
He quotes the Bible all the time.
I see nothing wrong
with a young man...
a young man...
turning to Holy Scripture.
He's not turning to Holy Scripture.
He couldn't care less
about Holy Scripture.
He just wants to annoy me.
God moves in mysterious ways.
Don't give me that nonsense!
"God moves in mysterious ways..."
I used to have a normal teenager.
Now he's gone nuts!
He sits there preaching,
threatening me with hell,
saying it's God's punishment.
He said that?
Yes, because I divorced his father.
Hell isn't the nicest place.
You know, Father...
I wish he collected stamps
or jerked off all the time,
like normal boys his age do.
I'm afraid
I can't help you with that.
But if there's something
you're feeling guilty about
and you need to talk...
What guilt, Father?
Please.
- Are you happy?
- Of course not.
That's what I thought.
Why?
You have that look about you...
like a hunted beast.
Is it that obvious?
I have a trained eye.
That's my experience talking.
What should I do?
Pray.
I have no faith.
Venya tells me to pray every day.
You have more faith
than you think.
People who pray live longer.
It's been scientifically proven.
Really?
Come here.
- Were you baptized?
- How should I know?
My grandma must have had me baptized.
- But I don't go to church.
- I see.
Put your hands together,
palms upwards.
Like this.
And now what?
Now kiss it.
Kiss what?
My hand.
Now you can go.
Stop.
It wasn't me who blessed you,
it was God.
Go.
Enough talking.
Line up.
Hello.
Grisha. Where's your helmet?
It's because I was late.
Your helmet made you late?
No, if I'd walked.
What if you get hit by a truck
without a helmet?
It's no big deal.
Who told you that?
I don't have a helmet, that's all.
All right, I'll talk to your father.
Madam!
Please don't.
He says he'll buy me a helmet.
Then let him buy one!
- I still won't wear it.
- Why?
Because...
Hello, girls.
It makes me look like a retard.
And me?
How do I look?
On you it's OK.
Pass them on.
Pass them on to the others.
Quiet, Kudriashov!
Last week we talked
about different sexual orientations
and the related issues
of interpersonal relations.
You were telling us about men
sticking it up each other's ass!
- We had nothing to say.
- Are you finished?
Today, we'll be talking
about protecting yourself against
sexually transmitted diseases.
Did everyone get a carrot?
Now, then...
Condoms.
Can I have a couple?
I'm not doing this!
These idiots use them as balloons
and the rest of us know already.
God blessed them
and said unto them:
"Be fruitful
and replenish the earth."
He didn't say: "Fill condoms."
Are you done?
Now we're going to practice
so you know what to do.
Tear the wrapper open...
Not with your teeth,
you can damage the condom.
Yuzhin, what's going on?
You told us to practice.
Calm down!
In case I didn't make myself clear,
we're practicing on carrots.
They have nothing to do with it.
I warned you it wouldn't end well.
Can a carrot get you pregnant?
Or give you an STD?
This is rubbish!
Carrots have nothing to do with sex.
That depends!
My penis isn't a vegetable.
Here, I put it on. What now?
Calm down!
Why are you testing your vegetable
sexual fantasies on us?
"It is well for a man
not to touch a woman."
Get dressed.
If I see your phone again
I'll confiscate it.
It's good for a man
to touch a woman,
but he should wear a condom.
You're saying the Bible is lying?
I'm not interested in the Bible.
This is biology.
You're teaching rubbish.
Put a rubber on!
The Bible says...
I don't care. Get dressed!
"Let a woman learn in silence
with full submission.
"I permit no woman
to have authority over a man.
"For Adam was formed first,
then Eve.
"The woman was deceived
and became a transgressor,
"yet is saved through childbearing."
How can she do that
if no man has touched her?
How can she do it
if the man wears a condom?
You're teaching it
but you don't have a clue!
Come back immediately
and get dressed!
Yuzhin, get dressed!
Where are your underpants?
Where are your underpants?
I'm asking where his underpants are.
Here they are.
Get dressed, now!
Back to your seats.
In view of this situation...
Listen to me.
I must insist on the importance
of sex education...
There's no need!
Is anyone here married? No!
There's no need for sex education!
Can you explain why he's naked?
Ask him yourself!
She tells us
we should trust our instincts.
What instincts?
She's acting
as if there were no rules or laws.
She thinks we can stick anything
inside us,
and do it with men,
women, whatever!
But the Bible says
that these are abominations,
that those who practice homosexuality
deserve to die!
It says it very clearly:
faggots deserve to die!
Calm down!
That was 2,000 years ago.
We're living in the present,
with new rules.
What kind of rules,
if anything goes?
What rules come before
those laid down by God?
That'll do.
What interests me right now
is why you were naked.
To try on the condoms
she handed out to us.
You gave condoms
to the children?
She wanted us to practice.
What happens next?
We learn how to copulate correctly?
And the exam?
"Children, take out your penises."
Put your things away and go!
Class is over.
Put your things away.
The show is over.
Quickly!
Goodbye, madam.
The show is over.
Goodbye.
Get dressed!
You'll catch a cold.
This isn't just puberty.
I hope you realize
that boy has serious problems.
Let me decide
what I realize for myself.
What got into you?
Do you think
that playing around with...
sex toys
has anything to do with education?
They're not sex toys.
I don't care what you think
about same-sex practices,
but keep it to your own home!
That's your right!
But you have no right
to use the teaching process
in order to promote your own ideas!
I wasn't "using" anything.
Homosexuality is a normal part
of our reality.
Scientists are still undecided on that.
You shouldn't bring it
into a school class.
Scientists aren't undecided.
Animals have been shown
to have homosexual relationships.
I've heard that.
We're not animals!
They're children, not animals!
Off you go, Yuzhin.
Biologically, we're all mammals.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
It's my job to teach them reality
from a scientific viewpoint.
Is a carrot in a condom scientific?
Is sticking carrots
into condoms scientific?
That's not science.
It's dirty, filthy and vile!
It has nothing to do with science.
You're teaching biology to children.
So be so good as teach them,
in a theoretical way,
how the thing in question works.
What thing?
The organ... of sex.
The sex organs!
Yes, the genital apparatus.
The sex organs.
It's the same thing!
Teach them how it functions,
anatomically.
Everything has a Latin name.
Yes, there are Latin terms, diagrams...
So use those terms
and the corresponding diagrams.
I shouldn't have to tell you.
You're a biology teacher!
- And then?
- What?
What if, then,
one of them abandons his girlfriend
with a baby,
or gets infected, or infects her,
with an incurable STD,
because we miss our only chance
of explaining to them?
Elena...
Wait.
But, really, carrots...
Carrots!
What were you thinking?
No wonder the boy was confused
and frightened.
Hello, Madam Principal.
What are you doing here?
Get out and close the door!
Of course...
I appreciate
your progressive teaching methods,
but this time you went too far.
Consider this a warning.
- To me?
- Who else?
I wasn't the one getting naked
and preaching nonsense!
Thanks for that!
- Shut up!
- Change your tone!
Calm down, both of you!
Come now...
You really enjoy being so modern.
Open the windows!
Let some air in here.
You can go.
In the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit...
Bless me, Father. Irka...
Later.
Venya!
- Where do I put the bucket?
- Leave it there.
I wanted to tell you...
Veniamin...
I understand you perfectly.
What do you understand?
That you're protesting,
that you disagree with the way
you're being taught in school.
You're part of it.
Not completely.
I'm only a visitor here.
My home is the Church.
That's your problem.
Can I go now?
Listen, Venya...
The Church needs people like you.
You don't know what I'm like.
I do, I can see it.
You're the sort
who lives for his faith.
I don't live for my faith.
I'll die for it.
Golden words!
But you don't have to die right away.
There are many ways to serve God.
You know that's not true.
You have a comfortable position, eh?
Other religions make fun of us
because of that.
Other religions
have suicide bombers, martyrs,
who give their lives for their faith.
No Christian
does anything like that today.
It's because
you don't read the Bible.
You've created a convenient God
who forgives anything,
and you've settled for that.
But the Lord says:
"I have not come
to bring peace to the earth,
"I have come to bring the sword,
"to set a man against his father,
"to set a daughter
against her mother.
"One's foes are one's family."
Also...
"As for my enemies
who didn't want me to rule over them,
"slaughter them in my presence."
There's nothing at all
about "living for one's faith".
God has other plans for us.
"I came to bring fire to the earth.
I wish it were already kindled!"
You're absolutely right.
That's why you're exactly
the one we need.
What for?
What for?
For starters, I'd like you...
to read...
this brochure.
I don't need that, I have the Bible,
It's a sword
that cuts through people.
Some can withstand it, others fall.
Come and listen to the sermons...
Sermons?
Better to preach
in Chechnya or Afghanistan.
You'd be killed the very first day.
That doesn't matter.
"Those who lose their life
for my sake will save it."
And how many souls have you reached?
Two? Three?
There are thousands of us.
Millions.
That's not important.
Souls aren't a currency.
"There'll be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents
"than over 99 righteous people
who need no repentance."
Those who listen to your sermons
know nothing of God!
All they have to do
is open the Bible and read!
Venya...
This is your pride talking.
You're possessed by demons.
Demons!
I don't need your church.
What good is it?
With its old women, candles,
and Mercedes-driving priests!
Don't blaspheme.
The church is God's house.
God's? Does God need all that gold?
Or all these square meters?
The Bible says:
"God, who made the world
and everything in it,
"does not live in temples
made by man."
Thus speaks the Lord!
"Heaven is my throne
and earth is my footstool!
"The Son of Man came not
to be served but to serve,
"and to give his life
as ransom for the many."
That's what we pray for in our churches.
The Lord says:
"When you pray, be not like
the hypocrites, who love to pray
"in the synagogues
that they may be seen.
"Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward.
"But whenever you pray,
"go into your room and shut the door
"and pray to your Father in secret.
"And your Father,
who sees in secret, will reward you."
I don't know what you're praying for
or preaching.
We supposedly worship the same God,
but you clearly
haven't read his book.
Otherwise
you'd have left your churches,
canceled your sermons, and gone home
to pray to your Father,
who is in secret.
You're using God.
Venya!
You could've told me
you were bringing a friend.
Not a friend, he's a cripple.
Yes, it's true.
One of my legs
is shorter than the other.
Don't say things like that.
"When you give a dinner,
"don't invite your friends
"or your brothers or rich neighbours,
"in case they invite you in return
and you are repaid.
"When you give a banquet,
"invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame and the blind."
Sit down, Grisha.
"You'll be blessed
because they can't repay you."
That's great.
But we only have
two fish fillets for dinner.
And not enough potatoes
for three of us.
I don't really have to...
Don't listen to her.
The Lord fed 5,000 people with 2 fish.
There are only 3 of us.
- It'll be enough.
- It won't.
If it's not enough
it's because you have no faith.
I have more faith than you think.
But I demand
that you let me know
next time you invite someone
for dinner.
The Lord says:
"He who loves his parent
more than me isn't worthy of me."
You don't have to love me
more than your Lord,
but at least respect me.
"Whoever comes to me
and does not hate his parents,
"wife and children, brothers
and sisters, even life itself,
"cannot be my disciple."
Sorry.
OK, I'll try to hate you,
since your God requires it.
Grisha, say grace
and we'll start eating.
I could read out of the Bible too
and get on your nerves.
A thanksgiving prayer.
You should thank God
for giving us our daily bread.
I don't really know how.
You do it.
Don't be shy, Grisha.
Any food is a gift from God.
OK, then. My God...
Thank you for the food
you've given us.
Thanks for cooking
a delicious dinner.
It smells great.
The fish must be fantastic.
Grisha!
Thank you very much
for allowing me
to share this meal with you all.
And sorry. Next time we'll be sure
to give you some warning.
I had a chocolate bar, so...
Grisha, stop!
- Thank you.
- Stop it, I said!
What's wrong?
Everything!
Venya...
Are you ever afraid of anything?
No, because the Lord is with me.
Everything I do and say
comes directly from Him.
You're so strong.
I'd really like to be like you.
But I haven't come up
with anything like that.
The Lord says:
"Do not fear those who kill the body
"and after that can do nothing more.
"I'll warn you whom to fear.
"Fear him who, after he has killed,
has authority to cast into hell.
"Fear him!"
Do you want some tea?
Sure, Mom, tea.
Tea.
Grisha,
you're going to limp all your life,
until you die!
Then you'll rot,
unless you get your act together
and take the Lord's hand.
It's OK.
Now you're with me
they'll bully you even more.
But the Lord says:
"Blessed are you when people
revile you and persecute you
"and utter evil against you
on my account.
"Rejoice and be glad,
"for your reward is great in heaven."
The tea's ready!
Coming.
It's ready.
Are you coming?
I'm reading.
Reading...
You've been reading all week.
Elena...
Thanks, Oleg.
Hold on, just one second.
Elena, that's enough.
Just a second.
A student goes nuts
because of religion.
I understand, it's a problem.
But will it make things better
if you go nuts too?
I have to understand him.
"Have to"?
Look what it says here.
"Now there was leaning
on Jesus' bosom
"one of his disciples,
whom Jesus loved."
"Leaning on his bosom
one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved."
Elena...
Or here.
"Everyone will know
that you are my disciples,
"if you have love for one another."
Elena, enough!
No, look: "love for one another"!
Maybe the answer is simple.
What if Jesus was homosexual?
And his disciples
were a gay community,
who "had love" for one another?
You'll end up in jail.
I'm not making it up,
it's all written there.
Seriously, that's enough.
Get a fork and let's eat.
Put this thing out on the balcony.
I'll be right back.
It's not a "thing", it's a weight.
The fish is getting cold!
Yuzhin.
I think you did that
just so you could
get naked in front of me.
Yeah, that's right!
So I'd now imagine you naked,
whereas I'd never even thought
about it before;
and consider the possibility
of having sex with you and so on.
And so on, right!
I had a good look at you there.
Is that bad?
Am I a bad girl?
This is pointless.
I already knew your face.
But down there
you have quite a package, Venya.
I haven't thought about you
for a second.
I don't care about what men think,
only about what they want.
- You think they want you?
- Yes.
All men want me.
Except for me.
You more than anyone!
"You're from below, I'm from above.
You are of this world, I am not.
"I told you
that you would die in your sins."
I like that.
When you talk like that.
You can touch me here.
"He said to them:
I watched Satan fall from heaven.
"I've given you authority
to tread on snakes and enemies.
"Nothing can hurt you."
Or...
here.
"Whosoever shall offend
a little one that believes in me,
"it's better for him
that he were cast into the sea."
I'm not afraid of the sea.
I can put on a bikini... or not!
Stop it!
What's wrong, Venya?
You want to.
It won't hurt. Don't be scared.
I won't tell everyone what we did.
No one will know.
I'll know. That's enough for me.
I'll look at you preaching
and I'll know who you are,
inside and outside.
"All who believed
had all things in common.
"They sold their goods
and distributed the proceeds to all,
"as any had need."
As the Lord says...
"Do not store up treasures on earth,
where moth and rust consume,
"and where thieves
break in and steal.
"Take no gold, or silver,
or copper in your belts,
"no bag for your journey,
or two tunics, or sandals.
"Instead, strive for His kingdom.
"These things will be given to you.
"He has brought down the powerful,
"filled the hungry with good things,
"and sent the rich away empty.
"Woe to you who are rich!
"For you have received
your consolation.
"Woe to you who are full
for you'll be hungry."
Veniamin, that's enough.
Why are you laughing?
"Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will weep."
I see, but how is all this related
to industrialization?
It's directly related.
This is a sermon.
I was explaining why
there's no need for industrialization.
It is needed. It's a historical fact.
You are just an old and fallen woman.
You don't believe in anything.
I see, Yuzhin.
You can be very successful
as a clown.
But it won't help you now.
People used to believe in something.
But everything changed,
they needed money,
and they forgot about communism.
Now there's something
to believe in again.
You're trying so hard
to get everyone worked up.
But we won't.
Bad marks will get the better of you.
It won't cost us anything.
You're helping
with your ridiculous presentations.
You were completely off the subject.
Sit down. Zero!
Quiet!
Back to work.
Introduction to chapter 14.
Taking advantage
of the coming crisis,
Stalin announced a great change
and the arrival of socialism.
The country's enormous challenges,
demanding a centralization
of all forces,
led to the foundation
of a strict political regime,
mainly based on state terror.
We'll see how you do
in the exam, Tkacheva!
Yes, Stalin eliminated
those who opposed his regime.
However,
he did manage to engage the people
in the modernization process.
Your next presentations are:
"Stalin as an effective manager",
"Repression, fear and punishment",
and "Effective selection of cadres".
Can you repeat that last one?
No!
"Truly, I tell you,
the one who believes in me
"will do the works that I do
"and greater."
All right,
but I've been through a lot.
I believe in God. I'll heal you.
Venya, you have to understand,
that this is, you know, congenital.
They were testing the amniotic fluid
and pricked me in the leg.
They wanted to know
if I'd be disabled
and needed to be aborted.
So they pricked me
and that made me disabled!
It's because your parents sinned.
But you shouldn't pay for their sins.
I'll tell your leg to grow,
and it will grow.
But you must believe.
What are you doing?
Taking off my pants.
You're going to lay your hand
on my leg, right?
Yes, right. Take them off.
Shall I lie down?
I don't know.
Yes, lie down.
Sorry, can you help me?
What do I do?
You must believe.
O God...
Look at this leg...
The other one.
It's the other one that's shorter.
O God,
look at this leg.
Not that leg, this one.
See how it is shorter.
See how this man is suffering
for the sins of his father.
And mother.
That's the wording:
"sins of his father".
And now, God,
he'll address
You himself, for he believes in You.
And he will say: "Help me, God."
Go on, say: "Help me, God."
- Help me, please, God.
- Without "please".
Help me, God.
And I say to his leg...
Grow, leg!
Grow, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Grow and be as the other leg!
Be the same, straight and beautiful!
Grow, leg!
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Grow!
Grow, leg!
I don't feel anything.
You must believe.
I kind of believe.
Maybe it takes a bit of time.
It took the other leg
a while to grow.
We can try again tomorrow.
It'll work for sure tomorrow,
I promise.
Grisha...
What are you doing?
Where?
Here.
Nothing.
Take your arms away.
OK.
Give me your mark books and get out!
- Him again?
- Yes.
He incited them all to do this.
I'll tell your parents!
Get down from there!
Why do I always have to intervene?
Venya, stop it!
Good Lord! Really, Yuzhin!
What was this class on?
Evolution.
He refuses to accept it,
saying God created the world
in seven days.
Six!
Dinosaur fossils are fake
because they're not in the Bible,
vestigial organs
have unknown functions,
and atavisms aren't remnants
of stages of development,
but a punishment of the Lord,
as are all diseases.
The Bible says so!
We're not studying the Bible here,
but Darwin!
Wrongly!
We didn't evolve from monkeys.
Why don't you discuss this
with the holy father?
Why?
"Why?"
To teach children
both creation theories.
So they can choose
the one they prefer?
There's only one scientific theory.
It's proven.
The father isn't competent
to explain it.
Anyway, there was no creation.
No one created anything.
The world isn't a fixed creation.
It's constantly evolving.
It wasn't created in seven days
after the Big Bang.
Six days! Six!
On the seventh day God rested.
I think God rested
for the entire week.
Anyway, there were no days then.
That took nine billion years!
But you know nothing
about that, do you?
But tell me...
You mentioned the Big Bang.
What came before that?
We don't know.
Maybe another universe.
You just said it:
"We don't know."
Can't we accept
that we don't know everything,
rather than filling the vacuum
with a fairy tale?
So, Yuzhin...
Where was God before creation?
Sleeping?
Or was he away somewhere?
And who created God?
Does the Bible say? No.
There.
You really should talk to the father.
Instead of repeating to this child...
Look what he's doing!
Instead of repeating to him
that the Bible is all lies.
You could find a compromise.
Among other things,
the Bible says that bats are birds.
I can't give credit
to such stupidity.
It's just wrong.
Bats
fly perfectly.
In the broad sense
that means they're birds.
That's what the Bible means.
I see.
And the whale is a fish, right?
Because it lives in water.
And the sun turns around the earth
because that's what it looks like?
Where are you going to take us with this?
Back into the trees?
We never lived in the trees.
We're not apes.
You're going too far.
You're being too dogmatic.
It doesn't suit you.
What do you mean?
You've become bitter.
You're a clever woman. Think about it.
I don't understand you.
She doesn't understand.
Right! I don't understand you
and I don't want to!
There it is!
That's your nastiness coming out.
Anyway, I've warned you.
We'll have a constructive talk
with the father,
and invite everyone concerned.
We'll talk about the apes.
Take off the mask, you'll suffocate.
Everyone's free to go.
Goodbye.
Why do you stand there so shy?
So lacking in courage?
In the fields
My boots trample down the flowers
I see
You using that white photograph
To wipe your tears
My little girl
Why do you cry?
You are kind
and you're wrong to break your hands
My sweet
Have you never before seen
Wrists bound in handcuffs?
I can see
That happiness
has suddenly been snatched
From your hands,
so beautiful and soft
I can see
That your whole body
trembles and shivers
But your jailer
has turned away and gone silent
My little girl, why do you cry?
You are kind
and you're wrong to break your hands
My sweet
Have you never before seen
Wrists bound in handcuffs?
I know we shall never meet again
May God grant you,
if He exists and is just
May God grant you,
if He exists and is just
Ten years, as a wedding present
My little girl, why do you cry?
That's enough.
Shouldn't overdo it.
My sweet, have you never before seen
Wrists bound in handcuffs?
I'd do anything for God, even die.
And you?
Me too, then.
I'd do anything for you.
Good.
I've been thinking...
About what?
Thinking about what?
Someone's standing in our way.
Who's that?
Can't you guess?
Krasnova?
That's right, Grisha.
I thought of her right away.
Why does she stand in our way?
Because of biology?
- Know what kind of name Lvovna is?
- No.
It's a Jewish name.
She hates us because she's Jewish.
Maybe it's just her second name.
Like others have Petrovna
or Semionovna.
No, it's not "just" her name.
Think about it.
She's against me and my Christianity.
"There are many deceivers,
especially those of the circumcision.
"They must be silenced,
"for they teach for sordid gain
what it's not right to teach."
Is that in the Bible?
Yes!
And she's like that.
She's an idle talker,
a deceiver,
teaching what it's not right to teach.
That's why...
she should be silenced.
Venya, that's not right.
You and I are God's punishment.
We must silence her.
No, that really isn't right.
Remember she said that...
in the Stone Age
cripples didn't survive.
They were eaten by wild animals.
She meant that nature
would have rejected you.
Me?
Who else in our class is a cripple?
I've always thought she's nice.
No, she isn't.
Remember how she asked
if you could ski with us
or if you needed special equipment.
She wanted to reject you, Grisha.
What do you mean, "silence her"?
I don't know, but...
we have to do something...
to make her shut up for good.
Like what?
Something to make her understand
that God is not to be mocked.
Something, but what?
An accident that's pleasing to God.
With her motorbike.
Go on...
If her brakes failed.
How can it be done?
By unscrewing the nut
on the brake cable.
Guys! Clear off, OK?
My kid can't get to sleep.
- Sorry.
- We're not talking loud.
"It's a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of God."
Get the fuck away!
I left the key by the mirror.
What? I don't understand.
I've packed my stuff.
Why?
You didn't even notice.
What's happened?
Nothing's happened.
You're always reading the Bible.
You don't give a shit about me.
All right, I'll put it down.
What's going on, Oleg?
It's true, Elena.
This is ridiculous.
- Sit down so we can talk.
- No, that's enough!
I won't read any more today.
It's not just
that you're reading the Bible,
it's all you ever talk about!
Look at the wall. What's all this?
"No resurrection."
"Jesus wrongly believes
the world will soon disappear."
I'm sorry that you have no interest
in my interests.
It's not that I have no interest.
It's just scary.
- Don't be scared.
- Enough!
Just sit down and let's talk.
God's driven you nuts.
You think you're too educated
for religion?
But you can't live without it.
You're like a doctor
snorting coke to test it.
You've become a religion junkie.
You're wrong.
- Oleg.
- What?
Leave that thing.
You look like an idiot.
It's not a "thing", it's a weight.
Call me when you become normal again.
Father, give me strength.
I really need strength
because I have to hurt people
to make them praise You.
I will terrify them.
And I'll terrify myself.
My mother will cry.
Father...
Do you hear me, Father?
My leg didn't grow.
Maybe a little bit.
Is it possible we messed it up somehow?
The only thing that was wrong
was your faith.
No, my faith is OK.
Then the leg would have grown.
Do you have doubts, Grisha? Is that it?
For God's sake, Venya, of course not.
"Those who use my name in vain
shall not enter the kingdom of heaven."
Let's try it again, yeah?
There's no point if you doubt me.
I don't doubt you.
Venya, please!
Stop taking your pants off.
Lay on your hand
and talk to my leg, please.
In the name of the Lord,
grow, leg, grow!
It won't work.
I can feel the way you look at me.
You're far away from God.
I'm completely with you.
Sorry to interrupt.
No.
What are you doing here?
I wanted to talk to you.
What were you doing?
My leg's too short.
Venya was helping me make it longer.
Not only your leg! Now I understand.
- What do you understand?
- You're just a fag.
Me?
Yes, you're groping the cripple.
"Men shouldn't touch women,
no bikinis..."
No sex either.
Stop talking nonsense.
I thought it was me making you tense.
Shut your filthy mouth!
It was clean enough for kisses.
Not anymore?
- I'm warning you...
- I feel sorry for you.
There are hotter guys
than your cripple.
I feel sorry for you both.
Just don't forget
to put condoms on your carrots.
Shut up, you bitch!
Loser!
Don't you ever come close to me!
Do you understand?
Faggot!
Venya?
Are you making a cross?
Did somebody die?
Remember when you were little
and your little hare died?
Jorik was a rabbit.
Right. Jorik the rabbit.
Your father made a wooden cross.
Do you remember?
We buried it in the yard.
Your hare.
Your rabbit. Jorik.
Aren't you tired?
I talked to the father just recently.
He says you're gifted.
I've been talking to him a lot
just lately.
It's important to me.
"Woe also to you lawyers!
"You load people with burdens
grievous to be borne,
"and you touch not the burdens
with your fingers."
Right. He says lots of good things
about you.
I don't care.
Be careful.
I'll be gone soon
and won't be able to look after you.
Where are you going?
To my Father.
To your father?
He called me.
What did he do?
My Father is calling me.
And you'll just go to him like that?
"You should rejoice because I say
"I go to the Father,
who is greater than I."
If you only knew how happy I am!
But you know what'll happen?
He'll play with you,
then throw you away.
You won't fit into his life.
The same as me.
No one has ever managed to.
He'll chew you up
and spit you out, understand?
Do you understand?
Mom, keep out of it.
Get down.
Do you hear me, Yuzhin?
Get down.
And take down that thing.
Why?
Because this is a school,
not a church.
We don't put tools for torture
on the walls.
I see.
You can't stand to see the cross
because you're Jewish.
Because I'm Jewish?
What makes you think that?
The thing is...
You want us to think that
the world is a coincidence
and that there's no God.
You're a Jew and you hate Jesus.
Do you know
what the Bible says about Jews?
Do you?
The Bible says:
"Salvation is from the Jews."
That's a lie! A huge lie!
Saint John's Gospel, Chapter 4:
"Salvation is from the Jews."
Satan's talking through you.
Then Satan talks through the Bible.
God will punish you.
He'll send His angels
to overthrow you when you flee.
I'm going to take that down
when you've gone.
You're the one who'll leave
and never come back,
until God calls the living
and the dead on the Day of Judgment!
Give me your hand and get down.
"Get behind me, Satan!
"Your mind is not on things of God,
but on those of men."
Give me your hand.
"Away with you, Satan!
"You shall worship God,
and serve Him only."
I'm going to help you.
Come on, get down.
You're going to burn!
She touched me!
It's a bit lopsided.
She puts her helmet on
and starts her moped.
As usual. She starts driving.
She doesn't suspect a thing.
She reaches the crossroads
and brakes.
But in vain. The brakes don't work.
She gets hit by a jeep.
Her helmet is no use.
She's tossed onto the road.
Then she gets hit by a car.
You're laying it on thick.
Right.
But it's possible.
Want some?
Why hasn't it happened yet?
I don't know.
We have to wait a bit.
Maybe she hasn't had
to brake hard yet.
"The very hairs of your head
are numbered."
We'll wait.
This was a great idea, Grisha.
Well done.
I bless you.
Thanks.
So now...
I'm sort of your...
disciple, right?
Yes, my disciple.
Your favorite disciple?
Yes, my only favorite disciple.
What are you doing?
What?
I just thought...
- What? That God wouldn't see?
- I wasn't thinking.
"Neither is there any creature
that is not naked to his eyes."
And to mine!
Did you fall into Satan's clutches?
No. I just thought you wanted to.
How could I want to?
It is said:
"To lie with a man
is an abomination."
I know, Venya.
"Whosoever commits these abominations
shall be cut off from their people."
I know. Sorry.
Shut up. You'll be cut off.
You just said
I'm your favorite disciple.
I let you get close to me
but you're just a pervert.
No, I'm not.
I've done everything you told me.
I didn't tell you to kiss me!
Let's just say
it was a misunderstanding.
I should have guessed.
Guessed what? I never lied to you.
I prayed with you,
but there's only lust in your heart!
No. And I'm sure God
would have done the same.
- What?
- Yes.
Shut up!
No wonder your leg isn't growing.
It's God's punishment
for being a fag.
I won't do it again.
Get out of here! Go on!
Then you'll have to do it yourself.
Tamper with Krasnova's brakes.
What do you mean?
It's really dangerous.
You haven't done it?
She could really be killed.
You haven't done it, you traitor!
You don't want to kill her.
You don't know what I want!
You can't kill someone, Venya!
Shut up, Judas.
"Whoever isn't with me is against me.
"Whoever doesn't gather with me scatters."
Forgive me, Venya, please.
Stay where you are!
Read this.
Read it out loud!
"Almost all things
are by the law purged with blood.
"Without shedding of blood
is no remission."
Yuzhin, over the past few weeks
you've been doing
a lot of strange things.
But what bothers me
is your lack of progress
with your studies. Your marks.
They've never been outstanding,
but now you've really slipped.
- Can I say something?
- No.
We want to hear Yuzhin.
Well?
Say something.
What do you have to say?
If he makes that face,
it means he won't say anything.
Venya, please understand
that our intentions are good.
We wish you well
and want to help you.
He doesn't need your help.
He thinks the end of the world is coming
and we should get ready
for the Day of Judgment.
Maybe I could...
Yes.
Maybe you can find the right words.
I have several extracts with me.
"Times are hard and troubled now.
The enemy..."
The enemy!
"...has created a new weapon
to destroy the Church of Christ.
"He has sent
so-called science against it,
"but it is a false science.
"God's word
is replaced by a worldly one.
"And God's temples
are replaced by temples of vanity:
"theaters, circuses, exhibitions...
"Instead of God and the saints,
contemporaries are venerated:
"singers, writers, actors..."
Father...
Saint John of Kronstadt wrote that
years ago.
Times are hard so it's important
for every human being
who has that talent
to spread the word of God.
And to stay in the fold.
Venya, you know
the parable about the servant
who hid his talent in the earth.
And you know how it ends.
You too have a talent.
And God doesn't want you to hide it.
Father...
you've just mentioned his talent.
Yet for years
no one's cared about him.
What does talent have to do with it?
It has nothing to do with talent.
Your boy has launched a crusade.
Venya, you forgot your tools.
You can speak later.
We want to hear Yuzhin.
He could tell you
some of his anti-Semitic gems.
Anti-Semitic?
Why do you have resort to hyperbole?
Yes, anti-Semitic!
And it's not "hyperbole",
if we must get all highfaluting.
My son isn't anti-Semitic.
Elena, you should be careful
what you say.
I know what I'm talking about.
You're a grown woman, he's a kid.
He's just provoking you.
Are you going to lecture me?
You're embarrassing yourself.
If anyone's embarrassing me,
it's you.
Can you deal
with your private issues elsewhere?
- We're discussing a student.
- Sorry.
At least agree among yourselves
before you accuse my son.
You teachers are all arguing!
Whose example can he follow?
Please don't add to it.
If I were you, I'd keep out of it!
Elena!
Wait!
We work with children as they come
to us from their families.
We can't make candy
out of your piece of shit!
My son isn't a piece of shit,
he's a treasure!
Who do you think you are?
Your treasure attacked me
with anti-Semitic insults.
Elena, he's a kid.
Right, he's a kid.
This anti-Semitism...
Does it concern you?
Say what's on your mind!
How would it concern me?
Your origins
have made you sensitive about it.
You take it too much to heart.
What origins are they?
You have, I presume... Semitic blood.
So I'm Jewish?
Well, you are...
Say it straight!
Say it. She's a Jew!
Why don't you say it?
The Nazis had other words!
Get a grip on yourself.
It's you who should get a grip.
If I can calm things down a bit.
Look.
There's a new edition
of a wonderful paper
by Saint John Chrysostom.
I've made a few extracts.
They're open to discussion,
of course, but...
This is without reference
to Elena Lvovna.
This, for example...
"One should avoid
the company of Jews."
What are you doing?
It's not me!
"There's no difference
between a synagogue and a theater.
"The synagogue
is a dwelling of demons.
"A true Christian should not enter."
It's just to ease the tension a bit.
You should get a grip too.
No, carry on!
Read us some more, Father.
It's really interesting.
Or do some of your magic tricks.
Cast the devil out of him!
That'll do him good.
Veniamin,
you're a very determined young man.
The whole world is open to you,
but you're at an impasse.
Have I suggested that you join us?
Have I?
That offer still stands.
Venya, answer him.
What?
What did he just say?
She touched me.
Elena Lvovna touched me.
I did what?
She touched you?
What do you mean, "touched"?
How?
She touched my arms, my legs,
and down there, several times.
I...
No, I'll say no more.
Did you touch him?
I don't understand
what he's talking about.
He has serious problems.
Veniamin!
Why are you talking such nonsense?
Must he put up
with your advances?
Madam, I demand
that you bring her to her senses.
To my senses?
I'm the only one here
thinking straight.
The only one who's resisting.
He's hoodwinking you
and it's addling your brains.
He's infected you with
his pseudo-prophetical hysterics.
I understand now.
What do you understand?
Now I see why you've been
so obsessed for the last two weeks.
Obsessed? What do you mean? Explain.
For the past two weeks
all she's been able to think about
was the Bible and Yuzhin.
Yuzhin and the Bible.
Now I understand.
What do you understand?
Oleg, you're an idiot. I despise you.
Again!
What's wrong with you all?
Is it a conspiracy?
What is this?
What is it? Respect for religion?
There's the shepherd
and we're all sheep,
and he sits above
while we're down here, right?
But who chose him?
That's just it! No one chose him!
Look, it's a great idea
that there's a father
looking after everyone.
But it's only a great idea
when we're children,
until we've grown up.
A father who sees everything,
who punishes as he likes,
who's irrational and cruel!
Can't you see that
it's a totalitarian dictatorship?
Stop this immediately!
- She touched me.
- What?
We were alone
and she said we needed to talk.
She came close to me
so I climbed on the table.
She touched my leg.
I tried to get away,
but she held me firmly
and touched me.
She touched me...
here...
and there...
And there too.
I cried out, but she told me not to.
Then I started to pray
for God to forgive her.
"God, forgive her.
She knows not what she does.
"Forgive her, Lord,
"and have mercy on my mortal body.
"Forgive her so that she isn't cast
into the fire."
He really needs to have mercy
on your mortal body.
What did I do to you,
you bastard?
My God! What are you doing?
You all saw that.
She...
Slapped him!
Why don't you turn the other cheek?
Krasnova, stop it!
Now I really have touched him!
Enough, Krasnova!
Now it's definitely over, Elena.
The Bible says:
"For the Lord disciplines
those whom He loves,
"and chastises every child
whom He accepts.
"Do not spare the rod.
"The child will not die."
She is lying again!
Fight him with his own weapons.
You will not hit anyone anymore!
You're dismissed.
You're fired.
- Madam Principal...
- I warned you.
I warned you.
You've become a problem for all of us.
And now I have to...
Now I have to say what's on my mind.
You're a disgrace to the school.
A disgrace to the profession.
Collect your things
and get out of here!
Get out of here!
It'll be all right.
Well...
I'll pray for you.
Drink some water.
Drink some and calm down.
Take deep breaths.
He was perfectly normal.
There's been an accident.
What?
A student has died
of a cracked skull.
Who?
It ended up happening, Elena Lvovna.
I wasn't wearing a helmet.
He'll kill you too.
If not today, then tomorrow,
And nothing will happen to him.
It's so cold in my head.
The wind blows in it.
Elena Lvovna, have you finished?
...for that reason.
Hitting a student
in front of every...
I'm not going.
Go!
I'm staying.
I'll have you escorted.
Oleg, take her out.
Elena, stop it.
Call security. Go on, call them.
We'll call security.
Do you understand?
I'm not leaving here.
I'm not leaving here.
Because...
Because I belong here!
I'm here...
I'm here because I belong here!
And you don't!
I'm not leaving here because...
I belong here!
I'm not leaving.
I belong here.
But he doesn't!
Directed by
Kirill Serebrennikov
Based on Marius von Mayenburg's play,
Martyr
Viktoriya Isakova
Pyotr Skvortsov
Aleksandr Gorchilin
Yuliya Aug
Svetlana Bragarnik - Irina Rudnitskaya
Producers: Ilya Stewart
Diana Safarova - Yuriy Kozyrev
Cinematography
Vladislav Opelyants
Production design
Ekaterina Shcheglova
Costume design
Tatyana Dolmatovskaya
Make-up
Igor Boyko
Sound
Boris Voyt
Editing
Yuri Karikh
Music
Ilya Demutsky
Written and directed by
Kirill Serebrennikov