Dozhit do rassveta (1977) - full transcript

On November 16th, 1941, the Germans
started their second offensive on Moscow

In some areas, they were able to defeat
our troops and advance several kilometres

The battles are roaring
non stop in this fiery time

/ My brothers are laying
dead in the snow near Moscow

The blood-red dawns of war are
above us, and we must live till dawn

LIVE TILL DAWN

The fire is searching to
wipe us all out, with malice

Dying is easy these days,
it's surviving that's hard

The shells come one after another,
and blood is covering the world

But we have our orders, and they are
- survive till dawn, just live till dawn

[translator - I think the
whole intro sequence shows



[the main character's
artillery unit getting overrun]

Hold on to your trench at all
costs, just grab with you teeth

This isn't just another trench
- there's Moscow is behind us

And here, me and you,
by this ravine, we swear

an oath... Not a step
back, not a single one

Scout: We're stuck here ourselves.
A whole month behind their lines

The guys are hungry.
The two of us were sent

on a separate mission.
He was a good guy

Don't know how we got caught,
maybe somebody betrayed us

Those your men? - Yes.

What happened to you?

We got overrrun near Kosachev

If not for them, I'd be kaput

Well, well



Alright, we'll stick together

Girl, are there Germans in that
village? What about the other one?

(nods both times)

Let's go

So? - Some sort of a depot there
So what? - Many Germans

Up, move out

Let's go, Lieutenant

Maybe blow it in the evening?

Yeah, there's good approaches You didn't ditch the TNT yet?
- No

Captain's dead!

Comrade general, may I report?

It's about the German depot.

What depot? Army artillery
depot, about 40 km from here.

Several train's worth of shells.
One line of barbed wire fence,

we can detonate the whole
thing. We already tried to do it...

You tried, you tried... Two KIA, one of
them Captain Voloh, the group commander.

Yes, this can't be solved with a
rush. Needs some thought put into it

After all, maybe we should risk it?
- How can we, comrade general?

He just came from behind enemy lines.
We don't know what he was up to, there.

Maybe he needs to be
court-martialed, and we'll put

him in charge of more
men, which we can't spare.

Still worth it. Listen, what's your name...

Lieutenant Ivanovkiy.

Can you show this
place on a map? Yes sir.

Where? - Here, comrade general

Right, depot is near a
highway that leads to Moscow

If we deprived the
Germans of ammo, we could

stop them in this
sector. Not a bad idea.

What do you need
for this mission?

Men, comrade
general. Men who can ski.

How far did you say it is? - 40 kilometres

But the thing is, we must
make it there before dawn

Before dawn? Alright,
we'll put together a group

What are you writing there?

Mandatory [background
check], comrade general.

I'll order them to finish it quickly

Attention!

Line up!

Present!

Comrade general! - At ease.

Sons, you all know what awaits you

You know it will be
hard, but it's necessary

You see the weather? Aircraft can't do it

We can only hope you succeed

[Narrator] The Lieutenant didn't
know much about the men he'd

soon be sharing glory or
death with. But he had no choice

Of course, he'd much prefer to go on such
a mission with his own battle-tested men.

But where are the men he knew and trusted?

Over the past five months of war, it's
becoming hard to even remember all those hills,

forests, and villages that his unit has
melted into, in individual or mass graves

Right behind the Lieutenant
- sergeant Lukashov.

He's a professional
soldier, not a conscript

Then private Hakimov,
private Sudnik, Sheludyak the

explosives expert, privates
Krasnokudsky, Kudryavets

The quiet private Zayats, then
Pivovarov, youngest of the group, and

bringing up the rear - the reliable,
experienced Sergeant Major Dubin

Dang. It's open, like a plate.
But it's up to you, Lieutenant

I'll go

Well, that's your choice

Maybe that's better, they
wouldn't expect anyone here

If anything, I'll support you with fire

Who knows if the Germans
expect anything. We can't ask them

But we can't delay any further

Who's making noise?

I don't hear it
- Listen better

Now we cross. Not a sound!
- Yes sir

Can we go down the creek?
- What if it didn't freeze enough?

Sheludyak? Take the wounded man and go back
- Yes sir

[thoughts] It's probably best
to send away someone else.

But Sheludyak needs to live,
he has a family, three kids.

Sergeant Major - to me

I'll try to silence the MG, we won't cross
otherwise. If anything, you lead the group

That's not right, someone else should do it
- Who else can? Take the map

I'll go. Lukashov, after me

Ah, Sheludyak drew fire. They pinned
him, now they'll kill him eventually

Forward, after me!

Run!

Don't lag behind!

[Thoughts] That's
the first sacrifice for

our success. Rest in
peace, private Sheludyak

I sent you to your death, even through
I thought I'm sending you home alive

Who shot?!

I fired

Why? - The safety slipped off

Do you understand what you did there?

I could kill you for this!

Right... let's have a chat with him later

Unload all weapons!

Put on skis

Who? - Hakimov

Alive? - Yes, but barely

They got him through
the back. Stomach, I think

First aid, quickly!

Thoughts: Another one. Poor
Hakimov... Now we'll have to

drag him along. But how? And
what do we do with him tomorrow?

Right. Make a sled from
skis. Does anyone know how?

Yeah, me

Pivovarov, give me a
coat. Take off belts. Quickly!

Bastards. How did they catch
wind of us? We were so quiet...

And the damn dogs, too. It
would be alright if those were

German guard dogs. But they
are probably our, local strays...

All the dogs on the German side serve
the Germans. They're no longer our dogs...

Put Hakimov on the sled

So what, Lieutenant,
will we drag him?

Do you have other ideas?

Maybe we can leave him
somewhere? In some village?

And pick him up
on the way back...

No, we won't leave
him. Don't think about it.

Well, got it.

But I don't know if
we'll make it then...

We need to rush. As
much as we can. Let's go!

How much longer?

Not far. But we must hurry.

There's a highway there, we must cross
it before dawn. Can't do it during the day.

Got it. Keep walking then.
- Yes, we have to

Grab the sled, one-two. Up, up!

What about you, Pivovarov?
Do you need a special order? Up!

How are you feeling?
- I can't

What do you mean?
- I can't. Leave me here

Are you joking?
- He's acting up

Pivovarov, get up.

Please, get up.

Sergeant Lukashov, get the private up

Did you hear? Get up, do it!

Stop your act! On your feet now!

Stand up!

Wait. Cancel that.

Stop, Lukashov.
- Why? We can't be playing wet nurse

He's not faking. Here,
Pivovarov. Couple gulps.

Drink

More, more

How much longer,
Lieutenant? We're wearing out

- How's Hakimov?
- Still breathing

Where are the rest? - Following us.

Zayats is lagging. SM Dubin is helping him

Where's Pivovarov?

That's him coming, I think

Pivovarov, where are the rest?
- I don't know. Didn't see anyone behind

Cover me with a tent
- Tent, here

Is SM here?
- No. Maybe we should wait?

No. They'll follow our tracks

You'll be bringing up the
rear. No more stragglers!

Got it. Sudnik, grab it

It's okay. A couple more
sprints, and we'll make it - Heave!

[Despite the Lieutenant
pushing the soldiers on and on,

[the dawn caught them before
they reached the highway...]

So, still marching?
- They are. And there is no end to them

Up, up! Reveille! Jump around, warm up

Move, move! Warm up. Get up!

Now. Lukashov, breakfast.
- Roger!

Take out bread and canned food.
- Yes!

Here

So, Pivovarov, did you rest?
- A bit, yes

How did you give out like that?

Just... tired

Tired... This isn't family vacation. A
straggler is worse than a dead man here

Yeah, the dead don't care. And we...
we have skin coming off from the sled rope

And there are Dubin and, what's his
name, Zaitsev. Either lost, or deserted...

They could even bring Germans to us
- It happens, yeah

Don't, Lukashov. Sergeant
Major isn't that type of man

He might not be the
type, but anything can

happen. In our 109th,
we had a dashing captain.

He kept building up
defenses. And building, and

building... In the wrong
direction, it turned out

You should trust people,
Lukashov. People trust you.

But that's me.

Why do you think that Dubin is less worthy?
- Because I'm here, and he isn't.

Sergeant Lukashov, you're in charge. Keep
perimeter watch. I'll go scout. Got it?

Take care of Hakimov. Pivovarov, with me

Me?
- Yes

Grate there

It used to be here?
- Exactly. Used to be

What do I tell the guys now?
That the Germans outsmarted us?

So what? Guess they did

How's Hakimov?
- The same. He was delirious earlier

Did you give him water?
- We can't. Stomach wound

Should cover him with a fur coat.
- And where would we find one?

When did you get here?

An hour ago. Because
of this guy. He broke his ski

So what's there? Are there many Germans?

There are no Germans. And no depot.

What, no depot?
- Yep, none

Lieutenant, is that so?
- Yes, depot's gone. They must've moved it

[folk saying on hard work for nothing]

Nothing to be done.
Anything happens in war...

Maybe it's the wrong place? It's elsewhere?

It was there. The barbed
wire fence is still up.

So. What do we do now, commander?

What do you mean?
- Where do we go now?

You will go back.
- What, me alone?

You and the others. You
will try to save Hakimov.

And you?
- Me? I'll try to find that depot

Alone?
- No. Someone else will go

Maybe me, Lieutenant?

No, sergeant major,
you will lead the group

And I'll take Pivovarov. Right, Pivovarov?
- Yea.

Well, good.

I wrote a note here. "The
depot changed location, group suffered

losses, I'm continuing the
search". Hand it to the chief of staff

You'll be eating breakfast in Vyhach.
- God willing, comrade Lieutenant

Don't spare effort, it saves lives

Take care of Hakimov, maybe
he'll make it till then - Of course

Fair enough. Start walking

I think we take a different path back
- Why?

Could be an ambush on the old one
- True

What's your first name?
- Petr

I'm Igor

Well Petr. Maybe we'll get lucky after all

What do you think, eh?
- Maybe we will

Right. Let's eat something,
going will be easier

Right on

So. Do we come back to the
general with a note, and nothing done?

What can we do?

We can't do much with Hakimov in
tow. And Lieutenant ordered us back

A drink
- You can't, Hakim

One sip
- I got none

Ask the sergeant. Please

I am to blame, guys!

See that? Looks like a big German HQ

Maybe we could...
- What about the depot?

[The HQ is a better
target than that accursed

[depot, which is who knows
where in this darkness]

Now, Pivovarov, you stay back a bit...

That's it, I can't anymore

Where are you hit?
- Here, under the arm

I got one too. I saw him drop

Is it very painful?
- Of course

I'll bandage right quick. We
shouldn't have gone there

Why didn't you say so sooner?
- I didn't know before

Neither did I!

Can you stand up?
- I'll try

No, I can't

I'll go look.
- For what?

Need a village, one without Germans

That's where I swim. I come early in the
morning, there's still mist on the river...

Nobody around. And the
water is warm, like fresh milk.

I can swim and it makes
me happy for the entire day.

There's a small banya there.
Let's go, comrade Lieutenant

Over there, a bench

Shut the door

Some straw brushes, as a pillow

Lay down

I shut the door, propped it with a shovel
- Good

Drink... No water?

I think there is some in this
bucket. Got ice in it though

How are you feeling, comrade Lieutenant?
- Alright

There's Germans in the village

Which one?
- This one

What do you see?
- Germans walking

Far?
- 200 paces or so

Smoking now

Walking again.
- The Germans?
Yea.

It's okay. They won't get us easily

Someone on the path.
Going to the well, I think. Yep!

Some granny with a bucket

They are walking. No, they stopped.
Standing... now they're going somewhere

Where?

Who knows. They're
hidden behind a shed now

Don't worry, they
won't come in here.

If they try, it will be the
last thing thing they do.

For us too...

Do you want to live?

To live? That would be fine. But...

Yeah, there's a but...

Do you have a mother?

Huh? What did you say?
- Got a mother?

Of course.
- And a father?

No, no father

He died?
- No. I lived with my mom

If she knew what we're
up to here, she'd be terrified

Good mother?
- Yea

I'm her only one. She did everything for me

Did you read some books at least?

Yes, read up. All of Jules Verne,
Conan Doyle, Walther Scott, Mark Twain

What about Gaidar?

Him too. And Dumas,
read all of his I could find

How did you even have the time?

I got sick in 6th grade, half a year at home. So
I read. Everything I could find in the library

Where are you from?
- Me? Near Pskov

There's a town there,
Porhov. Have you heard of it?

No

That's where we lived

My mom was a school teacher

You say she adored you?
- Yea

Since I'm the only child. It
was a bit funny sometimes

If you do some mischief
with the kids - it's a tragedy.

Same if you don't finish
breakfast. And if you get sick!

She'll get all the doctors in town,
feed you pills for a week... It was funny

Now, not so funny

Not so funny...

My mom's gold. I'm her
only one, she's my only one.

Mom's from Leningrad. She
lived in St Pete before the

revolution. She told me all
about it, but I never made the trip

I always thought
about it... Now, maybe

after the war - Yes,
after the war of course

You know, I'm okay. Not
bad. If I get killed, it happens.

Just sad about my mom.

[He was sad about his mom too. And his dad]

[Strangely, he missed his
girlfriend more than his family]

[He didn't talk to
anyone about his first love

- [he knew that others
were all in the same boat]

What's out there?

See nothing for now

All fine. Just sad I let down
the general. He believed in me.

Not even the general. Let everyone
down. Moscow's right there...

Pivovarov, how far do
you think it is to that village?

Which one?

The one from yesterday.

About two km. Why, comrade lieutenant?

Need to get the skis at night. Maybe
the Germans didn't get them yet?

Well, I'll go then. Just wait till dark.

Yes, we need those.
- Yea

But how will you manage?
- I'll be fine waiting

I'll take the SMG, ok?
- Go ahead

SMG gives confidence,
you know. The rifle is good,

shoots straight. Sergeant
major zeroed it himself.

What time on your watch?
- 5 pm

Ok, I should be back in an hour, it's close

I'll go, comrade Lieutenant?
- Just be careful

OK. Don't worry, I'll be quiet

I'll head out?
- Go ahead

Careful.

That's our river Neman.
And that's where I swim

I come early in the morning, there's still
mist on the river. Nobody around. And the

water is warm, like fresh milk. I can swim
and it makes me happy for the entire day.

You know, I like lakes more.
Especially forest ones, when it's calm.

Rivers are better. In a lake, water smells
swampy. But in a river it's fresh and clear

Summers on the river are the best.
- You speak Russian well

We always spoke some
Russian at home. My dad is

Russian. And grandpa and
his sister. My mom is Polish

Where did you study?

Polish gymnasium. There
were no Russian ones back then

And you sir, when did you finish officer
school, if it's not a military secret?

Two months ago. Artillery school.

How do they decide, if one
goes to artillery or infantry?

Well.. Those who are
good at calculations go to

artillery, and those
who run fast - to infantry

Listen - there's music

Let's go, I'll show you something

Where are you going, Nina?
- Come, come

Come quickly

Listen.. Ave Maria

Is it a prayer?

I don't know. I only know
Schubert wrote the music

Beautiful, isn't it?

Come, I'll show you my flower
garden, while dad's asleep

Some are already in bloom.
They smell wonderful at dawn!

Wait, let's stand around a bit longer

The sun is about to
come up - how beautiful...

Come

You are...
- What, bad?

Really bad?

You're a treasure

What treasure? Dad wakes up,
he'll show this treasure what's what

Come!

What's that? Planes?

Some base

Quiet, guys

Maybe that's the one
Lieutenant is looking for?

Nah. He said that one had
shells, and this one has oil tanks

Guards, with dogs

So, let's blow it? We got TNT

Let's try

Go, I'll hold them off

[You know, I'm okay. Not
bad. If I get killed, it happens]

[Just sad about my mom]

Must not freeze. Make it to the road,
and wait for the first car with Germans

[It would be great if
that was a general.

[Ivanovsky would blow
his luxury car sky-high]

[A colonel would be OK too.
Or some high-ranking SS man]

[The HQ in the village seems
big - plenty of high ranks]

[He knew what he was doing
and didn't hope to survive]

[But others will survive
because of him, and win]

[They will rebuild, love,
breathe the fresh air]

[Who knows, maybe their fate depends on
how Lieutenant Ivanvosky dies on this road]

Get up! [in German] Hands up!

On December 6th 1941, having
exhausted the enemy in protracted

fighting, Soviet armies
started their counter-offensive

THE END
[Translation by danshabash]