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]