Pechki-lavochki (1972) - full transcript

Gorky Film Studio

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

Written and Directed by
Vasily SHUKSHIN

Director of Photography
Anatoly ZABOLOTSKY

Production Designer
Pyotr PASHKEVICH

Music by
P. CHEKALOV

English Subtitles by
T. Kameneva

Starring

Lydia FEDOSEYEVA
Vasily SHUKSHIN

Vsevolod SANAYEV
Georgy BURKOV

Zinovy GERDT
Ivan RYZHOV



Stanislav LYUBSHIN
Vadim ZZAKHARCHENKO

Why it's so quiet?

Maybe it's raining.

Why raining...

Oh, what's this?
You know...

Yes.

What is it...

And why...

Cuckoo!

Who stole the cue?

You!

Hi, Boya!

Hi, Vanya!

You rowing?



l say, you rowing?

Propping up, bit by bit!

Come on, moor! Let's drink!

Why the celebration?

l'm leaving!

For the south, to a health resort!

Neat! Way to go!

Come and moor!

No, pal, gotta speed on!

Well, too bad!

Shall we have a bash later?

Don't you fear, Vanya, l'll never
miss the chance!

Well, take care.

Ah, there he is.

What's up?

- Nothing.
-Why did you leave, then?

l don't have any manners, right?

Come on, Vanya, let's go.
It's embarrassing, we left them.

C'mon, go! Go there.

You enjoy yourselves. l'll sit here.

What's the matter with you, Vanya?

Come on, everybody's asking about
you. They want to sing.

Go on, sing.

Oh, God
they're not gonna sing! without you.

l dunno.

Let's go, Vanya.

ls it really my fault,

ls it really my fault...

-Aren't we sitting good, huh?
- Real celebration!

Living like an ignorant dolt is no big
deal, l'm already halfway in life.

l want my kids to be
educated since early years.

l don't need this vacation
l don't give a damn for this resort,

if you think that l...

l'll just take my fishing-rod, sit
on the riverbank, and l'm rested.

That's it, happy-go-lucky.

You'll be getting 130 rubles there.

Kseniya.

l'm speaking, ain't l?

Sorry.

My kids will go to school,
and they'll study the seas.

But they've already seen it, the sea.

They'll say our dad took us
there when we were little.

l almost don't remember my father,

but l do remember him taking me on
horse back to Beyozovka as a kid.

He must've brought me candies, too,
and was nice to me.

But l don't remember that
only how he put me on a horse.

Nyura, what do you think?
Why don't you say something?

l really don't know.

He just powdered my brains
about that sea.

l want to go, but l'm getting
the jitters, so scared l am.

What are you scared of?

How brave you are! What if
they get sick on the way?

lf they get sick, you'll call
the conductor.

My kids got sick, call
the doctor at the next stop.

She goes to the radio relay center
and calls the medical service...

You may kick the bucket seven times
before they radio it...

- Peace be with this house!
- Oh, Lev Kazimirovich, come on in!

lt's all right, all right.

Here, a stool for you.
Sit down, please.

What's the occasion for this gathering?

Saying goodbye to Ivan.
He's going to the sea.

- l'm going to the sea.
- To the sea?

Help us with your advice.

lvan wants to take the kids along,
and we're against it.

My heart's aching,
the kids are still too little.

And he will drag them.
What the devil for?

Why the kids?

Forthem to sunbathe.

Are you in your right mind?
You want to leave the kids there?

What d'you mean?

Couldn't you think of something
Iess stupid?

l want to ask you something else.
S'pose the carburetor jet got blocked.

The jet got blocked -
the gas feed stopped.

And the engine's working.

- The engine's not working.
- Yes, it's working.

- Then the jet's not blocked.
- It is, there's a backfire.

Then it's not completely blocked.

The jet is blocked, you get it?

But why?

How old are the pistons?
When did you last take a look at them?

l've never looked.

Let me have a look at your hand,

By the cards l'll tell your fortune,

l'll tell the whole truth to the end

Your heart is heavy with misfortune...

Zina, why about misfortunes?
Sing something more cheerful.

You can't sing yourself,
so don't interfere with others.

Don't you worry.

Folks, let's sing our song.

There're so many golden lights

ln the streets of Saratov...

Look after the kids.

Be careful...

Mother, for Christ's sake, look after
them. After the little one, l beg you...

God be with you...

Will you please tell me
when l'll be in Khabarovsk?

The information office is open,
ask them.

Well, did you say your goodbyes?

lt's an hour late already, and they
don't make any announcements...

lt's just awful!

-What is it?
- People are on strike everywhere.

-Where are we heading?
- South.

Are you birds of passage?
Heading south!

Do you want bed linen?

l'm getting off in Gorsk.

And they'll need it,
they're going south.

Yes, we'll need it.

Two rubles.

-Why two rubles?
- For two sets.

Do we have to pay extra for the linen?

Yes, extra.
Pay up, l got no time.

Nyura, give him two rubles, please.

Vanya, can l speak to you a minute?

Screen me.

-Why?
- l'll get the money.

Get it, what's the problem?

Wait, we'll get our rubles from
a stocking and give them to you.

My wife says people may
filch our rubles.

And who needs them?

- Right?
- Yeah...

Babblemouth.

Here.

- First time on the road?
- Right.

First time.
Why?

You got to trust people.

You're traveling with me,
and you hide your money

God knows where.

You should have left

your village ways at home,
in your village.

But as long as you're going south,
you should behave accordingly.

Or stay home and don't go anywhere.

Where do you go exactly in the south?
The south is vast.

To the middle of nowhere.
Ever heard of it?

They opened a new resort there.

Why did you get so
steamed up all of a sudden?

And why are you lecturing me?
l'm neither kith nor kin to you.

Oh, we're arrogant, aren't we?

Yes, we are, dear comrade.

ln your place, l wouldn't
pull those ugly smirks of yours.

Look, you'd better
Iearn some manners.

You're not home in your village.

You should listen
when you're reprimanded.

First learn how to travel.
But, no, he drags his wife along, too.

What the hell about my wife?

-What about my wife?
-Vanya!

What about my wife?

Don't you throw us a fit here.
We know your type, we know all types.

Stop blowing out your nostrils.

Or you'll get off the train
before you know it.

You, a harlot in pants,

and in a hat, and in a raincoat.

He dares threatening me!
You'll get off the train yourself!

You'll jump off it and walk down
the sleepers!

Oh, really?
Fine.

l'll send you going right away.

Where's the head steward?

He's in his compartment.
What happened?

Why did you make me go along
if you can't control your temper?

Stop whimpering.
It wasn't l who started it.

They'll make us get off at next stop.
And we'll be stranded there.

Like hell they will.
You think they make everybody get off?

Maybe he's some big boss.

How can you know?

Then he's a big fool, too.

They're closing in.

No, he's no boss.

Why did he begin
pulling those smirks of his?

Did you get
any leaner from those smirks?

Let him smirk to his heart's content.

-What's the problem here?
- No problem.

-Why this racket then?
-Why? There's no racket.

And who wanted
to throw me off the train?

You messed it up, it's you who want to
make me get off, but l don't want to.

Come to another compartment,
we've got free seats.

- See you in Gorsk.
- Yes, let's have beer together.

You'd better behave.

Do you have a light?

Some little misunderstanding?

You mean me? That comrade
began threatening me all of a sudden.

- Going far?
- Me? Going south, to a resort.

Need a little rest.

-Alone?
- No, my wife is in there.

Anyone else in your compartment?

No. This character left.

The steward told him
they got free seats.

Then l'll move over to you.

- Is everything all right?
- They moved him to another seat.

Come in, please.

All right.

- Hello.
- Hello.

Our new co-traveler.

l'm Nyura.

How are things in your collective farm?

Well, you know...

And what is your occupation?

l'm a designer.

A city man.

l've wanted to talk to a city man
for a long time.

Tell me, what's our
main direction now?

Leveling up city
and village, right?

For instance, our collective farm
is being made into a state farm now.

Leveling up to a city.

-Vanya.
-What?

You with your talking. Maybe
the man just wants to sit quietly.

- Tea?
- No.

- You want some?
- No, thanks.

Thank you.

Well.

And who's regulating life in the city?

The ruble?
Yes, the ruble.

And this ruble begins
to muddle my brains, too.

l'm also thinking of
how to attach it to me, my dear,

to invite it to visit with me
so to speak.

But there's a little honest
question here.

The mor,e
l make

the less l think of
what's going to be born after me.

That's the hitch.

That's not a question.
That's the answer.

All right, the answer.
Then the question is even worse.

Ask it.

-Ask whom?
- Me.

Tea, comrades?

- Four glasses, please.
- Here you are.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

-Would you like a preference game?
- No, thanks.

Well, that's it.

No, it is not.
It's not a factory.

There, l've forged an axle. That's
what's needed, l've done my job.

The axle is needed for a car.
You can't drive on an axle alone.

Yes, and someone else will assemble
a car and get 'bread' for it, too.

Everyone is doing his job.

The same is with you.
You ploughed, another sowed.

lt looks the same.. l ploughed and got
paid, another sowed and got paid.

The same picture.
But the grain is not a car.

A car will run
but the grain may no!t ripen.

But we already got our money in full.

Wait, we're getting
some Hegel here.

Why Hegel? l'm not
insult you, so don't you, either.

l'm telling you in plain Russian.

There's no grain, but it's none of
our business. l don't get it.

There's no grain, but we're happy.

The grain is just for illustration.
There is grain, lots of it.

But suppose there's no grain,
but we're happy anyway.

Why is there no grain?
Is it a bad harvest year?

l don't know.
It's none of my business.

Maybe it's a bad harvest, maybe
a hail beat it down, l don't know.

l ploughed, l got my money,
saved it and went to a resort.

-Vanya.
- Don't you 'Vanya'' me.

l care about my collective farm.
l want to understand it.

So, you're living well.

Yes, we're living well.

Then why are you leaving
villages for cities?

Let's look at this problem
from another side.

All right, in the city
l'll be making my 150 rubles, right?

- l guess so.
- l will.

l'm strong and got some brains.

Only in the city, for this money
l'll be living more interestingly.

ln the city, everything is close by -
stores, manufactured goods

musical schools
movies, everything.

For this money,
they'll dance and sing for me.

And back home l'll have to run
around with my ruble and look

where l can get a dress for my girl,

or a light overcoat for my wife.

That's the hitch.

We got to go for every trifle
to the district center.

And it's 90 miles away.

And when you get there,
the place is as bare as a bone.

Where're you going now?
Looking for a place to flee to?

Do you know of a real good place?

l see l hurt your feelings.

No offense
l didn't mean to.

So, where're you going?

South, as l said.

South sounds good.

Soon l'll go there, too.

The Black Sea surf

The beach is slanting,

A free and easy life

ls so enchanting.

Well-well, what do we have
prepared for us here?

You, my pot-bellied suitcase,
my dear pot-bellied buddy.

l knew it, l forgot the key at home.

-Vanya, you got a knife?
- Sure.

l'm always in a hurry...

Are you going to break it?
Such a good suitcase!

Never mind, we'll get lots
of suitcases yet, right, Ivan?

There you go, it's open.

Aren't you a tractor designer?

No, l'm a railroad designer.

Too bad, or l'd ask you a couple
of questions.

No, please,
l'm tired of questions.

Oh, brandy, KWK.

Great.

And the banknotes!

Oh, the intelligentsia!
Who puts money in a suitcase?

l don't see any literature here.
Usually, they stuff a lot of that shit.

- ''Alyonushka'' chocolate.
- No, it's not that.

Alyonushka.
Here. l mean, ''Alyonka''.

C'mon, Nyura, try it on.

-Why?
- Ty it on. l want to look.

No. l'm afraid l'll tear it.

- Ty it on.
- l don't wear such things.

Ty it on, and we'll look.
It must be a present, right?

Turn away, then.

What's your general attitude towards
brandy?

Mine?
Good attitude.

How about a drink?
KWK.

- You mean this one?
-A brandy for generals.

l don't mind at all.

Look.

- It becomes you.
- Really?

To whom are you taking
these treasures?

You may keep it.

Yes, keep it,
it becomes you so much.

Super and fantastic,
as we say

when we complete some
especially successful construction.

Look, Viktor...

We're somewhat short of money,
got enough just for the road.

The blouse must be expensive.

Don't insult me, Vanya.
Money is shit.

Better let's drink.
Nyura, come join us.

Fill the glasses, Vanya.

Your wife must be a happy woman.

She's alright.
A bit absent-minded.

Well, it happens.

Well, guys...

We live like this

we work, but there's no joy.

We don't have
enough real creative work.

Just trivialities of suffixes
and flexions.

l'm getting tired.

Always in a state of tension,
my nerves are as tight as strings.

l'm afraid they may
just burst, like this!

Yeah...
Sure, that's the railway.

We're just talking one ride,
and it gives you a swelled head.

And you got to think all the time.

All right, cheers.

What's your patronymic?

Aleksandrovich.
For friends l'm Viktor.

Let me tell you, Viktor.

lf it were not for your work,
we won't be going far.

Sure, you won't do without us.

Look, l finished
just six years of school.

But then l studied for 3 months
and became a tractor driver.

And us, aviation
designers, work like...

You said you were
a railway designer.

Yes, l'm a railway designer,
but leaning to aviation.

For instance, now we're
working on the ''Y'' system.

A railway road with no bridges.

What do you mean?

lt's like this.
A train is running.

A train runs at 100 km an hour.

On its way there's a river.
Mind you, there's no bridge.

And what does it do?

The train glide,s up
in the air

flies over the river

and lands right on the rails.

And where does it have the wings?

A usual question.

No wings.
An air cushion.

The locomotive emits a powerful
jet of exhaust steam underneath itself,

and over that steam, that steam...

A dead end.

This one.
Sitting and drinking brandy.

Hello.
Where're you heading?

Me?

Us?
Heading south.

You don't need south
you need a detoxification c!enter.

Just a minute.

lvan Sergeyevich Rastorguyev.

Right, Rastorguyev.

What are you doing? No sooner had
you taken off that you hit the bottle.

You misunderstood. It was l who
treated the comrade farmer to brandy.

We haven't drunk that much.

l confirm that he was
absolutely sober before that.

- He's sober now, too.
- Don't plead for him.

This boor will thank you in full.

l'm not pleading,
l'm establishing a fact.

And you, comrade, should be ashamed
of yourself for running to the militia

and spreading disinformation.

Me spreading disinformation?

And what's this on your table,
mineral water?

This is the KWK brandy. Are we
having a dry law in the county?

Stop running around
and traumatizing people.

- These people are going for a rest...
-And who are you?

That's exactly what l wanted to ask
you. Where do you work?

And where're you going?

To the Novosibirsk academic town.
So, where do you work?

lt's none of your business.

All right, l'll try to find it out.

Through Nikolai Sergeyevich.
It's no problem.

You didn't hear him calling me names.
He said ''harlot''.

You should've talked like men.

Should've gone to the platform
and sorted it out.

But no, you've brought a militiaman,
diverting him from his direct duties

and instilling in
our agricultural workers

a distrust of the uniform.

Calm down, comrades.

Our duty is to warn the comrade
not to forget himself,

to remember that he's traveling.

That goes for you, too.
You drink without eating.

There's a restaurant car.

You can order soup, the main
dish, and drink then.

Then you can be sure you won't be
knocked out, otherwise it's risky.

Goodbye, comrades.

Be careful with this stuff.

The music didn't play for long,

the lame John's dance was pretty short.

You were just asking me, Ivan,
about the ''Y'' system.

Right.

Just now, before your eyes,

the ''Y'' system has worked.

- You were in the air.
-What d'you mean, in the air?

How about a game of preference?

My dear, can you get lost, so that
it took me a while looking for you?

Viktor, Viktor...

lt's my nerves.

So, we were in the air.

We glided up,

and we landed softly.

Ah, we're moving again.

l don't know who landed, but
my heart surely landed in my heels.

- You got scared?
- Yes, scared.

They could get us off, and we'd
have been stranded at the station.

They could easily do it.

Vanya, give me the suitcase.

And throw me my cap.

Are you leaving?

l'll go look for a friend of mine.

He's a designer, too,
working on this train.

Too bad.

Vanya, the brandy.

No, leave it.

Why? There's a cap there,
you can screw it on.

You'll meet your friend
and have something to drink.

Sure.

We'll find something.

Well, goodbye, guys.
It was good meeting you.

Viktor Aleksandrovich, l don't know
how to thank you for the blouse.

Best wishes to your wife
and your kids if you have any.

There must be some.

l don't understand
why he gave it to me.

We'll never understand.
Our understanding is such that

we putter like beetles in the manure,
and think that everyone's like that.

But there're real people.

Flying high!

l'd have been like that myself
if not for your greediness.

Give me the money. l'm burning with
shame every time you reach for it.

Don't worry, you won't burn down.
It'll be safer there.

May you be well,
good man.

May everything be all right with you.

Why have we stopped?

l think it's the emergency stopping.

-Where's he?
-Who?

The one who was with you here.

- The designer?
- The designer.

He stepped out. Said he'd go
Iook for a friend.

What's up?

He must've jumped off.
Let's go.

We're done for, Nyura.

-Why?
- It's stolen!

What do we do now, Vanya?

Take it off, quick!

Has he taken all his things?

What did he have?

He had... what's the name...
a yellow suitcase with belts.

Did he go to the front
or the tail of the train?

Well, l... don't know.

Don't leave your compartment.

See what happened? There were seats,
and l took him on without a ticket.

And now they're
looking for the culprit.

You were drinking brandy with him.

So you're to blame, too.

They can't catch him,
so they blame it on someone else.

Yes, l took him on.
They beg, and l have free seats.

lf you need to go - go, then.
No, they have to find the culprit.

They said not to leave.
Sit there.

Why are we to blame?

-Who closed the window?
- l don't know.

-What's the matter?
-Why?

Where is it?

They said not to touch the brandy
bottle, they'll take fingerprints.

-And you sit here.
-Where did you put it?

-What?
- The blouse.

- One can lose his head with you.
-Wanted to steal it?

Stop joking!

-Want me to give it to you?
-What for?

- You'll wear it.
- Your wife will wear it.

Sit tight and don't raise your voice.
Some jokers!

- You want me to eat it or what?
- Flush it down the toilet.

Nyura.

Nyura!

Where're you going?

- They're calling you.
-What is it now?

Go.

You tell them.

Taking on some recidivists.
You never have enough.

Did he introduce himself
as your husband's acquaintance?

No, my husband stepped out for
a smoke. Then they came in together.

So, a fellow traveler.
What did he say when he came in?

l got diarrhea, comrades.

Go back, an investigator is there.

Wait a minute!

Go, he wants you.

l'm coming!

What happened there?

Nothing. Go to your place.

Come on.

They caught someone.

He was vey polite, asked how
things were in our collective farm.

-Where's that comrade?
- l told him. He got...

He's coming.

Come in. Why do you knock?
It's your compartment.

Hello
mister investigator.

Sit down.

lt's too hot.

-Why ''mister''?
-And what should l say?

He doesn't look like...

Oh, come on.

-Why ''mister''?
-And what it should be?

The usual, ''comrade''.

lt's too early for ''mister''.
It'll come later, you silly.

l've got two questions for you.

When did you get the telegram?

Oh, Yuri!

They're standing over there.
Let's go.

Let's get out.

We thought you didn't get
the telegram, and so...

Let's change our appearance, just
in case. Go on, change.

How are you, good people?

l think it's here.

-Vanya.
- Yes, l see.

There we go.

Well, l'm your new neighbor.

- Going far?
- Yes, far.

l'm going far, too.

Excuse me, l hope l didn't
disturb you?

No, you didn't.

Aren't you a designer by any chance?

No. Why do you
think l'm a designer?

And what are you,
l wonder?

l'm a professor.

l was visiting your parts,
collecting ditties and folktales.

- Have you collected them?
- Yes, and a great many of them.

Our people are vey rich.

They've preserved their riches for
ages and give them for free. Take it!

ln this suitcase, there's a whole peck
of gold. l can show it to you.

No, thank you, we don't want anything.

Well, all right.

l think l'll go and ask them for tea.

-Would you like some?
- No!

Professor!

Some professor!
Check the money.

lt's here.

There we go happy-go-lucky again.

Move the money back
and sit on it.

How can they get it from here?

How?
They take a watch off your hand.

Yes.

And from there they'll steal it in
a snap. You won't even feel it.

Which is his berth?
Ah, here.

A real fish we've got here!

That fish is still swimming.

lt's not a fish
it's a real shark.

- How many people are in here?
- Three.

Thanks.
Let's go to another compartment.

Three of us. Don't even think of it.

Thank you, we heard you.

The whole gang is here.

Here comes the tea.

And a vey good tea, you know.

Too bad you refused.

We've already had tea.

-Are you from a village?
- Right.

How are things in the village?

l think it's got much better.
People look more cheerful.

You don't say! Sometimes we don't
know where to run from cheerfulness.

When the whole street begins
Laughing, it's more than you can take.

- Only the fire engines can stop them.
- Really? Why do they laugh?

Feeling cheerful.
Take me, for example.

l get up in the morning, no breakfast
yet, but l already feel like laughing.

The devil only knows what it is,
but it's a riot.

There's no stopping me.

- My husband doesn't drink.
- Nor smokes.

-A pure gold of a man.
- He plays the balalaika.

Why pure gold?

Neither drinks nor smokes
so l guess, got a lot of money.

Where can we get it?

We're going south now,

we hardly scraped up enough money
for two one-way tickets.

How are you going to get back?

He says it costs a ruble plus.
It's a lot for my pocket.

l'm not extracting
gold by pecks like this.

ls it in the way?
l can take it away.

- Is this our berth?
- Come on, sit down.

l know you're playing the fool,
but l can't understand why.

Vanya, come sit on your birth.

Can you explain
what happened?

- Do you know some designer?
- l know many. Why?

No, it's nothing.

The one on railways, right?
Leaning to aviation.

What do the railways
have to do with it?

The ''Y'' system, with no bridges.

A middle-aged man, got some gray
hair. Doesn't he have any shame?

People are breaking their backs
for a kopeck.

And he stole a suitcase
and is so proud of himself.

They live like lords,
drinking brandy, K-V-K-K!

Yes, l do have money!
Don't you sweet-talk to me.

Just try and steal at least a ruble!

Here, see this?

Can knock a 3-year-old bull off his
feet. l'll knock you down right away!

Yes, a serious fist.

No, we can't go on like this.
Excuse me.

Vanya, maybe we hurt the man
just for nothing?

l'll be damned if l know.

Perhaps we've taken a sin
upon our soul.

But how can you tell?
Where did he get a peck of gold?

Come on, stand up, Nyura.

-Why?
- Never mind. Sit down.

Why are you showing your
vigilance here?

lt's comrade Stepanov,
a professor from Moscow.

He'll be seeing thieves
wherever he goes now.

lt doesn't look nice, you hurt
the man's feelings.

- No hurt, everything's all right.
-Well, it's not.

l wasn't hurt.
It's good we sorted it out.

You behave yourself here.

Does he look life a thief? You don't
understand anything about people.

Sure
how funny! it is!

Did you understand anything
about that designer?

Look at him sitting and smirking.

Put yourself in order.
You're not home, on your stove.

- Get yourself comfortable, professor.
- l will, thank you.

lf he bristles up, you tell me,
we'll take him in hand in no time.

Leave him alone. Thank you,
we can deal with it ourselves.

Just naming the words, right?

Yes, just ''to strike''.

He stroke, l stroke, someone stroke.

Well, for instance, l bashed.

Well, you bashed.

- Is it bad?
-Well...

Thwacked.

- Thwacked?
- Thwacked.

Thwacked a horse with a whip.
A fast, abrupt blow.

l got it.
More.

May l use foul language?

- She heard it a lot.
- No, you can't.

- But there're many words.
- l know.

Taught him a lesson.

- Taught him a lesson.
- Yes.

Well, this is not an expressive verb,
it's somewhat feminine.

Cracked, whacked.

Those are muscular verbs.

Rapped, swapped, pelted.

No, it's not that.

Drove, thrust.

Nicked.

Nicked?
You mean, kicked?

Our granny says.. ''You rascal,
l'm going to nick you now!''

This is a grandmotherly verb.

Shut up there, you expert.

Took on a bean.

-What's this?
- Come here, l'll show you.

l'll teach you.

Two men are fighting,

one takes the other like this
and on a bean.

-A bean is a head, right?
- Yes, a head.

- In what language is this?
- In Russian.

No, Vanya, it's not Russian.
You know where it came from?

Yes?

Hello.

Hello.
Oh, it's a real invasion.

- Sit down.
- Thank you.

Excuse us, we were having an argument,
was it you on television?

l have to admit l was.

You're Stepanov, the linguist, right?

Right, a linguist.

Sergey Fyodorovich, come to our
comparrtment, we're singing there.

Come, really.

-Well, Ivan, shall we go?
- Let's go.

Let's take a bottle as long as
they're singing, right?

Come on, Nyura.

l'm not going, l don't sing.

Vanya, you'd better not, either.

lt's just next-door.

So what? You'll drink
and start running down the car.

Nyura, he won't be
running down the car.

l know him.

Vanya, get the bottle
from my suitcase.

Just a minute.

Nyura, get me my jacket.

...The smithy went a-ringing,

When will you, vicious tyrants,
be done?

When will you stop beating me on
and on?

You stupid pig of iron, you better be
still

Don't teach a craftsman his skill.

You want to be a hoe -waste no words

All our brethren are forging swords,

To cut off the Polovtsian scum's head

To disembowel the raging enemy dead,

Our Russia that feeds us to ward

That's why we need the sword.

For our Mother Russia

Young and old,

For our Mother Russia

Everyone is bold,

For our Mother Russia

Everyone will have it done,

For our Mother Russia

Staying away is none,

For our Mother Russia

Everyone has won,

For our Mother Russia

Everyone is her son.

And an awful moan went a-singing,

And the whole smithy went a-ringing.

That's blacksmiths working...

Come to my village,
see how l live.

Shall we be mowing?

Why should we mow?
The machines do it now.

Shall we do it like this?

With your hands, for pleasure?

No, it's a hard work, guys.
We'd better sit in boats.

How does the song go?

We sat in a boat with my sister,

We smoothly sailed over the waves...

Excuse me, but we're sailing already.

Do you have the Volga river?

The Volga?

l've got the Katun, guys.
Come and see it, it's beautiful.

Do you have a bearskin?

A bearskin?
As many as three of them!

One is in the hall
l wipe my boots on it.

Another is in the children's room
my kids are playing on it.

And the third one's in our bedroom.

- Do you have a lightning arrester?
-A lightning arrester?

That's on the roof
and l'm describing the inside.

You go through...
what's the name, the hall?

We call it a passage.

Over a soft carpet you go left,
there's a sideboard on thin legs.

Once, on a payday,
l brushed against it with my shoulder,

got a 68 ruble-worth of china
smashed at once.

Your wife must've made a scene?

No, she's not a bawling kind.
We don't have that.

l know some women like this.
They open their flapper and get going!

Are they laughing at him?

No. They're young kids -you show
them a finger and they start laughing.

There's no ill feeling there,
don't worry.

How can l not worry?
He's a stranger to them.

What is he telling them?

He tells them how well
he lives, how rich he is.

What a blabbermouth.
A tongue as long as a cow's.

He's a good man, l'm not
complaining.

He loves the kids, he's nice to me.

But whenever he has a drink
there's no holding him.

Either he brags how rich he is,
or he starts a fight.

Well, it sounds familiar.

But he's a good man, a kind man.

What's that ringing, what's that
ringing

From our tall bell-tower?

lt must be Vanya, our friend,
singing a pretty song.

What's that ringing, what's that
ringing

From our tall bell-tower?

lt must be Vanya, our friend,
singing a pretty song.

He's studying to be an engineer...

- He's coming.
- No, l can't do it.

You can, only act serious.

Good evening.
Here l am.

Well, what do you think?

Oh, l don't know what to say.
l got two little kids.

So what?
It's nothing.

He loves children vey much.
He's got a house near Moscow.

He doesn't drink, doesn't smoke
doesn't brawl.

He's never said
a rude word to anyone.

You'll be living like in God's pocket.
Come on, make up your mind.

Well, l don't know.

But, to be honest
l'm fed up with this!life.

People are having a holiday, and
my heart starts to ache way before it.

- How old is he?
- You mean that man? He's l5.

But he's still in good form.

Has white hair, holds his head up
proudly, vey handsome.

All life he was dancing in operettas,
so he knows how to hold himself.

Actually, he's too old.

l5 years? No, he can
outdo any young man.

Besides, he's cultured.

Every other word is
merci, pardon, danke schon.

At least you'll get a break from
those 'ain'ts' and 'gonnas', my dear.

Yes, of course, l'd like to live
like that.

l'm sorry, but l don't quite
understand who you're talking about.

ls someone marrying somebody?

Not so much living myself as giving
my children a good example to follow.

What are they seeing now?

That's what l'm saying,
it'll be a good example for them.

- l'll think it over.
- Yes, think about it.

So what if he's l5?
l'll be taking care of him.

There's not that much to do.

ln the morning you'll cary him
to a park,

put him on a bench, and he'll
be sitting there, all too happy.

He doesn't eat much.

Fix him some porridge,
he'll eat it, and that's it.

Look, l'm vey sorry.

l say, l'm sorry,
but l am here.

Oh, you're here?
We didn't hear you come.

Got lost in conversation.
You've been here long?

He came in so quietly.

-What's going on?
- Nothing.

And who is...
Who is l5 years old here?

- l am.
-And who's getting married?

Vanya, come on, get
undressed and go to bed.

Climb up on your berth and lie down.

-Who's getting married?
- l'm going to call the steward.

You've told all your stories, you've
sung, you've done your act.

l don't get it,
who's getting married?

You'll get it tomorrow.

Go to sleep, quick!

lt's not by the wind that a tree
branch bends

lt's not the forest that sounds sad

lt's a moan my poor heart rends...

-Vanya, is that you singing?
- Yes, me.

Oh God, l thought it was the radio.

Shut up now.

Or l'll turn you off.
Go to sleep.

And you say, an example.
You'd marry a goat after this.

Lullaby- lullaby,

Winterfelt boots we'll go and buy,

We'll put them on our feet,

We'll wish them God-speed.

You, my teeny-weeny darling,
Iook at him, he's laughing!

The minute l wake up, my heart
beats hard.

Why are you worrying so much?
Nothing awful is going to happen.

He'll serve his two years
and come back, he'll get only smarter.

They knock good sense in
their heads in the army.

lf mine had served, he would've
been smarter, l guess, but now...

-Wasn't he in the army?
- No, he wasn't.

He's a record-beating tractor driver.

Our farm didn't let him go and serve.
He's even got a decoration.

A decoration?
Which one?

That order...
l forgot its name.

A good order, a big one.

Would you like some tea?

We would. And the more of it
the better.

Excuse me, do you sell newspapers
here?

You can buy newspapers at the stops.

Vanya, what kind of an order
you've got?

Cut it out with your orders.
What an idea!

Good morning.

Morning.

Oh, my dear maple,

Frozen stiff and bare...

That professor goes right now..
''Can l have a newspaper?''

l say, ''The newspapers are sold
at the stops.''

Sing something, will you?

You, my dear maple, frozen stiff and
bare.

Nothing.

-What?
- There he goes ''whattting'' again.

And his conscience is at peace,
and he's got no worries.

What a stubborn conscience you got.

Lenochka, let's step out.

Lenochka, let's step out!

They get so polite at this time of day,
l just can't stand it.

Stupid me, throwing my watch
away yesterday.

- Throwing where?
- In the window.

You'll get it in full for that.

l'll fasten it with a safety-pin like
this, and it'll look like it's here.

lt was a cheap watch, anyway.

Don't get upset.

There was nothing ugly yesterday.

What d'you mean, nothing ugly?
l must've been wagging my tongue.

What a horrid tongue l've got.
l hate myself because of it.

You know, once
l went to a windmill

50 kilometers away from our village.

l'd got it milled. We had
a drink or two with men, of course.

And l don't know what got over me.

l began claiming
that l was a Hero of Socialist Labor.

And how did it end! They're making
fun of me, and l start a fight.

Thank God l got away alive...

About eight men,
and all with fists like this!

Eight against one!

We're coming to a big station,

you can get all kinds of newspapers
there.

La-di-da! What d'you know!

What?

Nothing, thanks.

l don't need all those riches, do l?

l just want to put my kids on
their feet and not worry about them.

Otherwise, we've got everything.

We got a TV set, a cow and pigs.
What else do we need?

l ain't complaining.

Such a big land!

''You said, father.. put your tail between
your legs and stay home. Wrong.

ln recent days l've met more people
than in three years of our life.

No, we should travel
as much as possible.

We're riding fine, in good spirits.

l made a mistake and
grabbed a compartment car ticket.

But thanks to this, we're traveling
comfortably.

Our fellow-traveler happens to be
an old professor,

he also comes from common people,
but he's vey smart.

He made it big in life.
He also got a son named Ivan.

You can live at my place
as long as you wish, he says.

We'll stay with him for a day
and see the capital.

Take care of the kids.

lvan.''

Before, our state was
held together only by god-fearing.

lt's a sin to do this, it's a sin
to do that.

And now l realize
it was just nonsense.

Dear guests of our capital,
we invite you for a tour of Moscow.

You'll visit the Lenin Hills

the University
named after Lomonosov

you'll tour the Central
Stadium in Luzhniki

and stop at a new residential area
in the city's southwest.

They will go on their trip.

They're going south, to a resort.
What?

Then why two weeks?

Why don't they live in Moscow for
a while? It's a rare chance for them.

Sure, let them live here.
But why are you so worked up?

l'm not worked up.
Why are you worked up?

Shut your eyes.

-Why?
- Come on, shut them.

Made in USA.

The things people think up!

Let me try it on.

No, we may break it.

And look here!

Come here.
Sit down and don't move.

Don't touch things there.

You're not thinking right.
What do cultured people do?

ln someone else's house, cultured
people sit down and don't budge.

Oh, you got a sweet-tooth, don't you?
Take this one.

lt's green.

Zinovy Yefimovich,
please, come sit here.

Well, how is our
mother-village doing?

And how is our
father-city feeling?

What can happen to it?
It's growing, clamoring, building.

No, it's not the right growth. What's
growing, doesn't clamor about itself.

That what clamors is clambering up,
not growing.

Those are the rhythms of the city.
She got no time even to drink coffee.

The rhythms...

You're forgetting about a simple
yet eternal law of life.

A body won't fall
if it maintains speed.

And it's not for us, you old grumbler...

You see, we got
guests from village again.

l'll have
to go shopping with them.

l think, at 10 o'clock.

So what are you suggesting?

l'm not suggesting anything.
l stopped suggesting long ago.

lf only l dared suggesting...

What can they do, if only, of course,
we don't think up a problem for them?

What can they do?

The master of the house
could answer that question.

Yes, he could, if it comes to that.

But, unfortunately, there're
none in our homes now.

Maybe in their homes, but it's not
likely, either.

Now we're talking male
chauvinism here.

What an unusual nostalgia for
a professor's house, don't you think?

No, l don't.

Nyura, Ivan, please wait for me
downstairs, in the garden.

l'll be with you in 10 minutes.

Have coffee at least.

Really, why don't you have coffee?

lvan, l'm serious, l ask you
to talk to these village people.

They're the modern Russia!

All Russia in one Ivan?

Talk about what? About today's
situation of a village teacher?

l know more about it than him.

l know that the overwhelming
majority of teachers are women.

- l can give you the figures.
- So what?

- It's not good.
- Not good.

l mean, it's not
that it's too bad.

But it would be better
if we had more male teachers.

l hope l don't have to explain
to you that for a schoolboy

whatever a male teacher says

is not the same as
what a female teacher says.

- So what are you going to do?
-We're writing our theses.

They're simultaneously agitators,
organizers,

amateur talent performers,
and deputies.

l don't see anything bad about it.

lt's bad that she has no time for
reading a book, watching a movie.

They're collapsing from exhaustion.

And, thirdly?

l would've raised their salary.

But, as you understand,

l can't do it
from my own pocket.

And, anyway, what do we do?

Vanya?

lt's me.

lt's us.

We're on Serpukhovka.

Drivers, pass to

free lanes on your right.

You are not to occupy left lanes
if right lanes are free.

O4-94, keep
to your right.

lvan.

Tell him about the teacher.

He'll be making himself out
to be a sociology scholar.

But don't let it confuse you,
as for knowledge and learning so far...

Oh, what a gait! What a gait!

Dad, it's for you.

All right, baby!

Lyuba, one last time?

The last one?

About what teacher, Vanya?

-About Fyodorova.
- Oh, God.

They will write it in the papers,
saying you told it.

Yes.
What did you tell?

Well, l can say l was in my cups,
blurted it out being drunk.

l said that
she gets 100 rubles.

l forgot about the alimony,
she gets 35 rubles as alimony.

So, it's 135.
Is that what you call poverty?

They bring her firewood for free.

And she pays less tax.

She got a telephone installed,
and l got zilch.

What do you need a telephone for?

l had to say something
for comparison.

Ah, right.

Even if you don't need it, just
pretend you're dying without a phone.

See what a mess we got in?

What else did you tell him?

Well...

Some rubbish.

Tell me about it, Vanya.
l may help you out.

What did you tell?

l said that l, an uneducated man
live better than she, it's not right!.

When you think of it, it's true,
it's not right.

She's teaching our kids,
but she's poorer than we.

Hell's bells!

l said l'm willing to pay her up,
together with the collective farm.

lvan, Nyura,
straighten yourselves up.

Feel yourselves at home.
You're sitting like at a funeral party.

Straighten up, Nyura.
Really, we're sitting like...

Why?

Let him tell us about
himself as he can.

Let people listen.

Don't play those games, Sergey.

You don't know him.

Yes, as for me, l'll be there.

Me?

l'm writing my memoirs.
Want to hear it?

Well, how do you like it?

lt's nothing!

l got a live one working now.

Can Nyura make a speech, too?

Nyura?
Why Nyura?

You can do it better.

-All right.
- Good.

All right.

Sergey Fyodorovich, why do you need
so many samovars? And icons...

That's a fad with our young
people now, they're collecting.

Nyura, was it really funny
for you when the clown performed?

Well, it was funny.

Was it to you?

l want to smoke.
l can't, l guess.

Of course you can't.

ls someone walking there?

lt must be in the street.
Who can walk here?

l keep hearing some sounds.

Some situation we got in, huh?

-Would you want to live here?
-Where?

ln this apartment?
Oh, God!

Why in this apartment?
In the city.

Oh, l don't know.

l dunno.

Yeah...

What time is it
on this curious clock?

l don't feel like sleeping at all.

Oh God, l wish l saw
our kids in my dream.

Dear colleagues,

friends.

l invited you to this meeting
for only one purpose.

l want you to listen to one of those

whom we call the creators of our
Language, the keepers of our language.

l think it might be interesting.

Go ahead.

Dear comrades.

When l was young, l had a mare

nicknamed Herring,

perhaps because she was skinny,
or the devil knows why.

But this Herring had a mane
of incomparable beauty.

A mane like
a fair girl's braid.

You would comb burdocks out of it
take it in your hands,

and it rises up
like a blackwave.

And at those times we had
a brigade-leader, Grisha Konoplyov.

Grishunya.
He was a good man, but a little bit...

One day this Grishunya
comes and says..

''Vanya, bring your Herring,
we're gonna shear her mane,

let's conduct an experiment.

l saw in the movies
how them horses wear it on parade.''

Alright.
l liked the idea.

l brought Herring,

and with the sheep shears
we cut the mane even

like they cut lawns here.

And what does our Herring do?

l come up to put a collar on her,
but she won't let me.

l try this way and that way.
l come up from behind - she kicks.

From the front- she bites.

Grishunya goes.. ''Don't you know
how to harness a horse?''

He takes the collar and goes to her -
she kicked him real hard!

What are you blabbering about?

Why?

Did l say something wrong?

l thought they wanted
something from the peasants' life?

Well, merci, then.

Yeah...

Let's reckon that the city
folks got their lesson.

Well, it's interesting, interesting.

But isn't there some
peasant arrogance in it?

Look, l'm sorry

about that circus.

lt's all right, Vanya.

Circus is an ancient genre.

ln Russia they knew it from
time immemorial.

Well?

Well?

Holliday wool dresses,
light coats, outfits.

And to cap our program,
we're presenting

evening gowns.

''My dear granddad,
mother-in-law, kids

aunt Dunya, nannyVera,
godfather, uncle Vasya...

l wanted to tell you about everything
in good order, but it's impossible.

There're quite, quite different
rhythms here.

They're much closer to
communism than we are

because almost everyone...
almost everything is mechanized.

Tonight at 22..30, we depart for
the south. Ivan.''

Why is he so keen on
politics all of a sudden?

What do you mean?

l'll be enjoying myself at resorts,
and she'll be sitting home?

l feel sorry for her,
she wants to go, too.

Are you serious?

No, l mean...

-Where's your wife?
- Over there, by the lions.

- Doesn't he believe me?
- Perhaps he doesn't.

Nyura, come here.

-With our things?
- No, not yet.

With things...

Good morning.

- l hear that Chalyapin sang here.
- Yes, that's true.

Excuse me, please,
you wait here, and we'll finish this.

lt's far from a full list.

At one time
building the palace

were about 200 people.

And that was going on for 20 years.

And as we're looking now...

-Where will she live?
-With me.

What do you mean, with you?

l'm entitled to a room, right?

You're entitled to a bed.

We can put a folding bed.

- It's just phenomenal!
-What's phenomenal?

l say, it's phenomenal.

Why is it phenomenal?

Why didn't you bring
your mother-in-law, too?

Don't you touch my mother-in-law.

Go and get settled.

Yes...

See what
we have to deal with here?

A curious character.
Everyone wants to go to a resort now.

He dug his heels in, won't even listen.

Ty and beg him.
Say we've come such a long way.

l jumped out of my skin begging.
l can't, he says, have no right.

Am l supposed to go back now?
And you'll stay here.

All right, don't start suffering.

Come here.
l've been thinking.

Maybe l should give him
some 20 rubles?

-Will he take it?
- How can he not? Sure he will.

- Maybe it's not enough?
- Enough.

We're to live here together.

lt's so beautiful here!

Like a paradise.
l like it so much here.

- Some paradise...
- People look happy. What's up?

l don't know how to give a bribe.
Never done it.

-Just shove it into his hand.
- Shove it!

You never know
who will shove whom here.

All right, go on.

Even if he doesn't take it...
He won't whack you.

lf he whacked me, it wouldn't be
that bad.

But what if they arrest me
for bribing?

- Oh, God.
-What? That'll be some rest.

Doing hard labor somewhere
instead of resting.

Come on.
What do we do now?

l have a feeling
she's hurting me on purpose.

Why?

What's the matter?
l told you, go and get settled.

You go on talking. l'll wait here.

Please, don't lean on it.

Excuse me, can you leave us alone
for 5 minutes?

We'll finish our business
with this comrade.

All right.

l'm listening.

ls it a deal?

l don't have any more.

Just left something to live here on
and for our way back.

l would've given more,
but that's all l got, honest.

Take it, it'll come handy.

Take it back, l said!

''Good day, or evening,
our dear family.

How are you there?
We miss you so vey much.

How are my kids,
my darling little dancers?

Oh God, it's so good here!

l'm even thinking, how good it would
be if we all came here sometime.

Vanya, though, says that if all with
a build like mine get in the sea,

there will be a flood in Turkey.

And l say, never mind,
they can live on a raft.

Really, it's so great here!

All people look happy,
just a treat for the eyes.

Well, goodbye.

Now l'll be counting days
before we get home.

l miss the kids so much.
Otherwise, everything is all right.

l'm living with one woman,
in her apartment.

She's from the serving
staff of the resort.

So l'll follow the regimen
together with Ivan.''

That's it, guys, the end.

The End