The Initiated (1989) - full transcript
Lenfilm
Third Creative Union
Gor Oganisyan
Lyubov Polishchuk, Aleksandr Trofimov
Yelena Bragina, Gabriel Vorobyov
Vladimir Simonov, Sergei Makovetskyi
Screenplay by Youri Arabov
Directed by Oleg Teptsov
The Initiated
Shhh, we caught the thief
Do it!
And the fir?
May 1 parade playing in the background
Hey there...
Verka didn't stop by?
Have you heard?...
The world will end this Thursday
Those... Swedes predicted it
We should buy more salt, cereals
I brought some gumshoes
from the factory - just in case
This is William Arturovich,
he'll stay with us for the holidays
He's Masha's third cousin,
make his acquaintance
He can't hear a thing, but understands
son of a bitch
Have courage now, the demigod!
Where's now your soul's deep cry?
To rank itself with us, the spirits?
Have courage now, the demigod!
Where's now your soul's deep cry?
- Vovka! - What?
- Get up, they lost him!
- Who?
- Get up, they lost a man playing cards!
Vovka, if you can't help, nobody can
What do I do?
- Go there? - Yes, get up
and I'll fall on the knife myself
get up
let's go
I'll fall on the knife myself
Komsomol (Communist Youth) Guarantee
Careful... come here
Let him sleep here
Vovka, could you go for a walk
or stay at Lyoshka's place?
Have courage now, the demigod!
Where's now your soul's deep cry?
To rank itself with us...
...the spirits?
Have courage now, the demigod!...
Come, Petya, drop your work,
it's time to create, come quick!
Quickly, quickly, Petya... begin!
- My Guest, I feel you're close!
- Spirit, Petya!
Spirit, I feel you're close!
Unveil yourself!
Oh! How my heart is riven!
Each sense, with eager palpitation
Unveil yourself!
You must!
No, Petya, you're calling him
like your mistress, and it's the Spirit!
Use force to make it obey you, come...
- Let's work here
- No, can't do, follow me!
I feel it, spirit
Spirit, I feel you're close!
Unveil yourself!
I can't hear, follow me
Volodya, now your lines...
Volodya, come closer
And... go!
Who calls me?
Cue! Cue, I said!
Well? Say it already!
- What?
- Your cue: "Dreadful sight!"
- Dreadful sight! - Moron!
You wait now, wait I said!
- I'll make you act!
- I'm not acting!
- Dreadful sight, dreadful sight!
- Oh, get lost!
- I'll make you act!
- I'm not gonna act!
Wait I say, wait for me!
- I'll make you act!
- Bugger off! - I'll make you act!...
That's my mother's grave
And here's my father
I used to work
as electrician at the factory
the insulation was burnt
and I got a large shock
- And my father is an actor
- What's his name? - Frolov
- That Frolov? - That one
- The Award winner? - Yes
Why do you act in that club?
I've wanted to become an actor
since I was a kid
We used to live there...
one the other shore
Magick Rites and Rituals
of Peoples of Africa (XIX)
Okay, will do
Here, comrade Sverdlov,
is the man we spoke of
Is your cruiser ready
to accomplish its assignment?
It's ready alright...
there's just
not enough unity among the sailors
The devils are confusing everyone
- Who?
- The mensheviks and the esers!
And I'm no good at speeches,
I'm a simple captain...
No need to speak...
you'll lead
Yakov Sverdlov is the
Award-winning actor Milent'ev
...the squadron will take the fairway...
and line up like so
And how about we turn around
and do both fairways, alternatively?
Last question.
How did glasnost affect you personally?
Come, don't be shy, come on
Meet my friend, Voldemar, your admirer
- He too was at the performance
- Was he? Excellent
One moment...
Where were you?
Where have you been wandering?
I'm sick of calls from the university!
Remember how I had to beg the principal?
Leave me alone
You see the play?
How was she? Good?
That was total crap...
the director is pitiful
How?
Well, its language is too compilatory
with too trivial a plot...
the actors' performance does offset
the wretchedness of direction, but...
We performed it in Paris...
the bourgeoisie in furs and diamonds
understood nothing of our sailors...
yet they applauded, yes - but this is
not the righteous path, but a dead end
dead end
An anecdote...
about Mirzayan
they took this fool to Rome
and he went to a pay toilet
he finished, but can't get out
can't figure out
that he has to pay more to get out
the plane is ready to leave for Moscow,
Mirzayan is absent, everybody's anxious
he's killed or kidnapped?
then he arrives just in time,
all covered in, pardon me, crap
turns out he got out through some
basements, had to break some bars
Who is Mirzayan?
The author of the farce you saw today
No, this is not the righteous path
Just decadence. What do you think?
All the asininity
comes from our chief director
Nowadays, only an idiot can stage
plays about revolutionary buffoons
The problem...
...I t-think is not the buffoons
The problem is... you are enacting lies
That's what we're saying, young man,
that the play is bad
Why then undertake it at all?
Why perform it in France?
You became a laureate for it, I believe?
Tell me now, uncle, not in vain,
Engulfed in flame was Moscow...
Surrendered to the French?
Old-timers talk about some frays,
And they remember well those days!
With cause all Russia fashions lays
About Borodino!
Vova, we have guests
Enthusiasts reenacting the war of 1812
vs. Napoleon are wearing costumes...
The canons are real, while
the costumes of the period are home-made
This is how they spend their vacation
It is said that Napoleon lost here
not only 30,000 of his men
but legend has it that also lost was
a carriage with looted treasure
perhaps campaign participants will join
in on the search for the lost treasure
We encourage the local folk
to study the history of their land
Have you succeeded?
I believe so, yes, since our campaign...
How do you like his bride?
Cute, isn't she?
Yes. I'll go to Lyoshka's place then...
- ...to spend the night
- Yea, go ahead
Son of a bitch!
It's you, Voldemar,
no place to sleep again?
Hungry?
- Yes, hungry
- Come in
You're a fanciful being, Volod'ka,
Not refined but piercing
If you're in trouble, just tell me:
"Lyosha, I've got trouble"
And Lyosha will fix it,
no matter what the cost
He's got a razor, two sharp blades,
and both for you, got it? Take this
You're an honest bloke,
but why is it you don't have a woman?
don't know how to get one?
I'll teach you
and you'll call it
"ex-butcher Lyokha's tale", Okay?
That's what Pushkin would call it
First... get a checking account.
Got $5? Good enough!
Don't have money? Borrow mine
They'll give you the bank statement
Add to what's there a few zeroes
about 4 zeroes
Lyosha will teach you good
Find a chick and bring her home
better yet, I'll let you borrow my place
yours is always full
So, you come, settle down...
and you say...
darling!...
my back is itchy, I'll take a shower
and you leave on the table
your passport and the statement...
which says you have... $50,000. Good.
Tell me...
is there a woman that won't look
in the bank statement
what did poet Pushkin say?
"Is there a woman such..." - nope.
I've had one such woman... proud...
I added 10 zeroes for her,
so she just froze there...
- Is it all yours?
- No, yours, I said
I need you to take me to work and back
I'll buy you a car for that
You don't need to work,
just guard the house, got it?
and an hour later I told her...
no, Dusya!...
you're not a good match for me,
I need an honest woman!
Lyosh, you mind if I take my coat off?
The cops are here
put Dusya back
Voldemar, hands up!
- I'm Lyosha - Hi!
Your mother told me you were here
I'm Nikolai.
You were right in cutting him off
"Rome, Paris, francs, shillings..."
I was entering university,
so he even bugged the dean with that
I have firm principles, and I think...
How to kill a living man
You know, I believe that today's youth,
like never before...
I emphasize, like never before,
needs the subject of the revolution
that wonderful pathos
of the first revolutionary years
Is this theme the chief subject
of your artistic work?
You see... this IS the chief subject
If we lose these bright ideals of faith
I don't believe that revision of history
revision so fashionable today,
will yield right, true conclusions
Such is my opinion...
because it became fashionable...
introduce new historical actors,
whitewash our ideological adversaries...
and diminish class antagonism...
slowly but surely...
It's ready alright...
there's just
not enough unity among the sailors
The devils are confusing everyone
- Who? - The mensheviks and the esers!
And I'm no good at speeches...
- Vovka is here - I can see myself!
Fyodor's part, and I must say,
in general, Mirzayan's play The Cruiser
is one of my most favorite plays
of our theater's repertoire
and even though we perform wonderful
classical works, this one is special
I sometimes hear it is obsolete
that it's not in tune
with our age and changes it brings...
out of step with theatrical perestroika
but I see this merely...
as either snobbish ignorance, or as
a call to abandon our revolutionary past
I cannot interpret such a
point of view otherwise
The play is wonderful...
You've seen the performance, and how the
audience reacts, this is most precious
What?
You know?
My god, Vovka,
where did you get these burns?
Were you kissing the kettle?
Hey, have you gotten a woman?
Tell me, who is she?
What's her name?
Vova?...
You know...
Kolya started drinking again
Tell me... how did I appear in your family?
Do you know...
who is the Exterminating Angel?
I guess so... a thing with 40 wings,
tail, eyes, something dreadful like this
It is he who can use
the force given him from above
to eradicate evil
What "evil"? You mean people?
Yes, people
That angel, is he a man?
Who gave him his force? Aliens?
Why don't they eradicate evil themselves
Why give force to a man?
Don't they understand humanity at all?
Look at these fools dancing
That... angel... is me
You see my lips?
He gave me the force with a kiss
And if you kiss someone else?
Nothing will happen
The force will stay with me
Only if I decide to get rid of it...
I will need to kiss the earth
How will you judge people?
Do you even understand them that well?
No, but I received the gift of
foretelling what will happen to a man
So, what will happen to me?
You - I can not say, I don't see
To see a man's future...
I need...
to get angry at him
I see...
May I call you the
Angel of Total Extermination?
You don't seem to believe me
What did the creature
that gave you the force look like?
That's not what matters
He also showed me a strange thing...
as if my father is not my native father
and I came from somebody else
Could this be? What do you think?
You're the angel, you know better
Lyokh, could he stay
at your place for a while?
only he's got no money
Lyokha has enough doe... 300,000...
and all due to cuts and chops...
Moscow, Tambov, Leningrad style...
What's the most honest style?
Leningrad: good for me, good for you
And which one's the stingiest?
You see, butchers are now like hammermen
What's a qualified butcher?
When he can do everything...
slaughter the cow, skin it,
and carve up the carcass
Okay? Let's go, 30... 31... 32...
And what's that new fad
for "freedom"? Go get them!
...protestors were jailed on orders
of the military dictator Mbutu
or take...
also today, the Tanzania authorities
accused Mbutu of incest and cannibalism
or take...
looks stale...
or you take a hen for $1.70,
remove the stamp, and sell it for $2.60
- What's this? - The family album
Big family... well,
let's see were you gonna be staying
Here... you can settle down
Stay as long as you like
- Antique? - Yep
- $10 a piece? - How about $25?
- Let some nitwit give you that much
- Just forget it
This is my mother
Calm, calm down, we'll call the cops
Look at yourself in the mirror, wait!
wait a moment...
we'll declare a nationwide search...
Button me up
Look at me... put the jacket on...
let me help... Verka!... okay...
Vovka, do you know how to
declare a nationwide search?
- What for? - William Arturovich
disappeared, we're going looking for him
- Is she pregnant?
- Where did you get that idea?
Stop this nonsense! Do you know
how to declare a search - or not?
That mute will never come back
I've wanted to ask you for a while, mom
who is... my father
No, I mean the real one
I studied theology,
laboured through philosophy and medicine
...and Jurisprudence.
Yet here I stand, poor fool...
Magister, doctor styled, for ten years
I lead my pupils by the nose
interpreting the subject, but
no wisdom can come forth
this troubles me, although
I have more smarts than most...
lost and confused they are, but
the devil himself would not appall me
Earth-spirit, you are closer to me
You give me strength to carry on...
and pledge my soul for everyone,
fearless in my fateful hour...
Clouds gather over me
The moon conceals her light
Red beams are flashing,
I smell the horror from beyond the grave
Spirit, I feel you're close!
Unveil yourself!
Oh!... How my heart is riven!
Who called me?
Who compelled me?...
by his call...
persistent and impatient?
Who begged me to appear?
Who longed to hear and see me?
I heard your call and came - and yet...
I find my caller fear-stricken
And this is Faust...
who spoke like equal to me
with intense force
I am in the storms of life...
I am in waves, in fire, water, forever,
in the eternal train of deaths...
...and births
I am the ocean and the waves of change
I am the loom with a magic thread...
where out of the fabric of time
I weave the life-garment of deity
Where did you hide my son?
Listen, my good man...
If you don't leave Nikolai alone,
I'll have to go to the police
Don't try to lie
He talks all the time about you lately
How... good you are
So, if tomorrow Kolya is not back home
By the way, you should not howl
even when playing a spirit
Being simple and natural -
is crucial in our profession
Those Greeks could really write!
Indeed... The subject is well chosen
But Goethe is no playwright
A better choice could have been made...
Dvoretsky, for instance
And I liked it
That devil did especially well
The way that poor devil
seduced the Christian soul!
That's true... No doubt about it
But I must say...
you are in the Communist Youth, right?
So, what's our modern time like?
Democratization, winds of change!
And what have you got?
Mysticism!
And I think it was good!
I only worry the kids might get scared
Cause you, chap, are a bit frightening
I too think that you did not quite
get the feel of the role of the spirit
What is the opinion
of the Party organization?
To dare, to keep working, what else?
The international court in Strasbourg
is examining the crimes
of the dictator Mbutu
The president's ex-council confirmed
that Mbutu is guilty
of cannibalism and genocide
Mom?
Are you here?
How to kill a living man
France Presse reports that...
the republic's president
general Mbutu died from a heart attack
Rise!
Rise. Rise, all.
Repent! Repent!...
You don't look too bad...
And I'll be leaving soon...
to Pechory, near Pskov
Heard of that place?
There's a big monastery there
My buddies arranged to help with the
restoration. It's good money... and food
My dad has completely lost his mind...
he's studying pantomime now
And he's got himself some new friend...
a deaf-mute...
so dad has mastered his language
Lots of people come to see him now
He's a big shot statesman...
Ah, here it is!
You surely missed it while you were sick
What is it?
By pure luck, both the chief director
and producer of my dad's theatre died
so he's now holding both positions
Listen...
do you know anything against insomnia?
Elenium and Dimidrol
I'm taking Valerian drops - and nothing
Where are you heading?
Stuffy in here
- Now, talk! - About what?
- About the deaf-mute, everything
- What about him?
Talk!
This actor from the pantomime theatre
came to see my dad about something
- They went in the office... - Be quiet!
What happened next?
Next...
The deaf-mute has left,
and father remained greatly agitated
Not his usual self
He also said strangely that he shall now
arrange life according to laws, morals
And the deaths of the executive producer
and the director - occurred after
the deaf-mute's visit?
Yes, after, after! Only there's nothing
mystical about this, you idiot, got it?!
Lyosh...
do you have any Dimidrol or Elenium?
Take this, better than any Elenium
Just don't take
more than 2 pills, or else...
L-lyosha, can you fix... the sound?
...devaluation of moral values...
escape from reality into rock-music...
this...
...spawned by Western counter-culture
will inevitably...
...positive examples...
precisely
Excuse me, is Mikhail Mikhailovich home?
- He'll be back in 40 minutes, come in
- No, thanks, I'll stop by later
I know everything...
What do you need it for?
You've got it all: status, money, power
Renounce it!
Have pity for your own children
People like you...
Your generation shouldn't have been born
in the first place
You have squandered
everything we worked so hard to create
So... what's that knife for?...
Just throw it away
You are not a judge...
How can you judge us?
Yours is a generation
of illegitimate children
I... wait...
You're not a judge...
You can't judge us...
Your generation should have never been
You're not a judge...
The morning gently lights up...
the old Kremlin's walls
With the first light of dawn...
the whole Soviet country wakes up
Don't stand, brother, by the prison
Don't knock you shoes... Go to...
Vov... Vova...
I'm going to Masha's place
Vova...
I'm off to Masha's place...
I'll be back...
back soon...
The bastards aren't turning the heat on
Turn the heater on... to get warm...
you hear?...
Screenplay by Youri Arabov
Directed by Oleg Teptsov
Cinematography by Valeri Myulgaut
Production design by Pavel Parkhomenko
Original music by Sergei Kuryokhin
Sound editor: Aleksandr Gruzdev
Assistant director: Nataliya Chalikova
Film Editing by Irina Rudenko
Makeup artist: Tamara Frid
Costumes by:
Pavel Kaplevich, Nataliya Zamakhina
Script editing by M. Baskakova
Camera: A. Taborov, S. Okhapkin
Special effects by L. Krasnov
Stunt coordinator: Oleg Korytin
Stunts by: S. Golovkin,
A. Baranov, V. Rybin, S. Sokolsky
Orchestra "Pop-Mekhanika"
conducted by Sergei Kuryokhin
Chamber choir "Lege Artis"
conducted by Boris Abalian
Set Decoration by G. Popov
Puppets by: V. Malakhieva, A. Kuznetsova
Choreography by: M. Beltova
Assistant directors: G. Kapitskaya, M. Malich, M. Okolina
Artist-photographer: M. Perelman
Graphic arts:
N. Plygun, O. Kalyagina, M. Bahareva
Makeup: N. Kovach
Props: V. Kuleshova, A. Molchanova
Costumes: R. Shkolnikova, N. Tarasenko
Asst editors: E. Karelina, N. Subaeva
Lighting technician: D. Kulakov
Color technician: P. Tenkaeva
Video techs: A. Vernikov, Y. Lyubenko
Administrative group: V. Ovcharenko,
S. Andreev, P. Sukhodolsky
Executive producer: Georgi Mautkin
Main cast:
Volodya - Gor Oganisyan
Mother - Lyubov Polishchuk
Frolov - Aleksandr Trofimov
Vera - Yelena Bragina
Nikolay - Gabriel Vorobyov
The Mute - Vladimir Simonov
Liokha - Sergei Makovetsky
Rest of cast:
Sveta - Olga Samoshina
Petya - Vladimir Yuryev
Young Volodya - David Oganisyan
E. Drapeko, V. Kuzin, E. Merkur'ev,
M. Vasil'eva, E. Shmidt, A. Pashkevich
A. Shepochkin, Y. Mal'tsev,
Cabrera Laugart Leonidas
Y. Yeliseev, N. Makar'ev, S. Popovskyi,
S. Goryushin, S. Il'ina, N. Garev
O. Talanova, V. Shennikov,
V. Malakhieva, M. Sereda, L. Chernykh
Sound recording performed in
Lenfilm's Technical Videocentre
The End
Copyright (C) 1989 by Lenfilm Studio