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