The River (2002) - full transcript

ART-HOUSE - presents.

The River

End of last century, late winter.

Pietruczan and Anczik came to the lepers' colony.

Healthy woman came to see her ill, but beloved husband.

They have brought food from the Jakuts.

Pietraczin dropped the food and ran away frightened.

Anczik stayed as she knew it is a big world of Yakutia.

It closed down for her forever.

She didn't know yet that Kyrgieliej reconciled himself

to death, and that Mergen is pregnant with him.



ANCZIK

Are you still moving, rogues?

You're only bringing the food unnecessarily.

Do not sin Mergen, you will also be found by (the Ma'am?)

I am not afraid of her...

Whatever you say, she will sweat you out!

She'll gnaw your hands and legs away... You'll show submission soon.

I'll die before that, I won't wait. I'll hang myself.

You can live with ulcers...

Worse it (Ma'am?) will break through to the soul.

When they took you away, brother took away the cattle straight away and banished me.

He told everyone that you got sick because of me. Everyone is scared of me.

They didn't let me in to the yurt. They kept me with dogs.

And your brother told everyone that he will always feed you.



That he has sent you so much...

Surely, wait...

Seeing my tears, the commune stepped back, to give mi the half.

And the other half, as he said... he has sent to you.

I knew he was lying, but remained silent. You were so far away...

And where is your half?

What could I do by myself? No land, no son...

Pietruczan sheltered me...

I had no place to go, Kyrgielej.
But I didn't love him.

I couldn't forget you. And how me met...

I wanted to see you. At least once....

I don't regret, Kyrgieliej.

Sure!
Believe her!

Who would come here of one's own free will?!

People acknowledged she is sick, and banished her

I am the only one healthy among you all.

My body is fresh, young,no spots, no moles.

Look!

It's you who infected me, rogues!

The big world is closed for me now.

Are you getting excited again?

Maybe we forced you to come here?

Your husband brought you here, tied and abandoned.

If I hadn't found you, mosquitos would have eaten you or you'd starve to death.

There are better ways to die.

What did she come here for? To sponge on us?

Take her clothes of!

Rub your juices into her! Let her know...

What, are you afraid?

This is who I am!
Don't forger about this!

You have probably heard about me from Yakutians?

I've heard...

She'll boil over! Look:
She's running!

Like a real Russian!

One morning,
a little old lady came out

with five cows
and started to milk them...

Why did they call her that way?

Why? I don't know...
That's what they called her.

She's sitting and hears: Suddenly bells started to ring.

Scissors fell of the table, the milk
spilled.

Suddenly she can see a girl near the left side of the house.

She's got eyes like two bright rocks.

Her eyebrows were black.

Her lips were closed like silver.

Her moon-lit body is shining through a white dress,

through transparent dress, shines beloved body.

After that the son of Lord of the Bloody Eye,
Chadźyt-Bergen.

He went hunting to the dark forest.

A grey squirrel is sitting next to the old lady's house.

- With five cows?
- Yes.

Bytierchaj,
go to sleep!

My legs are soar today.
The weather will probably change.

And what happened next?

Nextj? Well, he saw
the grey squirrel next to the house...

Of the old lady with five cows?

Yes.

He shot, and the arrow fell into the chimney.

He ran into the house...

He ran into the house, saw the girl,
and died.

Died?
Dźanda, don't sleep! Please...

After that he came back to life,
fell in love and ran.

He jumped on his horse and came home.

Beloved parents!!
At the old lady's house!

with five cows there's a beautiful girl!

Take that girl and give her to me!

Father has sent people with nine horses.

They ran into the old lady's house with five cows.

They saw the girl and died...

Dźanga! And after that they came back to life
and fell in love with her.

Dźanga, you didn't secure the slits properly before the autumn...

We're using a lot of wood and it's still cold.

And you, old woman, forgot that my ulcers opened.

I couldn't finish, and there was not enough moss...

Winter came early.

You're right.
I forgot.

Ill man reminds of a stinking dog.

It's cold...

You want me to heat some water for you?

There is nothing to burn!
Are you going into taiga with them!

There's not much of a lady in you!
To share something that's not yours!

God, what do people in the world do these days?

It's a holiday today...Maslenica!

Do you remember, Kyrgielej, exactly a year ago you took me from my parents.

You've built new yurt...
Warm, clean.

Neighbour came to visit us...

You were so happy, strong, keen to work...

And now we're here...

Dźanda, tell me,
what does it mean...a holiday?

Yakutians come to visit.

Fire is burning in yurts...

They laugh, sing...

You can smell melting butter and meat.

Everyone wears their best clothes.

They eat and drink as much as they can
- just like on a wedding.

Maybe today I should wear a scarf that I got from you?

No, today it's not that important holiday.

Keep it for Easter...

People!
Should we have a holiday!?

HOLIDAY

They're crazy!
There's a long winter before us...

No wood, no food, and they want to celebrate...

You think that the fellowship will send it?
Yeah, right!

It would be a sin for us, lepers to think of tomorrow.

Yes, sometimes God sends us a better mood.

...Muczilla got married
Son of the old Selticzan. The one with a squint...

He took a thin, black woman.

He paid ten pieces of cattle for her...

That's a lot. My father paid eight for
Jewmienija.

For who?

I was baptised with that name by pope on the day of marriage.

And Salban was named Taras!

Kyrgielej, leper men get women nearly for free.

They don't pay for women, they get them for free...

Remember old woman, when I was mowing?
On our island...

My swath was the widest!

Neighbours came to see,
they were jealous...

Mergen gave birth to a boy at dawn.

Anczik couldn't believe that it is a son of her Kyrgieliej i Mergen.

She delivered and washed the baby.

Yours? ...she asked Dżanga.
He just turn his eyes away...

After that came the hunger
The Yakutians didn't bring the food.

Old Salban died.
Mergen started stealing in Yakutians villages.

One time she came back shot and bleeding.

Her son also died.

She was looming, when Anczik was placing his corpse next to the yurt entrance.

Finally the fellowship has sent some food,

so that the lepers could make it to the spring.

SPRING

In the spring Anczik, Dźanga and Kyrgielej
have built a pier on the river.

They've spread nets at the lake and worked non stop.

One time, when they came back home, they realised Mergen had left

and took all the most important things with her: knife, pot and the boat.

After that she cut the nets, sentencing lepers to starvation.

There was only one thing to do:
Anczik should go to the prince,

to ask him for returning all the cattle belonging to her.

The prince didn't give back the cattle, but gave boat and nets.

Mergen cut the nets straight away.

Kyrgielej and Dźanga decided to take her boat,

to isolate her on the island.

But she has already made a bow and arrows

and chase away weak men easily.

And then Dzanga disappeared suddenly with a new boat.

The lepers thought that he drowned.
Anczik went to see the prince again.

ANCZIK'S SECOND VISIT TO THE PRINCE

Give me some milk!
I can't anymore...

Sorrow of god's creation:
He'll rotten, like you!

Stupid! There's nothing there!
Let's go home...

My eyes have seen god's creation.

Poor Sałban didn't live to see...

Kyrgielej!
There at the pier! Our boat and nets!

DŻANGA

Who would have thought that he didn't drown.

Nobody would have though that she would...
A witch!

And maybe he actually drowned.
And she found the boat and gave it back...

Aha!
And left the nets!

Kyrgielej, I'm scared.

I can sleep with Bysom.

No! Can't you leave her alone even at night?

Even a cow needs some rest.

Dźanga!
Are you alive?!

- I'm alive, Anczik, I breathe...
- Thank God!

As you can see, I came to see you!

Where did you sleep?
We were mourning!

We were worried about you!
Where do yuo live now?

There was not enough time.

I would have come long time ago,
but I had to fish,... make nets...

Bytierchaj, run,
Call Kyrgielej.

Tell him, that Dźanga is back!

Kyrgielej!
Dźanga is back!

So, how have you been out there?

Nevertheless, it's better here with you.

Tell us what happened!

It happened!

You have a cow now.
Does it give a lot of milk?

A lot, a lot.

Maybe it's better I disappeared.

Who knows if you had a cow now.

Does Mergen know,
that we have a cow now?

Yes!
You can see it from the riverside...

Now she's laying shot.

A week ago she came back with a shot wound.

- She bled heavily.
- Here?

She'll probably die...
And she wanted to change herself!

Tell me, was it you who decided to give us our boat and nets back?

Why me? I brought it, but it was her idea.

She said: Dźanga, what do we need two boats for?
We've got lots of nets as well.

And they have nothing.
Take it back, we won't get poorer.

It would be better if she hadn't sent it back!

Don't say that! She'll die...
She has lost too much blood!

Forgive her Lord for all her sins.

It's good here with you, cheerfully.
It's sad at our place now.

Stay for the night.
It's dark and there are waves.

It's impossible! She's all alone in there!
There's no one there to even give her some water!

Hope she doesn't die!
You'll see... Everything will be fine!

You'll go in the morning!
Dźanga, stay!

It's really good here with you!

Cheerfully, and you've got a cow...
but I can't.

I will come again soon...
We will be neighbours.

- And it's not right.
- Take this...

Good that we mown the hay.

Too bad we didn't manage to put some earth on the roof...

Nevermind... It's not leaking above beds.
Nor on the table.

Wait! It will pass!

I will bring some hay for the cow.
And check on the barn.

I'm concerned the roof may fall in there...
Fishes will get wet!

Thank her, lord.

He felt sorry for us, sinners and sent through her end of our misery.

AUTUMN

It's so cold!

It washed the clay completely! Unbearable!
So cold!

And it's good here at your place, warm and dry.

I always say it's better together.

Why did you untie bunches of dried fish?

They moulded completely...
We had to eat them...

Let it mould,
it's not yours!

You will pay for using my nets.

Why didn't you take the dang?

Nets were ours.

They were.
Now they're mine.

Would you get them back if I hadn't give them back to yuu?

You came for them yourself,
Kyrgielej...

Give me the boat.

Forgive her. She wanted to change completely,
when they pierced her liver...

And as everyone knows - all evil is in the liver...

Wait, when the summer comes,
we'll come back to the island...

I don't know if we will make it to the summer...

Why are they silent?
Why aren't they taklkin?

Honey, I can't talk to you honestly here.

Not like on our island...

There's a lot of people here and a heart doesn't like ears.

Say it is me they don't like!!

Boring!
Worse than in a tundra!

Feel sorry for them -
you'll feel better straight away.

I always do like that.

You would love trees if we had no neighbours...

We'll go back to the island in the summer...

Who knows what happens by summer...

Winter is long... Maybe my legs will totally rotten and fall off...

Dang will dry out in the spring and will burn in the sun.

It would be better like before -

stuck moss in slits and put some clay on top!

And I would throw the cow out of yurt!

We have no hole or mangers.

It will stink all the time!

They should build a cowshed for their cow.

What's wrong with you?

Because of one cow We will all die of stench in here!

What shall we do?!

Kyrgielej! Let's build it!
Maybe it's actually better this way...

True - let's build it!

We'll start tomorrow with Kyrgielej.

Dźanga, we will probably move here...

Don't be offended...
We live like neighbours...

I wanted for it to be like before...

Don't be offended...

Come on, snow will fall soon.

We will need to put some hay on the roof!

LOVE

Dźanga! Bytierchaj!
Come one, it's time to sleep!

It's enough of prattling!
We need to work again tomorrow!

Let's go, let's go!

Come on, let's go.

She chases others to work!

It's good we moved here.

My bones are better now.

And what's next?

They will kill her,
if she doesn't stop stealing.

They will kill her and we'll stay with all her wealth.

You're neglecting me!
You're leaving me alone!

Come on, Mergen.

You just like to remain silent,
and I love to talk.

How could I forget about my beauty?

See the way you are?
Neither for yourself, nor for the others.

Tell them to move to a shared yurt tomorrow.

And if not, I will chase the cow away or kill it!

And burn the house!

Now!
Tomorrow they must move!!

No... I can't tell them that...

If you want, I can burn it even now!

I will tell them, I will tell!
What kind of woman are you?

A man will never understand a woman...

Shut up and go to tell them!

Fire!
Fire!

Fire!

Kyrgielej!

Bytierchaj found Anczik in the morning.

Her torso was crushed with (???)...

And there was something alive and wet moving between her legs.

She bite a long umbilical cord.

BYTIERCHAJ

With a child in her arms and a bundle on her back, she came out of the yurt.

A fat bear woke up and followed her.

When she arrived to the riverside, she has put the baby in the boat, and pushed it off the bank...

but the ice broke, and the boat sailed away.

Polish text:
Agnieszka Sowińska

Distribution: ART-HOUSE