The River (2018) - full transcript
A portrait of five brothers living on a farm on the Kazakh plains, where the sudden intrusion of the modern world brings corruption, temptation and deceit.
It has many currents.
They've no end.
Water's clear.
I saw my feet.
Stones on its bottom.
Lots of fish...
of many colours.
Why didn't Dad tell me about it?
The spot he takes us to
is a marsh for geese.
Can't sleep.
Thinking about it.
The river always attracted people.
Its waters are dangerous.
Shepherd said...
people used to share
their wishes with the river.
The wishes were granted.
Did you make your wish?
-- Subs ripped from MUBI by KUCHU --
-- Subs corrected by darthfrede --
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
...seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
...nine, ten, eleven, twelve,
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen, nineteen...
twenty!
- Knock, knock.
- Knock, knock.
They play games you taught them.
Soon they'll play their own.
They grow as savages.
I taught Aslan to read.
He'll teach his brothers.
I built this home
to keep them away from lies.
Built this home
so they don't seek other ways.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
"Let me solve these riddles"...
- Said.
- ...said Qazybek Bi.
Go ahead.
One:
Poor is a people in disunity.
Two:
Poor is a man wasting his time on feuds.
Three:
Poor is a horse that is timid.
Four:
Poor is a youth neglecting relationship.
Five:
Poor is an enemy that attacks cruelly.
Six:
Bad is a disease that's neglected.
Seven:
Poor is a young widow.
Eight:
Poor is grief inconsolable.
If they won't pray, they must work instead.
Be strict with them, don't play their games.
Sometimes they obey, sometimes not.
They say I'm like mother,
and they're like you.
So what, you're the oldest one.
I've no time
to bring up each one of you separately.
Make them respect you and be fair.
You're right, father.
Are you awake, Yerlan?
Yes.
Get up.
You'll fall asleep.
...two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine...
Why didn't you water here?
You didn't tell me to.
It's too hot.
Will you ever think for yourself?
Get the hose.
What did you do today?
Are you mutes?
Making bricks.
What else?
Shooting birds.
Geese-feeder has to be outside,
I told you already.
This is the third time I'm telling you this.
They make perfect bows.
Their arrows shoot straight.
We have a rifle.
Why bows?
If your heart goes out to them,
punish them before I do.
Lash traces are quick to heal,
but bad behaviour will persist.
Wipe your tears.
No one's there.
Everyone's going to bed.
Eat.
I'll kill him.
You think I can't?
I'll pour rat poison in his food.
Come on, he's our father.
You kill him, who'll take care of us?
Think about mother.
We've grown up.
We can take care of ourselves.
Don't hold the grudge against him.
Your meal is cold now.
I'll warm the dinner up for you, come.
Dad, they need a day-off.
They're tired.
It's too hot.
I'll work myself.
Sunday is their day-off.
That was the deal.
On Sunday we've butchered a cow.
They didn't take rest.
Their bricks will be too soft.
They have to learn their lesson.
Today, they work.
I hate him.
Why didn't Dad take us here?
You can swim for real here.
The current is strong.
Aslan, we didn't sleep.
Let's go to the river, Aslan?
Why wake up so early?
Don't know.
Don't want to sleep.
They take rest tomorrow.
You got a TV?
Yes.
But it's broken.
Not the rope, the pole's out.
Get the hammer.
I'll watch over him.
Look at the calf.
It doesn't want to go to the barn.
The calf chews grass like it's real.
Your Mom knows you're here?
Yes, I told her.
She let you come alone?
I have a tablet with a GPS.
I know all the villages around.
You said your sister had a girl.
I don't remember.
Long time no see.
What's the hurry?
Going to another world.
Don't rush.
Everyone'll have a chance to play.
They will work after lunch.
Yes.
They will build houses with cubes...
and tend to 3-D cattle.
Go work.
It's too hot outside.
Last week we made many bricks.
Better water the garden after the sunset.
Who let you to get cards from the cupboard?
Mom says Kanat's the guest,
he may do what he wants.
15:59.
This is the image North Korea
wants to project to the world.
An image of
a powerful collective labourers' force.
From the very start,
North Korea positioned itself as communism's outpost.
It was inspired by Lenin and Marx,
and supported by the USSR and Mao Zedong.
The Emperor's court was frozen with fear.
No one could understand
why did the Great Wall fall.
It was time to build a new,
a more reliable wall.
If this is a rocket, no one survives.
But in case of an artillery bombardment
I know where to run.
Subway and underground parking.
Our buildings are made of concrete.
I hope they are strong enough.
If this power problem is not solved,
then I swear to Allah, we'll start a Jihad.
They will try to run and hide,
but it is said in Koran,
"No one will find refuge on that day."
You'll look around, people,
what will they see?
They will see the sky
that looks like a black oil spot.
The earth will be breaking into pieces.
Oceans will catch fire on that day,
and they will explode.
Everyone's scared.
Who are these people?
Some say they're cops.
- Do you trust them?
- Not anymore.
It's what they do, like animals.
They just slaughter people like cattle.
Even if it's true, and they were killed,
or somebody somewhere made a mistake.
What do three thousand people mean
compared to four million Filipinos
who could die because of drugs?
What would you say to
a mother of an innocent victim?
How can you justify this?
One thing we can say to people
is that it's a collateral damage.
This is what happens during those bombings in the Middle East,
for example.
They hit a hospital and then say,
"We didn't expect real patients to be there.
We thought it was empty."
The river's always longed-for.
But its waters are dangerous.
Everything in this world has two aspects.
Brought your brothers here?
I did.
You're in charge now.
Your brothers got in a fight.
Because of the game.
They won't talk to each other.
A fight over a game?
The tablet's gonna be mine.
It's Kanat's.
He'll take it with him when he leaves.
He said he'd leave it to me.
Just like that?
If I give him my dog.
You found a sick puppy,
got him home and treated him.
You can do whatever you want,
but the dog guards our house.
If not me, then Yerlan will get it.
Wanna get yourself Kanat's tablet?
Yes.
I'll give him my canary.
But it sings so good.
If not me, then Tourlan'll get the tablet.
...eight,
nine,
ten,
eleven.
You give all of them to Kanat?
Global stock markets reached the lowest point
over the past three months.
On assessing the extent of
the national index's downfall,
economists added a grain of salt
to their statements.
We expected a modest growth,
but saw a downfall,
which was a recollection
of last year's fears.
When everyone was expecting
the Chinese economy's slowdown in growth rates
and
its influence on China-dependent industries.
Beijing shows no reaction.
Yes, the world's factory slowed down.
The slowing down
is a pretext to play the market down.
The fall of global indexes was followed by
oil prices going down below thirty-three dollars.
Dad told you not to touch the money.
It's Kanat's money.
Mourat...
These binoculars are Kenjeh's, aren't they?
Did he let you to take it?
Bought it from him, now it's mine.
Kanat gave you money?
I sold him my whip.
There's a camera in this tablet.
You can even make a video.
Your sons told me you go to the city
once in a while to sell meat.
You'll need a calculator, there is one.
How much do you want for it?
...twenty-five,
thirty,
forty,
fifty...
So this is your river?
The current is strong.
Who's coming with me to the other bank?
Where's Kanat?
He was swimming by.
Diving.
He's not around.
If he's drowned, his body must come up.
Too much silt, sucked him down.
We'll just sit and wait
until the body comes up.
External markets' situation
and euro's weakening against dollar.
He stated that the Government
prepared five institutional reforms.
Why did you get the dead bird?
Will make a scarecrow in the garden.
Too many crows.
Where's Kanat?
Walking outside, I guess.
Always late.
It's annoying.
Kenjeh, call for him.
Was he with you?
No.
He's not outside.
Kanat.
You asleep?
No.
I close my eyes and see the river.
Same with me.
Okay, let's sleep.
We couldn't sleep.
We gotta say Kanat was with us.
Tourlan, we burned his clothes.
We'll say we'd lied.
Go work.
Then we'll say you drowned him.
Get lost.
We can't eat since yesterday.
Got a stomach ache.
Gotta tell the truth about Kanat.
This is wrong.
My heart's aching.
Tourlan,
our puppy turned out to be
a purebred Alabai.
But you stole it from a shepherd.
Will you confess it to Dad?
Is your heart aching?
Yerlan, who burned the barn this winter?
Your cigarette butt
left the cattle without hay.
Is your heart aching?
And the canary
who flew to you all by itself...
It belonged to the kid.
You took his bird
and gave him a rock instead.
You said it was a turtle.
Wasn't your heart aching then?
Aslan,
you promised you wouldn't tell anyone.
Never ever.
Shut up.
What are you gaping at, Mourat?
Remember your rides on a she-ass?
What she-ass?
Tell them about the she-ass.
The guests visited us this spring.
Dad closed the she-ass in the barn.
Will we tell how
you warmed up the she-ass that night?
You promised not to tell anyone.
Why say this now?
Is your heart aching?
We trusted you, Aslan.
As our older brother.
Don't tell Dad about this all.
I also trust you.
We are brothers aren't we?
Where are they?
Looking for Kanat.
Call for them.
Aslan.
I did all the work.
You can check it out.
Okay.
You're free till the evening.
Water it after the sunset.
Aslan, I wanted to tell you something.
Spit it out.
That night, the twins poisoned Dad's meal.
I went to the toilet and saw it.
They asked me to keep it secret.
You won't tell Dad about the she-ass,
will you?
We've made ten bricks since morning.
Hasty work's no good.
I need forty hard bricks by the evening.
These won't do.
Aslan, bricks have to dry.
You poisoned Dad's meal, I know.
That night, you did what you wanted to do.
But he survived.
Last fall.
A calf died because of Mourat.
He left a rope in the feed crib.
The calf ate it...
and died a week later.
Dad told him the calf was chewing its rope.
Just wanted you to know.
Earlier we quarrelled with Kanat.
I didn't take him to the forest.
He can't even shoot a bow.
He stayed inside.
Maybe he went back to the city?
Why did he leave his tablet then?
He wanted to give it as a gift to the kids.
Your brothers work better now.
Yesterday, they made forty bricks.
I crushed the first ten.
The other forty were harder.
I don't let them sleep after lunch,
if they don't have
at least twenty bricks made.
You're becoming a man.
Where have you been?
I'm looking for him.
Who?
Who?
Kanat.
Gotta find him.
I'll find him.
Dad's coming.
I'm going with him.
Aslan, Kenjeh's left with Dad.
He's gonna tell him everything.
Soon he's gonna tell everything.
The drivers said they didn't see him.
We asked other people.
No one's seen him.
He's somewhere near.
I'll find him.
Mourat says.
That Kenjeh remembers nothing.
About the river or how we burned clothes.
All he says is he'll find Kanat.
You shouldn't have beaten him.
He'd tell everything to Dad.
I wasn't too hard on him.
Kanat's gonna be home soon.
I found him.
He was in the barn.
Kanat, it's raining.
Why don't you get inside?
Why soaking under rain?
Get in or you get wet.
We're not going anywhere,
we'll keep on working.
Not much left to do.
Kanat, how did you get there?
It's not comfy here.
Get out, the rain's over.
The parents went to look for Kanat.
They said they were gonna be late.
It's that river.
Yes, Aslan, it's that river.
Scared?
You swam in it.
Wanna work.
We're not going home tonight.
We'll sleepover here.
We completed the barn.
Now, it's our fortress.
Where's the matchbox?
Rat poison matchbox?
Don't know.
Ask them.
They've got a stomach ache.
Sleeping.
Got tired of work.
Give us some rest, Aslan.
Are you here, Kanat?
I'm tired of waiting.
Gonna catch you now.
He's dead.
But you didn't kill him, did you?
The river...
It grants wishes, doesn't it?
You didn't do it, sonny.
The river.
It grants wishes, doesn't it?
You didn't do it, Aslan.
Kanat's back!
He's outside!
Kanat's back!
He's outside!
Kanat's back!
He's outside!
Kanat's back!
He's outside!
Did you burn my clothes,
or were they blown away by the wind?
Didn't I tell you
that I can hold my breath for four minutes?
I was the first to swim out.
Hid in the reed bushes watching you.
Then I got bored
and went to live at gamekeeper's house.
Now, I've gotta get back to the city.
They've no end.
Water's clear.
I saw my feet.
Stones on its bottom.
Lots of fish...
of many colours.
Why didn't Dad tell me about it?
The spot he takes us to
is a marsh for geese.
Can't sleep.
Thinking about it.
The river always attracted people.
Its waters are dangerous.
Shepherd said...
people used to share
their wishes with the river.
The wishes were granted.
Did you make your wish?
-- Subs ripped from MUBI by KUCHU --
-- Subs corrected by darthfrede --
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
...seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
...nine, ten, eleven, twelve,
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen, nineteen...
twenty!
- Knock, knock.
- Knock, knock.
They play games you taught them.
Soon they'll play their own.
They grow as savages.
I taught Aslan to read.
He'll teach his brothers.
I built this home
to keep them away from lies.
Built this home
so they don't seek other ways.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
"Let me solve these riddles"...
- Said.
- ...said Qazybek Bi.
Go ahead.
One:
Poor is a people in disunity.
Two:
Poor is a man wasting his time on feuds.
Three:
Poor is a horse that is timid.
Four:
Poor is a youth neglecting relationship.
Five:
Poor is an enemy that attacks cruelly.
Six:
Bad is a disease that's neglected.
Seven:
Poor is a young widow.
Eight:
Poor is grief inconsolable.
If they won't pray, they must work instead.
Be strict with them, don't play their games.
Sometimes they obey, sometimes not.
They say I'm like mother,
and they're like you.
So what, you're the oldest one.
I've no time
to bring up each one of you separately.
Make them respect you and be fair.
You're right, father.
Are you awake, Yerlan?
Yes.
Get up.
You'll fall asleep.
...two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine...
Why didn't you water here?
You didn't tell me to.
It's too hot.
Will you ever think for yourself?
Get the hose.
What did you do today?
Are you mutes?
Making bricks.
What else?
Shooting birds.
Geese-feeder has to be outside,
I told you already.
This is the third time I'm telling you this.
They make perfect bows.
Their arrows shoot straight.
We have a rifle.
Why bows?
If your heart goes out to them,
punish them before I do.
Lash traces are quick to heal,
but bad behaviour will persist.
Wipe your tears.
No one's there.
Everyone's going to bed.
Eat.
I'll kill him.
You think I can't?
I'll pour rat poison in his food.
Come on, he's our father.
You kill him, who'll take care of us?
Think about mother.
We've grown up.
We can take care of ourselves.
Don't hold the grudge against him.
Your meal is cold now.
I'll warm the dinner up for you, come.
Dad, they need a day-off.
They're tired.
It's too hot.
I'll work myself.
Sunday is their day-off.
That was the deal.
On Sunday we've butchered a cow.
They didn't take rest.
Their bricks will be too soft.
They have to learn their lesson.
Today, they work.
I hate him.
Why didn't Dad take us here?
You can swim for real here.
The current is strong.
Aslan, we didn't sleep.
Let's go to the river, Aslan?
Why wake up so early?
Don't know.
Don't want to sleep.
They take rest tomorrow.
You got a TV?
Yes.
But it's broken.
Not the rope, the pole's out.
Get the hammer.
I'll watch over him.
Look at the calf.
It doesn't want to go to the barn.
The calf chews grass like it's real.
Your Mom knows you're here?
Yes, I told her.
She let you come alone?
I have a tablet with a GPS.
I know all the villages around.
You said your sister had a girl.
I don't remember.
Long time no see.
What's the hurry?
Going to another world.
Don't rush.
Everyone'll have a chance to play.
They will work after lunch.
Yes.
They will build houses with cubes...
and tend to 3-D cattle.
Go work.
It's too hot outside.
Last week we made many bricks.
Better water the garden after the sunset.
Who let you to get cards from the cupboard?
Mom says Kanat's the guest,
he may do what he wants.
15:59.
This is the image North Korea
wants to project to the world.
An image of
a powerful collective labourers' force.
From the very start,
North Korea positioned itself as communism's outpost.
It was inspired by Lenin and Marx,
and supported by the USSR and Mao Zedong.
The Emperor's court was frozen with fear.
No one could understand
why did the Great Wall fall.
It was time to build a new,
a more reliable wall.
If this is a rocket, no one survives.
But in case of an artillery bombardment
I know where to run.
Subway and underground parking.
Our buildings are made of concrete.
I hope they are strong enough.
If this power problem is not solved,
then I swear to Allah, we'll start a Jihad.
They will try to run and hide,
but it is said in Koran,
"No one will find refuge on that day."
You'll look around, people,
what will they see?
They will see the sky
that looks like a black oil spot.
The earth will be breaking into pieces.
Oceans will catch fire on that day,
and they will explode.
Everyone's scared.
Who are these people?
Some say they're cops.
- Do you trust them?
- Not anymore.
It's what they do, like animals.
They just slaughter people like cattle.
Even if it's true, and they were killed,
or somebody somewhere made a mistake.
What do three thousand people mean
compared to four million Filipinos
who could die because of drugs?
What would you say to
a mother of an innocent victim?
How can you justify this?
One thing we can say to people
is that it's a collateral damage.
This is what happens during those bombings in the Middle East,
for example.
They hit a hospital and then say,
"We didn't expect real patients to be there.
We thought it was empty."
The river's always longed-for.
But its waters are dangerous.
Everything in this world has two aspects.
Brought your brothers here?
I did.
You're in charge now.
Your brothers got in a fight.
Because of the game.
They won't talk to each other.
A fight over a game?
The tablet's gonna be mine.
It's Kanat's.
He'll take it with him when he leaves.
He said he'd leave it to me.
Just like that?
If I give him my dog.
You found a sick puppy,
got him home and treated him.
You can do whatever you want,
but the dog guards our house.
If not me, then Yerlan will get it.
Wanna get yourself Kanat's tablet?
Yes.
I'll give him my canary.
But it sings so good.
If not me, then Tourlan'll get the tablet.
...eight,
nine,
ten,
eleven.
You give all of them to Kanat?
Global stock markets reached the lowest point
over the past three months.
On assessing the extent of
the national index's downfall,
economists added a grain of salt
to their statements.
We expected a modest growth,
but saw a downfall,
which was a recollection
of last year's fears.
When everyone was expecting
the Chinese economy's slowdown in growth rates
and
its influence on China-dependent industries.
Beijing shows no reaction.
Yes, the world's factory slowed down.
The slowing down
is a pretext to play the market down.
The fall of global indexes was followed by
oil prices going down below thirty-three dollars.
Dad told you not to touch the money.
It's Kanat's money.
Mourat...
These binoculars are Kenjeh's, aren't they?
Did he let you to take it?
Bought it from him, now it's mine.
Kanat gave you money?
I sold him my whip.
There's a camera in this tablet.
You can even make a video.
Your sons told me you go to the city
once in a while to sell meat.
You'll need a calculator, there is one.
How much do you want for it?
...twenty-five,
thirty,
forty,
fifty...
So this is your river?
The current is strong.
Who's coming with me to the other bank?
Where's Kanat?
He was swimming by.
Diving.
He's not around.
If he's drowned, his body must come up.
Too much silt, sucked him down.
We'll just sit and wait
until the body comes up.
External markets' situation
and euro's weakening against dollar.
He stated that the Government
prepared five institutional reforms.
Why did you get the dead bird?
Will make a scarecrow in the garden.
Too many crows.
Where's Kanat?
Walking outside, I guess.
Always late.
It's annoying.
Kenjeh, call for him.
Was he with you?
No.
He's not outside.
Kanat.
You asleep?
No.
I close my eyes and see the river.
Same with me.
Okay, let's sleep.
We couldn't sleep.
We gotta say Kanat was with us.
Tourlan, we burned his clothes.
We'll say we'd lied.
Go work.
Then we'll say you drowned him.
Get lost.
We can't eat since yesterday.
Got a stomach ache.
Gotta tell the truth about Kanat.
This is wrong.
My heart's aching.
Tourlan,
our puppy turned out to be
a purebred Alabai.
But you stole it from a shepherd.
Will you confess it to Dad?
Is your heart aching?
Yerlan, who burned the barn this winter?
Your cigarette butt
left the cattle without hay.
Is your heart aching?
And the canary
who flew to you all by itself...
It belonged to the kid.
You took his bird
and gave him a rock instead.
You said it was a turtle.
Wasn't your heart aching then?
Aslan,
you promised you wouldn't tell anyone.
Never ever.
Shut up.
What are you gaping at, Mourat?
Remember your rides on a she-ass?
What she-ass?
Tell them about the she-ass.
The guests visited us this spring.
Dad closed the she-ass in the barn.
Will we tell how
you warmed up the she-ass that night?
You promised not to tell anyone.
Why say this now?
Is your heart aching?
We trusted you, Aslan.
As our older brother.
Don't tell Dad about this all.
I also trust you.
We are brothers aren't we?
Where are they?
Looking for Kanat.
Call for them.
Aslan.
I did all the work.
You can check it out.
Okay.
You're free till the evening.
Water it after the sunset.
Aslan, I wanted to tell you something.
Spit it out.
That night, the twins poisoned Dad's meal.
I went to the toilet and saw it.
They asked me to keep it secret.
You won't tell Dad about the she-ass,
will you?
We've made ten bricks since morning.
Hasty work's no good.
I need forty hard bricks by the evening.
These won't do.
Aslan, bricks have to dry.
You poisoned Dad's meal, I know.
That night, you did what you wanted to do.
But he survived.
Last fall.
A calf died because of Mourat.
He left a rope in the feed crib.
The calf ate it...
and died a week later.
Dad told him the calf was chewing its rope.
Just wanted you to know.
Earlier we quarrelled with Kanat.
I didn't take him to the forest.
He can't even shoot a bow.
He stayed inside.
Maybe he went back to the city?
Why did he leave his tablet then?
He wanted to give it as a gift to the kids.
Your brothers work better now.
Yesterday, they made forty bricks.
I crushed the first ten.
The other forty were harder.
I don't let them sleep after lunch,
if they don't have
at least twenty bricks made.
You're becoming a man.
Where have you been?
I'm looking for him.
Who?
Who?
Kanat.
Gotta find him.
I'll find him.
Dad's coming.
I'm going with him.
Aslan, Kenjeh's left with Dad.
He's gonna tell him everything.
Soon he's gonna tell everything.
The drivers said they didn't see him.
We asked other people.
No one's seen him.
He's somewhere near.
I'll find him.
Mourat says.
That Kenjeh remembers nothing.
About the river or how we burned clothes.
All he says is he'll find Kanat.
You shouldn't have beaten him.
He'd tell everything to Dad.
I wasn't too hard on him.
Kanat's gonna be home soon.
I found him.
He was in the barn.
Kanat, it's raining.
Why don't you get inside?
Why soaking under rain?
Get in or you get wet.
We're not going anywhere,
we'll keep on working.
Not much left to do.
Kanat, how did you get there?
It's not comfy here.
Get out, the rain's over.
The parents went to look for Kanat.
They said they were gonna be late.
It's that river.
Yes, Aslan, it's that river.
Scared?
You swam in it.
Wanna work.
We're not going home tonight.
We'll sleepover here.
We completed the barn.
Now, it's our fortress.
Where's the matchbox?
Rat poison matchbox?
Don't know.
Ask them.
They've got a stomach ache.
Sleeping.
Got tired of work.
Give us some rest, Aslan.
Are you here, Kanat?
I'm tired of waiting.
Gonna catch you now.
He's dead.
But you didn't kill him, did you?
The river...
It grants wishes, doesn't it?
You didn't do it, sonny.
The river.
It grants wishes, doesn't it?
You didn't do it, Aslan.
Kanat's back!
He's outside!
Kanat's back!
He's outside!
Kanat's back!
He's outside!
Kanat's back!
He's outside!
Did you burn my clothes,
or were they blown away by the wind?
Didn't I tell you
that I can hold my breath for four minutes?
I was the first to swim out.
Hid in the reed bushes watching you.
Then I got bored
and went to live at gamekeeper's house.
Now, I've gotta get back to the city.