The She-Butterfly (1973) - full transcript
Story follows young man Strahinja who is in love with a local beauty Radojka, but their relationship has an obstacle - her father Zivan, who considers Strahinja as nothing but a loser. To prove that he's able to take care of himself and his future bride, Strahinja agrees to take vacancy in village mill... But, mill is known as a place where no one meets the dawn alive...
You're here.
- Indeed.
Well, well.
I just took a little nap.
It's hard to resist.
Listening to this noise all the time....
So the council has ended?
-Ended.
So what happened?
There were a bunch of people. -Really?
-Really.
Shoo, God damn thee, shoo!
So, when should I come back?
- It will be done by the morning,
Master Zivan.
So, you're sleeping here?
- I am.
Alone?
-Alone.
Aren't you afraid?
No. Why, should I be?
Master Zivan, isn't that
your daughter, Radojka?
Yes, that's her.
Beautiful, like a butterfly.
Drop dead, damn you!
Vule!
Oh, Vule!
Let's go in.
Everyone! Everyone! Everyone!
Why the racket?
Vule is dead.
What did you say?
-Dead... dead!
Who's dead?
Vule is.
So, he as well...
Strahinja, you frightened me!
-And where have you been all day?
I was right here. Zivan announced
I'm free for marriage.
Again?
-I swear!
I wish you hadn't told me that.
Oh, but how could I not?
What did he say?
Eh, you know him.
I was herding sheep above the
water-mill, gazing into the river...
And I wanted to dive in to it,
to drown in it.
Run, run, he's here!
Run Strahinja, please!
Why should I run?
Go, I am begging of you!
What are you doing here?
- I followed the flock...
Go back home!
Remember, if I see you here again,
you won't ever leave!
Poor Vule.
- God bless his soul.
He's the third.
- No, he's the fourth!
Four millers, in only one year...
Sava is back, I say.
He's back. - And just when
we thought he had settled down.
We have so little peace...
- May God damn this evil
beseeching us...
People, don't listen to these
bedtime stories.
There is no Sava Savanovic,
and there are no vampires!
We should think about what
to do with the mill.
I hear you all, whining like
old wives. Don't you see that we
are left without bread?
No evil to be had.
No vukodlaks to be wary of.
And Vule?
How exactly did he died?
How? Like any other dead man.
His time had come, so he died.
And now what?
Should we leave our wheat to rot
because of him and this madness?!
True, you have a point.
We can't live without the mill!
We are barely managing with lack of wheat!
Listen, my fellow men and dearest brothers.
Let's summon our courage, face our fears,
and sleep there for a couple of nights.
Come on, who is with me?
I say, brothers: we should try again
once more. Let's find another miller!
Oh, but just who will be this new
miller? Nobody wants to do it!
Maybe if we had a true priest,his
prayers would work and we could use him!
Are you talking about Sredoje?
The one always fooling around?
I may be in jest at times, but when I work,
I am not just some liar pretending
to look useful.
Good thing you aren't working now,
or I might have believed that!
Keep your hands away from me, holy man!
Come on.
Good day, Master Zivan.
I said "good day" to you!
What do you want?
Master Zivan, I am here to ask for your
daughter's hand.
Oh, really?
Who are you asking for?
For me, who else?
I couldn't begin to guess.
You've really decided to marry, eh?
I did.
- With Radojka, you say?
With Radojka.
And where will you take her to live,
to that shack?
It was a good home to my mother;
it will be fine for my wife, too.
And how will you feed your wife?
Why are you asking me that?
I may be poor, but I'm healthy,
I will work!
Well, what are you waiting for?
I'm waiting for you to give
me an answer!
Then you'll be waiting for
quite some time.
That's fine, I'm in no hurry.
Then you wait till you are dead.
If it's come to this, then I need
to tell you something, Master Zivan.
If you won't give me your blessing,
then I will take her without it!
Get lost!
You're beyond reasoning with!
Know this: if you ever return to my home,
I'll give sense a new way into
that skull of yours!
You have decided for good?
I was thinking about it.
There is no other option.
And the house?
- I don't care.
Nay, what do I need a house for?
A place wherein to grow dust?
A place to be miserable in?
But where will you go?
- I know not...
Somewhere, far away...
What am I to do?
You?
Could you really just
leave me like that?
Why? Should I stay, just to watch
you get married to some other man?
I'm going to Podsavina.
I'll manage, somehow.
It's better than to stay here.
What do I have here?
Nothing.
And what will happen to me...
You will be married soon enough...
Who knows which man you
will belong to...
Oh, Radojka!
The time has come to decide
what to do.
Break it down!
What is he saying?
- To destroy the mill and build another.
No, brothers, why would we do that?!
Let's knock it to the ground!
Knock your wife to the ground!
Fuck you!
Stop it!
Stop, stop!
Don't be like that.
Oh, Strahinja!
Where are you going?
Come here with us men.
I cannot, I am in a hurry.
Nonsense! Forgo your work, if just
or a bit, and drink with us!
Where have you been?
- At home.
Come, come. Rest yourself
for a spell.
It's empty.
Oh my, it certainly is!
A moment, please.
What is going on here?
Are you holding council?
I'm afraid so.
We are in grave trouble...
Why?
We don't have a miller now.
But Vule, wasn't he the miller?
Vule...
is dead. Murdered, by the look of it.
Dead?
- God bless his soul.
And now, dear Sale, we can't find
another miller. It is a dreary trouble.
Such a big village; only
one water-mill, and no one to run it.
Here it is, Sale, my boy.
I haven't seen you in quite some time.
You know, we love you
like you were our own son.
Sale, dearest...
dearest...
would you be our miller?
Would you help us in our time of need?
Help us, brother! Our children are
hungry and without their bread.
Why me?
We beseech you! If you don't help us,
we will have to grind the wheat
with our bare teeth!
All right, I'll do it.
But only for so long.
I will need money.
I'm preparing for the road.
Well, sonny, God bless you!
Haven't I always said that our
Strahinja is twice the man we wish to be!
Come on people, in the name of that,
let's drink!
Come on Strahinja, drink.
Come on, go in! Come in, you first!
- You come. Ok I will.
Oh Strahinja!
Oh how unfortunate...
To cry for...
-Don't cry, let's us rather gather up
what is left here.
Yeah.
- Come on, let's go.
Is that you, Strahinja?
It is I.
In the name of God, you're alive?
Alive, yes.
Tell us, what happened last night?
Was it him?
- It was him.
Sava Savanovic?
Hey, hey, I told you people...
But did you see him with
your own two eyes, eh?
In the name of the Father
and the Son.
God save us...
- God is with us...
What a miracle!
People, did any of you know
Sava Savanovic?
We only know where his grave is.
- Who could possibly know him,
he died more than a century ago...
I know of one who can tell us
something about this!
- Who?
The old woman, Mirjanicka.
I bet she knows.
I doubt she can tell us about this,
I doubt anyone can.
Come on.
Come, come here.
Please , you ask her.
- No, not me...
I'll ask, if no one else will.
Granny Mirjana!
Louder, louder!
Oh, granny Mirjana!!
You can do better.
I can't do better.
Do it better!
- Wait, I'll try.
Why are you yelling?
Granny, do you know anything
about Sava Savanovic??
Where are you from, sonny?
We are from the council of Zaroshje!
Nice, nice.
Do you know about Sava Savanovic?
Come on granny, do you know about
Sava Savanovic!?
Sava Savanovic?
I don't know anything dear,
I swear.
So much about that...
Sava, you say?
I know Sava.
He was ugly.
Where is his grave?
What did you say?
I said: where is his grave?
His grave! The grave! Where is it?
Whose grave?
Sava's grave!!!
Oooh, Sava's grave!
I don't know dear, I swear.
This is going nowhere.
Sava's grave, you say?
It's right there!
Where?
Over there a ways, near a ditch.
Under an elm tree.
What a waste of time...
All this walking nearly killed me.
Brothers, why are we doing this?
It's pointless, all of this.
That's what you get when you do
what an old hag says!
- Listen to this!
We will need a horse for
the proceedings.
Old man, why didn't you
tell us that before?
First, we need to find a stallion.
Then we should prepare a stake,
and holy water.
Who has a stallion in our village?
- Zivan, he's the only one.
That bastard?
He won't give it to us.
God bless you, brother.
You're resting, eh?
Why are you here?
I had some work to do with Mirjanicka.
Asking the old woman about Sava Savanovic,
is it?
No, no.
Wait, how did you know?
You're worse than a bunch of children.
Hunting vukodlaks. Shame on you,
grown men...
Brother, don't you have a horse
- a stallion?
I have. Why do you ask?
I need it to breed with my mare.
There, in the barn. Take him.
DOOM DOOM
Brother, why did you refuse that man?
Who?
Strahinja.
Did I?
You did.
Why don't you give him the girl?
- Brother, if you came to ask me this,
please go. The gate is there.
Who slept in the mill last night?
Djemo, but don't lead him. Let him lead.
- If you think you know better,
you do it then.
Wait, wait.
Brothers, look what has happened to us,
we are letting the horse lead the people!
It's better to follow a horse,
than a fool.
I'm staying here.
Me too.
Shut up!
What's wrong?
Is it the grave?
It is the grave!
All right, start digging.
It's here.
- Keep digging?
Continue.
More, more.
Hold this.
Prayer!
In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit! Amen.
[Reading prayer in old Slavic]
Priest, watch for the butterfly.
Now!
Just go on..!
Priest, holy water, quickly!
Pour it!
Here it is, catch it, catch it!
God damn it, why did you let it go!
We lost the butterfly...
Why don't you get up NOW, hahah!
Welcome, granny.
- God bless you.
Priest, cheers!
It went dry, huh?
- Yeah. Dry.
Hey, he won't give her up?
He won't.
But why?
Because I am poor.
He said "I won't let her live
in that stitch house."
He said that?
- He did.
You're unlucky...
It's okay, Cjeba.
Every man in this village would
gladly give you his daughter. Am I right?
And that bastard won't even hear it out!
The man is really in love, he left home
and everything because of this girl.
He's not even Radojka's father;
is he an uncle or something?
Who knows if they are related at all...
Don't be crazy, Strahinja. If
Radojka loves you, just take her!
Stop it, Cjeba...
I know what to do.
I'll come with you!
Who else?
- I will!
Stop, people, stop. Ask the priest
first; don't rush into sin.
It's not a sin to steal the girl,
not in this situation, right?
Sure, sure.
He is a decent man.
And to... sleep with her?
Sure, sure.
If it's not sinning, I'm going, too!
Radojka!
Oh, Radojka!
Who is it?!
- It's me, Strahinja,
don't be afraid.
What do you want?
To run away with you!
Oh Strahinja, how could I?
Don't be afraid.
Come on, come on, what are
you doing?
Congratulations, brother,
I wish you both to be happy!
Get up, he's gonna get you!
I'm staying; let him get me.
Here's to lasting many years!
- Here is our true husband.
Thank God, in one day we got a hero
and a miller!
Good luck to you.
What a beautiful dress, and such hair!
Nice, very nice...
So you didn't leave?
I did not.
Why didn't you?
Just because...
If you are going to leave me again,
you shouldn't have returned.
I'll never leave you, never!
I swear!
You'll see, motherf**kers....
For the love of God, enough....
A nice husband you are,
here, take some!
People, I suggest these two men to be
the godfathers!
I have nothing against that.
And granny Milenija should protect
the girl tonight.
Protect her from who?
Well, that's the tradition.
Everything by the order.
That's how it is. The Devil never sleeps.
- So, you don't get ideas at night...
And tomorrow morning,
we'll head straight to church.
Hope that priest won't be too drunk
to do the wedding.
Are you going to be alone tonight?
Alone.
Can I come?
You can.
Rado, dear...
My little chicken.
Oh granny Milanija,
did you protect the girl?
Hey birds, get up, the priest is here!
That's enough, leave something for tonight.
- Indeed.
Well, well.
I just took a little nap.
It's hard to resist.
Listening to this noise all the time....
So the council has ended?
-Ended.
So what happened?
There were a bunch of people. -Really?
-Really.
Shoo, God damn thee, shoo!
So, when should I come back?
- It will be done by the morning,
Master Zivan.
So, you're sleeping here?
- I am.
Alone?
-Alone.
Aren't you afraid?
No. Why, should I be?
Master Zivan, isn't that
your daughter, Radojka?
Yes, that's her.
Beautiful, like a butterfly.
Drop dead, damn you!
Vule!
Oh, Vule!
Let's go in.
Everyone! Everyone! Everyone!
Why the racket?
Vule is dead.
What did you say?
-Dead... dead!
Who's dead?
Vule is.
So, he as well...
Strahinja, you frightened me!
-And where have you been all day?
I was right here. Zivan announced
I'm free for marriage.
Again?
-I swear!
I wish you hadn't told me that.
Oh, but how could I not?
What did he say?
Eh, you know him.
I was herding sheep above the
water-mill, gazing into the river...
And I wanted to dive in to it,
to drown in it.
Run, run, he's here!
Run Strahinja, please!
Why should I run?
Go, I am begging of you!
What are you doing here?
- I followed the flock...
Go back home!
Remember, if I see you here again,
you won't ever leave!
Poor Vule.
- God bless his soul.
He's the third.
- No, he's the fourth!
Four millers, in only one year...
Sava is back, I say.
He's back. - And just when
we thought he had settled down.
We have so little peace...
- May God damn this evil
beseeching us...
People, don't listen to these
bedtime stories.
There is no Sava Savanovic,
and there are no vampires!
We should think about what
to do with the mill.
I hear you all, whining like
old wives. Don't you see that we
are left without bread?
No evil to be had.
No vukodlaks to be wary of.
And Vule?
How exactly did he died?
How? Like any other dead man.
His time had come, so he died.
And now what?
Should we leave our wheat to rot
because of him and this madness?!
True, you have a point.
We can't live without the mill!
We are barely managing with lack of wheat!
Listen, my fellow men and dearest brothers.
Let's summon our courage, face our fears,
and sleep there for a couple of nights.
Come on, who is with me?
I say, brothers: we should try again
once more. Let's find another miller!
Oh, but just who will be this new
miller? Nobody wants to do it!
Maybe if we had a true priest,his
prayers would work and we could use him!
Are you talking about Sredoje?
The one always fooling around?
I may be in jest at times, but when I work,
I am not just some liar pretending
to look useful.
Good thing you aren't working now,
or I might have believed that!
Keep your hands away from me, holy man!
Come on.
Good day, Master Zivan.
I said "good day" to you!
What do you want?
Master Zivan, I am here to ask for your
daughter's hand.
Oh, really?
Who are you asking for?
For me, who else?
I couldn't begin to guess.
You've really decided to marry, eh?
I did.
- With Radojka, you say?
With Radojka.
And where will you take her to live,
to that shack?
It was a good home to my mother;
it will be fine for my wife, too.
And how will you feed your wife?
Why are you asking me that?
I may be poor, but I'm healthy,
I will work!
Well, what are you waiting for?
I'm waiting for you to give
me an answer!
Then you'll be waiting for
quite some time.
That's fine, I'm in no hurry.
Then you wait till you are dead.
If it's come to this, then I need
to tell you something, Master Zivan.
If you won't give me your blessing,
then I will take her without it!
Get lost!
You're beyond reasoning with!
Know this: if you ever return to my home,
I'll give sense a new way into
that skull of yours!
You have decided for good?
I was thinking about it.
There is no other option.
And the house?
- I don't care.
Nay, what do I need a house for?
A place wherein to grow dust?
A place to be miserable in?
But where will you go?
- I know not...
Somewhere, far away...
What am I to do?
You?
Could you really just
leave me like that?
Why? Should I stay, just to watch
you get married to some other man?
I'm going to Podsavina.
I'll manage, somehow.
It's better than to stay here.
What do I have here?
Nothing.
And what will happen to me...
You will be married soon enough...
Who knows which man you
will belong to...
Oh, Radojka!
The time has come to decide
what to do.
Break it down!
What is he saying?
- To destroy the mill and build another.
No, brothers, why would we do that?!
Let's knock it to the ground!
Knock your wife to the ground!
Fuck you!
Stop it!
Stop, stop!
Don't be like that.
Oh, Strahinja!
Where are you going?
Come here with us men.
I cannot, I am in a hurry.
Nonsense! Forgo your work, if just
or a bit, and drink with us!
Where have you been?
- At home.
Come, come. Rest yourself
for a spell.
It's empty.
Oh my, it certainly is!
A moment, please.
What is going on here?
Are you holding council?
I'm afraid so.
We are in grave trouble...
Why?
We don't have a miller now.
But Vule, wasn't he the miller?
Vule...
is dead. Murdered, by the look of it.
Dead?
- God bless his soul.
And now, dear Sale, we can't find
another miller. It is a dreary trouble.
Such a big village; only
one water-mill, and no one to run it.
Here it is, Sale, my boy.
I haven't seen you in quite some time.
You know, we love you
like you were our own son.
Sale, dearest...
dearest...
would you be our miller?
Would you help us in our time of need?
Help us, brother! Our children are
hungry and without their bread.
Why me?
We beseech you! If you don't help us,
we will have to grind the wheat
with our bare teeth!
All right, I'll do it.
But only for so long.
I will need money.
I'm preparing for the road.
Well, sonny, God bless you!
Haven't I always said that our
Strahinja is twice the man we wish to be!
Come on people, in the name of that,
let's drink!
Come on Strahinja, drink.
Come on, go in! Come in, you first!
- You come. Ok I will.
Oh Strahinja!
Oh how unfortunate...
To cry for...
-Don't cry, let's us rather gather up
what is left here.
Yeah.
- Come on, let's go.
Is that you, Strahinja?
It is I.
In the name of God, you're alive?
Alive, yes.
Tell us, what happened last night?
Was it him?
- It was him.
Sava Savanovic?
Hey, hey, I told you people...
But did you see him with
your own two eyes, eh?
In the name of the Father
and the Son.
God save us...
- God is with us...
What a miracle!
People, did any of you know
Sava Savanovic?
We only know where his grave is.
- Who could possibly know him,
he died more than a century ago...
I know of one who can tell us
something about this!
- Who?
The old woman, Mirjanicka.
I bet she knows.
I doubt she can tell us about this,
I doubt anyone can.
Come on.
Come, come here.
Please , you ask her.
- No, not me...
I'll ask, if no one else will.
Granny Mirjana!
Louder, louder!
Oh, granny Mirjana!!
You can do better.
I can't do better.
Do it better!
- Wait, I'll try.
Why are you yelling?
Granny, do you know anything
about Sava Savanovic??
Where are you from, sonny?
We are from the council of Zaroshje!
Nice, nice.
Do you know about Sava Savanovic?
Come on granny, do you know about
Sava Savanovic!?
Sava Savanovic?
I don't know anything dear,
I swear.
So much about that...
Sava, you say?
I know Sava.
He was ugly.
Where is his grave?
What did you say?
I said: where is his grave?
His grave! The grave! Where is it?
Whose grave?
Sava's grave!!!
Oooh, Sava's grave!
I don't know dear, I swear.
This is going nowhere.
Sava's grave, you say?
It's right there!
Where?
Over there a ways, near a ditch.
Under an elm tree.
What a waste of time...
All this walking nearly killed me.
Brothers, why are we doing this?
It's pointless, all of this.
That's what you get when you do
what an old hag says!
- Listen to this!
We will need a horse for
the proceedings.
Old man, why didn't you
tell us that before?
First, we need to find a stallion.
Then we should prepare a stake,
and holy water.
Who has a stallion in our village?
- Zivan, he's the only one.
That bastard?
He won't give it to us.
God bless you, brother.
You're resting, eh?
Why are you here?
I had some work to do with Mirjanicka.
Asking the old woman about Sava Savanovic,
is it?
No, no.
Wait, how did you know?
You're worse than a bunch of children.
Hunting vukodlaks. Shame on you,
grown men...
Brother, don't you have a horse
- a stallion?
I have. Why do you ask?
I need it to breed with my mare.
There, in the barn. Take him.
DOOM DOOM
Brother, why did you refuse that man?
Who?
Strahinja.
Did I?
You did.
Why don't you give him the girl?
- Brother, if you came to ask me this,
please go. The gate is there.
Who slept in the mill last night?
Djemo, but don't lead him. Let him lead.
- If you think you know better,
you do it then.
Wait, wait.
Brothers, look what has happened to us,
we are letting the horse lead the people!
It's better to follow a horse,
than a fool.
I'm staying here.
Me too.
Shut up!
What's wrong?
Is it the grave?
It is the grave!
All right, start digging.
It's here.
- Keep digging?
Continue.
More, more.
Hold this.
Prayer!
In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit! Amen.
[Reading prayer in old Slavic]
Priest, watch for the butterfly.
Now!
Just go on..!
Priest, holy water, quickly!
Pour it!
Here it is, catch it, catch it!
God damn it, why did you let it go!
We lost the butterfly...
Why don't you get up NOW, hahah!
Welcome, granny.
- God bless you.
Priest, cheers!
It went dry, huh?
- Yeah. Dry.
Hey, he won't give her up?
He won't.
But why?
Because I am poor.
He said "I won't let her live
in that stitch house."
He said that?
- He did.
You're unlucky...
It's okay, Cjeba.
Every man in this village would
gladly give you his daughter. Am I right?
And that bastard won't even hear it out!
The man is really in love, he left home
and everything because of this girl.
He's not even Radojka's father;
is he an uncle or something?
Who knows if they are related at all...
Don't be crazy, Strahinja. If
Radojka loves you, just take her!
Stop it, Cjeba...
I know what to do.
I'll come with you!
Who else?
- I will!
Stop, people, stop. Ask the priest
first; don't rush into sin.
It's not a sin to steal the girl,
not in this situation, right?
Sure, sure.
He is a decent man.
And to... sleep with her?
Sure, sure.
If it's not sinning, I'm going, too!
Radojka!
Oh, Radojka!
Who is it?!
- It's me, Strahinja,
don't be afraid.
What do you want?
To run away with you!
Oh Strahinja, how could I?
Don't be afraid.
Come on, come on, what are
you doing?
Congratulations, brother,
I wish you both to be happy!
Get up, he's gonna get you!
I'm staying; let him get me.
Here's to lasting many years!
- Here is our true husband.
Thank God, in one day we got a hero
and a miller!
Good luck to you.
What a beautiful dress, and such hair!
Nice, very nice...
So you didn't leave?
I did not.
Why didn't you?
Just because...
If you are going to leave me again,
you shouldn't have returned.
I'll never leave you, never!
I swear!
You'll see, motherf**kers....
For the love of God, enough....
A nice husband you are,
here, take some!
People, I suggest these two men to be
the godfathers!
I have nothing against that.
And granny Milenija should protect
the girl tonight.
Protect her from who?
Well, that's the tradition.
Everything by the order.
That's how it is. The Devil never sleeps.
- So, you don't get ideas at night...
And tomorrow morning,
we'll head straight to church.
Hope that priest won't be too drunk
to do the wedding.
Are you going to be alone tonight?
Alone.
Can I come?
You can.
Rado, dear...
My little chicken.
Oh granny Milanija,
did you protect the girl?
Hey birds, get up, the priest is here!
That's enough, leave something for tonight.