Visitor of a Museum (1989) - full transcript

Who's there?

Who's there?

Crazy...

Crazy...

Viktor Mixajlov

Vera Majorova

Vadim Lobanov

Irina Rakshina

Aleksandr Rasinskij

in

A Visitor to the Museum



Written and Directed by

Konstantin Lopushanskij

What do you want
from me?

Where's the railroad line
around here?

I'm looking for
the dump train.

The garbage train -
where does it stop?

Come inside.

Come in quickly, you're
letting the dust in.

This way...

Can I have some
water, please?

Sure, sure.

It's the dust.

The cups are dirty...

The dust here is terrible.



It's better if you cover
your mouth.

The dust is bad for you.

Drink.
-Thank you.

The garbage train will be
another hour at least.

You can rest here.

Would you like something
to eat?

We run a tavern here,
very reasonable prices.

Thank you, I'm not hungry.

Maybe a cup of coffee
and a sandwich?

Come this way.

What's that in the windows?
Why is it burning?

To keep them out
of the house.

There's a reservation nearby.
The degenerates.

They climb through
the windows.

Especially at night.

What a fright.

They're scared
of fire, though.

They're generally scared
of fire, remember that.

You're here for the
first time, no?

First time.

Going to the factory?

No, the weather station.

Do they pay well?
- Where?

The station. Aren't you
going to work there?

No, I'm just a tourist.

I'd like to visit the Museum.
The one that's flooded.

Ah, the museum. The whole
world's gone mad.

Many people going?

Just the opposite.
That's not the point.

What is it then?

Many of them don't make it.

They don't understand
the sea. It?s no joke.

They told me the low tide
lasts 7 days.

Three days there,
three back.

What is the sea floor like
when the water goes?

It's a desert.

You can lose your way,
and the tide comes quickly.

A big wave comes
and it's all over.

What if you take
a life vest?

A life vest? Good luck.
It's your business.

I understand, you'd like
some pictures of the museum.

I mean your own, not
something out of a book.

I don't need photos.

I want to touch it
with my own hands.

Go on and eat. I'll be
back with coffee.

A tourist?

I'm asking you.
- Yes, a tourist.

Maybe he'll take
a room upstairs?

Tell him.

Why don't you
say something?

He's made arrangements
at the weather station.

So what?

It's cheaper here, and
he gets free board.

Tell him.

I already told him.
- And?

Father, put some clothes on!

Pay no attention, he's mad.

Why don't you
mind your business!

You never let me talk
to a real human being.

Can you tell fortune
from the book?

Tell my fortune.

Open at any place.

Point your finger.

Close your eyes first.

??neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead.?

What does it mean
rose from the dead?

What could it mean?

I don't know.

What?

I don't know.

Do it again.

?What is man, that thou art
mindful of him??

?and the son of man,
that thou visitest him??

Plenty of room, as you
can see. But it is cold.

Maybe on the other
side of the house?

There's a nice room there,
especially reserved for you.

No, I like it here
very much. Really.

Please take this.
- Why, it can wait.

All meals are served
in the dining room.

I can bring them up
to the room.

Don't trouble yourself.

I will call you down
to dinner then.

Fashions changing again.

Is it alright without sound?

I don't like when it's noisy.

Here you go.

Are you done?
What do you say?

Bon appetit.

You can go.

Thank you.

Forgive me, I forgot
to ask you.

If you mind, they can
eat downstairs.

No, no... Who are they?

They're like servants.

Distant relatives...
-Right.

Brother and sister. Both
came from the reservation.

We keep them as servants,
there's too much work here for us.

We're educating them
as best we can.

You should have seen them
a year ago.

I don't know what they teach
them at the reservation.

Nothing, that's the trouble.

I'll have you know
that 40% of children

are born degenerate
every year.

You can imagine
what we're facing.

I beg you not to mention
the museum in front of them.

Sure... why?

The degenerates have
a religious holiday at low tide.

Priests, etc., religious
psychosis, hysteria.

There may be
a disturbance.

At the reservation,
of course, not here.

You mean the Feast
of Branches?

Yes, branches.

Strange...

What is?

Yes, what is strange?

Aren't they afraid of fire?

But they light the
branches on fire...

Nothing strange here.
They worship what they fear.

Don't we have anything better
to talk about than degenerates?

Tell us what news
there is in the city.

Do you live in the city
or the suburbs?

I'm in the city,
basically downtown.

Then tell us about it.

I don't know what to say.
Nothing new, I guess...

You'll have to take
some water with you.

Food and water are
most important.

Do you have a map?

Yes, of course.

The terrain is difficult.
The sea floor is slimy.

Uneven too.

This is the place. You'll
start from here.

The degenerates don't go
to the Museum?

Of course not.
They're too weak.

You have to be in
very good shape.

Seven days of travel
is no joke.

Not every healthy man
can take it.

Have you ever tried it?

What do I need it for?

There is a stench here,
can you smell it?

Chemicals?
? Yes, chemical waste.

The sea is basically dead.

Have there been other
visitors recently?

We had many here.

Not everyone stays with us.

There was a girl with
some guys last year.

They only walked half way
and came back.

They were afraid of getting
caught in the tide.

A married couple came
two years ago.

They drowned.

I guess they didn't
count the days right.

Or maybe they lost their way.

To tell the truth, many
people die here.

Better think it over carefully.

What is it?

Don't worry, it's nothing.

The Mound is the main thing.

The heart of the Museum.

No mound in here, though.

What about the encyclopedia?

Only pictures there.

Hold on... Let me think...

What makes you think
the Mound is the main thing?

The Museum is a city
first and foremost.

A city.

Who knows...

The priests in their
so-called sacred texts...

What? What about
the priests?

... speak of the Mound,
the Museum.

And a path shall open from this
age to the beginning of time.

An ancient city
will be revealed

with its great mysteries.

A mound will stand
outside the city

upon which rises...
and so forth.

That's what it says, so
the Mound is the main thing.

Enough. How can you take
seriously all that nonsense?

The priests' texts are not
as naive as it seems.

I didn't say naive.
I'm saying crazy.

The priests are just another
kind of degenerates.

Don't kid yourself about that.

I can allow them their own
degenerate culture, religion...

Why not?

Madness is not an argument.

Our own culture has
a trace of it too.

"Let him become a fool
that he may be wise..."

"For the wisdom of this world
is foolishness with God."

I believe Paul said that,
the Apostle.

He had something else in mind.

Why's that? Essentially
the same thing.

Come in.

I forgot to mention it,

you?ll have to register
with the Inspection.

It's silly, but rules are rules.

Does it have to be today?

Today. It's mandatory.

What if I don't register?
I'll just be a few days.

Sorry, not allowed. We
can get in trouble.

Anyone going to the Museum
must register.

Certainly... Where is
this Inspection?

At the Reservation,
on factory grounds.

The maid will take you there.

She's going there for a
vaccine shot anyway.

Ah, there's the dinner bell.
We'll wait for you.

Who are the people
in the basement?

They're our guests.

Is that so? Guests?

From the Reservation?
Is that what you mean?

It's the Feast of
the Branches.

The Master permitted it.
I never ask for anything.

Just once a year.

I did permit it, for a very
short time. Just for the Feast.

Very humane of you,
and pedagogical, too.

Maybe I should leave my house,
so I don't get in the way?

Please, it's nothing
so terrible.

Listen here, I don't want
your monkey guests

coming out into
the hallway.

They are not to wander anywhere
outside the basement.

I don't want to hear
any cries or noises.

Got it?

I understand.

I promise.

Bon appetit.

Thank you very much

for your pleasant company.

Get out!

There was a city here?

Where?
- Here.

Maybe. I don't remember.

Tell me, can I see
the priests?

Just to take a look.

Can you show me
where they are?

Who?
- The priests.

What is it, a temple?

What is it called?
- Nothing.

It's by the village,
behind the Reservation.

Will they let me in?
- No.

What do I need to do
to get in?

You have to pray.

Knock on the wall?

Knock and repeat the words.

What words?

Let me out of here.
You say it many times.

Is that it?
- That's it.

We only have one prayer.

Let me out of where?
The Reservation?

Out of here...
in general.

What is that?

So, you're going
to the Museum?

You have to fill out
this form.

Write at the bottom:

I have been warned
of possible dangers.

I agree not to hold
the Inspection responsible.

What's it for, anyway?

Just in case.

Not afraid of drowning?

I'm counting on my luck.

Some people are lucky,
it's true.

But why risk your life,
just to see some ruins?

It probably stinks
to high heaven.

All the chemical waste,
it goes to the bottom.

It's your business, I just
have to warn you.

Check it out. Latest fashion.
- Where's you get it?

We got a whole load of them
from the dump train.

Like new.
- I'll be right back.

Who's there?

What?

What do you want?

What are you doing here?

The Mistress is shouting.

The Mistress. You hear?

If you're scared,
you can stay here.

No, you...

What about me?

You come down to us,
I'm not allowed here.

...they will progress. They've
already learned so much!

It's vile, perverse,
can't you see that!

How dare you!
They're our children!

Let us out of here!
Let me out of here!

It is a curious
psychological phenomenon.

Everyone says:
an ecological catastrophe.

So what happens next?
Nothing.

You can't shut down factories,
or stop experiments.

A vicious circle.

Personally, I think we couldn't
freeze the glaciers, either.

Water levels will keep rising.
That's a fact.

You're thinking another flood?

Would that surprise you?
A flood, naturally.

A real-life flood.
In about 50 years.

None of us will be alive
for it, of course.

That's why nobody
cares about it.

Would you like some
tea with milk?

Yes, please.

Tea with milk purifies the blood.

I read it in some magazine.

Pardon us, please.

I'm sorry. I don't understand.
It's somebody else. It's not me.

Somebody's torturing me.
It's not me. I don't know who...

Let us go over
yesterday's lesson.

What has man created
in his time on earth?

Man has created
a trash heap.

Not a trash heap,
but material goods.

Cities, goods.
Now you say it.

Man has created goods.

Pardon me. May I look
at the maps?

Of course.

Right. Let's move on.

What was the mistake?
Can you tell me?

Man has forgotten himself.

Back to square one, I see.

Come on, concentrate.

What is this here?

It's a curse.

Fine, let's speak in metaphors.

I agree that it's a curse.

But how is it expressed,
through what processes?

In that God has hidden
himself and Hell reigns...

Where?

Wherever there is man,
there is Hell.

It is written, if you are born
here you are damned.

Fine, what else does it say?

It says, lusting after pleasure
shall devour you...

Enough! I don't want to hear
about your scriptures!

Think about it!

What sort of prayer is it,
knocking on walls?

What holy powers?
What sacred pages?

They're not sacred,
they're made of paper.

It's all madness,
ignorance and superstition.

Sure, such sentiments
are inevitable

in an age of ecological
catastrophies.

But rational man
must confront them.

I don't want to hear
about any god!

He doesn't exist,
never existed!

Hello. I would like to see
the monastery.

Can you take me
to the priests?

Man, look upon yourself
and despair.

For Nature has never
beheld anything so vile.

Your name is deceit,
your actions are hypocrisy.

Everything you touch
shall be defiled,

living and dead, trees and stones,
the air, animals and fish.

Everything shall be poisoned
and distorted.

For your lust shall in the end
devour you.

You have turned the earth into
the refuse heap of your defilements,

and buried it under mounds
of the remains of your pleasures.

Suffocating under the weight
of your insatiability

you continue to clamor
for more.

Let the prophecy we have
received be realized,

for it was said:

the depths of the sea shall reveal
the mysteries of the past.

And the path from our days
to the beginning of times.

And the ancient city with its
grand mysteries shall be revealed.

And the Mound near the city,
with its the eternal sanctuary.

And he that ascends to
the Mound shall be heard.

And his name is
the Presaged One.

And there was another Prophecy,
may it be realized.

And an Intercessor
shall be sent to you,

an advocate for your salvation.

And he shall intercede for you
before the Seat of Justice.

His petition shall be
your prayers and suffering.

But he shall not know his mystery
or understand his path.

He shall be deaf and blind
like all abiding in the final days.

But he shall sense
the wings of his angel,

for the name of his Angel
is Sorrow.

And let the Prophecy
be realized, for it is said:

An intercessor shall come
in the final days

and a great sorrow shall be
his from his birth.

And he shall have nothing
but the great sorrow,

neither the gift of prophecy
nor of healing,

neither providence,
nor the gift of tongues.

But he shall be heard on account
of the prayers of the desperate.

For the one interceding for you
is the final Intercessor,

there shall be no other.
Amen.

Lord! Let us out of here!

I've gotten my coat dirty.

Leave it, the maid will
clean it in the morning.

Thank you.

Are you mad?

Why did you go there?

Don't you understand
how it will end?

How? How do things
end, anyway?

Go on...

No, it's really some kind
of temporary insanity.

I only have four weeks
of vacation,

and I spend a whole week
at a dump site!

Don't get me wrong,
it's lovely here.

I mean everything else
around here.

No, it's really incredible.

You're absolutely right.
We'll miss you of course.

But I understand you
completely.

Frankly, I was surprised at first.

A normal, healthy man
in his prime,

no abnormalities, as they say,

and yet such wild fantasies.

All that about Museums,

risking your life
on a field trip...

A field trip! Exactly!
It's ridiculous.

Spending my vacation
wandering around a dump!

I can just see my city friends
laughing at me!

Oh, what a birthday gift!

Is it your birthday?
- Yes!

Why are you up?

What happened?

You're leaving?

Stop! You can't!
I beg you!

Please! Please!

We don't have anyone
except for you!

I told them you're going
to the Museum!

Everyone's counting on you!

Who did you tell?

The priests!
- Who told you to?

I'm guilty!
Punish me!

Just don't leave!

I'm begging you!

I don't have anybody
else besides you!

What does it have
to do with me!

I'm going! I have to go!
You understand?

I have work to do
in the city!

Stop!
Stop!

What's with you
and the dump train?

You'll get to the end
of the dump, then what?

All the boats
have gone home.

What do you mean?

The low tide.
Don't you know that?

At least seven days.

You'll be stuck at the edge
of the dump for a week.

There's nowhere
to stay there.

Meanwhile you can stay
here, cheaply.

Want to check out a room?

Later.

My god, what difference
does it make?

As you like.

I keep reading, but I don't
understand a thing.

All my life I'm reading.

Are you gonna keep
bothering people?

Why don't you tell
my fortune.

Just close your eyes.

"O Lord, I know that the way
of man is not in himself"

"it is not in man that walketh
to direct his steps."

What does it mean?

Completely incomprehensible.

Can you explain it to me?

What is it?
Are you ill?

What?

What do you need?

Is it your heart?

I can't hear.
What is it?

The sorrow!
The sorrow!

If all has been foretold,
then it's a prison!

Like marionettes...

Running around
like a hysteric...

I'm telling you,
he's one of them.

We have to call
the Inspection.

He's a degenerate.
A runaway.

Didn't you hear?

They run away and live
like normal people!

Will you listen to yourself!

We have to report it
to the Inspection!

Fine, fine! I'll report it!

Now get out of here!
Nobody asked you.

Do you hear me?

They can kill you!
They will kill you!

Not now, for christ's sake!

I warned you, they can
tear you to pieces!

Drink!

Shame!
Shame!

Forgive me!
Forgive me!

Wait!

"Out of the depths have I
cried unto thee, O Lord."

"From the desolation of the earth
I beseech thee, O Savior."

"Give ear, O Lord,
unto my prayer,"

"and attend to the voice
of my supplications."

"Do not requite me
for my iniquities"

"and forgive the sin
of my ignorance,"

"Holy God, Holy Power,
have mercy upon me."

"Cast me not away
from thy presence;"

"and take not thy holy
spirit from me."

Forgive my pride, O Lord,

as I enter into
your holy desert,

and approach the seat
of your Justice,

with the words of your
psalmist upon my heart.

As it is written,

"Lord, who shall abide
in thy tabernacle?"

"who shall dwell
in thy holy hill?"

"And they that know
thy name"

"will put their trust in thee"
as it is written,

"Thou shalt hide them in the
secret of thy presence."

Lord, instill understanding
in my heart,

and give absolution to one
wandering all of his days,

so that my sinful spirit
shall know thy truths.

For one dwelling in this world
is blind

and shrouded in
interminable darkness.

Do not abandon me,
O Lord.

I stand before thee,
O Lord,

and my spirit is like dust
in thy hand.

Lord, king of heaven,

myriads of stars
upon thy palm,

hear the cry of
a grain of sand.

For the grains of sand
are numberless,

and the deserts of time
are limitless.

How shall I reach thee?

Who shall dare
lift up his eyes

and gaze upon the radiance
of thy name?

Who shall fathom your
limitless mystery?

Lord, Lord, my God,

hear the cries of my heart,

like the prodigal son I
prostrate myself before thee.

Bestow wisdom upon me,
for the ways of man

are dreadful in the dark
ignorance of thy words.

But what mortal shall
know thy secret,

and raise the veil
of thy mystery,

the day and the hour
foretold by thee.

Thou hast said, I shall rain
fire upon the earth.

What does it mean?

You foretold the end of
the world, but did not say why.

Do we have a choice then?

It is written, "the way of
man is not in himself"

"it is not in man that walketh
to direct his steps."

Holy God, Holy Power,
have mercy upon us.

My faith is in thee alone.

As it is written, "For the needy
shall not always be forgotten:"

"the expectation of the poor
shall not perish for ever."

Our Father, have mercy
upon me, a sinner.

I'm going, O Lord .

I remember... I must
have some sleep...

Lord, do not abandon me.

Lord!

Where shall I go?

Help me!

Lord, let me live!

Lord, how much time...

How much time
do I have, O Lord?

Lord, it is I, man!

Hear my cries, O Lord,
I beseech thee!

Let them out of here!

Answer their prayer,
and reward their faith,

for they suffer for
the sins of others.

Why shall your
chosen ones suffer,

why shall they be damned?

Let them die. Let them
out of here.

Let them out of the world.

Everything in this world
is damned!

Everything shall perish!

Everything in this world
is a lie!

And the Devil is
the father of lies!

You had said, the whole world
is mired in lies,

and there is not a single
righteous man!

You said so! Let
them out, Lord!

Who's there?

THE END