MOSFILM
FIVE EVENINGS
Based upon the play by A. Volodin
Screenplay by A. ADABASHYAN, N. MIKHALKOV
Directed by Nikita MIKHALKOV
Director of Photography Pavel LEBESHEV
Production Designers:
Alexander ADABASHYAN Alexander SAMULEKIN
English Subtitles by T. Kameneva
Cast:
Tamara Vasilyevna - Ludmila GURCHENKO
Aleksandr Petrovich Ilyin - Stanislav LYUBSHIN
Zoya - Valentina TELICHKINA
Katya - Larissa KUZNETSOVA
Slava - Igor NEFYODOV
Timofeyev - Alexander ADABASHYAN
Evening One
- You found it? - In a sec, bunny.
- Sasha, what is love? - No one knows.
Love is like electricity.
Only if it's alternating current. Quite possible.
Not possible, but exactly.
- When does your leave end? - Soon I'll go choo-choo.
I found it!
Great!
Don't look, I must fix it.
I'm not looking. Not looking.
I'm mortally afraid of electricity. Thank God you're here.
Living alone, I can't either drive a nail in or screw in a bulb.
But, Sasha, please don't interpret our relationship
as if I'm so easy to get.
Come on
- What do you mean, come on? - I won't interpret.
- Zoya, you're better than before. - You're just being nasty.
Honest.
No, Sasha, it's not so at all.
What a charming girl I was when I was young.
And what a fine man was courting me! He was middle-aged, though.
My mother talked me out of it.
So I arranged a match between him and my friend.
I met her recently.
How she was dressed!
And it was me who could be in her place.
All right, I'll go to the kitchen.
Look, why don't you bring your things from the hotel?
You're living here anyway. Why waste money?
I just can't live with my neighbors!
And I behave like an insane woman.
You must be despising me, don't you?
No, why? On the contrary.
You know what model is being photographed now most of all?
Wait.
What do they see in her? I don't like her at all.
She's all right.
Come on! Look, this one is my favorite.
They used to photograph her for all the magazines, but no more.
Why don't they?
I guess she got married to a guy with means.
Here's another good one. Look.
Wait, I'll show you more.
Sasha.
Listen...
Can you, please, answer this question?
Suppose a girl met a man.
He fell madly in love with her.
She decides to go through life with him.
And he suddenly dumps her.
She met another man, and he again, bang! and left.
Oh, you're not listening to me.
I'm listening.
It happens. A sad story.
Of course, it's sad.
Oh, the pie!
Can you believe it?
Yes, number 6's been pulled down.
Such a great pie has burned down! They couldn't turn it off, beasts!
- Is this number 8? - That one is 8, ours is 11.
With the "Food Worker" sports society in the courtyard?
How do I know? Why?
Right.
I rented a room here from a woman before the war.
When was it? 17... No.
18 years ago. Damn it!
What are you talking about?
That's why I didn't recognize it. The corner house has been pulled down.
The whole apartment stinks now! Didrt turn it off on purpose.
See who I have to live with? Real beasts!
Damn it... Take it easy.
The filling is just fine, can you imagine?
Zoya, what if I just go there? Perhaps they still live there?
Go where?
To that woman. I rented a room at her place.
- If you want, we can go together. - No, Sasha.
Then I'll go alone. Just 15 minutes, and I'll be back.
I'll set the clock for you. I'll be here in 15 minutes.
I'll buy a cake, too.
And some cigarettes. I can't smoke your "Femina".
All right, Zoya, I'll be right back.
Beasts. I have to put an end to it.
All right.
Ludmila Markovna!
You think that if there's no one to stand up for me
you can do to me whatever you like?
- Does Tamara Vasilyevna live here? - Yes, Tamara Vasilyevna lives here.
Tamara Vasilyevna lives here, and I live over there.
Pavel is in hospital, Mitya came back from the army.
A lot of people living here, but there's no one to open the door.
Tamara Vasilyevna?
Do you have a room to rent?
What room?
Get out of there!
What are you doing there?
I'll lie down by the clothes rack.
Only don't open the door wide in the morning, do it carefully.
What do you want here? Who are you?
What do I need your passport for?
Good evening.
Why are you standing there? Come here.
Sit down.
Well, how is it?
- What? - Life.
Mood? Work achievements?
I, personally, live quite well.
I'm a team leader at the "Paris Commune" factory. An interesting work.
How are you doing?
My life is a railway.
The perpetual movement forward.
Are you drunk?
A little bit.
Had one or two yesterday.
- Where do you work? - Me?
I'm an engineer... chief engineer.
- A big works? - Yes, a chemical one.
The biggest in the USSR.
- Where? - In Podgorsk.
Big ships need deep waters.
My life is not bad, either. I work.
As a team leader, as I said, at the "Paris Commune".
An important person.
Yes, I'm responsible for everything:
for discipline, for the plan, for social work.
When only girls are on staff, they get so impertinent...
even a bit loose.
Sometimes she sits there so pretty, but disheveled.
"Comb your hair. With your face, you should take care of yourself."
Of course, I'm a Party member.
A Communist can demand more from the Party bureau.
In short, I live a full life, I'm not complaining.
You live alone?
I live with Slavik, my nephew.
Lucia died in the war, and Slavik was left alone.
A very gifted boy. Studying in a technological institute.
He followed in your footsteps. An active boy.
He doesn't do only studies, he's got a social profile too.
So he's also living a full life.
- Are you here on business? - Yes.
For about three days. Or four.
Well...
If you like, you can stay with us.
Slavik will sleep on a folding bed.
He won't be in your way.
Only one condition: don't bring anyone here.
The boy's studying, I come home tired. We need it to be quiet here.
Come in.
May we?
Hello. Good evening, Tomochka.
Good evening.
You're not watching?
I'm sorry, we just wanted to know
who is the anchor person today, Ninochka or Valechka?
Please, come on in.
- Thank you. May we? - Of course.
Thank you very much.
I'm not blocking your view, am I?
In our apartment I alone have a TV set. I invite them to watch it.
A new socialist youth movement is under way in our country.
Thousands of boys and girls
have responded to the call of our Party and Government
and volunteered to take part in the working up
of new expanses of the virgin lands...
- Do you smoke? - Yes, I still smoke.
Then we'd better open the door to the balcony. Do you mind?
Of course not. Why are you asking?
At Moscow Conservatory, Paul Robeson
met with representatives of the capital's musical community.
On Robesors 60th birthday, the Conservatory's artistic council
awarded him the title of honorary professor.
The professor's diploma was presented to Paul Robeson
by Conservatory Director, People's Artist of the USSR Sveshnikov.
All right.
I don't want to disturb you any more.
You're not disturbing us at all.
You'll be comfortable here. I've just changed the sheets today.
I don't know though.
It's for you to decide. I'm not going to try to persuade you.
Thank you.
We're going too, Tomochka.
Mitya has to go to a doctor in the morning,
and I must write a letter to my sister.
- Feel free to come any time. - Thank you.
- It was nice meeting you. - For me, too.
Goodbye.
I don't know about you, but I have to be up early tomorrow.
So feel yourself at home, and good night.
Yet I wouldn't buy such old-fashioned vases like these.
I guess there's a whole collection of them in some apartments.
Wouldrt it be better to make a choice of ceramics?
It would beautifully adorn your room.
Are you still offered traditional elephants? I would advise against it.
It's neither new nor interesting any more.
These Vyatka toys would look much better...
And please knock if you open the door at night! You understand?
Well, as a matter of fact, yes.
Come in.
I think I'd better go home. It's awkward.
You know what's awkward? Take off your coat and come in.
Come on in.
Food!
Slava, yesterday I walked through a garden...
This is not ours, sit here.
Slava, yesterday I walked through a garden
and saw a she-sparrow dragging a he-sparrow by his wing.
I guess he was unfaithful to her. What do you think?
I think, Yekaterina, I'm not sure if you're stupid or smart.
I'm neither stupid nor smart. I'm funny.
They invite me to parties to make everybody feel good.
Have you made many people feel good?
I got a lot of acquaintances. I'm used to having friends.
After school I was friends with one guy for two years.
Once I even met a general's son, Slava.
He told me right away: "I'm a general's son."
What?
Go to the Officers' House for dancing.
There're ugly ones there, especially for you.
I don't understand why you went to the movies with me then?
Why? It can't hurt me going to the movies.
- How much was the ticket? - 4.50.
- Keep 50 kopecks as a tip. - You're something...
It's midnight. You're to be up at 8 tomorrow.
And you, Miss...
Coming to a young mars home at night...
You're so young, and already behave like this.
Do you want to distract Slava from his studies?
It's not because of me that he gets bad marks.
- What bad marks? - Ask his Lidochka about it.
What's the matter, Slava?
How do I know what's the matter?
Our whole apartment dislikes her, that fountain pen of yours.
She takes notes of all the lectures word for word, like a parrot.
Slava quarreled with her, and she won't give him the lectures.
But whenever she needs anything, he's ready to oblige her.
It's not only me, the whole apartment hates her.
She keeps leafing through her notes, never opens up, you may ring all night.
That's what I call her - "fountain pen".
It means she's a serious, conscientious girl.
And it would do you good to follow her example.
- Me?! - Yes, you, my dear.
Why? I'm very popular as it is.
Oh, that's how you're speaking!
You're a girl, your honor should be the most precious thing for you.
At your age, I was already raising Slavik!
And you? How could you? Coming here in the middle of the night!
We got cold, we wanted to get warm.
Bringing someone to my place!
To whom else was he supposed to bring me?
Go away. I want to sleep.
- Good night. - Good night... Miss.
- I'll see you off. - I can go myself. You seer-off!
What's up? I want to know who that girl is.
She's a telephone operator at the long-distance-call station.
Oh, my God! You have no principles! Why are you like that?
And you got too many principles. You never married because of them.
Yes, because of my principles. And you?
You hold nothing sacred.
You're rude, and you think it's a great feat.
"Just look at me! I'm not afraid of anything!"
I want you to read. Right now, in front of me.
I'm fed up with theory!
These are Marx's letters.
And who's that?
- Ilyin. - Which Ilyin?
Aleksandr Petrovich.
I'm staying with you for a while.
I see.
Why did you hide from me that you got a bad mark?
Yet you told a girl you hardly know about it!
I'm not going to discuss my affairs in front of strangers.
He's not a stranger.
He knew you when you were 2 years old. Let him hear it.
And I've given him all my youth!
Don't say anything! Here's the folding bed for you!
You go to bed, too. I'm sick and tired of both of you!
And turn off the light! Let me have at least a little sleep tonight!
One brings a girl here, you know!
The other's reading a magazine at 1 a.m.!
How's our technological institute doing? Is Fomichyov still alive?
As savage as ever.
Are you a victim of science, too?
Exactly, a victim. I was thrown out in the third year.
It happens.
You don't seem to get on with your aunt very well.
Newtors 3rd Law: for every action, there's an equal & opposite reaction.
She lectures me, I resist.
Has your aunt been living alone all the while? She never got married?
That poor man hasn't come up yet.
Anyway, it's nice meeting you, Slava.
Slava.
Quiet.
If you ever again hurt that woman in my presence,
"I'll have you skinned alive and let you go to Africa naked".
- You got it? - Got it.
- What's the date we have today? - The fifth.
So, in the days I'm going to live in your house,
I intend to see to it that this woman be absolutely happy.
You got it?
Got it.
Go and wash up now.
Evening Two
The tablecloth must preserve creases after ironing.
They stir up the remembrances of childhood.
Sounds lofty.
One should live wisely, Slavik, without any fuss.
The book of life has too many superfluous details.
But there's one little secret here: we can leave out those pages.
That's it, comrade Ilyin.
I don't feel like reading this very page.
Slava dear, don't make me angry, go on working.
And you will do this operation every Saturday.
Now stand up.
- Stand up. - Why?
I don't feel comfortable hitting you while you sit.
As you wish.
Lower your chin to your chest, left arm stretched forward,
right arm protects your chin.
Taking a fighting stance, you're invulnerable.
The most effective hit is on the end of the chin.
There's no preparing for a blow in boxing.
The fist moves along a straight line,
for a straight line is the shortest distance between two points.
Got it.
Hit.
- Unexpectedly, short and sharp blow. - Once again.
Wait.
A short, unexpected blow, with your fingers down, sharply.
I'll do it.
Come closer, don't be afraid.
And there he goes flying.
What are you doing, you vermin!
We're training!
I got my nail broken.
What did you come to the telephone office for?
I was just passing by.
I thought you came on business. Don't come just for nothing again.
- Why don't you stay for a while? - What the hell for?
- Are you in a hurry? - My babies are crying at home.
We're in a spot here. Give us a hand.
What's it all about?
A celebration. Called birthday.
Whose birthday? His?
No, his aunt's.
How old did she turn?
Well, it's an abstract birthday.
I see.
There's a woman in our house who got married at 38.
To a 70-year-old man.
At 38, Slava, one can marry anything.
All right, let's get down to business. There're two of you now.
Wipe the shelf and the chest. Do it.
Who ever dusts with a dry cloth?
Is that supermarket number 17? Can you get me Zoya from groceries?
It's you? I didn't recognize your voice. Hello. It's Sasha.
Zoya, you see, something came up...
No, I can't.
Yes.
Hello. I was speaking to a neighbor.
No, tomorrow neither. And later, too.
All right, I'll be back soon.
- Yes? - May we?
- Please. Good evening. - Good evening.
We thought you were watching.
Please, come on in.
Thank you very much.
Just a second.
- Wort we be in the way? - No, not at all.
There goes a girl on spike heels.
They cost 300 rubles!
If only they cost 150, I would've bought them for sure.
Slava, let's go to "Uranus" for 8:30? I know an usherette there.
Once I had two guys let in without tickets. So I sit between them.
One says, "You came with me, so turn to me."
Then the other began complaining.
If I happen to be the third, you'll twist your neck turning.
Go clean up the other room.
Where are you going?
Thank you. We wanted to see "Swan Lake", but it's only tomorrow.
Please stay. Aunt Toma will be here any minute.
No, we'll be in the way.
Tomochka, we're sorry for coming not at the right time today.
Why?
We didn't know you have company, a celebration.
Congratulations, anyway.
We'll go to the Fedoseyevs'.
What celebration? What company?
What's going on here?
Who allowed you to lay a clean tablecloth?
Why did you take thatjar? We have to return it to the store.
Can you explain what it's all about?
Those were your tenant's orders.
He's supposed to be thankful for being let in for the night.
Empty the jar.
And who is that?
- Katya. - Katya?
What brings you here?
I just came.
And what were you doing there?
Dusting the suitcase.
- Put it back. - Shall I bring the garbage back?
Hi.
Slava, what's up?
- Put the flowers back. - As you please.
Empty the jar, I need to take it back to the store.
We decided to celebrate.
- To celebrate what? - Our meeting.
First, I don't see any point in celebrating our meeting.
And, secondly, you're just a tenant here, so stop ordering in our house.
And I won't let you make a drunkard of the boy.
You've had your education, and he still has to study and study.
Slava, hold it, please.
Take the jar to the store.
All the rest goes to the garbage.
I'll cover the cost of the tablecloth and the dishes.
You're just something, Toma.
The man has spent money. Did you see what there was in there?
Jam, wine, champagne.
The money must come easy to him.
Don't you worry, I'm not a miser.
It's not that we roll in money, but we make do.
Slava, there must be a bottle of "Lydia" in the cupboard. Get it.
I wish we had a tablecloth, but never mind, we can sit without it
There's an occasion for it, too. Our shop was the 2nd in the competition.
Let's celebrate it.
- What's your name? - Yekaterina.
Give me a hand, Yekaterina.
Let's move the table to the sofa. And bring the chairs.
We'll dance tonight. I haven't danced for ages.
What's the big hit now? Dancing in style?
I don't know modern dances.
All right, Slava...
Get everything from the fridge: cheese, butter, sausage.
Katya, go to the cupboard, there're new wine glasses there.
Let's celebrate.
What about him...
No, not these glasses. The new ones are in the back.
And hurry.
We got some salad left. Great!
You got everything. Good boy.
Hold it.
That's quite a feast.
I don't drink.
Nobody's going to get drunk.
We'll just drink to our second place.
What a wonderful wine.
Lydia.
Why is it called Lydia? Do you know?
Why? The music is playing, and we're sitting.
White dance. Ladies invite gentlemen.
Get up, Slava.
Come on, Katya.
Please.
Do it for me.
Those lips just maddening,
Thoughts in secret kept,
And this stupid love
On my reckless head.
Those lips remember everything,
They read every secret thought.
How much, you don't even know,
Are you breaking my heart!
I will call a pigeon,
A pigeon nice and smart,
I will send my darling a letter,
We'll begin from the very start.
Oh, how awful it would've been if I had married someone.
Evening Three
Toma, remember this place?
- This? - Yes, this one.
Of course I remember.
Remember for how much time we stood watch here?
Like some crazies.
Remember how I kissed you for the first time?
I nearly dropped my bag then.
- You did drop it. - Did I?
- Yes, you did. - I don't remember that.
Toma, don't you remember dropping your bag?
Come on, Toma.
- What? - You dropped your bag.
Don't you remember?
Wait, Toma! What's the matter?
Did I hurt you?
Give me a kiss.
I can't.
Why? Tell me, I'll understand.
Why, Toma? I'll understand.
Hello, Tamara Vasilyevna.
Hello, Vasily Fedotovich.
Good afternoon.
You've got beautiful hands.
Just regular hands.
You've got beautiful eyes.
Just regular eyes.
And a very nice complexion.
There's no one at home.
A meeting again!
Talking and talking! Can't they ever stop talking?
I was riding in a tram today, suddenly I hear, "Have a seat, ma'am."
I turn and see that he's addressing me.
Yes, time flies.
With every year, it flies even faster.
My life, was it that I only dreamed you?
Youth is a devious thing: it promises, and then cheats.
It didn't cheat on me. I've always knew I'd be happy.
Well, it's not easy to push me off the globe, either.
I knew you were going to achieve a lot.
Manager of production!
I got only 80 gluers under me and you have the whole plant.
- Do the workers like you? - I never asked them.
It's impossible that everyone liked you, but I'm sure that most do.
Toma, I want to tell you something.
But it's between us.
- Between you and me? - Yes.
I want to leave my job.
You got into trouble? Something happened?
Why should anything happen?
I'm just fed up. Can't I be fed up with it?
Toma, let's chuck it all and sail somewhere north.
I'm a first-class driver, and a mechanic, too.
Life is great there now. Would you think worse of me for that?
- I don't know. - So you don't know?
You misunderstood me. You wouldn't be worse for me.
But a man should do in life the biggest thing he's capable of.
Who ever knows what he's capable of? Come on, let's go.
- Where? - With me.
Just go like that? Think of it!
Let's do it without thinking.
- What am I going to do there? - You'll work.
Without me, Slava will go astray.
He'll go astray, he'll come back. Shall we go?
Why are you teasing me? What if I agree?
You don't know me.
Come on, what's the matter?
What if I just wanted to test you,
if you can go after me to the ends of the world?
Test me? Then you must know.
If you were really a shallow, good-for-nothing man,
then you'd better go to the ends of the world... alone.
I'm not going to run after you like a dog.
Good for you. That's what I thought.
You wanted to do some shopping?
We don't have any bread, and we're sitting and chatting here.
In the meanwhile I'll make some tea.
Slava, I need to talk to you.
Don't hurt Toma. Don't drink vodka - it dulls your memory.
Are you leaving already?
Yes, pal, my work is calling.
Too bad. I got used to you.
Why don't you wait? I'm getting my stipend tomorrow.
Some other time.
Too bad you're leaving today. We could go to the institute together.
We're having a dispute tomorrow.
"Can a poor student be considered an honest person?"
And a revue after that. There'll be great gags.
I can't, old chap.
But why? Wait at least for Aunt Toma.
Wait for Aunt Toma.
She's downstairs, waiting for me.
Take care, old chap.
What is it? Are you running away?
Don't be a fool.
I see. Toma's no match for you!
A small salary, and she could be younger too.
Stop it.
Sure, go! You may find someone better and younger, right?
Are you scared of her? You think she won't let you go?
Don't be scared, she will. She won't say a word.
And yet you'll have to wait for her.
Is it an ultimatum?
She didn't throw herself at you right away, did she? You the chief engineer!
She's never had any other man but you. You ought to say goodbye at least.
Why is the door wide open?
What's the matter, Slava, my darling?
I played with Valerka.
- Does it hurt? - No. He drove his bike into my nose.
- Serves me right, playing with kids. - A big boy behaving like...
- Where's Aleksandr Petrovich? - He just stepped out.
- Go and wash up. - Oh, that Valerka!
Evening Four
- May I see Mikhail Timofeyev? - It's me.
It was I who called you.
Sorry for coming so late. I was on a night shift.
I wanted to ask you about Aleksandr Petrovich.
- Aleksandr Petrovich? - You were in college together.
Ah, Sashka!
Yes, we were. You need him right now?
No, I just wanted to ask... I'm sorry I came so late.
I had it repaired yesterday, and today it stopped.
That happens very often here.
They repair it, but they don't care if it works.
There's no heating here. I'll put something on.
Yes, please.
So, what do you want?
I wanted to ask about Ilyin. Where may he be now?
- He's been here. - When?
About 10 days ago. I didn't write down the date.
- Did he promise to come again? - No, he didn't.
- Did he leave his address? - No.
And you say you're friends... Do you live here, actually?
No, I don't live here. It's my wife's relatives' apartment.
I'm on a business trip here,
so you found me here by sheer chance.
- Excuse me. - Of course.
Yes, yes.
I'm waiting.
Don't go there. That's parquet.
Careful, we're having repairs.
I placed a call to Podgorsk.
You work in Podgorsk, too?
- Yes, me too. And who else? - Aleksandr Petrovich.
- Who? - Ilyin.
Ilyin? Perhaps.
What do you mean, perhaps? Don't you know it?
- What's your position? - Chief engineer.
- What? - Chief engineer.
What about Ilyin? He works in Podgorsk, too.
Very strange.
It's Timofeyev.
I know everything.
Yes, we'll work on the 21st, and everyone should be there on the 22nd.
I know everything.
I'll be there on the 20th. Send a car for me.
I've arranged everything.
Did you get me? I'm asking: did you get me?
All right, I'm writing it down.
Right. That's it. Bye.
Who are you to him? His wife?
Me? No, just an acquaintance.
What's on your mind?
Say it, as long as you've begun.
What's your name?
My name? Tamara Vasilyevna.
Tamara Vasilyevna, I don't like meddling in someone else's affairs.
Perhaps you're intimating he lives a disorderly life?
You're a strange woman. I'm intimating nothing.
Or you want to say that he's hot-tempered?
That he was expelled from the institute because of that?
And he was absolutely right.
That Fomichyov, to whom Sasha was rude,
is hated by all students even now.
He made a mistake, but he said the right thing.
What's most important is not making mistakes but making amends.
- Why didn't he make amends? - Because the war broke out!
You don't say! Bu the way, I fought in the war too.
Only after the war, I munched on millet,
unloaded cabbages at night, and then attended lectures with a dumb head.
- And he... - What about him?
Why did he need all that?
He'd never finished the institute.
He suddenly remembered he'd been good at sports.
Earned himself some badge.
Left several of his teeth in the ring.
Then lost interest and got recruited to work somewhere in the North.
Are you all right?
In the North?
Yes, in the North.
In the North, of course! He told me and I didn't understand.
Of course, of course, in the North!
For God's sake, I'm awfully sorry.
You know, actually, I live alone.
It's all right on weekdays, I got an interesting, importantjob.
But on holidays it's too bad, I don't feel like going out.
I ride in a tram and think that I'd rather ride on and never arrive there.
I come home - the floors are clean, everything scrubbed and polished.
I throw my things about the room,
and then I have to put all in order again.
May I make a call?
- I'll bring the telephone. - Please do.
To the North! How could I fail to understand?
Thank you.
Hello? Slava? Yes, it's me.
Has anybody asked for me?
Slava, listen, Aleksandr Petrovich is still here.
Aleksandr Petrovich hasn't left yet.
I need to see him very much on a personal matter.
What personal matter?
I told you Aleksandr Petrovich is gone! He's not here!
I'll lock you up like an insane person. You got me?
All right, I'm sorry.
All right, I'll do everything. I'll tell him.
Bye, Toma. Bye!
You described it all so eloquently.
What a bastard you are!
Who asked you to recount your biography?
What does she care if you're a chief engineer or not, and in Podgorsk?
You could as well tell her about your salary and how many women you had.
What did I ask you to tell? No one's here, you don't know anything.
I never lie, I don't like lying, and you won't make me do it.
What?
- What? - I don't like to, and I can't lie.
- Where are you going? It's night! - Never mind, I'll be all right.
Why should I lie to someone
that I'm not the chief engineer?
I am the chief engineer!
I work in Podgorsk! At a chemical plant!
The biggest in the Soviet Union!
I am the chief engineer of Podgorsk chemical plant!
It's really the biggest in the Soviet Union.
Evening Five
Waffles. Description, quality, grade.
So, the waffles...
Waffles are plates with cellular, porous surface.
They are characterized by a characteristic smell.
Oh no... they have a characteristic smell.
- Zoya, someone to see you! - Who?
- Says you know him. Shall I let him in? - Let him in.
You're the last person I expected to see.
How did your friend receive you?
I hope she treated you well?
What's the matter with you? Melancholy?
In our times, you're supposed to be an optimist.
Take everything from life.
I've taken everything, Zoya dear, nothing left.
My goodness, could it be that Madam had thrown you out?
Yes, she had.
Well, well, it's interesting. Have a seat.
Tell me about your parting.
I love to hear about partings.
You see...
I told her a lot of lies.
What lies? That you're unmarried?
Everybody says that, and nobody believes.
What? Are you married?
What are you talking about? All I have is a stamp in my passport.
No, I made up a much more solid decoration.
Well, I'm not the chief engineer of the Soviet Union. So what?
Oh, stop being so modest. It makes me sick just listening to it.
A chauffer in the North!
I can imagine how much money they fork over to you!
She's just lucky, that woman, no doubt about it.
No, Zoya, nobody's lucky in this situation.
You're something! He's dumping me, and I'm supposed to comfort him.
What a louse!
I have exams tomorrow, 68 questions, one is more intricate than the other.
I got stuck on the 8th, and I don't despair.
And you? Shame on you!
A young man, everything's still in front of you.
I had everything in front at 17, and I still have everything in front.
It's not for you to complain.
You've seen so much in your life, no less than Maxim Gorky.
Maxim Gorky had written 30 volumes.
Well, not everyone has the same talents.
Tell me, is she at least interesting?
- Who? - Your madam.
An uninteresting woman is the same as a stupid man.
Yeah...
I've got absolutely unscrewed with you here.
Time to go home, to work.
"It's time! It's time! Already our faces
Tingle with the light wind of remembrance."
Sasha, I got...
...an idea.
How about a kiss?
Don't be scared, I was just kidding.
You know why I'm so frivolous?
It's because my great-grandfather
was a pure Frenchman.
I got to go.
- Why did you come? - To say goodbye.
Well, say it.
Grapes.
Customer, wait by the phone.
Hi, Katya. You got a new hairstyle?
It's called the nimbus of peace.
You want to place a call?
- No. I came to say goodbye. - You didn't seem to plan to leave.
I'm like a soldier. Carrying all my things with me.
Life goes on.
Can't you talk at home?
It's business, grandma.
Where are you going?
To Vorkuta. Enough of bustling about here.
You want me to call the police?
I'm a policeman myself.
All right, goodbye. Give my love to Slavka. He's a swell guy, by the way.
Well, and to Tamara Vasilyevna.
With all my best wishes.
Take care.
Excuse me, comrades.
I'm sorry.
What is it? A loony bin being taken on a guided tour?
Excuse me, comrades. Never mind, it happens.
Nobody wants to do his job.
Valya, what time does the Vorkuta train leave? Yes, today.
For how long will this go on? People are waiting in line.
You make as much noise as 10 people.
What? At 21:40?
Thanks.
That's it, my patience ran out. Give me a complaints book.
Can I speak to Slava? What about Tamara Vasilyevna?
Give me a complaints book!
Tell them I called from the telephone station. Thanks.
What do you want? Are you going to die if you don't telephone?
I remember I was wounded.
I was being jolted in an ambulance, clinging to its side.
I had a shell fragment in my left lung.
It was 1943.
I was thinking: if I stoop forward, blood will gush out from the throat.
That must be the end of me, I thought. I don't have much longer to live.
And only one thought in my head:
if I were let live one more year, a very long year!
Millions of those endless minutes.
Thank you.
Will you have a drink?
Oh hell! How much would I have done in that year!
I would have worked for 15, 20 hours a day.
Probably, I would have done something.
Look, friend, do you know this song...
It's not for me...
I forgot the tune. But the words are great.
It's not for me that spring will be
And a lark will break into a song...
And something... somebody... who was it there in a grove?
And someone in a grove in unison Will ardently respond, but not to me.
You don't remember it?
We'll find out now.
Excuse me, I see you're cultured people.
- What front did you fight on? - In the north.
It doesn't matter though. I'm sorry.
We used to sing a song in the war. Perhaps you heard it?
It's not for me that spring will be...
Damn, how does it go?
And the lark will break into a song, And someone...
No, I don't remember it.
Sorry for the intrusion.
Good appetite.
I'm sorry.
Excuse me, guys.
- Do you sing to the guitar? - We do.
Our whole platoon sang this song in the war.
I forgot the tune, but perhaps you'll remember it.
You know the words. It goes like...
It's not for me that spring will be
And a lark will break into a song...
I forgot what follows. Someone in a grove in unison
Will ardently respond, but not to me.
You don't remember it?
No, I don't.
- You don't remember either? - What's the tune?
It's a difficult tune, pal.
No, I don't know it.
Sorry.
Comrade Ilyin. Let's get out of here.
Katya? What are you doing here? Come on.
Let's get out of here.
Come on, I'll introduce you to a lieutenant.
Where's that medic?
Well, never mind. Sit down, Katya.
Please.
Katya, have a napkin.
I don't drink, it makes me feel sick.
Then I don't insist.
Please, don't! That's how it all starts.
Have you seen the film "This Ruins Our Life"?
Let's get out of here. It's improper for a girl to be here.
Don't pay attention to what others think of you. Try to be independent.
But we don't live alone, we live in a human society.
Let's better go to Tamara Vasilyevna. She wants to see you.
What?
For you I'll do anything.
- Thanks for that. - Except this.
Oh? Then I'll be drinking, as much as you will.
Only I shouldn't do it. I'll get drunk right away.
You eat after a drink, Katya.
Come on, eat.
Eat.
When the war started, she alone came to see me off.
We were sitting in trucks, women were weeping all around.
And she was looking up at me, and said:
"See, you'll have such an insensitive..."
And she halted.
The engines are roaring, you can't hear anything.
I say, "What? Say it again."
She says, "You'll have such an insensitive wife."
Incredible...
Then the trucks started off.
She runs and says nothing.
Then our engine went dead, I guess, and we stopped.
She leaned against a drain-pipe, and stared...
Then the trucks started rolling again, and she went running again.
Then she fell behind.
Katya, enough for you.
The fast train "Moscow- Vorkuta" is boarding now.
Yes...
Their assembly point was at the nearby music school.
It was awfully hot.
I was the only one to see him off.
They were already sitting in the trucks.
Everybody around was crying and sobbing.
I felt like crying too, but I couldn't.
Just couldn't.
And he...
...was looking at me.
Cheerful, smiling.
And I said to him, "See, you're going to have such an insensitive wife."
There was a lot of noise, shouts, motors roaring.
He couldn't hear me, of course. Or maybe he did.
He says: "Say it again!"
But why say it...
Then everybody began to run, the trucks started off.
And I ran too, of course.
But their truck stopped for some reason.
And I stopped too, looking at him, unable to say anything.
I felt so sorry that he didn't hear my words
and that I just couldn't cry.
And there I was, standing like a fool.
Then their truck...
started up...
And they drove off.
What happened then?
Why did you put that blouse on?
Why not? Do I have to sit in my robe?
And making your hair before going to bed...
It's none of your business. Go and study.
He won't come.
Don't you understand that?
He's gone! Gone for good!
You'd better wash the dishes. Havert washed them for 2 days.
I wonder by what right you're talking to me like this?
Why do I have to listen to you when and what I'm supposed to do?
I dress up when I want to, I make my hair when I want to.
You see? That's him.
Go open up.
It's your Katya.
All right, I'll go wash the dishes.
- Hi. - Hi.
Slaving for your Lidochka again?
Keep up the good work.
Are you crazy?
Let me smell your breath.
- Where did you get so soused? - What business is that of yours?
- What do you care? - Well, excuse me.
A chair!
Not here. Over there.
Where? Here?
What am I singing?
It got to be a czardas.
Come on, dance!
You must do as the woman asks. Or I'll leave.
What am I supposed to do?
Bring your hands in, then out...
I need to talk to you.
Let me put you in bed, will you? Take your coat off.
- My bag. - Your bag.
I'll bring something for you to cover yourself.
- Student! - What?
- It's for you. - What is this?
I was tidying Lidochka's room, and found her famous precis.
I've copied them for you.
For the whole semester?
I had nothing else to do. I had insomnia anyway.
Wow, Katya...
Why are you standing here? Go and study.
- Toma... - Wait, Slava.
I wanted to tell you that your Ilyin is gone.
He left for Vorkuta today. Yes, that's right, for Vorkuta.
Go to sleep, you silly. What are you talking about?
Yes?
Come in.
- Good evening. - Good evening.
- Your door... - It's all right.
This is for you.
Sasha bought this for you.
And he left it with me. It was lying about.
So he visited you again?
No.
He left it when he came the first time.
- Have a seat. - Thank you.
He must have left now, his leave has expired.
Yes, his leave. What?
I know that.
Tamara Vasilyevna.
- You got no heating? - No heating.
We got no heating yet either.
- Yes, I remember. - Can you imagine it?
- But you've got a reflector. - We don't use it.
We should turn it on.
That's it.
You've burned it down! I'm scared of electricity!
I'll fix it.
- Do you know about these things? - Yes, I'm an engineer.
- May I take my coat off? - Yes, of course.
- And my jacket? - Yes.
You got the combination pliers? The pliers?
- What's that? - Well, pliers.
And a screwdriver.
Toma! Hello.
Look what she did!
She's cribbed all the lectures on heating engineering!
It's a hell of work!
Slava, wake up Katya and take her home.
Is this the thing?
And do something else.
- This? - Yes.
Turn off the ceiling light.
Yes, I got it.
Oh, Tamara Vasilyevna, I'm so sorry. I've made such a racket.
- It's all right. - Everything's okay.
Usually I don't drink. But it so happened.
Everything's okay.
Hold on to me. It's late. Let's sail.
- Goodbye. - Goodbye.
Tamara Vasilyevna.
I wanted to tell you...
I was unfair to Sasha.
When I was talking to you.
About that story, for example, when he was expelled from the institute.
You see, actually, that's when it all started.
He was the only one to tell Fomichyov the whole truth.
He was the only one to behave like a man.
Though there were 20 of us in the group.
He was the only one to tell the scoundrel that he was a scoundrel,
to tell the bastard that he was a bastard.
And all of us just kept silent.
Then they offered him to get reinstated.
He refused and left.
And got a job as a driver on the most difficult routes.
I even feel jealous of him, because he's his own man.
Excuse me.
Hi.
You've gone away, haven't you?
Tomorrow.
Well, if you need a place to spend the night, the room is vacant.
Thanks.
Oh, look who's here!
- Hi. - Hi.
Nina Mamikulovna, telephone for you!
Yes?
Ah, Martiros!
Of course, I'll come, no question about it!
No, no fish.
You shouldn't trust him, he's a married man, with three kids.
You clown!
Go on, fix up the lens, comrade chief engineer.
Tamara Vasilyevna, may I speak to you a minute?
Dear viewers, we're having with us today
the winner of the Tchaikovsky International Competition,
pianist Van Cliburn, United States of America.
If I'm not mistaken,
you got it into your head that I'm, so to speak, a loser.
I, personally, don't think so.
I regard myself as a useful member of society,
more useful, incidentally, than you all taken together.
I'm rolling down a snow-covered road, the sun is shining, and I sing.
And 700 kilometers away,
people are waiting for me, they need me, and I'll get to them.
And I like it, strange as it may seem to you.
So mind you, my friends,
I have no intention of pretending, just to please you,
to be better than I am.
A man should remain true to himself.
It's a very advantageous position.
Yes, sometimes I feel drawn...
to my native place.
Well, it didn't work out.
So much the better.
But remember: I'm a free,
cheerful and happy man.
And I'll be happy yet
in many ways and on various occasions.
And I wish the same to you. With this, auf Wiedersehen.
Sasha.
Wait.
I'm proud of you.
Yes, proud.
You're proud of me?
Why did you get all shriveled...
...chief engineer?
Am I shocking you?
Let's go.
I'll go when the hostess asks me to.
Toma, you want me to go?
Well... all right.
Sort it out here without me.
I'm off. Goodbye.
Perhaps I'd better go?
Say so, I'll understand.
Shall I go?
Sashenka...
What's the matter with you, Sasha?
Please forgive me.
Calm down, Sasha. Come here, sit down.
There you go, sit down and calm yourself.
I had carried your letters with me throughout the war.
I tied them up with a string and carried them in my kit bag.
Then, after hospital, they got lost somewhere.
The war was over, and everything seemed to be in the past.
A new life was ahead, and new joys.
Why go back to your old parts...
Forgive me, Toma.
Why are you kissing my hands, they're dirty.
Oh, stop kissing my blouse.
You're so smart, so honest, so good.
You wanted me to go with you somewhere.
If you haven't changed your mind, I agree, let's go away.
- You won't regret it. - I know I won't regret it.
You suffered so much because of me.
No, everyone suffered, the time was such that the whole country suffered.
After I saw you off, I enrolled in the nurses' courses.
Injections, splints...
I trained for 5 months, but I'd never got to the front.
You should know that I love...
...you all.
And I'll be looking forward
to the day
when I see you again.
After Lucia'a death, I took Slava in.
I was working in a hospital then. He was a baby, only 2 years old.
I took him with me to the hospital.
He ran about the wards,
got tired and fell asleep somewhere, it was quite a thing to find him.
Then I was very sick for half a year.
I returned to the factory only at the end of the war.
We worked 16 hours a day.
We had enough of everything.
And we'll have enough now.
My life here was good.
I've had much happiness in my life.
May God give everybody as much.
And besides... I never lose heart.
Never.
And now...
Everything will be different.
Sleep, Sasha. Sleep.
Tomorrow is Sunday.
We can go to Zvenigorod. It's so beautiful there.
I've never been there though, but people say so.
It's beautiful in Arkhangelskoye too.
I haven't been there either, but people say so.
Yes, Sashenka...
Only let be no war.
Only let be no war...
The End