THE FATHER OF A SOLDIER
Screenplay by Suliko ZHGENTI
Directed by Rezo CHKHEIDZE
Photography by Lev SUKHOV, Archil FILIPASHVILI
Production designers Zurab MEDZMARIASHVILI, Nika KAZBEGI
Music by Sulkhan TSINTSADZE
Sound by D. LOMIDZE
English Subtitles by Tatiana Kameneva
Sergo ZAKARIADZE as Father
Also starring
V. PRIVALTSEV, A. NAZAROV A. LEBEDEV, V. KOLOKOLTSEV
Yu. DROZDOV, I. KOSYKH Vitya KOSYKH
V. URALSKY K. BOCHORISHVILI, B. PITSEK
P. LYUBESHKIN T. SAPOZHNIKOVA, I. BARMIN
A Georgia-Film Studio Production 1964
As you get there, find out where this hospital is.
Don't be afraid to ask.
There's nothing wrong with asking questions.
You're going to be late, Georgy.
I tell you you'll be late!
Be careful on the train, these are evil times now.
Don't get in the rain, you mustn't catch cold.
Don't keep all of your money in one place.
Button up your pocket.
Best regards to your son, Georgy!
Good luck! Keep your chin up!
Try to find out where my boy is.
I've not heard a word from him for weeks.
Get into the cab, Georgy.
Hey, you're not going to put a big man like him into that hen-coop!
Give him a hand up.
You're doing a good thing, Georgy.
You've got a long trip ahead of you. Don't lose heart!
Maybe you'll run into my Mikha?
You'll be meeting a lot of people. Ask them...
It's been a whole year that we're fighting.
When are we going to chase out those Germans?
You'll be almost at the front when you get there.
If they start bombing, crawl into a cellar or a hole.
The boy's crazy. There're no bombs there.
Do whatever you can. Beg the doctors...
Try to get him on a furlough, who knows?
He was already wounded before. Isn't that enough for one war?
The town's called Dubovo. Hospital number...
What's that? You're praying?
Let him pray if it brings him any comfort.
Pray, Georgy, it's all right.
Can't you say something before you leave?
What do you want me to say? I'm going, and that's it.
Can't get it started. Give 'er a push!
Georgy! Don't come back without Goderdzi!
Don't forget it, do you hear?
Soviet Information Bureau Communique:
On September 11 our troops put up stubborn resistance
west and south-west of Stalingrad,
in the region of Mozdok and on the Volkhov sector.
After several days of fierce fighting
our troops withdrew from Novorossiysk.
It's too heavy for you. Let me help.
That's no job for a woman, to carry heavy sacks.
Listen... Will you give me a lift to Dubovo?
No, I can't. There's no room.
- Be ready soon, Vassily? - In a minute.
All right, climb in, old man.
One ticket to Dubovo... Luggage costs extra.
A horse ain't a barge. Every extra pound counts.
- All settled? - Yes.
Heave off! Full ahead!
Give the kid a drink. It's hot.
We had a good potato crop this year,
but a bomb fell in the garden. We had to pick what we could.
Move over! You're not the only one in the cart.
What's eating you? There's room for everybody.
Good boy! Women should be kept in hand.
- Just look at all his sacks! - What have you got in your bundle?
My, how rich we are!
Take a nap, son.
Yes, I guess I'm a bit tired.
You've got strong legs. How come you're not in the army?
What can I do there? It's young men like you who must fight.
Got a smoke, old man?
Yes.
Good tobacco. Want to sell some?
I will give you some as a present.
Don't be stingy. Look how much you've got.
It's for my son. He's in the hospital in Dubovo.
Wounded?
In the shoulder. My son is a tankman.
What sort of tobacco is this? Got no strength.
It's good tobacco.
- Here, take it back. - No, keep it.
It makes me cough after the stuff I've been smoking.
Here's your hospital, old man.
Don't. I can carry them myself.
Thanks.
- Vassily. - Goodbye. Let's go!
What do I owe you?
So long, old man! Good luck to you!
- How d'ye do. - How d'ye do.
Yes, that's the registry.
The surgeon's operating. Very well.
Who do you want to see?
Close the door, will you?
My son is here.
What ward? Do you know what ward he's in?
- What's your son's name? - Goderdzi Makharashvili.
He's a tall, good-looking boy.
- Tell me his name, will you? - Goderdzi Makharashvili.
Makharashvili...
Here he is: Makharashvili!
Good! You did it!
He's been discharged. Gone back to his unit. He's not here.
He's not here any more.
What do you mean, not here? Here he is, here he isn't!
His name's here, but he's gone.
- Why isn't my son here? - He got well and went back.
- Went back where? - To his army unit.
- I don't understand. - He went back to fight.
Show me.
Don't you believe me?
I believe you, but let me see for myself.
Here. He was discharged on the 16th.
Don't take away my register.
Now you believe me?
Can you see it?
No... I can't read Russian.
Then why did you look in the book?
It's all right, forget about it.
You ought to be glad your son's well again.
Hurry up now, or you'll miss your train.
Where are you going? There's the door!
I came all this way to be told such a thing?
I told you he got well.
You think my son lied to me?
Here is his letter. He says he's here.
I can't read Georgian.
My son never tells lies.
Stop! You can't go in there! It doesn't make any sense.
Are you crazy or what, old man? You can't go there.
- Why? - That's the surgery!
You can't go there without a smock.
- Then give me a smock. - No, I won't.
Get out of here before somebody sees us.
Wait... First I talk, then you talk.
All right, go ahead.
- Hey, where are you going? Stop! - I know what I'm doing.
Excuse me, doctor...
- What's going on here? - I couldn't stop him...
I told him his son has gone back to the army.
He doesn't believe me.
Wait.
Why don't you believe him?
Well, you see, doctor...
It took me a long time to get here.
I rode, rode, rode on a train...
I rode, rode, rode in a car.
I rode in a cart...
Now he says my son is not here.
He's been discharged. He's gone!
You see... All right, I'll go home,
and my wife and my friends will ask me:
"Did you see Goderdzi?" What do I say?..
Doctor!
Some more wounded have arrived.
How's the captain doing?
Not good.
Doctor...
Show him the ward where his son was.
Oh yes, that's Goderdzi!
But his moustache is a lot longer than that now.
Yes, that's him.
- That's his tank. - Number 416.
That's right, number 416!
And you didn't believe him!
Which was his bed?
You will get well too! This is a lucky bed.
They repaired him fine, you can be sure of it.
He went to dance and he lasted longer than anyone.
- He danced good? - Like a gazelle.
Why don't you go and see him?
His unit's stationed in Demidovo.
His pals came here to see him. Pay him a visit.
- Where is Demidovo? - Not far from here.
The commandant at the station will show you the way.
Commandant?... I know what is a commandant!
He'll give you a pass.
No, he will ask for papers, question me where I come from...
I tell you he'll give you a pass. Just show him your son's photo.
You think so? Then I will go.
Best of luck to you, pop!
Oh, wait...
Here, presents for you from my son Goderdzi.
Some sweets. A little wine.
I'd better go now. Get well, son.
Goodbye, boys! Get well!
Wait! Wait!
You're going to Georgia?
No, that's too far.
- Would you like a smoke? - No, thanks.
What are you doing here?
You have nothing to do but ask questions?
- Come on, have a smoke. - I don't smoke.
Too bad to refuse such a treat.
What brought you here?
My son was here. In hospital. Wounded.
Now he's well. He went back to the front.
He went before I came.
Bad luck. There was a Georgian in my unit too.
- Tankman? - No.
He was lots of fun, singing songs.
When we took Melitopol, we were beat.
We just dropped, and a mine went - whack! That was it.
What was his name, that Georgian?
Everyone's got the same name at the front: ''soldier''.
Sorry I talk too much. I had a shock and couldn't talk for weeks.
Just got out of the hospital.
Not this one, though.
Didn't you find out where your son's unit was?
Sure I did. What else would I find out if not that?
Near here. The place is called De...
Demidovo? Why, that's only a two-hours' ride from here.
That's what I tell him. ''My son's near here. Show me.'' No.
What are you sitting here for?
I say, ''Let me go.'' He says ''No.''
Yesterday I asked the commandant all day long.
I showed him my papers.
''That pass,'' he says, ''not good here.''
''Go home,'' he says.
To hell with those papers!
If that train stops, get on, and in two hours you're in Demidovo.
No, no.
Too bad. Think it over.
No.
- Well, did you make up your mind? - No, I can't.
So long then! I'm going to join my pals.
What are you doing here?
Just taking a walk.
Then I'm going to take a walk the other way.
I like to walk.
Hey, father! Are you coming or not? Make up your mind!
- What about it? - No!
It goes to Demidovo.
I've got no papers!
Forget the papers!
The papers!
Jump on fast so nobody sees you.
Good work!
I love to travel.
- My name is Arkady Yershov. - Georgy Makharashvili.
- Don't you believe me? - I'll just hand him over.
Take that gun away!
Caught a spy, did you?
I ought to sock you one.
Get down!
Get up, father! Got to get going.
Let me give you a hand.
What's going on here?
I caught him without proper passes.
This pass is to Dubovo. How did you get here?
Comrade Colonel, I rode in a train, I rode in a car...
He came to visit his son in the hospital.
Turns out his son's back in the army, in Demidovo.
That's why he's here.
This is no time to go visiting. Go home.
Comrade Colonel...
The Germans are in Demidovo.
Go home and wait for your son.
Nazarov! Fix the old man up for the night.
In the morning send him off in one of our cars.
- Nazarov! What's your first name? - Nikolai.
Well, Nikolai, let's do what the colonel told you to, right?
Come along, father. Give me your bundle.
Come on, father!
I told you everything'll be all right.
- And how's Vassya Konoplev? - Got killed near Kalach.
And Petro?
The war's over for him too. He's home. His wife gave him a daughter.
Leading a civilian life again. Got a job, a family...
Like we used to live. Nothing special.
They amputated his arm in the hospital.
At least he got out alive. And Sergeant Korobeinikov?
He's dead.
How? How did he die?
He was wounded and Anna dragged him off the field.
A mine got them both.
She was a good kid.
Boris! To bed!
Oh, my God!
If only someone could tell us whether we ought to sit tight
or leave before it's too late.
Goderdzi! Goderdzi!
Goderdzi! My son!
I told you, Arkady, I ought not to come here.
But you say, ''Come, come!''
And I went along. Now where I must go?
Here women shoot, boys shoot...
Everybody shoots here...
And my son...
is at the front line now.
Where should I go? To the front line too?
Boris!
Company, everyone outside!
Follow me!
What is it? What happened?
We're in for it. The Germans are advancing!
Where are the Germans?
Make for the station, father, as fast as you can!
I told you I must not come here.
Don't go that way! Turn back! The Germans!
Where are the Germans? Where to go?
The wheat! The wheat's burning...
Help! The wheat! The wheat's burning!
What are you doing, old man? You've gone out of your mind!
To hell with the wheat! Run!
Get out of here! Run!
Get down!
Are you mad? Get down, I tell you!
Make for the forest! To the forest, quick!
- What about you, Arkady? - I'll cover you! Run!
Father!
Beat it, father! I'll manage...
Leave me, father... Get going... Leave me!
Don't be scared, Arkady. Just a little bit more...
A drink, father! Water. Just a drop.
Yes, in a minute.
What shall I do, son?
Easy, there you go...
I will find the road and we'll be fine.
Everything will be all right, Arkady. You just wait, my dear boy.
Wait!
Vassiliev has only 640 men left.
We ought to send him two more batteries.
- Where shall I get them from? - Can you take them from Petrov?
Petrov's unit is in danger of a tank attack.
But Vassiliev has a gully on his left flank. The tanks can't get through.
He won't hear of taking him into the regiment.
But the old man's been with us for days.
He's as good a fighter as any of us.
Drop the subject.
Lieutenant, he'll be my responsibility.
He won't be in the way.
He's tough, he is.
Wait, I'll make another try.
Lieutenant, I've already told you...
- What's wrong? - Nothing important.
There's an old Georgian who wants to be taken into our unit.
I explained it to him, but he won't listen.
- Where is he? - Waiting outside for 3 days.
Tell him to come in.
Go ahead, old man!
Why you're looking so sullen?
Because nobody talks sense here.
All I hear is: You're too old,
you'll have a hard time here.
Young men have easy time here?
She has easy time?
Why they can fight
and I can't?
How old are you?
It's none of your business!
My father was 115 years old when he died.
I explained it to you already. Suppose you be taken prisoner.
The Germans would broadcast all over the world
that the Bolsheviks were making old men fight.
You keep saying prisoner, prisoner, prisoner!
I don't intend to be a prisoner! Maybe you do?
You've no idea how hard
the life of a soldier is.
Let's wrestle.
If any of you puts me down,
I go home.
This is nothing to laugh about. I challenge anybody here.
May I try, Comrade General?
Too young. I cannot fight with a boy.
Sure, he's older. Let's fight.
You don't have to. I see you're brave and strong.
I'm convinced. You may stay with us.
Good luck, soldier.
Hey, dear man, bring me some fire wood.
Now bring me some water.
Makharashvili! Where are you going?
- Why are you here? - I'm here to fight.
How dare you abandon your post?
You call that a post?
''Bring wood'', ''bring water.'' It's a post for invalids!
Am I here to be a washerwoman or a soldier?
You're undermining discipline. Go back to your post now!
A man has to know how to fight these days.
No one can teach me how to fight.
My father fought, my grandfather fought,
my great-grandfather, my great-great-grandfather...
Don't be in a hurry, you'll get your share of fighting yet.
I know by heart how to fight.
Bayonets charge, one, two! Withdraw bayonets, one , two!
Attention! Battle stations! Signals!
Forward!
Reveille!
Hey, you awake down there? It's Happy New Year!
Stop yelling! The men are sleeping.
Go away, be a nice girl, please!
We've brought you food, wine, entertainment.
Be quiet. This is the first sleep they've had in three days.
And what about our New Year's party?
I've brought wine and presents galore.
Sorry, my dear, that'll have to wait.
- Are you actors? - A musical detail from the division.
We've been sent here to give your men a concert
because you distinguished yourselves in battle.
It's great. We've been promised a concert.
In the morning we're performing for Battalion 3.
Too bad to have you leave without playing for the boys.
All right, begin.
What shall we begin?
Play.
But who are we to play for?
There's no audience.
There they are.
But they are all asleep.
A good music one can hear even in his sleep.
- But, sergeant... - Stop arguing. Get down here.
What shall we play?
Could you make it a Georgian piece?
Sure we can.
- May we? - Whenever you're ready.
TO BERLIN
- What are you doing? - Waking myself up. Try it.
They're off to bomb Hitler.
What?
To hell with Hitler!
Nazarov, Lobov, Makharashvili! You go scouting.
Yes, sergeant!
Careful. There's no cover here. Follow me.
What did you find, father?
Good earth. Rich earth.
Must have spotted us, the bastards!
Listen...
What's the matter with you?
The earth says it's high time...
Spring is here. High time to...
Sow!
- No. First you must... - Plough!
That's it. First plough, then sow...
Plough, sow... Plough, sow...
USSR
Nikolai, come here! Look... we're there!
Look, we're here already. How do you call it?
Hey, fellows!
Come here!
- Why are you yelling? - I'm not yelling.
Sergeant, we've reached the state border,
the border of the Soviet Union!
Let's clean it and set it up.
THE TANKS OF LIEUTENANT MAKHARASHVILI
WERE THE FIRST TO CROSS THIS BRIDGE
- Where's he going? - Father, where are you going?
The tanks... of Lieutenant...
Ma-kha-ra-shvi-li...
Good boy! That's my son Goderdzi!
See, father, he's here.
My son passed here!
I will find him now!
Good boy! He is not far away.
Grapevines! How did you ever get here, my darlings?
How glad I am to see you!
Hello there, sonny...
In the army, you should address officers by their rank.
I'm a sergeant.
Allow me to address you, sergeant!
Look, friend, my son is here somewhere.
I'm looking for him. He's a tankman.
What's his name?
Goderdzi Makharashvili. Tall, handsome...
In the ranks?
- An officer or a private? - A lieutenant.
Sorry, don't know him.
There was something wrong with the steering gear.
I'll give it a check run.
Maybe he knows my son.
Listen, I'm trying to find my son. He is a tankman.
- What's his name? - Goderdzi Makharashvili.
No, never heard of him.
- He's a handsome boy. - We're all handsome here.
Yes, you bet you are...
He is a lieutenant.
I don't know him. There's no such guy.
Wait!
Stop!
I said stop!
Are you crazy, man?
It's you who is crazy!
What are you doing? These are grapevines!
So what?
You pup!
How dare you? Attention!
Seregin! Take that old man away, or I don't know what happens!
Just try to move me!
Go away, father.
Get out of the way, I tell you!
Drive through!
Look what you did!
He hit the man just for nothing!
These are grapevines! Why don't you use the road?
Haven't you seen what they did to our country?
You the same as them? You a fascist?
Look, German children.
Shoot them! Shoot them!
Are you taking me for a bloody Nazi?
Then why do you kill the grapevines?
They are alive. You hurt them.
You did not plant them. You did not tend them.
You only eat grapes.
You're young. You never even planted a tree in your life.
Yet you kill grapevines. Shame on you!
This is war, not a public park.
Drive your tank back!
Why so glum, father? I say why are you so glum?
I guess I'm tired, sergeant.
I think and think:
What is my son Goderdzi like now?
He was so good, so kind.
The first two floors are occupied by the Germans.
Our boys have entrenched themselves on the third.
We've got to wipe out the enemy and set our boys free.
After me, men! Hooray!
Back up, Georgy! Get away!
Careful! Our men are on the third floor, don't forget!
Guys! Don't be afraid, I'm coming!
Sure, as long as you're here, the rest of us can go home.
What news down below, pals?
Spring has come!
Attention, please!
Attention, all!
In order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed,
the Commander of the Soviet Army
proposes that all German soldiers and officers,
surrounded in this city and blockaded in houses,
cease fire immediately,
lay down their arms,
raise the white flag and surrender.
The Soviet High Command
guarantees your safety,
promises to feed you
and to ensure medical aid to the wounded and sick.
Two hours are given for considering
this ultimatum.
All who do not surrender within that time will be wiped out.
It is now 11:30 p.m., Moscow time.
April 14, 1945.
The two hours have begun.
Cease fire!
Do they know they must stop too?
Cease fire!
What are you doing? Stop!
When I get home, I'll climb into bed
and sleep and sleep and sleep.
I don't intend to announce my coming.
Just appear like a bolt out of the blue.
Slip into the yard by the back gate,
without anybody seeing me.
But I bet Nyura will see me.
She's got such sharp eyes, that sis of mine!
- Are you a Georgian, boy? - Yes.
- Where are you from? - Gurdjaani.
Goderdzi, my son!
Who are you?
I'm Georgy, your father! At last I've found you!
How on earth did you ever get here, father?
I'll tell you later, son. I'll tell you everything.
That's my son up there!
How's mother?
Who knows? She writes that she's all right.
Goderdzi, my son!
I'm here, father!
See that nothing happens to you now!
Everything's almost over...
Where's your tank?
It got hit, father. Right in front of this building.
Well, you don't need it anymore.
The war's almost over.
Only a half hour left for them to think.
Don't even give a man a chance to see his son.
Father! Father!
I'm here, son!
I'll bet it's raining in Alazani now.
What could be better than a spring shower!
How is our vineyard getting on?
The vines you planted are doing well.
They make fine wine.
They've started firing again!
Goderdzi!
Get down, Makharashvili!
Goderdzi!
Goderdzi, my son!
Follow me!
Is anyone left there?
Follow me! Come on, fellows!
How can I bear it, son?
Goderdzi, my son!
Father!
How tall you've grown, my son!
How big you are!
What shall I tell your mother?
THE TANKS OF Lt. MAKHARASHVILI, HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION,
WERE THE FIRST TO CROSS THIS BRIDGE
WESTWARD BOUND!
FORWARD, IN THE NAME OF OUR MOTHERLAND!
The End