MOSFILM
"COMRADE" CREATIVE ASSOCIATION
WINGS
- This one? - This one.
Let's begin.
Written by: VALENTIN YEZHOV NATALYA RYAZANTSEVA
Directed by: LARISA SHEPITKO
Cinematography: IGOR SLABNEVICH
Production Design: IVAN PLASTINKIN
Forty-eight.
Thirty-five.
Fifty-five.
Forty-two.
Fourteen.
Featuring: MAYA BULGAKOVA
Ninety-one.
Seventy-eight.
Sixty.
Fifty-six and a half.
That's it.
Standard size.
Forty-eight.
One, two, three, four, five - Look at all those decorations.
They're just medals.
How about some sound? What's she saying?
Is it so hard to guess?
Applauding.
Watch out!
Quick! Please, let us through!
Please let us in. That's our headmistress up there.
Just let us stand in back.
We'll be quiet.
Dina.
It's all on television right here.
Where's Nadezhda?
You missed her. She's already left.
Damn.
Don't worry about it.
I know what this is.
- Sure. They know everything. - They're all grown up.
It's your fault, Lena. "Comb my hair. Comb my hair."
There, next to the lamp.
- They're showing Nadezhda again. - We've already seen her.
- Damn. Can't get it to work. - You greenhorn.
- Take a look at those girls. - Not bad.
- Nothing special. - You're nothing special yourself.
How about this one? - Nope.
What do you like - blondes or brunettes?
- I haven't decided yet. - That's a shame.
Here's Nadezhda again.
Look at her perm rolls.
That diploma is for us.
Let's go to the cafeteria.
Good work. Well organized.
We do our best, Ivan Petrovich.
Vladimir Danilovich,
why don't you ask me to dance?
You know I have a bad back.
- Excuse us! - Watch where you're going.
- What are we having? - Girls, why are you cutting in?
We were already in line. Weren't we?
Shame on you, young lady.
Let's see. Two bottles of beer.
Beer makes you fat.
- And a pack of cigarettes? - And a pack of cigarettes.
Vostriakov.
What kind of girls do you like - smart ones or silly ones?
Idiots, like you.
Nadezhda, have you gotten used to the new job?
Something's always going on.
Here's my deputy - Boris Grigorievich.
Nice to meet you.
Thank Ivan Petrovich for this.
He suggested you for the job, and I backed him up.
Next year, I'll send you my kid. He's always getting in trouble.
We're not a penitentiary, Ivan Petrovich.
- I'll send him here anyway. - All right.
Nadezhda Stepanovna, may I ask you to dance?
Are you kidding? It was just a joke.
- Give it back! - Try and take it from me.
- Easy there. - Crazy girl.
They should be thrown out of here.
She has a crush on him.
Give it to me as a present.
Stupid!
What's going on?
What is Vostriakov doing here?
Did you sneak in the back door?
I used the front door.
Get out of here, all of you.
Vostriakov, you stay here.
I have something to say to you.
No shame at all.
- How could you sink so low as to hit a girl? - She started it.
You be quiet. I'm talking to Vostriakov.
How'd I sink so low? Lower and lower - and then this.
Be quiet. Stand up properly.
Here, take a look, Vladimir Danilovich. Quite a rare specimen.
You chase him out one door, and he crawls in through another.
- I didn't crawl in - - Quiet.
Be quiet!
What a disgrace!
You've shamed all of us - disgraced the school.
I'm ashamed to hold this diploma in my hands!
So don't!
Give it back to them.
All right.
Yermolaeva.
Apologize to her. Right now, in front of everybody.
And if I don't?
If you don't, I'll expel you from school.
So what?
Boris Grigorievich.
Yes?
Please escort Vostriakov out right away.
He's free to go wherever he wants.
Yes, ma'am.
"I am leaving, stunned - leaving behind a genius.
Let him create his masterpieces and mow the grass in the yard.
Just imagine, only a minute ago
I stood next to him and looked at his black buttons.
I, a mere reporter, a humble mortal.
Translated from Serbo-Croatian by Koffman. "
Pasha, can you get me a samovar?
Do they bring you samovars at the museum?
No. They only bring bones.
"Look," they say. "Perhaps they belong to a woolly mammoth."
But they're only horse bones.
Tired? I'll get going.
Today I expelled a kid from the school.
What kid?
Maybe it's Tanya.
Sit down.
Why would she show up?
Hello. Is Tanya here?
No, she's gone.
When is she coming back?
Ask her mother. She got married.
Come on in. Don't just stand there.
No, that's all right. I'll go.
By the way, Tanya called. She asked me to say hello to you for her.
Thanks.
- It's just that you're never home. - Right.
- I should go. - All right.
- Good night. - Good night.
By the way, when Tanya calls you again,
give her my regards.
Take care.
Good night.
Can I call you tomorrow?
Of course.
Pasha.
Did you call me?
Good night.
Auntie Nadya, look. A plane is falling.
It isn't going to fall.
It's doing it on purpose. It's a barrel roll.
Look. Look up!
Auntie Nadya, is the sky far away?
Are we gonna go for another swim?
I don't want to swim. I'm hungry.
Do you want to go to the airfield?
- Hello. - Hello there.
I've come to see you.
Hello, Nadya. I'll be right with you.
- Hello. - Hello, Nadezhda Stepanovna.
Going to the tournament?
Yes, We're going to Moscow soon.
- But not everyone is going, right? - Only if you passed the tests.
- Only if you have enough jumps. - Everyone took the tests.
Excellent.
- So, you want to be a pilot? - Yes.
Me too.
Whose kids are these?
The neighbors'. I took them to the river for a swim.
Baryshev, now it's going to be your turn.
Nadezhda Stepanovna, you look great.
Why shouldn't I?
What's this fellow doing there?
He didn't pass the physical. Now he's upset.
Do you remember Pasha?
He waited and waited before the war, and how did it end?
Yeah. But now mustering boards are much stricter.
But you're still holding up.
- Are you jealous? - No. I've got used to it.
Do you fly a lot?
Well, I fly. I instruct.
- How come you never drop by? - I will.
Listen, why don't we all get together?
Children, repeat after me.
Where the infantry won't get through
Where an armored train won't pass
Where a heavy tank won't crawl through
There the steel bird will fly
Nadya, did my kids give you any trouble at the river?
No, we were good. Right, Auntie Nadya?
Look at it.
A duckling.
I'm not going to cut it up.
The question is -
why should anyone be peeling potatoes on a Sunday?
What are restaurants for?
Yeah, like you're going to go to a restaurant.
I am going.
From now on, I'm going to restaurants every day.
RESTAURANT
- Are you from out of town? - No, why?
No service after 6:00. Only women with escorts.
Who thought that up? Call the manager.
Can't do it.
Hello.
All right.
Welcome. Please join us.
Do you recognize me?
But of course. Morozov, Igor Mikhailovich.
Exactly. Meet my friends.
Petrukhina, Nadezhda Stepanovna.
Do you remember Nadezhda Stepanovna?
We served together on a people's jury for a whole year.
For you, Shura will fix something up. You won't have to wait.
I'd like something to eat.
Sure, right away.
Hello.
Please.
To your health. - Hey! I'll throw you out.
Hello, Nadezhda Stepanovna.
Nadezhda Stepanovna.
Home-smoked fish.
Please, help yourself. - Thank you, no.
I'll bring some crayfish.
I'll be right back.
Take you, for example - a simple Soviet woman.
- What do you want? - Get lost.
I just wanted to talk.
What, can't we have a conversation?
Mom!
What a scary bulldog.
This isn't a bulldog. It's a boxer.
What a huge beast. Does he guard your home?
There's nothing to guard there.
He's so ugly.
Don't insult him. He understands everything.
I've come to get acquainted.
But you've met Igor.
I've spoken with Igor on the phone.
I haven't properly met him as your husband.
Forgive me.
Here's our building.
It's just that we have a crowd over.
Listen. Tanya?
Aren't you embarrassed?
After all, you could be his daughter.
No, I couldn't. Let's go.
Tanya, wait. Let me look at you.
Why have you waited so long?
They built a splendid wedding palace, and you don't even want to use it.
All day Sunday, I greeted newlyweds on behalf of the city council.
It was so beautiful. You know?
Champagne, music, flowers.
But I don't want any strangers congratulating me.
We won't let strangers in.
I'll welcome you myself.
We'll use the occasion to celebrate.
So, is it a deal?
- We'll see, Mom. - What's there to think about?
Come on in.
Misha, tell us the story about the two actors.
About what?
The two actors.
- I've told it already. - Victor hasn't heard it.
Wallpaper.
So, two actors get together.
One's in the theater, and the other's in cabaret.
"Hey, Kolya, how you doing?
I haven't seen you in 10 years."
Which one's Igor?
Don't tell me. I'll figure it out.
Don't even try. You're not going to guess.
Not bad, not bad.
I've moved up in the world.
I decided to work alone, solo.
You walk out on the stage, and everybody's looking at you.
It's all on your shoulders. You make all the choices.
You read Pushkin.
You read Captain's Daughter by Pushkin.
It's 800 pages. Right?
It's not like Chekhov. You could choke on it.
So I get on stage - Only I didn't learn my lines.
Three years ago, there was that competition.
You know, Pushkin's memorial - Alexander Sergeevich himself.
So, I didn't learn my lines. So it goes.
It happens sometimes. Creative work, you know.
"Is this from Pushkin?" Well, of course.
And here you are, walking out on stage. You're all alone.
It's high art.
It's not like reciting some clichéd poem -
"Oh, wait for me, and I shall return."
That's what hacks do.
And then I wasn't ready for the Gogol Festival.
So they let me go.
So where does one go, right?
And you know why they let me go?
The guy wearing the big glasses says, "Because of your poor enunciation."
Timothy, get back.
Everyone, this is my mom.
Well, finally.
Very nice to meet you.
Mom, this is Igor.
Petrukhina.
Igor.
I can't hear you.
Igor.
Nice to meet you.
You don't smoke.
Forgive us, Nadezhda Stepanovna, that it turned out this way.
It's all right.
The apartment's nice. Except the ceilings are low.
Yeah.
Well, young people, why so solemn? Cheer up, everybody.
Play your boogie-woogie.
Are there any wine glasses in this house? - They're in the kitchen. Come on.
Or only books? What's this, a reading room?
- We have wine glasses. - Let's go have a drink.
Tanya, step outside.
Close the door.
Sit down.
I've been asking Tanya to introduce us for a long time.
She kept putting it off.
How old are you?
Thirty-seven.
Sit down.
- Have you been married before? - Yes, I have.
- Did you get divorced? - A long time ago.
How long?
About five years.
- Any kids? - No.
You've been on your own for five years?
Yes, I have.
Do you teach?
Yes.
Do you intend to just keep teaching?
It's likely.
- Give me a knife. - Pardon?
Give me a knife.
When did you meet Tatyana?
At the entrance examinations.
Love at first sight?
Oh, well.
Call everybody in.
- Andrei, you forgot your pen. - Thank you.
- Guys, where are you going? - Home.
- Come back later. - Mom won't stay long.
Why are you leaving?
Everybody, come here.
Everyone's invited.
Are you afraid of me?
Come on, guys. Don't be shy.
All right. Five minutes.
- Where's Misha? - By himself.
Tanya.
Just a second.
Misha. Are you coming?
No.
Then turn the volume up.
Igor. Don't keep us waiting.
Let's see.
That's.75 liters, and we've got -
One, two, three, four, five - 10.
- Don't count Misha. - Then nine.
That's 83.3 grams each.
You ignoramus.
It's a periodic fraction - 83.33.
You calculate so well.
Thank you. It's my job.
- Misha, get over here. - Tanya.
Leave him alone. He's thinking.
May the outstretched hand be filled with riches for you.
Andrei, it's time for a toast.
- Well, to the newlyweds. - Yes, to the newlyweds.
- No, no. - Then what?
I propose a toast to Nadezhda Stepanovna.
Igor is incredibly lucky with his mother-in-law.
He doesn't deserve such luck.
We are very glad to meet you.
- Thank you. - Well, friends, to Nadezhda Stepanovna.
You've made me blush.
Let's drink.
To your health.
This is good wine.
Misha, would you like some cake?
Let him be. He's wrapped up in his thoughts.
He was great today.
- Is he an actor? - He's an attorney.
- But that doesn't matter. - So he's an amateur?
Did you know that I chair the panel of judges?
Mom, why don't you have some cake?
I forgot.
Why'd you put on that sad music?
Let's drink!
To the newlyweds. To -
As a poet once said,
"Cherish your love.
Over the years, cherish it even more."
"Love is not about sighs on a park bench, nor a stroll in the moonlight. "
Misha, use the white one.
I bought movie tickets. They went to waste.
You think they asked me over?
I had to go over on my own to meet him.
If she'd been my natural daughter, I'd have disowned her for this kind of thing.
All my life I lived in fear, dreading that one day
someone would let it out that she's not my own child.
I ran home thinking that she'd found out.
It hasn't come to that yet.
I wish she had at least come to me for advice.
We're not strangers.
Oh, well.
When she was going out with that Igor fellow,
I never said a word.
Right. Not a word.
Well, as a joke perhaps. Big deal.
You shouldn't joke around about this.
They have their joke, and you have yours.
Do you remember how you told me that I should adopt a boy?
I thought that a girl would be closer to me -
to her mother.
Oh, well.
You know, eventually, children have to go off on their own.
What would happen otherwise?
Philosopher.
It's easy for you to talk. She's not yours.
Good night.
Kravchenko!
Watch it. Close the door.
What a mess. You promised to finish the remodeling by today.
Where is everybody? - Probably at the movies.
It's Monday, so there's a new picture.
Besides, there's nine people missing for exams.
Then there's one fellow that didn't spend the night at school.
- Who's that? - Vostriakov.
Did the costumes get sent out to the competition?
They should have been.
They should have been, or they have been?
They have been.
Nadezhda Stepanovna, I'd like to leave early tonight.
My daughter's birthday.
- Do you have a daughter? - Four kids.
- Congratulations. - Thank you.
Kravchenko!
Damn.
That's for me.
The so-called workers.
Why didn't you go to the movies?
- We're working. - We've already seen that movie.
Where's Vostriakov?
Well, who knows where Vostriakov is?
- I don't know. - Yeah.
- Where's his stuff? You clear it out? - No, it's here.
- Who are his friends? - Me.
Everyone was friends with him.
Are his parents in town?
- Yes. - I see.
By the way, I saw him in a pretty seedy place.
Well, I'm off.
Are the grade lists off to the district?
They should be.
They should be, or they are?
I don't know.
Listen, Boris Grigorievich, do you ever know anything?
All right. Make sure that remodeling is done by tonight.
Otherwise, we're going to have a serious talk.
Is that clear? - Perfectly.
Nadezhda Stepanovna, I'm waiting for you.
Later.
It's my kids' turn. I'm going to check on them.
Why aren't you all ready?
Do you want to spoil the whole performance?
Girls, don't just stand there. Boys, go back to the hall.
Yermolaeva doesn't want to go on.
Yermolaeva?
What's the matter?
Yermolaeva, I'm talking to you.
- Vostriakov's disappeared. - What?
- Yermolaeva went to look for him. - Isn't it true, Zina?
Be ready for your turn!
No time to talk. Yermolaeva, get dressed.
Boys, get back. Girls, line up.
Yermolaeva.
Construction School, on stage!
Get out of here, everybody.
Your Vostriakov hasn't disappeared.
Yes, he has! You don't know him at all.
He's innocent. You expelled him for nothing.
It was my own fault. You don't know him.
You don't know anything.
Maybe he drowned himself!
You don't know him. He's so proud. He'll never come back.
Damn your dances!
That's it.
All the costumes - for nothing.
Not at all.
Hurry up.
Scarf.
Hands.
Closer.
Sit down.
Get ready. Let's go.
Very nice. Look at the costumes.
Petrukhina gave it her best.
Nadezhda Stepanovna, it came out just great!
Everything's okay.
Hodzhaev, make sure all the costumes are returned.
Yes, ma'am.
Here you are. I found you.
All right. Let's do it quickly.
Outside.
- No, dear, I don't like it. - But why?
I didn't say that.
- You did. - No, I didn't.
You did.
Well, I don't recall.
And what about this? This is, excuse me, pure flattery.
- How? What flattery? - It's just flattery.
It isn't flattery. This is an important topic.
And everyone's waiting.
- What? - Everyone's waiting.
All right.
But what about this? This is just embarrassing.
"I am greeted by a tired, modestly dressed woman..."
"with lines around her young eyes."
But it's true.
Well. Where did you go to school?
The university.
My daughter's at the university too.
It's hot.
There may be a storm coming.
It's humid.
My daughter majors in math.
The humanities would have been better.
Of course. Nadezhda Stepanovna -
- Can I try these on? - Of course.
They suit you.
- Convenient. - Yes, they are.
Here. Did I get it right?
Not at all, my dear.
Not "for comprehensive work teams." But "only for compressive work teams.
We train teams of young workers" -
Yes, yes, yes. I understand.
I understand.
Here. "The trailblazing initiative."
What about it?
Can we use a different word for it?
"Initiative." "Initiative."
It's a puzzle.
"Initiative" isn't a bad word.
Perhaps we should say "beginning."
No. That's not it either.
Initiative. Initiative.
What about another word that means the same thing,
but the word itself is different?
- A synonym? - Exactly. A synonym.
We need a synonym.
Initiative. Initiative.
Maybe -
No.
Comrade Petrukhina! Someone's asking for you!
I'm coming.
Nadezhda Stepanovna, please sign here in the corner.
- Nadya. - Coming.
"Initiative." "Beginning." What's the difference?
Thank you. Thank you.
WHAT IS A SYNONYM FOR THE WORD "INITIATIVE"?
BEGINNING.
- Ivan Petrovich. - Yes?
I have to leave, Ivan Petrovich.
I have some unfinished business.
There's not going to be a discussion tonight anyway. Is that all right?
- Sure, go ahead. - Thank you.
Good-bye. Good-bye.
- Nadezhda Stepanovna. - Yes?
- Your purse. - Thank you.
Good-bye.
Now a ballet composition - "A Little Birch Tree."
Nadezhda Stepanovna. Do you need the key to your office?
- Is it all locked up? - Yes, it's pretty late.
- No, that's all right. - All right.
HONOR BOARD
Nadezhda Stepanovna. Have they found that fellow?
Nadezhda Stepanovna?
What's that?
What's his name - Vostriakov?
I don't know.
Boris Grigorievich.
What are you doing here?
Painting. It will all be done tonight.
And where are your students?
They're on a smoke break.
And what about you?
- I don't smoke. - That's not what I mean.
Stop it right away and go home. It's your daughter's birthday.
I've got time.
- Who do you wanna see? - Does the Vostriakov family live here?
They're not home. They're all at the factory.
What about their son?
The son's doing time.
What do you mean doing time?
He's a gangster.
So he's doing time... in jail.
He's got two more years left yet.
Grandma, you're wrong.
I mean Serezha Vostriakov.
Oh, the younger one.
The younger one is on the run.
What do you mean on the run?
He ran away.
His father kept beating him, so he ran away.
- And he hasn't turned up? - No, sweetheart, he hasn't turned up.
Well, thank you. Bye-bye.
Hold on a minute.
Try a little roll. It's still warm.
I baked it myself.
Thank you. Bye-bye.
Listen, my dear. Don't go.
Stay. Talk to me.
I have to go.
Grandma, why didn't you open the door?
Are you afraid?
It's the chain. See?
I can't open the door. The chain won't let me.
Take care of yourself.
Hello.
Police?
Let me speak to Comrade Kalinka.
Yes.
Hello. This is Petrukhina.
Listen, one of my boys is missing. He ran away from the dorm.
Yes. He didn't show up at home.
Luggage? No, he didn't take any.
He wouldn't have any money.
He's 16 years old.
Yes. Vostriakov, Sergei Fedorovich.
Sergei Fedorovich.
Yes. His brother.
I have guests.
What happened, Mom?
Someone's run away.
First, you ran off.
I got married.
- Are you in a hurry? - Yes.
I was looking through these tapes. I found the one Nina sent you.
Do you want to listen to it?
Tanya.
Maybe you can stay?
You don't love him, do you?
Mom, I don't want to discuss this with anybody, least of all with you.
Well, thanks.
Mom, don't.
I'll come to visit.
All right.
You need a vacation. You should go to Nina's. Take the boat.
Buy yourself a new robe.
Let's go buy it now.
Later.
Let me.
Mom, you're young.
You're still good-Iooking.
Why are you laughing? It's the truth.
Other women your age get married.
So they do. I will too.
Do it. Why don't you?
Well, maybe I will.
Do it. Start a new life.
You've been in charge of this, that and the other all this time.
You're run down.
You've got to let go of all that.
Let someone else worry about those brats.
- Let someone else do it? - Yeah.
Let someone else do it?
You don't really like your mother.
Of course.
I'm provincial, unsophisticated.
I embarrass you.
I'm a gruff old soldier.
Mom, it's not that.
"Let someone else do it."
This is how you think?
I never even knew such words as these.
"Let someone else do it."
All my life, I worked for myself and for other people -
wherever I was needed, no picking and choosing.
For myself and for other people.
And I never regretted it.
Are you listening?
I understand.
Mom, do you want me to stay?
You pity me.
Don't pity me.
Instead, you should envy me.
Yes, you should envy me.
You don't have to stay.
Go on.
Tanya.
Nadya, we waited for you! We've got lots of news!
Nina's defended her thesis. And Klasha works at the UN.
Wait! Petruha, what a pig you are.
You didn't even show up for Victory Day.
We waited for you at the Bolshoi Theater for half a day.
Maybe you think you're too good now for your old comrades?
Well, if you don't show up in three days, then we're on the way to you!
We're gonna put you on KP!
- Nadya. Maybe you're sick? - What are you saying? Stop it.
Listen, girls, let's sing a song for Nadya.
Where the infantry won't get through
Where an armored train won't pass
Where a somber tank won't crawl through
There the steel bird will fly
Where a somber tank won't crawl through
There the steel bird will fly
Nadezhda Stepanovna. That runaway's been found.
That Vostriakov fellow. He's in the mess hall.
He hasn't eaten in two days. He's starving, all skinny.
You've made me very happy.
Nadezhda Stepanovna.
Wait here, boys.
There's a lot of work for you.
I love your jacket.
Come on in.
- Wait, Boris Grigorievich. - Wait a minute.
Nadezhda Stepanovna, Vostriakov is back.
Should I bring him in? - I know. Yes, go ahead.
Come in.
Well?
What have you got to say to us?
Forgive me, Nadezhda Stepanovna, for my terrible behavior at the club.
I've realized my mistakes. It won't happen again.
I'll never disgrace the honor of the school ever again.
Yermolaeva, forgive me for...
shoving you.
It won't happen again.
May they leave?
Yes. Everyone except Vostriakov.
Once more.
Nadezhda Stepanovna, please forgive my terrible behavior.
I'll never disgrace the school again. I've realized -
All right, stop it.
Enough with the apology.
I don't believe it.
Listen, Vostriakov.
Where were you planning to go?
Did you want to become a dockworker? A street sweeper?
Do you want to follow your brother down the same road?
Vostriakov.
Why are you so arrogant?
I despise you.
Is everything all right? See? I told you.
I have the birthday greetings, straight from the printer's.
It just needs your signature, and then it's all done.
Passengers without tickets are prohibited.
Give up your seats for elderly passengers.
Mom, look, a dog.
Nadya!
- How are you? - Fine.
- What are you up to? - Nothing special.
Are you going to the airfield?
We're off to the tournament tomorrow.
I'm working my guys pretty hard.
- Well, good luck. - I'll need it.
We should all get together. - Yeah.
Stop!
Do it again!
Faster!
Are you open?
Come on in, Nadezhda Stepanovna.
- Hello. - Hello.
I'm just taking a delivery.
Would you like a beer? - I'm just hungry.
How about a drink? - We don't sell liquor.
How about a beer? - I guess beer will do.
Good. I'll have one to keep you company.
- Alexandra lvanovna, the beer's here! - Coming.
I'll bring you some beer.
- Let me help you. - No. It's all right.
- Come on. - No, stop.
- It's easier together. - I'm used to it.
- You're Alexandra Ivanovna. - Call me Shura.
"Alexandra Ivanovna" is for the guys when they're around. It's more formal.
I've noticed you for a while. You pass by, morning and evening.
And you're always alone. - Yeah.
Always alone.
Done.
What about you? Aren't you hungry?
I had dinner at home.
Pots and pans everywhere. It's a mess.
Enjoy.
- It's like homemade. - It's from the market.
- Do you have a big family? - I've got two kids.
You've got a daughter. I know that.
Do you have a husband?
Husband?
Yeah, I've got a husband.
But he's with somebody else.
Now he's good to her.
It happens, right? - It happens.
Good beer.
Before the war, I lived in Moscow.
But after the evacuation, I found myself here.
So it goes. - I have friends in Moscow.
I haven't seen them in about five years.
It'd be great to see Moscow.
Funny thing is,
sometimes I sit down to write them a letter
and nothing comes of it.
There's nothing interesting to write about.
I feel I should make something up.
Nothing interesting in your life? I would never have thought.
Seems like I'm always running around, but it's all for nothing.
There's no pleasure in it for me or for anyone else.
That's the way it goes.
I don't know.
I enjoy life.
It's just a shame that time goes by so fast.
Seems like I just got out of school.
School number 225.
You know, I was considered artistic when I was in school.
You're kidding.
I used to sing -
The evening bell
You join in.
The evening bell
How many thoughts
It stirs in me
I didn't have any talent.
I took dance, but then they kicked me out.
I was taller than all the boys.
I would come home from school, lock myself in my room
and dance the waltz.
Remember, Nadezhda Stepanovna, how they danced in The Great Waltz?.
- There's no wrapping paper. - I only want half a pound.
Mitya.
Mitya!
- Let's go back. - Wait.
- Do you know the way back? - No.
Let's sit here a while.
It's time to get back.
The whole hospital must be looking for us.
It's so quiet here.
Imagine.
It's always quiet here.
This is a cart path. Right?
Right. It's made of stone.
Everything's made of stone here.
It's damp here.
You don't like it here?
A lieutenant brought me here. He told an interesting story.
There used to be an entire race of people here.
They carved a city out of the rock.
Can you imagine how much work it took?
They worked miracles in stone, and they became famous for it.
And then, all of a sudden, they all disappeared.
Mitya, where do we go from here?
We'll figure it out.
If you go left, you'll lose your horse.
If you go right, you'll lose yourself.
What would the heroes of old do in this situation?
I can't remember.
- Heroes always forged straight ahead. - They were foolish.
This is the road they must have taken.
Did they come under attack?
No. Somebody must have told them that life is easier somewhere else.
And they believed it?
See for yourself.
And they paid for it.
Their art died wherever they ended up. The stone was left behind.
- It's a shame. - Yeah.
Mitya, are you going to write to me?
Petrukhina, report to your plane!
Do you remember?
Of course I do.
You were such a chicken.
You're lying.
You used to tell me yourself that I was the best pilot among the girls.
If I hadn't been wounded,
you wouldn't have learned that I was at the front.
Did you ever think of me?
Do you want me to transfer to your unit?
They might transfer me.
Mitya.
Do you love me?
Mitya, we have to go.
Are you afraid?
They must be looking for us.
Are you really brave, or are you just letting on?
I guess I'm just pretending.
Are you tired of walking?
No. Not me.
Are you?
No, I can go on a lot longer.
This is the office where Peter Alexevich lived and worked.
Here is the table -
- Bless you! - Thank you.
The table at which he sat.
Here's his microscope, his inkwell, his scissors and his snuffbox -
Nadezhda Stepanovna, excuse me, please.
You're sitting on an exhibit.
Could you please sit here?
I apologize for that.
Would you like me to call Pavel Gavrilovich?
He might be a while. - I'll wait. Thank you.
Don't touch the exhibits.
We're standing in front of a display devoted to the Great Patriotic War.
Nadezhda Stepanovna.
By any chance, do you happen to know when the public bathhouse will be completed?
They started it some time ago.
As a people's deputy, perhaps you know something about it.
- I don't know anything. - Excuse me.
...a hero of the Soviet Union,
he was a brave officer.
Alexei Sedykh.
It was created by one of our local artists
and donated to our museum.
- Did he die? - No. Alexei Sedykh is alive.
Hey. Where are you going?
I made a bet.
Over here.
Proceed to the next exhibit.
Aren't you interested?
Why? I made a bet.
This is a photograph of the pilot Dmitry Grachev.
He shot down 17 enemy planes
and became a Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.
Here are two of his apprentices, pilots in a women's air regiment -
Xenia Ovsiannikova and Nadezhda Petrukhina.
Did they get killed?
Xenia Ovsiannikova was killed in 1945.
Nadezhda Petrukhina is alive and works as a people's deputy in our city council.
Proceed to the next room.
Don't touch the exhibits.
I see him! I'm going in to attack!
Mitya.
Mitya, what happened?
Mitya!
PETRUKHINA
Nadya.
Have you been waiting for me long? - A while.
What are you doing all burrowed in down here?
Did they bring you another mammoth?
No. Mammoths are pretty tough to come by in our area.
Let's go to my office.
By the way, they did find a real mammoth up north.
Think about it. After centuries of lying in the permafrost...
the mammoth's flesh turned out to be completely edible.
Scientists cooked his meat and tasted it. It was all right actually.
A little tough though. Kind of like bear meat.
Imagine - a real steak made of mammoth's meat.
With onions.
Sounds good, huh? Or, for example -
Pasha.
Marry me.
You don't want to.
Can't you see it?
The museum director marries one of his exhibits.
I'm one of your exhibits.
Nadya, what happened?
- Pavel Gavrilovich. Can I see you? - I'm busy now.
You know,
today a little girl asked about me -
"Did she get killed?"
So what do you think?
Was she killed?
Look. A chicken.
The only stuffed chicken in the world.
I've got some news.
You know, I've quit my job at the school - for good.
I'm beginning a new life.
Imagine, Pasha.
Just like after the prom.
All roads are good. Pick the one you like.
- May I? - Come in, come in.
Nadya.
- Pasha, you've got to work. - Look what we've found.
I am not letting you leave.
Pasha, I have to go home. I'm tired.
Come over tonight. We'll have some tea.
Take care.
Come on. A little more.
- Hello, Nadezhda Stepanovna. - Hello.
Don't forget the screwdriver.
A little to the left.
This is good.
Watch out!
Out of the way!
Citizen, can I help you?
- Nadezhda Stepanovna. Hello. - Hello.
Are you looking for Konstantin Mikhailovich?
Has anyone seen Shuvalov?
- He's at the control tower. - The control tower.
We're off to the tournament tomorrow.
- Well, good-bye then. - Good-bye. Come visit us again.
- It won't start. - We'll just push it.
Malyshev, don't fool around.
Come on. Help us out here.
- Hello, Nadezhda Stepanovna. - Hello, guys.
Have you seen Konstantin Mikhailovich? - He's left already.
No, his jacket's right here. He should be back shortly.
SPEED
Nadya. How are you?
Fine.
I'm just checking out your planes. These are nice planes.
You should have come earlier. I would have given you a ride.
Yeah, right. You know I wouldn't go. That's the only reason you say that.
Stay there, Nadezhda Stepanovna! We'll push you!
Come on, let's go!
Feel the wind in your face!
Yes! I will! And you will, too, soon!
Good luck!
Enjoy the fresh air!
Have a nice flight!
Still higher, higher and higher
It's the last stretch.
Wait, guys! Start slowing down!
THE END