GEORGIA FILM STUDIO
ROBINSONIADA, OR MY ENGLISH GRANDFATHER
Anna, tell me, how do you say in Georgian "I love you"?
Me shen mikvarkhar.
Mikvarkhar.
Christopher Hughes was killed in 1922.
Who did it and why?
To me, his grandson, it remained a mystery for many years.
"Robinsoniada", that how I called my symphony
dedicated to Christopher Hughes, my grandfather.
It's a musical fantasy.
That's how I imagine the life of an English telegraph worker in Georgia.
It's your gun.
"My beloved country, why are you so sad?"
"If you're unlucky today, maybe you'll get lucky tomorrow."
Stop! Stop!
Wait.
What does it say here?
A-flat.
It's wrong. There should've been a natural sign.
It's all right here.
Let's start again from Number 28.
I shot...
I shot at his women.
I was very jealous when they were coming here.
Let this woman leave...
or I will shoot.
These women were called "Christmas presents from the Telegraph Company."
Hughes was angry at me and said he couldn't refuse them.
And I was throwing his "presents" out.
This is a map of the world.
Here is London and here is Delhi.
At the end of the 19th century they invented the telegraph
and later, the telephone.
To connect Britain with its largest colony, India,
they built the Royal Telegraph Line, London-Delhi,
which passed through many countries of Europe and Asia
including Georgia.
So English telegraph workers started coming to Georgia...
to watch over the sections of the line assigned to them.
Why aren't you dressed?
I'm ready.
Contracts were signed for three years.
Hughes was assigned a small section in Georgia
so he went on the road.
Is this the same gun?
Put the gun away.
We aren't going to shoot here.
I'm against that kind of music.
I understand very well what the concrete music is.
But if you need a cannon effect
would you bring a cannon to the concert hall?
What about that horse neigh?
Sit down and rewrite the score.
This story began on a train.
This is our compartment.
Do I need to record this sizzling sound?
I don't know. Ask the composer when he stops running around.
Do I need to record this sizzling sound?
Get off my back.
This is our compartment.
Now tell me about Georgia.
Georgia is the sun, sea, mountains, songs... and grapes.
And also pretty girls, right?
Do you have tigers in Georgia?
No, we have no tigers.
What a pity, I brought my Winchester along, I was hoping to go hunting.
In our forests we have rabbits, pheasants, wolves, bears...
Did you see them all?
I saw right away that Anna was taken with Hughes.
She was even making eyes at him.
I wasn't so impressed myself
though he was courteous and bought us flowers at every station.
Mr. Hughes, please, help!
After a number of adventures on the road, Hughes arrived in Georgia.
Hughes' predecessor, Allan Murphy,
who was going back to England, described Georgia as follows:
"The local climate is wonderful.
"The people are generous, the women are shy...
"But one can find some wanton species among them."
Dearest Mother and Father,
I'm taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity to communicate with you.
My telegraph company sent a man here.
I'm content with my station here and I'm feeling fine.
Every day I go to check the 10km line.
Sometimes I'm accompanied by two charming girls, Anna and Lisa.
They also sing beautifully and teach me Georgian songs.
Mom, we're going to perform a Georgian song for you.
"My beloved country, why are you so sad?
"If you're unlucky today, maybe you'll get lucky tomorrow."
The Royal Telegraph Company often sent to its workers around the world
the so called "couch of love."
Why are you asking about Christopher?
He's no Chaplin, no Valentino, no Fairbanks.
I don't know much about him.
I don't know him personally anyway. Why don't you ask her?
It's a hard life for these poor boys,
we do our best to brighten up their little lives,
to be their friends.
They say there's a new life in Russia.
And all the poor moved into palaces.
Do you know about it?
Come here. Tell them about Hughes.
I have nothing to say.
He's got a girl in the village, ask her.
She's thin and ugly, she shoots at our girls!
What am I doing in this crazy country? I'm trying to work and you're playing!
Immersed in his life,
Hughes didn't pay attention to what was going on in his host country.
Mensheviks' Georgia was welcoming its saviors...
the Army of the League of Nations.
- Hello, Mr. Hughes! - Hello, Ms. Lisa.
Hello, Anna. Are you angry at me?
You're right to be angry.
Where are you going?
I have some work to do.
How did you manage to catch cold in this heat?
I don't know.
What are you doing?
- I'll bundle you up and you'll recover. - Thanks.
I need to even the surface here. I can never find time.
Come to us.
Sit down.
Here are some nuts for you.
Are we on the British territory now?
I told you that 3 meters of land around each pole is British property.
It was bought by King George all the way from Britain to India.
This grass, the rocks, even this snail are British property.
What if a crow lands on a pole?
Then it becomes an English crow.
If it flies away, it becomes Georgian.
When it comes back, it becomes English again.
Anna, you'll be going to study in Kutaisi, far away.
You'll fly away from these poles, from me.
You'll forget everything that was between us.
I'll miss you so much.
The revolutionaries took over in Georgia.
The London-Delhi line stopped working on the Georgian territory.
The telegraph company recalled its employees.
The recall telegram didn't reach Hughes.
Anna's brother, Nestor Nioradze, was returning to the village.
Along with his friends, he was going to build a new life.
Legato! Legato!
This is Lavrenti Mgeladze,
the village land owner.
Don't approach!
These were hard times for Mgeladze.
He received a letter:
"There's a bomb in the clock."
Nestor is back. That's his kind of joke.
But this time Nestor wasn't joking.
Lavrenti was being banished from the village.
Peace between the nations, liberty, equality, fraternity...
This is the essence of our revolution.
Listen to its voice with your hearts and minds.
The imperialistic hydra is trying to strangle the working class!
But we won't let anyone do it!
I won't let anyone to insult Great Britain, is that clear?
- Who is this guy? - An English telegraph worker.
Hello.
Is it you, Christopher Hughes?
These are my friends.
I'm Nestor Nioradze, the chairman of the village community.
How much do you weigh, Hughes?
- 80 kilos. - And I weigh 86 kilos.
Aren't you afraid of that?
Why should I be afraid?
Because that gives me a clear edge.
Are you going to box with me?
Why not? Are you against it?
No. If you wish.
In that case, let's begin.
Gogi will be the referee.
Set the timer.
I don't know much about the boxing rules but I've got a good punch.
I've warned you, Hughes, I've got a good punch.
Have I broken any rules, dear Hughes?
You care for one more round?
If you wish. Even two.
In that case, let's begin.
Time is up.
Have you come here to beat me up?
Yes.
For what?
For the sake of the world proletarian revolution.
Do you recognize him?
This is our agitator.
He undersleeps, goes to villages promoting the new way of life.
And you tear up our posters. Who do you think you are?
You're sitting here like a mouse in a hole,
smoking English cigars...
You have no idea what's going on in the world.
I don't know about your revolution, and I don't want to know.
Hughes,
I've been to Great Britain.
- I studied there to be a veterinarian. - Really?
Today was a gentlemen's talk.
But remember this:
if you don't pack your things tomorrow,
and if don't go back to your country, I'm warning you -
I'll kick you out.
Hughes, we've been waiting for you.
What's the problem?
Your luggage is packed, it's time to go.
Is this an order?
Yes, it's an order.
My dear veterinarian,
I work for the Royal Telegraph Company, not your revolution.
Dear telegraph worker,
I'll see you to the nearest station, I hope you'll consider it an honor.
Won't you?
No, I won't let you get away with this!
Unload my luggage from the car!
Get in!
Take you hands off me!
Hughes, where are you going?
What are you doing? Stop!
Hughes!
Stop!
Stop, or I'll shoot!
Are you gone mad?
Why are you shooting?
Where are you running to?
Don't cross the border!
I'm in England.
Where?
Tell your friends to bring my luggage.
There's a document in my bag that says that 3 meters around each pole...
are British property.
So I'm in Britain.
I've found this document...
it clearly says that 3 meters of land around each pole...
were bought by King George...
along the whole London-Delhi line.
Thanks.
What is he saying?
Yes, there's such a law.
OK.
We aren't going to declare a war on you.
Stay in your "England."
You're banished from the village, you can't return there.
It's no time for jokes.
Let him be.
Put his luggage down and let's go.
Hurry up.
That's all.
Be careful!
This is absolutely silly!
What am I doing here?
I only have 30 bullets.
I have to go back to the village
and I'll take my house back.
A man's home is his castle.
That night he had a strange dream.
Good morning, Hughes.
Hey, Nestor, what's going on?
Did you sleep well?
Put the bed down! Untie me! I'll go by myself!
Don't you have more important things to do other than to throw me out?
Of course, we do.
Why are you so cruel to me then?
Cruel?
We're literally carrying you in our arms from Georgia to Britain, right, Hughes?
You have a good sense of humor.
With your permission, I'll cross the British border.
You're welcome.
With your permission, I'd like to go on sleeping.
Good night, Hughes.
Thanks.
I'd also like to remind you that the London-Delhi line
was cancelled on the Georgian territory.
All the telegraph workers went back home.
You're lying, Nestor!
You're abusing your power!
It's all because I tore up your poster!
That'll be all, Hughes.
Live in your "England" but from now on...
never set your foot in the village!
And you never set your foot in England!
Next morning, Hughes bought a donkey from the passing herdsmen,
and he called it Friday.
Hughes,
why are you ignoring my orders?
Dear Nestor, you told me not to set my foot in the village...
It's the donkey's feet, not mine, walking on your land.
I start liking him.
RED COMMUNE
It's all clear here in the score.
What's the nuance of Number 3?
Two bars before Number 3, you start quietly, piano piano.
Here begins the solitude theme...
Hughes didn't believe Nestor about the cancellation of the London-Delhi line.
The Company's rules said:
"Regardless of any obstacles, be it an earthquake or a flood,
"or a change of the local government,
"an employee should watch over the section assigned to him."
Being a diligent worker, Hughes followed that rule to the letter.
In his solitude, he often dreamed of Anna.
Girls, where are you from?
Anna, do you know how much I've missed you?
I've missed you too.
Anna, what does your brother want from me?
I don't know.
Tell me, Hughes,
what does Georgia mean to you?
The sun, sea, songs, pretty girls, right?
Have you ever thought of how people actually live in this land?
And why we got rid of Lavrenti Mgeladze?
But why did you get rid of me?
We've come to extend our hand of friendship to the English proletariat.
I'm so far from you.
I see.
You simply don't want it.
It's a pity.
Anna, I can't live without you.
Hurry up, Hughes, they're catching up with us.
- When does the train to London leave? - 5:45pm.
Then we'll catch up with them.
Hello.
I'm Lavrenti Mgeladze.
Hughes, your ancestors and mine, when they saw the evil in the world,
they took arms and went to fight it.
There's evil around us.
Let's not forget our ancestors' behests.
Your gun.
It may come in handy to you.
They want to destroy the world, to overturn it,
and to build a new world of their own on its ruins.
How can they be so sure they're right?
I had everything, and they took it away from me.
They don't accept the rules and customs that have existed for centuries.
They're building their own world.
They did it in Russia.
They did it in Georgia.
Tomorrow they'll get to Britain.
You see, Hughes, how the times are changing?
First, Nestor was in hiding, and now it's me who's wandering in the woods.
Nestor says that the London-Delhi line was cancelled.
If you let him be, he'll cancel your whole Britain.
When they banished me,
I went to Turkey.
I thought I'd be able to make it.
But in Istanbul I sank to lower depths.
I dreamed of death.
Imagine a dirty hotel room in Istanbul...
I wanted to hang myself.
Nestor, I'll take revenge, I'll destroy you!
Why didn't you shoot?
I don't know... I couldn't.
You're a coward.
I'm not a coward, I just couldn't shoot.
I was watching you - you had a chance to kill him.
He smooth-talked you.
I see, he's making you red, too.
I warned you that soon they'd be in your Britain!
Give me back the gun!
Coward!
I'll kill him myself.
We, the monks of St. George Monastery,
have come to you to find out what future lies in store for us.
The monastery is in turmoil, many abandoned us.
Others locked themselves in the cells waiting for communists to come.
There are controversial rumors about it.
Dear Nestor, we believe in your good intentions,
and let us ask you a question: what faith are you preaching?
Comrades,
today I've invited fathers Yoram, Lucas and Anisim...
and mullah Hussein to respond to their concerns...
What future lies in store for us?
I can assure you...
it'll be wonderful and happy.
Comrades,
we'll be glad to accept anyone who wants to join our commune.
I know that you locked yourselves in your cells,
afraid of the Red revolution.
But if Christ and Mohammed were sitting here with us,
they would've confirmed
that they envisioned the same future for the mankind as we do.
Vano Chkheidze works a miracle called cinema.
Now he's going to show us our happy future.
"MAKING THE WAY"
You probably have many enemies?
Every big cause has enemies.
Your intentions are good.
When we were approaching the village, we saw a man by a telegraph pole.
He seemed miserable to us.
He's an eccentric.
We're playing sort of a game with him.
He didn't complain...
but he seemed so lonely.
I know, he's stubborn but he's a good man.
I'll definitely go to him.
Don't leave him alone.
I'll pray for you, I promise.
Anna, when did you come back?
Where's Hughes? What have you done to him?
We played a little joke on him. What does it have to do with you?
Where is your humanity? To throw out a man in such cold!
- Where are you going? - To Hughes!
I'll show you Hughes! Go home now!
Don't drag me!
I'll go to him anyway.
Calm down.
Father, wait...
Stop playing!
Don't yell at the kid.
Who's this Englishman? What's going on?
It turns out that she loves him!
I've got so many things to do!
I don't need this! Mother, what can I say to her?
I don't know.
- He's cold! - Probably not too cold!
He's feeling fine in his "England"!
He's camping out there!
If he were really cold, he would've come to make peace with me!
Calm down.
Father, I'd accept him, I'm not a beast.
I respect his pride but where's yours, Anna?
Leave her alone.
I'll go to him anyway!
Did you hear her? Why aren't you in bed?
He said to me "I love you."
Hughes!
Any Georgian in my place would've shot you both.
But I respect my sister's choice, though I would've gladly spanked her.
Get up, let's go home.
Nestor!
Don't come any closer to me, girl!
I didn't want this.
PALACE OF THE GEORGIAN FARMER
I can't remember...
for how long I've been hiding in this workshop.
I don't even know who I'm hiding from.
I can't understand these people.
They talk about a new life...
They talk about fraternity, friendship and justice...
What's new in this?
I think it was just to kill Nestor.
Regarding Hughes...
Why did I kill him? I don't really know.
He was coming at me with a shotgun.
Anyway, Nestor was going to turn him into a commie.
I've brought something for repair.
Do you recognize it?
Yes, I recognize it. It has a blunted firing pin.
It's going to fire now.
Nobody heard the shot.
Georgia was celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Soviets.
Enough of this music!
For the finale, let's start from the Anna and Hughes theme.
All my life has flashed before my eyes.
"My beloved country, why are you so sad?
"If you're unlucky today, maybe you'll get lucky tomorrow."
Starring ZHANRI LOLASHVILI and NINELI CHANKVETADZE
GURAM PIRTSKHALAVA GUDZHA BURDULI
ROSUDAN BOLKVADZE TIKO ELIOSIDZE
Written by IRAKLI KVIRIKADZE
Directed by NANA DZHORDZHADZE
Director of Photography LEVAN PAATASHVILI
Art Director VAKHTANG RURUA
Music by ENRI LOLASHVILI Sound by GURAM SHUBLADZE
Russian voiceover was recorded at the Moscow Gorky Studio in 1987.
Sound Director VICTORIA CHAYEVA
Sound Engineer ANATOLY YELISEYEV
Narrator SERGEI MARTYNOV
THE END