MOSFILM
PRODUCTION COMPANY "TOVARISCH" - 1967 -
THE STORY OF ASYA KLYACHINA
who loved a man,
but did not marry him.
Starring
lya Savvina
Lyubov Sokolova
Alexander Surin
Gennady Yegorychev
Ivan Petrov
Only three of the actors
are professionals.
The rest are local workers and farmers.
Mishanka!
- Have you seen Mishanka? - No.
- Have you seen him? - No.
- Kolya, give a hand! - I'll help in the winter.
Let me do it. You'll bust a gut.
- Hey, let me help. - Better look after the boy.
Mishanka!
Hello, Asya!
Are you late with lunch again?
What are those pipes for?
For sewage?
They're putting in gas pipes.
So they're going to dig up the whole threshing floor.
- They're making a new one. - That's good.
- You haven't changed. - Why should I have?
Why not? It's been a whole year.
Did they send you here again to help with the harvest?
Did you forget my name?
Why d'you say that? Sasha. I don't recall your patronymic.
I'm on my vacation.
Why didn't you answer my letter? That wasn't nice.
You should've gone to the seaside.
I came after you.
Don't tell me you couldn't find anyone better in town?
Of course not.
Don't you believe me?
Stop kidding!
Honest!
These onions are strong!
I told you everything in my letter.
I got a good apartment. Bought furniture.
What's more, I bought you a washing machine.
I got it through connections.
It's really great!
It turns on and off by itself.
It's specially for you,
to make things easier for you.
You're used to doing things with your hands in the village.
With the machine you just push a button and it does the rest.
Marry me.
Don't feel self-conscious about being lame.
I love you the way you are.
They're shooting at the tank base. You've forgotten...
You muddler!
It's time to mow.
See how much trouble kids are.
Prokhor. Did Asya marry Kostya the Gypsy?
She turned him down last year.
Whose baby is it?
Ask our women.
- Why can't you tell me? - I don't know.
Don't you know who she was seeing?
I'm not interested in those things.
Stop all that talk!
The rye crop here is terrific. But in the ravine it's pitiful.
Prokhor, when does the train leave for town?
I don't remember. Why?
I'm going home.
Why don't you stay and relax. Zhenya really misses you.
What Zhenya?
How heavy you are! You've grown in the last year.
I'll take him!
- Did you find him? - Yes, we did.
What could happen to him here?
You're right about that.
- What are you doing? - The shirt smells of you.
God knows what's become of you.
- What? - I can't explain.
Styopa, come here and listen to the baby.
- I don't care about it. - Listen to it!
After all, it's yours. Oh, I think it's turning over.
Stop talking about it!
And put down the glove!
Why was Chirkunov hanging around you?
- Maybe he likes me. - You?
Why not?
You have a big head!
He used to like me, but not now that my stomach's so big.
Why don't you marry him?
Are you kidding, Styopa! You're the one I love.
I don't know what the hell. I'm doing with you lame fool!
Just stop talking about love!
It's moving again. A real lively one.
- Where? - Right here. Can you hear it?
That's it? Incredible!
Uncle Prokhor!
What is NATO?
Why are you so interested in politics?
Is NATO fighting in South Vietnam?
Only some of the member countries
are involved in the war.
I thought you'd tell me something new. I know that.
Grisha, turn it off; it's time to go to bed.
We have to get up before dawn.
You can't cut the rye when its wet with the morning dew.
By the time you get going, and have breakfast... Turn it off!
What do we have for breakfast?
When you're working outdoors any food'll do. Turn it off!
Zhenya.
What d'you want?
Call Asya, please.
Asya's spending the night in the village.
Vasyok, have they brought the diesel oil?
I knew it. Don't you care?
You can't walk without tripping over something.
Slava, run back to the village for the diesel oil.
Styopa'll bring it on his way back from the village tomorrow.
You know Styopa. You can't depend on him.
Slava, get up! Help us out!
He hasn't slept for 3 nights. He has the right to sleep now.
- Shut up, you fool! - Don't yell.
We talk about the scientific management...
Gena, get up! Take my bike and hurry to the village,
and get the oil back here in an hour!
Get up! Get up!
Make sure the oil's here in an hour.
Turn out the light!
How many times have you been married?
Once. I brought her back from the war, or rather afterwards.
- When were you born? - In 1927.
You're younger than me.
I was born in 1924.
During the war she washed bandages in the medical unit.
There was one guy there...
He showed me his fist and said:
"L eave her alone. I have my eye on her first. "
So, did he punch you in the nose?
A couple of times I got it from him.
It was nothing...
We agreed to leave her alone.
We figured she'd make the choice if we survived.
Suddenly I got a good singing voice in the spring.
She seemed to like me better.
Looking through fading photos
I'll keep one as a memento
of the girl in the beige dress,
My darling girl, my beauty.
That was clever of you!
But then I lost my voice.
I noticed that my rival had backed off.
I felt bad about moving in on him.
In the spring the girl was wounded.
As soon as I found out I asked the commander to let me go.
They were taking away the wounded when I arrived.
There were so many of them, I could barely get through.
I called out her name, and she answered me.
"Prokhor, come here for God's sake to say goodbye. "
I started crying.
The truck she was in started off, and I ran after it.
I couldn't keep up with it!
During an assault I was hit by a fragmentation mine.
I have five fragments in my hand.
Let me have a drink.
They carried me across the Sosh River.
It's in Byelorussia between Gomel and Mogilyov.
That's where I was wounded. I was sent to the medical unit.
I got first aid there.
My finger was hanging. They cut it off.
They wanted to cut this one off, too. I can't move it.
I wouldn't let them. I thought it might heal.
I was there over the anniversary holiday.
We got 100 grams of vodka.
We had a good time. We hadn't had a drink for a long time.
A hundred grams was enough.
We stayed there for 3 days after the holiday.
Then they took us by train to the homefront.
We were on the road for a long time. A lot of trains.
Supply trains were carrying ammunition, tanks and guns.
The trains and tanks had words on them:
"Everything for Victory! Everything for the front!"
Just seeing them raised our morale.
We got to the city of Molotov.
Now it's called Perm.
We stayed there for a day and a half.
At night I remember we were lying there
when some serviceman came along.
I don't know what his rank was,
private or sergeant, because he didn't have shoulder-straps.
He was yelling: "Long live Motherland! Long live Stalin!"
A nurse was walking behind him.
I asked, "Why is he yelling as if he's at the front?"
She said, "He was tortured by the Nazis.
They even branded his chest with a red star. "
They were real Nazis.
I was officially disabled.
Where could a war-worn but seasoned victor go?
I decided I'd go to the place she was from.
I didn't write to anybody about her.
I was afraid to find out she'd been killed.
When I got there I asked:
"Where do the Konoplyovs live?"
Somebody showed me their house. I went in.
Were you nervous?
I walked into the house and asked:
"Where is she?"
Her old mother answered: "She's milking the cow. "
You must've been real happy!
Well, I have to go.
Thanks for the sprocket. Which one is for me?
Take the new one.
I'll take this one. I'll go and work for a while now.
Galya, get the women together fast!
Here it comes! Start playing!
Comrade collective farmers, thanks to your work
we have a great harvest.
Now what's our aim now?
Gather it all quickly and without any losses.
Tireless, mighty and invincible!
My country, My Moscow...
Grain is our wealth.
We not only have enough grain for ourselves...
Stop him for God's sake!
I'm proud that my work
is merging with the work of my Republic.
Glory to labor!
Why did you come here?
I help her with her math.
Another Oleg Popov.
D'you think I'm good enough to go to a circus school?
I've had enough of this work. They need me in the circus.
My brother, a bricklayer, is going to Tashkent.
They had a big earthquake.
- Have they mowed a lot today? - Quite a bit.
Let me wash first.
Don't rush. You'll make it on time.
People from all the republics go there.
They need carpenters and bricklayers.
I'd go there too...
Damn it. What d'you want?
Why didn't you give me a lift on your way from lunch?
You should've put your hand out to stop me.
You're still too young to be getting rides.
Now it's time for Grigory the Great to wash!
What's in the news?
A reception for de Gaulle.
Representing the French were
Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville
French Ambassador Philippe Bode.
Don't be a pest, Mishanka!
This is Lenin. And who is this?
When I was small I knew who Stalin was.
Prokhor, I'd like to ask you.
Katya, come here. Sanya, move over.
- Let's have a drink. - Sure enough.
- Do you want macaroni? - Macaroni will do.
Let's drink to the new harvest!
Maria, pass me the onions.
Let's drink, friends, while we're still here.
In the next world we won't get any.
Maria, where are you?
Hey, you juggler.
Yesterday at the Gypsy collective farm
they celebrated their first load of grain.
The Gypsies are ahead of us.
The grain is real good!
On a Saturday, on a rainy day
you can't work in the fields,
either tilling or plowing...
Goodbye girls, goodbye women.
They're taking us away from you.
He left with someone; she and I were left alone.
That's how we met.
It was during the war, in 1943. Before I was the farm chairman.
We sat there together
until two in the morning.
We found we had a mutual attraction.
After that we saw each other every day.
I liked her and she liked me too.
The thing is our feelings were mutual.
Did she say she loved you?
It was too early for that.
Love at first sight?
I don't believe in it.
Later on she said: "Kolya, I love you!"
And when I became the chairman she would come to
my office for any old reason.
She was a real warm person.
- And d'you still love her? - Yes I do.
You're lying!
Pour me another glass.
Zhenya's waiting for you again.
Why does he hang around you so much?
He's lonely.
Now an orphan can live really well. Not like before.
He gets his father's pension, and goes to boarding school...
Zhenya has an aunt in Sormovo.
Sasha wants to take him to town and adopt him.
That's it! I'm not going to see her again!
And I won't say another word to her.
Shall I tell you how my wife met me when I came from prison?
- What did you serve time for? - For nothing.
I was in from the time they put me there after the war
all the way until 1953.
There were 42 men in my cell.
Actually it was a section.
That was when I was already in the camp.
Let Grandpa tell the truth.
When my sentence was almost up,
the last month, it was the hardest time for me.
The hardest!
You don't just count the days, but the hours, until
you're able to leave that place.
So I got out.
I decided to go home.
I had a present for my son. A chess game I'd made myself.
When I arrived I saw a young man with grease all over him.
I figured he was one of our workers, so I asked:
"How do I get to Sormovo?"
"Cross the overpass, and you'll see a trolleybus. "
Before the war there weren't any trolleybuses.
"Further on you'll see a streetcar. "
I crossed the overpass. Looked, and saw a line of people.
I asked: "Where does this thing go?"
The women laughed: "It's not a thing, it's a trolleybus."
What's the difference!
A lot of our villagers work in Sormovo.
I went to the market, then into every store,
hoping I'd see somebody I knew.
I didn't see anybody...
I went into a hardware store. I thought I'd buy
some varnish, for the house.
Varnish the table.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned around and saw a lady.
"Hello, Fyodor Mikhailovich. "
"Excuse me, " I said. "I don't know you. "
"D'you know Ksenofont Osokin?" "I do, " I said.
"Is that you, Lisa?
So, you're the first one I've seen. "
I thought I'd keep going.
I went over to the bar.
"Give me 150 grams, " I said.
I had a drink and something to eat.
Then another drink.
I felt good all over, as if Jesus blessed me personally.
I felt real warm all over. I had nothing else to do,
so I went on home to sleep.
She saw my wife at the market.
Who? Lisa?
Yes. She said: "Fyodor's come home to you. "
I went to Vasily's for the night.
There I was in my underwear. I was still a big man then.
I heard the dog barking. Then someone knocking.
I saw an old lady standing there. I opened the window.
She said, " Open up!"
I said: "Can't let you in. The owner's out, " I teased.
Then I unlocked the door.
She looked at me and ran into the house!
We didn't even kiss.
It was like she was possessed.
Well, she walked into the house, and I went in.
She sat down at the table, and I sat down.
She didn't say anything, and I didn't say anything.
We didn't even know what to say! We were so embarrassed.
I finally got control over myself, and said:
"Well, Nyura, how're things here at home?"
She started weeping and said: "Very bad. "
It was as if she hit me with a hammer.
"What's so bad? Don't you have any food?"
"We have food all right.
We don't have any clothes for you.
The boys wore them all out. "
I said: "That's all right. "
"What are you going to wear? You've just got one shirt. "
I said: "All you need is a shirt and a pair hands."
Life is altogether different now.
You're so right.
The people suffered, but now they feel in control again.
The people always have faith, hope and love.
Faith that
life will get better.
Hope that we'll have the strength.
And if we don't have enough,
our young, our grandchildren will help out.
Love of our country,
our Russian land,
not just our village,
but all of our Russian land.
So, that's the way it is, Son.
- Where are you going? - Go on home.
Where are you going, anyway?
Come on in.
I was just walking by, and decided to drop in.
Sit down and have tea with my niece.
Grandma's in church. My mother and aunt went to the store.
Don't pay attention to me. I'll just stand here awhile.
Who's that ferocious looking man with the beard?
- A relative of mine. - He's real fearsome.
What's fearsome about him? He's my great grandfather.
Pavel Klyachin. He lived till he was 106.
He built this house. It was on fire three times.
He was a captain. He had a steamboat on the Volga.
And that's my uncle.
He was also talented. An artist.
These are all his pictures.
Actually he was an agronomist.
This is another uncle. He died in action. Grandma and Grandpa.
He had a mustache like Budyonny!
Grandma was a beauty. He killed her out of jealousy.
Don't you have any men in the family?
No. We live alone, without any drunkards.
And this is my great grandpa's icon.
This is what he said when he was dying:
"No matter who's the man of the house,
this icon should hang here as long as the house stands. "
Is this your grandpa's clock?
Yes. He wasn't literate, but he was well-off.
- Who painted this picture? - My uncle, the artist.
Hello, Grandma!
She's my great grandma!
- Can I play? - Go ahead.
My great grandma also likes music.
Restless flames twist and toss in the stove.
Resin shines on the wood like a tear.
An accordion sings about love
And your eyes and your smile reappear.
Bushes whispered about you to me
In the snowfields near Moscow, near home.
Ah, my love, if it only could be,
If you heard me here singing alone!
You are far, far away at this hour-
Snows between us and winter's hard breath
To rejoin you is not in my power,
Though just four steps divide me from death.
Sing, accordion, scorning the storm
Call back joy, drive off sorrow and doubt
In the cold of the dugout I'm warm
For the fire of our love won't go out.
Let go!
Okay, don't resist.
I'm going to marry you. D'you think I'm drunk?
Maybe you ought to ask me if I want to marry you.
Who else will have you? Who else needs you?
Let go!
Don't come near me.
Let's be together.
What are you doing?
Let go! Do you hear me! You're so rough.
Don't touch!
Hey, you shrimp!
- Womanizer! - You're going to get it!
Womanizer! Womanizer!
You're going to get it!
You can't catch me anyway.
- You're naughty. - You're naughty too.
- What's that? - Give it back!
- Don't you dare read that. - I'll read it anyway.
Who's that?
Modern vandals.
Americans fighting in Vietnam.
They're killing children and destroying everything around.
You made quite a tower! How do you dismantle it?
This is terrible! Who marked up the documents?
- Did you do this? - No.
You're lying!
Mishanka! Put the dishes away.
Papa. Take me!
I'll read it!
Does that hurt?
Daily practice!
I've sent my application for circus school. I'll be a clown.
Katya, where're you going?
- Why aren't you working? - I'll be right there.
Happy birthday, Asya.
Did you buy them in the store?
Hey, everybody!
Why have you finished working?
- Do they fit? - Try them on!
What's so good about them?
They're white, and spiked heels.
I like everything white.
Who got you such shoes?
- I wish I'd get such gifts. - If you were younger...
The young get everything. But what about us old folks?
Throw them into the dump.
Come over here, dear. Try on the shoes; they're real nice.
- Chirkunov gave them to Asya. - Oh, my Lord!
What for?
- They've been worn! - Nonsense.
Isn't it bad for pregnant women to wear high heels?
What takes you so long?
The drinks are on you. Right everybody?
Okay, okay. You'll get it!
Get back to work.
The truck came. You have to unload it.
It's been pouring for two days.
What's wrong with that?
We have the best harvest in years.
We didn't build a covered threshing-floor in time,
or we'd have started industrial engineering.
Now everything depends on nature.
What d'you have against rain?
It keeps you lying around here,
instead of working in the mechanized threshing-floor.
- What's most important? - Who knows!
Economic effect and scientific management.
What would you do if
you won a 100,000 rubles?
Who the hell knows!
Would you buy something, or what?
Maybe I'd go and hang myself with so much money.
Would you buy a car or a plane?
No. I'd buy a furniture set.
And I'd put the rest in the bank.
Soon they'll start producing Italian Fiats here.
They're terrific cars!
I don't want a car.
Don't worry, Prokhor. You'll never win 100,000.
- Any women here? - What do you want?
- Leave for a minute. - What for!
Maria, just leave!
Mishanka, let's go!
- Is it your baby? - What baby?
I didn't draw it.
- Don't be smart! - Or what will you do?
I don't know yet.
You know where you can go!
I'll squeeze juice out of you.
Greetings to you from Madam Bovary.
What's going on here?
Get out of here!
What's wrong?
Hooligans!
- Let's go! - Where?
Take your shoes.
Put them on!
- Take off the sandals. - They're not sandals.
Come here.
Closer.
Who are you taking gifts from?
- Who is he to you? - Nobody.
And who am I to you? Do you think I can't buy that stuff?
- You want to pay me off? - Yes!
- What do you take me for? - Should I say?
You have no right to insult me.
I'm sick of you!
And I have nice furniture.
A nice room, and a kitchen.
The only problem is water.
But I have a gas stove. Installed some time ago.
Gas is great. Fifteen minutes and dinner is ready.
And the furniture is real nice. All modern.
A bookcase with books,
a radio and records.
I have Shulzhenko records. And even Utyosov.
You know how great Utyosov is!
We'll live well, of course. You and me, Zhenya.
We'll buy a motorcycle, and off to the woods for mushrooms.
I know some places where there are lots of bilberries.
And mushrooms. Only the best ones.
Do you like to hunt for mushrooms?
Do you like to go for mushrooms?
- Why don't you say anything? - You're lying!
Zhenya, wait! Wait, Zhenya!
Look what a shiner you gave me.
Look, look, I'm not offended.
But I should be! You've got it too easy with me.
- Does the music bother you? - The batteries are dead.
- Any catch? - Okay, enough.
I need to go to the village.
- Did you see my passport? - No.
I must tell the neighbors to keep an eye on the house.
- Will we make it to the train? - Will you get ready quickly?
I'll be quick, like a fireman. I'll be ready in a snap.
Are you moving into town?
Yes. I'm going to river navigation school.
Pack your things more neatly.
- I'm ready! - Just a minute.
What did I do with my passport?
The batteries are dead.
Let me pack.
- What about the house? - I'll sell it.
Aren't you sorry to leave the village?
I'm not going forever.
- Did you find your passport? - I did.
I'm not leaving the village forever.
I'll finish school, sail on the Volga, and toot hallow.
Give me a light.
They're calling us.
Tell him I'll be right there.
Well, take care of yourselves.
Asya, marry me! Marry me!
Please, marry me.
- No. It won't be any good. - But he doesn't love you.
He loves me.
If he didn't love me, he would not be jealous.
Go with him! I'm sick and tired with you!
Jealous of you, of all things, you fool! I'm fed up.
The whole village is laughing at you!
You deny you had an affair with him last year?
Hit me again, just get her off my neck.
Don't .
- Asya, let's leave together. - But I don't love you.
Forgive me, for God's sake.
My body can't take that much strain.
And you stayed on?
Slava went to the village, and Asya went with him.
Did you give Mama something to drink yet?
Not yet. I just came with the milk.
Mama, eat a little bit. Whatever you can.
- Why is the tub there? - Asya put it there.
Asya, dear. What's the matter with you?
What's the matter? How did you get it there?
How did you get in there?
Why did you get inside there? My dearest one!
Mama!
- Agrafena! - What happened?
Hurry, hurry!
I'm coming. I'll be right there.
Asya. What's the matter with you?
Come, dear. I'll give you some milk.
Asya, sweetheart! Is there anything we can do to help?
Smile, my precious one.
Say something! Get up, right now!
The girl's not herself, and you're shouting at her.
Let's go. You mixed up the store-room with the house.
Let's go where it's warm. You should rest.
Where are we?
Why did you turn right after the bridge?
It's been five years since people stopped going this way.
So here we are!
- Where are you going? - I have to.
Occupy yourself with something for awhile.
What a beautiful place!
What takes you so long?
- What's the matter? - I'm afraid...
- You're starting already? - The ride jarred me.
It's too early.
Looks like you're going to have to deliver the baby.
Are you crazy?
Go and look for something to tie the umbilical cord.
Come on, get up. Let's get out of here.
I'm going to have the baby right now.
The pain let up a bit. My feet are getting cold.
Stop joking, Asya.
What's the matter? Need help?
Here's my coat. Cover up with it, or put it under your head.
I'm so stupid, I lost my scarf.
I lost the car seat, and I got along anyway.
Has it let up?
You'll die here! You'll die, won't you?
Maybe I should call someone? I'll go get someone.
Listen, let's go. Get up.
Get up, you fool.
Hey, someone help!
I'll get a woman to come here.
- Where're you going? - I'll be right back.
Asya, I can't . I'm afraid.
Everything will be all right.
- I can't. I'm afraid. - Put something clean under me.
Stop!
Help me. My wife's had a baby.
- Where is she? - In the ravine.
Ivanov, Zhukov! Into the ravine. Quick.
D'you have anything to drink? My mouth's all dry.
I was scared stiff.
I was driving along, and the fool says:
"I'm going to give birth now. "
She went into the bushes, and I went after her.
I lost my car seat somewhere... She ran away...
My dear baby boy.
So that's how it is, guys...
He got married, and now he's crying.
Take your places!
Just take us to the hospital.
Don't worry. Everything will be all right now.
- What are you looking at? - You're a handsome guy.
You bet!
Will you get ready yourself, or shall I call Mother?
Give Seryozha some water.
- You've already named him? - Yes. Seryozha.
You could have asked my opinion.
Maybe I dreamed he'd be Andrei. Or Nikita.
No, you didn't dream anything.
What kind of nonsense is that, you fool?
You softened up a bit when Seryozha was born,
but before he even starts walking you'll lose interest.
That's nonsense, you fool.
You just don't understand.
He should have a different life.
So you don't need me? Are you going to Chirkunov?
- Don't yell. You'll wake him. - Let him hear it!
I'm not going to marry Chirkunov.
Don't be a fool. You won't be able to survive without me.
Don't worry. My life has just begun.
People will spit on that life of yours.
Maybe somebody will, but Prokhor won't ,
Maria won't, and neither will the team leader.
Nothing can happen to us.
What's eating you?
I hate to leave this place. We've worked here since 1951.
We had our celebrations here.
Why regret the old?
Now we'll build a new, covered threshing-floor.
It's old, but I'm used to it.
With the new threshing-floor we'll outstrip the Gypsy farm.
We're sending our boys off to the army.
So are the Gypsies.
Have you gone mad? Styopa. Help!
After all, it's the farm's property.
The hell with it! We'll build a new dormitory for you
at the new threshing-floor. Hurray!
Oh, my darling!
You're such a fool!
You're angry with me, your lips are pursed.
I have a sweetheart. His name is Styopa.
He's in galoshes, I'm in bast shoes walking after him.
You can learn a trade in the army, too.
And they have amateur theatricals.
Look, Kostya the Gypsy is going into the army, too.
My heart is broken
because he says he's going into the army.
Everyone knows a draftee
has pain in his heart.
Does anyone know why I can't be
the team leader's wife?
Thanks, Styopa, for the game and music we played.
Screenplay Yuri Klepikov
Director Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky
Camera Georgy Rerberg
Sets Mikhail Romadin
Sound Raissa Margachyova
The End