Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
The Russian Military - Historical Society
With support of the Ukrainian State Fiim Agency
Cinema Fund
"New People" fiim company
Yulia Peresild
Film directed by Sergey Mokritsky
Moscow, Vnukovo airport, 1957
"Battle for Sevastopoi"
USA, lnti. Student Assembly, 1942
Fan' Vei. lnfantry. One year of combat experience. 8 enemies.
Krasavchenko, Nikolay Prokofiyevich.
Head of the delegation of Soviet students.
A Communist.
It is a pleasure for her. How many of the enemy have you killed?
I am busy with party work.
Inspiring my comrades to further feats is very important.
Vladimir Pchelintsev. Sniper.
152 killed with 154 shots.
Kyiv State University, 1937
Excuse me...
Excuse me... Let me through.
Lyuda, hooray!
Lyuda, we've been accepted!
Both of us, we're in!
Come here, take a look!
You got in, too?
Let's go to the park!
What's wrong? Why aren't you happy?
No, I'm happy.
- Treats are on me. - l want ice cream. - Let's go to the park!
No, I'll go home.
Okay, we'll wait for you there!
Come on, join us. You should definitely come. Let's go!
Hooray!
Department of History. 1. Pavlichenko. L. M.
Mom,
Mom, may l wear your dress tonight?
Today, you may.
Then l'll go and change. And then l'll come back and help you.
And then Budarin is, like,
"The war in Spain showed us that
the time of brandishing shashkas is long gone."
Vedyor Nikov snapped, pulled his own shashka
and went after him. Thankfully, he couldn't keep up.
I'll wait for you in the yard.
I'll change and be down in a minute.
Hello, father.
What's with all the fancy dress-up?
At least you didn't put my military tunic on!
Bring me my boots!
I was accepted.
The first on the list.
Good job. Congratulations.
You can be proud of me.
Misha, go easy on her today.
Uh-huh.
Dad, when will you be back? Dad!
I'm not coming back for dinner.
But we wanted to set the table, invite neighbours,
celebrate my admission. We wanted you to be there.
What's there to celebrate?
You ought to have been accepted - and you were.
- Good job. - Come help me.
Father.
Promise me you'll make time for this.
Lyuda...
Daddy, come on, higher!
Come on, Daddy, come on! Higher, higher, higher!
Daddy, come on, higher, higher!
Lyuda!
We are historians already.
We should strive for truth.
Movies are fairy tales, the shooting range is the truth.
Thanks.
The shooting range, it's real.
The bullets are real, the weapons are real.
Well? Are you coming?
Guys, it smells like gunpowder there.
What do you mean, gunpowder?
Why do we need gunpowder?
Yes, movies are not real,
but life should be like a fairy tale - come on, you promised me.
Count me in on the movies.
Film is passion, love, music,
and all of this is never-ending.
Well, my vote goes to the shooting range.
- Lyuda... - So, we're tied three for, three against.
Wait. Here's what we'll do.
Heads - shooting range,
tails - movies.
I'm betting a beer that it'll turn out heads.
I don't want to bet.
Lyuda, what is it?
Heads.
Guys, why are you so slow? Shoot faster!
Maybe, we'll make it to the movies.
Yeah, right...
We are not just shooting.
This is a competition.
I want in.
Well, after we're done, go ahead.
No. I want to compete with you.
That's right, Lyuda. Show these movie-haters!
Pavlichenko, don't worry.
Fourth place is also something to be proud of.
- Very funny! - Everyone makes five shots.
The winner is determined according the number of points.
Tell me how.
Take the gun.
Load!
Put the bullets in the magazine.
Fire!
Bull's-eye!
Align the rear sight
with the front sight and your target.
Breathe evenly.
Hold your breath and gently pull the trigger.
And...
fire.
Put your weapons down on the table!
Put it down on the table.
Tell me your names, loud and clear.
Kolesov.
Kutsykh.
Feldman.
Pavlichenko.
Pavlichenko, as you see, shooting is not for ladies.
That remains to be seen.
Look, not a single hole in your target.
And the winner is Pavlichenko.
47 out of 50.
Comrade chief, are you sure you took a good look?
See for yourself, if you want to.
Ha-ha, hooray! Lyuda!
What about Feldman?
That's so cool we didn't go to the movies, right?
She owned you! Serves you right!
Every war ends
either with a peace accord or a truce.
Now,
in 1651...
- Excuse me. - Of course, come on in.
Pavlichenko?
That's me.
Go to the rector's office.
Take your belongings with you, just in case.
Let's continue.
After the so called...
Pavlichenko,
this way.
Pavlichenko, Lyudmila Mikhaylovna,
born in 1916.
Mother - Pavlichenko N.H. - teacher of English.
Father - Pavlichenko M.S. - NKVD Major.
Well...?
Yes, keep on writing,
comrade rector.
Is this information correct?
It is.
She has guts.
Just like Captain said.
According to a report submitted by Kovalchuk, a shooting range instructor,
on the 20th of June, while at the Osoaviakhim shooting range,
"she showed excellent results during a shooting competition."
You have a talent.
We've decided to send you to a six-month-long
marksmanship training programme.
Congratulations.
What about my studies?
What about them?
I suppose the university administration won't mind.
In six months you'll be back and resume your studies.
Am l right?
Yes.
Yes, of course, of course.
You'll come back and finish your studies.
Here you go.
Can l refuse?
I'd advise you not to.
Daughter, take at least a sweater.
Mom, they'll supply us with everything we need there.
What if they don't?
Getting there, getting used to it all - it takes time...
Here, take some pies.
They definitely don't supply homemade pies.
Are you sure you don't want to tell me something?
Oh my God... lt's half a year! Misha!
Dad can make just one call and make it go away, at least for a while!
Lyuda!
All her life, you were making a boy out of her.
Why didn't you stop her?
I spent half of my life at war.
And at war, it's women who have it the toughest.
And soon, a new war will begin.
Of course,
we are grateful to the USA... [USA, lntl. Student Assembly, 1942]
for the Lend-Lease programme.
But if all of us want to finish Hitler off
as soon as possible,
you need to make one more decisive step.
The Soviet delegation is asking you
to put the issue of opening the Second Front
on the agenda as the main topic of this assembly.
The Soviet people need help,
but it doesn't need arms.
That's why, on behalf of the Soviet delegation,
l would ask you to put an end to this buffoonery.
Lyuda, speak up!
Pavlichenko!
How did we wind up here, huh?
We're stuck here for the whole summer.
Odessa, June of 1941
No, for our whole life!
I thought studying history meant digging up Troy,
burial mounds, but this...
What can we dig up here, can you tell me?
Look! This is horrible!
Your materials are ready.
Here. Come back on Monday.
- Goodbye. - Thanks.
Lyuda,
do you like sailors?
I like policemen.
Policemen... Why?
Cause l will call one if you don't study!
The deadline for our thesis is practically tomorrow. What's on your mind?
Nah, l'd prefer a sailor.
i would wait for him and wait...
Girls, why don't you head to the beach?
There's scores of sailors there,
pilots and even policemen.
All the choice you need!
Lyuda, have you heard him? Policemen!
Sonya, Sonya,
they don't understand, they just don't understand.
It's Friday. l need to close the archive.
Well, l do understand you.
I have them in sights for my own reasons.
Yes - yes - yes. Yes.
Sonya, tell me please, whom do you prefer,
sailors or pilots?
- You know what? Get yourself a doctor. - Where?
Lyudochka, l am heading to the beach.
My brother Borya will be there.
- He's a doctor. - ls he handsome?
As a child, he wanted to become a pilot.
That's it! l want a doctor!
Lyuda, let's go.
But...
Lyuda, you will bury us here alive.
We will soon turn into Mendels.
Lyudochka, you need to learn how to relax.
Okay. On Monday, we'll continue.
We'll be here first thing in the morning!
And you know what, Lyudochka?
After that surgery, Dr. Kaufmann himself told him,
"Borya, your hands are made of gold."
Do you understand what he said? He said my Borya had skillful hands!
He will soon move to Kyiv or maybe even Moscow.
Sit.
Lyuda, it happened only once.
- What happened once? - Sunstroke. Sitdown, Masha.
She's right. Go. Sit.
Lyuda, what if the war starts?
Everybody's talking about the war.
Ma...
Mazel tov!
- Ladies, ladies, we're sorry. - Our sincerest apologies.
We're sorry, it wasn't on purpose. l'm sorry.
We are ready to do whatever to make it up to you.
OK. Masha forgave you and forgot all about it. Now go, fellas.
Masha, nice to meet you. l'm Grisha.
And I am Nikolai.
- What are you reading? - Kolya, Grisha, move faster.
We need to score three more points. Come on!
We're going to win now, and then we'll come back to celebrate our victory.
Let's go.
Masha.
Lyuda, whom did you like best, Kolya or Grisha?
I haven't really looked at them.
Then go ahead and have a look.
Borya!
- Hello. - l'm Masha.
- This is my brother Borya. - Good day.
Masha, we are going swimming.
May l have a seat?
You may.
Thanks.
I recognised you right away.
And what did Sonya tell you about me?
She told me l had to shave,
wear my best cologne,
iron my trousers, polish shoes,
come here to the beach to see you and make a good impression.
And that's it?
No. She also told me l have to see you in a swimsuit
and understand that l have to marry you immediately.
Well, did you understand that?
I'm Boris.
I'm Lyudmila.
Well, if l'm to be honest...
They are pilots!
...these things generally take time.
Yes,
it's a very interesting book, Lyuda.
So, you are Lyuda.
Nice to meet you.
Lyudmila, Masha,
like we've said, we are inviting you to join us and celebrate our victory.
You, Mister, can join us as well.
I can't agree with you.
How can you be against war?
Only war can establish justice in the world.
And it's us who will establish it.
Well, your point of view is very popular nowadays, l'm aware.
But l have never believed it.
So all this blustering is in vain. There will be no war.
Really?
I have a higher vantage point, I know better.
The war has already begun. You're just afraid to admit it.
And that is your weakness.
- Why? - Because you're a coward.
You want others to protect your family, country, your woman.
Look at you. Can you protect anybody?
Protect - no.
Save somebody - yes.
I have a toast.
Let's drink to...
to the volleyball, which landed so serendipitously.
Very serendipitously.
- To the ball! - To the ball.
Lyudmila, have you ever been on an airplane?
I'm sorry to say l haven't.
We have a training flight on Sunday...
Thank you, Nikolai, for Sunday.
Borya, you wanted to invite Lyuda and Masha to our house for lunch,
didn't you?
Look, just standing there all dummied up.
And the girls almost flew away.
Sonechka, excuse me, but l'd love to go on this flight.
Lyudmila,
follow Masha's example, or I'll fly away.
So you are a single child in your family.
Correct.
And where do you live in Kyiv?
Is this an apartment or a house?
An apartment.
- A communal apartment? - No, our own.
And how many rooms?
Three.
- And... - Ceiling height is 9.5ft,
parquet floors, fourth floor, large windows,
and a telephone line.
Why are you asking her such nonsense?
Lyusik, this isn't nonsense.
Lyudmila, have you thought
about how many children you want to have in the future?
How many boys?
And generally, what's most important for you in a husband?
Do you want him to earn a lot? Do you want him to love you?
Dad, Mom, stop torturing our guest.
No, no, this is interesting. l have never given this a thought.
Fish is almost ready.
And what do you think of our Borya?
I barely know him.
Oh, so let me tell you.
Borya is our big problem.
He's a very nice boy.
You know, whatever was available in Odessa, we squeezed into him.
He graduated from high schcol with a golden medal.
Do you know what it takes to be accepted to the medical institute in Odessa?
Have you heard what Kaufmann said about him?
That he has golden hands.
Lyusik, see! lt has already made rounds in Kyiv!
But all of this is not important.
My son can make the person on his side happy.
And when he meets that woman
he will give her the ring.
Borik, bring the ring and show it to Lyudochka!
Lyudmila, don't expect too much.
This ring is not that valuable, it's not even real gold...
You know, the day Lyusik gave me this ring
he was taller than Deribas.
And this is another family treasure:
amazing stuffed fish cooked by Sonya.
Dad...
Hey, do you want to hear a joke?
It goes like this: a grandfather in a Jewish family is dying.
He is lying on the sofa, at his last breath. A boy is running around.
The old man says to him: "Son, come to me.
Grandma is cooking stuffed fish in the kitchen, l can feel this smell!
Go and ask her to bring me a chop."
Little Fima comes back and says,
"Grandma said she'd cooked this for later."
Did you get what it means?
Did you get it?
All laughs?
And now listen to me.
Turn on the radio. lt has begun.
What has begun? Use normal words!
[Radio announcer] ...Soviet Union...
...without a declaration of war,
the German army attacked our country,
attacked our borders.
What have I told you?
[Radio announcer] ...and dropped bombs on Zhytomyr,
- Kiev, Sevastopol. - This is it.
[Radio announcer] Kaunas and some other cities.
No. This is not it.
Hitler has his own plans and we have ours.
Borya, Mom and l insist that you invite Lyuda to the theatre.
Tonight, La Traviata is on.
...came also from the territory of Romania and Finland...
[Background shouting] Give the receiver to Mom!
Can't hear you! Can't hear you!
[Sign in the background] LONG-DISTANCE CALLS
Why is it taking so long?!
What did your father say?
Let's go, or we'll be late.
Lyuda,
you don't have to do it.
War is not a place for women.
War, Borya, is not a place for cowards.
Young people, hush!
Lyuda,
people get killed there.
I am a doctor. l can take care of an exemption for essential occupation.
Don't you get it? You don't have to, you can't...
You're right, Boris.
But father told me l have to.
I can't stay on the sidelines, this is shameful.
What about you?
Can you?
I can be of more use here.
The thing is, everyone should stick to what one does best.
Well, l graduated from a marksmanship programme.
So l can be of more use over there.
And you, Borya, go. Go listen to the opera.
Lyuda, Lyuda!
Even the lights here look foreign.
Embassy of the USSR to the USA, 1942
There's war going on there, and here...
they ask me if my underwear is silk
and which brand of lipstick l use.
Lyuda, can you explain what this means?
What were you and the President's wife whispering about in English?
- Nikolai... - What have you gotten all chummy over?!
Can you explain clearly?
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
invites Ms. Pavlichenko
to stay at the White House for the duration of her visit to the USA.
And it is only Ms. Pavlichenko who got such an invitation.
Do we have any instructions for a situation like this?
No Soviet citizen has stayed at the White House ever before,
separately from a delegation.
I can just not go there.
We have to seize any available opportunity.
Important issues are being discussed at the White House
and it is better for us to have an insider there.
Indeed...
You know what, Ms. Pavlichenko?
Decide for yourself.
Next one!
Boot camp, summer of 1941
The first priority for a sniper
is to take position unnoticed.
To do this, you need to master the proper belly crawl.
- Keep your butt lower. - Lower!
Left foot, rifle, right foot.
You have to slide! slide, not climb!
Keep your hand at the sling swivel.
Keep your head lower. Faster, faster, faster.
You're killed.
Your butt way up in the air is an excellent target for the enemy.
Arm, foot. Arm...
Can't you hear me?
Foot, arm. Tight to the ground!
Sergeant major!
Here!
And how is this supposed to help you fight?
What are you laughing at?
No one here realises, as I see, that Germans took over Zhytomyr,
Riga, and are on their way to Kyivand Leningrad.
We believed that the war would be an easy one
and will bring us a quick victory. But we are retreating!
Do you understand?! We're retreating!
Suffering huge losses.
And tomorrow, you will be among these losses!
You too!
All personal effects not prescribed by the statute must be burnt.
Follow the order!
Longer strides!
Hold up, get up, soldier.
Faster.
Go!
Dig deeper!
Keep your butts lower! You, lower your butt!
Close the ranks, close ranks.
About face!
Report on the landscape changes.
One stone is gone.
The cross is gone, too.
Haystack has moved left about 15 feet.
The mound is now where the tree stump has been.
Is this all?
The stone has moved to the right... 3 feet.
Not bad. About face!
Insert the bolt.
Pick up the pace.
You're doing it wrong.
Let's go over there.
This is the correct position.
Killed.
Interesting, but ineffective.
Thorough camouflage is the mainstay of a sniper's survival.
Killed.
These flowers are from another meadow.
Comrade Major, you are dead.
And when do we start shooting?
Faster, hold it, hold it.
Close the tail gate.
One, two, three.
Pavlichenko.
Me.
Do you still want to shoot?
Yes, sir.
Are you sure?
Quite sure.
Prepare for action!
Comrade major, step a side.
Shoot.
You are a sniper, not an artillerist.
It's a nine.
Not bad for a rookie.
First five soldiers - to the firing range!
Every one must shoot off two magazines.
Good day, sir.
Take men. l'm not giving my girls away.
They still have a lot to learn.
They haven't even started shooting.
We've just received a shipment of live rounds.
All of them have been in the marksmanship programme.
That's half a year of shooting practice.
That would be a waste.
My men would be a waste, too.
Less than half of them are left.
Listen up.
There's this one girl among them...
Keep her safe, lvan.
Wait and see - she will out fight you.
Pavlichenko is the name.
Odessa, September of 1941
Listen up.
Don't let them come up close.
If you see an officer - shoot him at once.
Commander down means half a company down.
Don't squander ammo.
Any questions?
Looks like tanks, captain.
A tank can be stopped in two ways.
The first one involves
pelting it with grenades from up close.
And the second one?
The second one is
to shoot two anti-tank bullets in a row
into the vision slit of the tank.
The glass will shatter
and you can kill the mechanic with the third bullet.
Understood.
Comrade Captain,
so, give me anti-tank bullets.
Air attack!
Tanks!
Hold on, guys.
Hold the left flank.
Injured?
Where were you hit?
There's blood.
Here,
distilled alcohol.
Wait here.
For taking down a tank, Commander of the 25th Chapayev division,
Major General Petrov
personally awards
a semi-automatic SVT rifle to private Pavlichenko.
An important role
in exterminating the enemy is played by our airforce...
Company, attention!
Private Pavlichenko L. M.,
step forward!
Yes, sir!
Ha, there you are.
Pavlichenko L. M.
Does "M" stand for "Mikhaylovna"?
Has your father, Mikhail Yurievich Pavlichenko, fought in the Civil War?
Yes, sir.
Well done, Misha.
Well, if you ever need something,
you can go directly to me.
Congratulations, private Pavlichenko.
Thank you, comrade General.
Look, comrades,
this is the daughter of my brother-in-arms,
who l fought with during the Civil War.
Chaps, you should follow the example of soldiers like her.
Go ahead, say something to our fighters.
I swear
l will not spare myself in this fight against the enemy.
And I swear I'll kill a hundred fascists with this rifle.
At ease, instructor.
At ease!
Makarov!
Keep an eye on her.
If she took after her father...
Do you understand me?
Yes, sir, understood!
Any new weapon should be customised to fit your needs.
There are no two identical rifles.
Each one has its own character.
You should understand it
and treat your weapon as gently
as you'd treat your wife.
Are you married, comrade Captain?
No, I don't have anyone.
I had a wife...
At first, l was afraid of getting married.
I came back home after the Finnish War,
and l couldn't believe
that such a young and beautiful woman can be in love with me.
At the beginning of the war
l couldn't save her.
- I was late. - Lyuda!
- Masha. - Lyuda!
Masha!
Lyuda!
Masha! Ma... Mashka.
Finally, l found you.
How come...?
Lyudka.
Masha, it's you.
Lyuda, Lyuda...
l have to tell you so much.
From now on we will fight together - you, me and Grisha.
Grisha? Who's Grisha?
Have you forgotten everything?
My pilot, Grisha. My Grisha.
And he, is he your...
He will be.
White House, 1942
l'm Russian, and it's only through some kind of miracle
that l was able to leave Russia in 1928.
I have the right to say such things.
Comrade Captain, register three more.
Odessa, 1941
Draw up the certification, Captain. We are confirming it.
She killed two right away
and then had to wait for the third one.
We even made a bet.
The German lighted up a cigarette, thought nobody could see him.
That's when she made the shot.
We had to crawl.
Here you go.
See, smoking kills, indeed.
Take it away.
Lyuda, come over to the intelligence tent in the evening.
We'll surround you with warmth and care.
I already feel warm enough here.
Whatever you decide, we'll be waiting for you.
Well, Lyuda,
it looks like you are going for a medal.
Comrade Captain,
have you ever taken a good shot in the night time?
Well, all kinds of things happened.
I remember, during the Finnish war,
l went hunting.
And then l saw
a potentially interesting position.
I saw that if l took aim from that place, like this,
l could take down three with just one shot.
I went out,
waited a bit,
bam, and l did it!
But it went on record as just one kill.
Nobody believed me
because it was a single shot.
Three at once!
They need communications on the double.
The entire line has been damaged.
Filipchuk.
Yes.
Where's Pavlichenko?
She moved to the right,
changed her position.
[German] Halt!
- Pavlichenko, come here! - Damn!
Pavlichenko!
Who gave you the permission to leave your position?
Can we talk about it in a trench?
Quiet. Quiet!
Ten twenty.
Here.
Come on, atta boy.
Water.
That's it...
- Thank you [speaks in German]. - ...that's it!
Water.
Come on. Get up!
No communication.
What are you doing, you idiot?
Why?
You showed me yesterday how you took down three guys with one shot.
I would have scored seventy-three if it hadn't been for you.
You could get killed.
So could you.
Stop, right here.
Do you want to be court-martialed
for these antics?
Go to your position!
Yes, sir!
Comrade Captain,
to the right from the forest...
Does an injured one count?
Write down one more guy.
Cut it out, you idiot!
Cut it out!
It hurts.
I pulled out two more today.
Now l have twenty in total.
No, wait,
twenty-one.
Blow on it.
Twenty-one.
And I have seventy-three Fritzes.
And it could have been more
if Makar hadn't interfered.
Coming in for landing.
Ahh!
Land here all you want!
Hello, Lyuda.
God knows how much l missed you.
- Hey, Captain. - Hey.
Why are you doing the sewing-up yourself?
So many broads under your command!
You could ask.
I like it.
It helps me relax.
We received an order to launch preparations
to evacuate our troops to Crimea.
Our forces will converge at the port.
Your objective is to cover the retreat.
Here
and here.
We are withdrawing tomorrow.
But why are we surrendering Odessa to the enemy?
We could keep holding it for a while longer.
Well, the higher-ups know better.
Odessa is my hometown.
And when l imagine fascists walking around our Duke monument,
it makes me sick at heart.
Can l make a shortcut from here to the battery? Need to see Prishchepa.
Yes, you can do it.
But keep to the left.
See you.
Open the gate, no brakes on my bike.
[singing a Ukrainian folksong]
Let's have a drink.
Let's drink to Odessa,
the city which brought us...
The city where l fell in love!
To Odessa!
By the way, we ran out of fuel!
I have some.
Wait a minute.
May l?
Masha, stop! This is order!
Grisha...
l have long wanted to have a moment with you alone.
What for?
Enough, stop it.
I don't love you.
We are grown-ups.
It's a war. Death is all around us.
We can get killed tomorrow.
It hurts!
Thank you, but there is no need to rescue me so often.
You could have told me right away that you already had a man. Ouch!
I told you.
I'm sorry.
Why?
I've made a promise.
To whom?
To myself.
Let me help you.
Well, at least you're capable of this...
l can't.
Is it because of your wife?
It is because of war.
If they kill you...
Turns out you are a coward, comrade Captain.
You must believe that they won't.
Lyuda!
Can you hear me? Breathe, Lyuda. Breathe.
We'll be there soon.
Giddy up, faster.
Giddy up!
Breathe, Lyuda. Come on, breathe.
Can you hear me?
Shsh. l came on time... on time...
Makar,
l love you.
Hush-hush.
Hush.
Go to sleep.
Now everything will be okay.
Boris Leonidovich,
Polyakov has a fever. He's delirious again.
Well, change his dressing.
Boris Leonidovich, what dressing?
Of course! l beg your pardon.
Comrade army doctor,
comrade army doctor!
I have a personal request.
This soldier, Pavlichenko,
is very valuable.
Take care of her.
We take good care of everybody here.
But she is not everybody.
She's... She's special.
I know she is.
I love her as well.
For quite sometime.
Well,
then l'm at peace.
You will take good care of her.
And then it will be her choice
whom she'll stay with.
It's a pity you couldn't take adequate care of her.
White House, September of 1942
Evacuation to Sevastopol, fall of 1941
Here, take this.
Eat.
Lyuda, there's something l wanted to ask you.
Sweetie, don't be afraid,
don't be afraid, my darling, stop shaking.
It's flying over us.
Look.
I am here, Borya is here, Grisha is here.
Drink this, sweetie.
You will see Makar soon.
How are you?
I'll be back soon.
Get up!
Need to get back to my guys...
You're no longer a soldier.
Get up. You officially have a physical disability.
You are not going back to the frontline.
You don't understand. l have to!
Under these conditions, l can't fix you up.
Well, try to treat me to the extent that you can.
Treat me!
You will be invalided out of the service.
I am a doctor, not a magician!
Sevastopol Regional Defense HQ, November of 1941
Ivan Yefimovich!
Oh, hello, Lyudmila!
Can you sign my recovery card please?
Glad to see you made a come back.
You know what? Come with me.
Let's have a cup of tea.
What's wrong with your arm?
She's with me.
Turn it on.
Attention in the passageway.
Wait for me here.
We received an order from General HQ to not surrender the city
and to hold our ground at any cost.
Well, here is General Petrov.
He has just returned from the outer lines of defense
and might want to comment on this.
Please, General.
The outer line of defense now lies
13 kilometers from Sevastopol.
Thus, the city is vulnerable to German artillery fire.
We cannot push the enemy further away from the city.
And even if we could, it would stretch our line of defense
and we will not be able to hold it any longer.
How can we protect the city?
One round of shrapnel
from a battleship gun
covers an area 270 yards wide and 1000 yards deep.
The battleship "Paris Commune" alone has twelve such guns.
Their fire could suppress enemy artillery.
But I was informed that you have ordered
to send almost all the ships to the Caucasus.
I consider it necessary to turn the ships around immediately.
My task is to preserve the fleet.
And under the circumstances, l don't...
Our common task is to defend Sevastopol.
The theatre of war has long ago moved to the land.
And your incompetence or unwillingness
to learn how to fight in the field
is causing mass casualties among our sailors.
They don't want to dig trenches,
don't want to camouflage themselves or learn to crawl.
Why can't they change their uniform?
Our uniform is our pride.
Comrades, let me introduce
Sergeant Lyudmila Pavlichenko.
God has sent her our way, so to say. She's a sniper.
Now, please tell us
who has more chances to survive in the field -
me in this camo shirt
or the guy in the black tunic?
I'd kill the black tunic right away.
But l'd have to search for you some, comrade General.
There you go.
Thanks, Lyudmila.
Dyachenko,
draw up an order on changes in our uniform.
Ivan Yefimovich,
what about my note?
Well, if doctors approve you -
go and fight to your heart's content.
Are you bringing in any heavily wounded?
Handle them with care.
Please step aside.
Someone, help him find a seat.
How many free beds do we have?
Boris, l need a recovery note. Please sign.
Boris Efimovich, Sidorenko - heavy blood loss,
amputation of right and left limbs required.
Get him to the OR on the third floor immediate!y.
Zhuk - severe injury of the liver.
Zhuk?
Send him to the first hospital.
Vadim!
Where are they? Where are our guys?
Where is Makar?
Look, they are coming...
Look!
They are over there. Let's go meet them.
Lyuda!
It's so good you're here.
I made a promise to Makar.
He wanted it to be yours.
What can you do? lt's war.
You have to carry on with your life.
Carry on.
Boris!
Lyuda, where have you disappeared?
I have to return to the frontline. Sign it please.
Don't get offended, please, but...
you have not yet recovered from your concussion.
Sending you there would be murder.
I can't let myself do it.
Makarov is dead.
Have you heard me?!
I'm sorry.
Wait, Borya. Don't you get it that with this thing here...
"Fit for service. - B. Chopak"
Thank you, Borya.
Washington, White House, September of 1942
Yes.
I am your new commander.
Let's go and kill some fascists.
Masha, what a fool you are!
Sevastopol, November of 1941
Lyuda,
Lyuda, look what l have here.
I got it in exchange for alcohol.
And...
Voilá! Voilá!
The smaller one is for me,
the bigger one is for you.
Thank you.
Thank you? What kind of "thank you" is that?
"Thaaaank you." Frosty weather is coming.
I usually crawl around these stones but you will be lying still on them.
We still have to be able to give birth in the future.
So let's go together next time.
We can visit Grisha, by the way.
I can imagine how lonely he feels
after Nikolai has been shot down.
I'm sorry.
It's okay.
Have you seen your new commander? ls he handsome?
No.
Not handsome?
Haven't seen him yet.
And what if he's some old grandpa?
And if he is young - ...aah, wow-
lf he is a young man he will definitely make a pass at us.
Captain Leonid Kitsenko - your new commander.
Please have a seat at the table.
We have special objectives now:
sabotage behind enemy lines,
hunting after enemy snipers.
Are we going into the field as soon as tomorrow?
Yes.
Are we allowed to take dogtags from the dead bodies?
Lyudmila,
enjoy your meal.
Stop that.
Withdraw.
Follow me.
Stop.
Stop!
About face!
You can't do this.
We are not some fascists.
Then why didn't you let me kill him?
They don't deserve an easy death.
They killed...
lt's not about them,
it's about you.
You can't live for the sake of revenge.
The war is not only death,
it's also a certain kind of life.
If you can't think of something to live for, even in the midst of war,
you will get killed.
So let them kill me! What business is it of yours?
I don't want to lose another mate.
You two - here are your spots,
Some very dangerous heavy weapons there.
A far shot.
Listen to your heart.
Shoot between heartbeats.
Look where you should be.
Taking a picture.
Take it, Captain.
Schnaps?
Bottoms up!
To Grisha's medal.
I go like this, he goes like this.
I circle around from behind, bam!
And he'stumbling down.
They're having fun.
They are celebrating Christmas.
If you don't want to give your home
Where you lived with your mother and wife,
lf you don't want to lose your fatherland
To the fascist who came with a gun,
Know this: no one will save it all
If you don't rise to save it yourself,
Know this: no one will kill that low life
lf you don't take his life yourself.
So go kill the fascist - it's him
Who should go in the ground, not you!
It's his house, not yours, that should shake
As it mourns and waits for its dead.
So go kill at least one of them,
So go kill him, please, don't delay.
Everytime you lay eyes on him
ls the time you should make a kill.
Girl, wait. Don't go yet.
This very night,
Hitler planned
to celebrate the New Year's Eve in Sevastopol.
But thanks to our tenacity
it's us who have reasons for celebration.
This is the second time
that we have pushed the enemy away from the city walls.
Sevastopol is alive! Sevastopol will live!
Leonid,
let me introduce to you
Boris. A pre-wartime friend of mine.
Boris.
Leonid.
Listen to my order. Since we've just received a shipment of ammunition...
l hereby order the immediate liquidation
of one and a half thousand crates of champagne
to free up our tunnel warehouses.
Happy New 1942! Hooray, comrades!
Hooray!
To comrade Stalin!
Wait. Don't open it.
I'll bring glasses.
The last time Mila and l drank champagne was at my place.
Have you known each other for a long time?
I fell in love with her before the war started.
If it weren't for her, l wouldn't be here.
Do you have any regrets?
Regrets about falling in love?
Regrets about winding up in the combat zone.
No.
Then l would have to regret falling in love with her in the first place.
But here we see each other from time to time.
And you?
Do you love her?
Calm down!
Officers' whore...
Stop this!
We need to be hitting Germans, not each other's faces.
Happy New Year!
I thought this usually happened differently.
Chicago, September of 1942
Lyuda!
Pavlichenko!
What were you thinking? Are you nuts, Pavlichenko?
What's with this, calling me your agent, huh?
Sevastopol, spring of 1942
You know what? l've decided l'd have a child with Grisha, a boy.
Masha, are you out of your mind?
I want it so much... to have my own child, feel it right here.
Grisha doesn't object.
Lyuda!
I have some news for you.
What happened, Masha?
Come on, I'll tell you all about it.
[speaking Ukrainian] My father asked you, my mother asked you,
and now l, too, am asking you to come to our wedding tomorrow.
Come where?
[ln Russian:] "Where?" To our wedding! [ln Ukrainian:] Wedding.
We'll celebrate and be merry.
Come on. Don't be afraid.
Uncle Lyonya, aunt Lyuda.
And how many have you killed today?
Two.
Not bad.
That's too little.
Aunt Lyuda, look!
Wow, excellent.
See, l can already do it.
- Can you teach me how to shoot a rifle? - Me, too! Me, too!
Fine, l will, but not now. For now, practice with your slingshot.
Let's play. Bagsy l'll be Aunt Lyuda.
And I will be Kitsenko!
No, me! No, me!
Watch out!
Make way! Make way!
You're late.
I'm sorry.
I've invited you to a wedding, but, turns out, this is a funeral banquet.
They killed Grisha.
Let's drink to his memory.
To his memory.
I have no regrets.
We had doubts; it's war, each of us could be killed.
But we decided that together,
it's not so scary.
Being together is better.
Lyuda,
we have to love.
We have to be merry.
Lyonya,
l want to have a son.
Wasn't it you who told me
that war was also a kind of life?
Yes!
Chicago, September of 1942
Pavlichenko,
what's with all the masquerade?
Fix yourself up immediately!
Let them see that l'm a woman.
You are not a woman.
You are a Soviet soldier.
Remember that.
You get out in front of them:
Stalin, common enemy, Second Front.
No ad libbing.
Got it?
Yes, sir.
I can't take it any more.
Sevastopol, summer of 1942
Lyuda.
Lyuda, l...
Help!
Lyonya, Lyonya...
Help!
Lyonya!
Lyonya.
Help!
Lyonya! Lyonechka!..
Lyonya... Lyonya...
Lyonya!
Lyonya, where is Lyonya?
Lyuda, Lyuda, calm down.
Lyonya is dead.
Calm down, do you hear me? Enough. l feel guilty before you as it is.
The war is over for you,
you are invalided out of the army and not fit for service.
Excuse me, whom are you going to invalid?
Pavlichenko is not just a soldier any more.
With this, she's become a symbol.
And no one invalids a symbol.
Leave the hospital right now!
Do you want to be court-martialed?
Come on.
It is not a resort for pre-wartime girl friends.
Have you read this?
The Germans announced her death.
The third assault wave is coming
and my guys are going to battle with her name on their lips.
I will complain to General Petrov.
That's his order - to fix her up.
We need her. Get it?
Lift your arms.
Let me do it.
Can you lift them higher?
She doesn't look very heroic.
Smile!
Keep your head up!
Cheer up!
Comrade Commissar.
Pavlichenko? Come on in.
Check this out -
one of the best German snipers,
Otto von Singer.
He came here for you.
They finally believed that you're alive.
Our photo worked.
According to our intel,
his past positions have been found in this quadrant.
I can't do it, comrade Commissar.
Lyuda, stop this!
Do you understand how important this duel is?
He is the best sniper, and l'm no longer one.
Here's a medical certificate from army doctor Chopak.
I am unfit for military service. This is it!
Do you understand how many of your brothers-in-arms this Singerwill kill?
I just can't.
You must do it. Not for me, but for yourself.
I can't.
For Lyonya Kitsenko.
Okay,
okay.
I need to see Major General.
Comrade Major General!
What do you want?
You must immediately evacuate staff sergeant Pavlichenko!
And not the others?
We are preparing the evacuation of archives and documents at the moment.
As to people, l have the right to evacuate only party officials
and valuable experts.
I have an order to follow.
Hundreds of killed Germans.
Four battle injuries. Concussion.
She's a woman, for God's sake!
After all of this, she isn't valuable?
Doesn't she deserve this?
Evacuation license
Lyuda, hold on!
Let us through!
I'm a doctor!
I have the right!
I'm a party official!
- Lyuda, l'll be right back. - Stay away!
Stay here!
Captain, l have an evac license.
Get back here!
Hands off!
Lyuda! Lyuda!
Let me through!
Stop the panic stampede!
Borya, wait.
Such a wonderful smell.
It smells like Odessa.
Like back then, when you showed up at the beach
and said that you had to see me in a swimsuit.
Sonya, stuffed fish, La Traviata, your parents'
your family ring,
the archive, old Mendel.
Wait, do you remember the ring?
I always knew that one day, l will definitely give it to you.
You know,
we could have five kids.
Wow, five! Borya...
And Sonya could teach you how to cook.
Wait, l already know how to make dumplings.
Excellent! We would all gather at the large table.
Yes, every day.
Except for the nights when we would go to the opera.
No, Borya.
I don't like opera. Movies are better.
Faster. lt's almost day break.
Careful there!
Lyuda, take the briefcase. lt has all the first-necessity items. Take it.
Borya, and what about you?
Captain, the submarine is ready to dive.
I will come with the next motorship.
I'm an Odessa Jew. l'll most definitely find my way out.
Borya...
Prepare for emergency dive!
Wait.
No!
Borya! Boris!
Cast off the lines.
Pull in the ramp.
Hold on. Wait.
- Cast off the lines. - l don't want to go!
Borya!
Hard a-port.
Chicago, September of 1942
Moscow, 1957