Original subtitles

A Lenfilm Studios Production, USSR

with the assistance of the Union Of Soviet Film-Makers

THE LONELY VOlCE OF MAN

based on works by Andrei Platonov

Screenplay by Yuri Arabov

Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov

Director of Photography Sergei Yurizditsky

Consultants:

Livia Zvonnikova & Maria Platonova

So what happened to the capitalists and officers?

Have they all been shot or are there a few left?

Practically none left.

A whole class destroyed!

l see. That's a huge job.

The capitalists were no good, anyway.

Quite useless.

Just a big waste.

Go to sleep.

Good morning. You don't remember me?

l haven't forgotten you.

l'm glad. What's the point in forgetting?

Where are you going, Lyuba?

Home. l'm all alone now.

My mother died 6 months ago.

l'm a student at the Medical Academy.

These shoes are too tight.

When there was no food, my brother ate with the solders.

Then the Red Army went south, and he left with them.

He got used to their gruel, and we had none at home.

He'll be fine.

You may stay and l'll sleep.

l'm very hungry and l don't want to think about food.

Thank you.

No more. l'm quite full.

Why don't you marry the old woman, Dad?

l want to visit often.

lt won't do, Nikita.

They've got those fine old armchairs.

A carved cupboard.

lt won't do. l'm not educated.

What would she and l talk about?

-- Lyuba! --

Don't shout so. She's asleep.

And who are you?

This is Zhenya. Did you get that histiology textbook?

Get it? They just put me on the waiting list.

Well, l'll memorise a chapter and then recite it to you.

That sounds fine. This is for you.

Bye now.

l'd better be going.

You won't forget me now?

You won't forget me?

No. l've got nobody else to remember.

Nikita, take me with you.

l won't say anything, l'll just look.

Some other time, Dad.

lt must be something extraordinary.

Hello. How are you?

Oh, we're fine. l mean my father and l.

l've brought you some food. Please eat it.

Thank you, l will. Do sit down.

You won't go to sleep now?

No, l'll have had dinner. l'll be full.

Thank you, l've had enough.

She's got relapsing fever. She's going to die.

And where's Zhenya?

Too bad...

Shall l sweep the floor?

You might as well.

You're not doing it right.

The sides are uneven.

Her belly will be sticking out.

The lid won't fit.

She didn't have a belly. She was young.

Thank God you didn't have time to make it.

l never saw her.

What do you mean?

Where did you go every night if not to see her?

lt's her friend.

What? A friend?

To hell with the friend!

Let me do the sides for you.

A friend! Why should you bother?

-- Here. --

Zhenya's dead. What shall l do?

l'm going to live with you.

What will you do?

We'll just live together, the way people do,

and your pain will go.

Let's wait a while, there's no hurry.

-- Nikita! --

Were you at all wounded in the war?

-- No. --

You've got a fever.

Just stay in bed for now.

You'll get better, if that's the Lord's will.

You won't die unless He wants you to.

You were in the war and didn't even get wounded!

l've been looking for you four days!

l had trouble finding your house.

What's wrong?

Where does it hurt?

lt must be the flu. l'll look after you.

And even if it's typhus, you'll be alright.

You went to a medical school, you should know.

Am l going to die?

You'll get better.

People die because they're lonely and no one loves them.

You've got me.

Get the money ready. lt's 2 rubles.

-- Here. --

-- l've got no change. -- No change?

You're the first this morning.

l've already stamped his passport,

but not yours.

What shall we do?

Wait till someone dies.

l'll issue a certificate and you'll get your change.

We can't wait.

Give us back our money. lt's all we have.

Very well. l trust you.

Pay me later.

Now you are man and wife.

Nikita Firsov and Lyubov Kuznetsova.

-- Let's go. -- Can we go now?

You're funny.

We've got to eat first...

Sit down.

Go ahead, eat.

Wait. My heart's beating too hard.

Shall l light the stove?

No, l'm through studying.

And it's our wedding day.

Don't...

Cheer up. Everything'll come right yet.

We'll be fine.

Did you have a secret wedding?

Or did you do it Soviet style?

There'll be time for a wedding.

Let's make a little table and a chair.

We may have kids soon.

Let's do it just in case.

What're you talkin about, a foundling?

The Revolution is here to stay. lt's a good time to have kids.

They'll never be unhappy.

But it's me - not you - who'll have to bear them.

lf it's so much pain, don't do it.

Oh, l think l'll put up with it.

Respectfully

for Luka and Pelageya Zotov,

November 19, 1902

You should know...

...if l'm going to die.

Are you sure you want to do it?

There's nothing there.

Just a tight place.

No. Death isn't a tight place. Who gave you that idea?

Frankly, l don't believe it exists at all.

Then why're you doing it?

lt's the wrong season too, the water's icy cold.

l'm not going in for a swim, am l?

l want to experience death.

l've always wondered - What's out there? Where is it?

lt's enough to drive one crazy.

There's nothing out there, just blackness.

Or maybe it's just like here.

That would be rotten.

lt's bad enough here. lf it's the same over there -

No, it can't be.

lf it was bad over there,

people wouldn't die. A man seeks better pastures.

That's true.

Will a man do himself ill? Never!

So why does nobody refuse to die?

l think dying is like moving house.

Only the place one goes to is not under the sky.

lt's like the bottom of a cool river.

Much nicer, l think,

than living in a village on the bank.

Well, you can always try.

Tell me afterwards.

Now do it.

Don't hustle me.

lt's a serious business.

Well, l just thought of something.

The fish floats between life and death....

That's why it's dumb. And its eyes are without expression.

Even a calf understands, but not a fish...

The fish is a sacred being.

lt knows the secret of death. Right?

Bless you, saintly man.

Tie up my feet, lest l swim.

All right.

But don't blame me later.

l won't.

Let's get it over with.

Dmitry lvanovich!

Answer me!

Hey, don't lock up yet!

Or do they steal things from here?

-- Nikita? --

l came here for some cereal. lt's cheaper here.

But the market's already closed.

l guess l'll stay the night and get some in the morning.

And why're you here?

No particular reason. ls Lyuba alive?

She threw herself into the river.

A fisherman pulled her out.

They got to work on her at once.

She was in hospital for a while.

ls she alive now?

She hasn't died.

She often bleeds from the mouth, though.

Must've caught a bad cold when she was drowning.

She chose a bad time. The water was icy.

Do you have a place to sleep?

You may lie on the sack. l'll sleep on the ground.

Why did she do it?

She roamed up and down the bank for a month.

She thought you'd drowned and your body would rise.

She missed you badly.

And you've been living here....

lt's sad...

l'll go and look her up.

...We'll talk tomorrow.

Lyuba! lt's me.

You're not in pain?

No, l don't feel anything.

Are you all right now? You're not sorry?

l'm fine.

l'm used to being happy with you.

THE LONELY VOlCE OF MAN

TATYANA GORYACHEVA as Lyuba

ANDREl GRADOV as Nikita

V. DEGTYAREV as Nikita's father

L. YAKOVLEVA as Lyuba's mother

N. KOCHEGAROV as the registry clerk

S. SHUKAlLO as the young monk

V. GLAD YSHEV as the fisherman

l. NEGANOV as the market watchman

The music of Penderecki, Nussio and Burdov

was heard in the film

Sound Recordist l. Zhuravleva

Production Designers V. Lebedev, L. Lochmele

To the memory of ANDREl TARKOVSKY

this film is gratefully dedicated.