Original subtitles

Polish Television presents

FOUR TANK-MEN AND A DOG

CROSS - ROADS.

Based on a novel by:

Photography:

Directed by:

Katia.

No.

Tamara. Tamara, I love you.

Oh you crazy cossack...

you ought to get busy with the trucks and forget about the women.

Fetch!

Szarik, come.

Who's going to leave first?

You, me, you, me...

Stop!

- Can you take someone to Kolobrzeg? - Where to?

- Kolobrzeg. - No, we're going due west.

That's OK. "Flame!"

It's letter from me.

I sent it from the hospital and it followed you there.

I took it with me. I wanted you to read it...

after I recuperated.

No. You know.

Oh, this is from me. For you.

Go ahead, don't be shy. Kiss your girl.

In wartime, what you capture, you keep.

The hero chickened out.

You' re not exactly brave. Go ahead and kiss her.

Some hero.

Chickened out.

Take care of yourselves.

Say hello to Olgierd and Rudy.

"If it weren't wartime and if it was a custom in Poland...

I'd dance in front of you.

And if you wanted to kiss me I wouldn't say no.

I'd never say this straight to your face.

But letters are always bolder.

Besides, we'll probably never see each other again.

May your tank and my thoughts keep you safe.

Marusia Aganiok."

Janek!

Look sharp, this one could be useful.

- We are from Military Political Dept. - Let's see your IDs.

We'll never fit in that dog kennel.

I can't force them to take you.

Work something out yourselves.

What's going on? Help!

Get that bandit!

- Dog's aren't allowed inside. - We're going to Kolobrzeg.

Get him before I start shooting.

He'll kill my little Kroszka. Iwan, help!

Get in.

Be well.

Don't forget Tamarka!

Lwan.

Get out!

Kroszka, shame on you. You don't even know him well.

Szarik! Don't embarrass us.

Kroszka, get over here. Don't be afraid.

Do you always storm into other people's houses.

Platoon leader Jelen reporting three soldiers ready for duty.

Get out!

- I'll have you court - martialled. - What for?

Assault.

Did you hear what I said?

Fine, we can get off.

But not without my cap. It belongs to the state now.

Forget it lwan. Let them stay.

You're too soft - hearted Natasza.

If we start picking up passengers at every cross - roads...

- Where are you going? - Kolobrzeg.

So are we.

Invite our guests into the living room, Natasza.

Quite a menagerie you've got. Any elephants?

No. We're a circus working the front line circuit.

We're going to do a show for the armoured division.

Here's the living room, there's the bedroom.

We fixed it up ourselves from a captured truck.

Please sit down.

It's beautiful. Just like home.

Grigorij Szakaszfili.

Sit down at the table Grigorij...

Grigorij Grigoriewicz.

Have a seat, we were just having some tea.

Drinking tea means a long life.

You've got yourselves a new clown.

Sic the old man, Szarik.

- He won't hurt Kroszka, will he? - Szarik? Never.

There you Kroszka.

It's on attack!

- What about you? - You call that driving?

Oh oh, it's the brass.

Oh Marusia!

Come here.

Are you all right?

Good bye.

Where to? Aren't you going to Berlin?

No. Gdansk still has to be liberated.

- Too bad it's not Kolobrzeg. - Why?

- What difference does it make? - It makes a lot of difference.

No, it's not ours. Ours is in action with Olgierd.

No, it's not ours.

Scrap iron.

Shall we give it a try?

Why not?

All together now.

Don't hurt yourself.

A little bit more.

More.

Hold it.

- Higher. - All right.

Someone's running over there.

Look.

- Szarik's flushed someone. - Look!

Oh shit, Germans! Szarik.

Take cover. In the ditch.

Get the rifles Natasza.

What a stupid broad. Hurry up, will you.

Kroszka!

Leave it!

Wait.

First platoon spread out on the right side of the road.

First platoon is in place.

- Second platoon! - Second platoon ready!

To the left, double time!

- Machine guns! - Machine guns loaded and ready!

Forward!

Down!

Mortars, sight - in at 200!

Sights set at 200.

Attack from the forest!

Attacking from the forest!

There half a company lieutenant. They've got machine guns.

Forward.

Fire!

Move on.

March.

Fire!

You just wait.

Don't shoot. Hitler is finished.

We surrender.

Olgierd is just a few kilometres away while we...

OK, OK.

- Was it rough? - What do you mean?

Was it rough in Kolobrzeg?

Sure, we had to take it house by house.

Were tanks involved?

A people's artist.

Natasza, the star of the armoured divisions.

- Hey, were there T - 34s? - Are you nuts?

Just the heavy stuff from the 4 regiment and the brigade went to Gdansk.

- Where? - To Gdansk.

Natasza Skopcewa will now sing "The Wireless Operators" in Polish.

@slant 10 It's me, it's me, it's me,

hear me calling you, I'm the birch tree.

The wind has torn my leaves,

and behind me a firestorm is raging.

Days and nights of distress I await your caress...

come to me, let it be.

Days and nights of distress I await your caress...

come to me, come to me, comfort me.

It's me, it's me, it's me,

I'm the flame calling you can you hear me?

Spark of storms, stuff of stars,

fear not dear, take my hand.

Flickering, comfortless I await your caress...

come to me, let it be.

Flickering, comfortless I await your caress...

come to me, come to me, comfort me.

It's me, it's me, it's me,

I'm the meadow now can you hear me?

A world of green grass parks,

clouds above and the songs of skylarks.

Trembling grass in distress I await your caress...

come to me, let it be.

Trembling grass in distress lawait your caress...

come to me, come to me, comfort me.

@slant 0 Great, eh?

The Soviet army and our brigade left already.

That's all folks, we're leaving.

Pack your stuff, we're going to Gdansk.

Are you crazy?

That's where your army and our brigade are right now.

- We'll go after we finish. - You call yourself a soldier?

March straight to the army, that's an order.

What are you doing? Kroszka will catch cold.

So what?

Let me have that.

Help me, hurry up.

- Natasza, we're going. - Faster, faster.

Move!

We'll take turns driving. We should be there in 2 days.

Olgierd will sure be surprised. He's our lieutenant.

Your wish came true Janek.

I'm from Gdansk.

I lived here before the war.

Now I understand everything.

Afraid there won't be any war left for you?

Crew, into the tank!

All right, sleep then.

- What is it? - Gustlik.

Don't give up.

- Pretty, isn't it? - Beautiful!

You've got to come visit us after the war.

It's warm and beautiful. The whole crew, of course.

Is your commander also this nice?

Commander... well, to tell you the truth...

- Isn't that right, Janek? - He's the best of all of us.

Hey boys!

Look, there's "Red".

- What's the matter? - Where?

Excuse me, but that's our "Red". I mean our tank, "Flame".

Our tank.

Boys, what did you see? Natasza, who's this "Red"?

Hey boys wait, where to?

What the hell?

- Boys! - What is it?

That's Kos, Jelen and that Georgian of theirs.

"Red".

Cold. Hasn't seen action lately.

Boys!

Forget that piece ofjunk. You'll get a new tank.

Now we've got new machines with 85 mm cannons.

Awesome! Fresh from the factory.

Tanks like you've never seen.

Why is "Red" standing here?

It's got a hole in it the size of your fist on the other side.

They hit the engine and it can't be fixed.

- The engine's shot. - Has Olgierd gone to get a new one?

Forget it.

Forget it boys, it's justjunk now.

I can give you a lift to the brigade.

We'll install the new engine Olgierd brings and...

show you what she can do.

Actually, they sent us here to remove the radio,

sights ammunition, tools and whatever else we could.

Our boys reached Gdynia a couple of days ago.

Only Oksywie is still being defended by the Germans.

The end is near, understand?

Olgierd has gone for a new engine, hasn't he?

I thought you knew.

We took Wejherowo easily, with hardly any losses.

It was here that we drove into an ambush of anti - tank fire.

Yes, and...

And your tank took a hit. The engine burst into flames.

Lieutenant Jarosz jumped out with the fire extinguisher.

He put out the fire but was cut down by machine gun fire.

- He was their commander. - I know.

Say goodbye to the boys for us.

It's our time now.

Citizen colonel, platoon sergeant Kos reporting for duty.

- Are all of you here? - Just three of us and the dog.

Yes, I know.

As is customary...

the lieutenant's things are turned over to the crew.

He left no family address.

I didn't even have time to award him this medal.

For the attack and capture of Miroslawiec.

The orders came the day before he was killed.

Just a moment.

We're going to attack Oksywie.

There isn't much left of the brigade after the recent fighting.

You'll get a new tank.

Citizen colonel, we'd prefer to use "Red".

The engine's destroyed and the tank's dismantled.

No, it's not.

The radio is fine, all it needs is a new engine and...

we have to have "Red".

But why?

Read it.

"Dear buddies...

I hope you are healthy and that you can come as quickly as possible.

I want "Red" to reach the sea.

We're heading towards your home Janek...

the place where it all started.

I can't wait to see you again and to command the tank.

The order I most want to give is "Out of the tank"...

knowing it will the last order I give during this war.

It'll be sunny tomorrow.

The temperature should be 8 degrees with increasing cloudiness."

We could take an engine out of another damaged tank.

But the mud is terrible, not even a tractor will make it.

We'll do it.

- OK... And the radio? - All set.

Once you're ready to move report in on the frequency of 74 metres.

- Yes sir. - Soldier, come here.

Where's that machine of yours?

Here.

You're not driving through any mud. You wouldn't get there by tomorrow.

Now go and wait where you're supposed to be.

If you finish before dawn, you'll be able to join the fighting.

Yes sir!

I understand everything.

- Shall I call in the partisan? - Yes, get him in here.

Bring me West.

Lieutenant West.

Good morning...

what do you know about "Bunker B"?

Bunker B?

It was built two years ago as a defence against airborne forces.

Right here. On the coast, located on a hill.

It's the main defensive position of the German line.

Minefields all around, the only access is from the sea.

Of course.

I have a specialist at getting behind enemy lines in my division.

If we don't take the bunker at night, we'll have to destroy it...

with heavy artillery fire.

Citizen general. I could...

That's not yourjob.

You don't know the way through the minefields.

Don't you trust me?

If you want to, you can help. There's a stranded tank here.

The sooner they get a new engine, the better.

You can show them the way. It's a mess now...

our troops here, Germans there. Hard to tell who's where.

Every machine is worth it's weight in gold to us right now.

My men will take care of that bunker.

Szarik!

Where do you think you're going?

This way.

Camouflage it! Hurry up.

Here they come.

Take him.

Wake up angel, we're in paradise.

Get up!

Hands up!

Move it!

Pole?

Yes.

Speak German?

Yes.

He had this on him.

Translate this.

Don't know russian, eh?

Translate it.

I'll give one minute.

Sic him Szarik!

What's going on?

Want to swap?

Come on, let's swap.

All right, swap.

Let's go.

It's a good machine.

Want to swap?

OK, I'll swap.

It's a good machine.

Let's swap.

- No. - Come on, let's swap.

All right, I'll swap.

What the hell! Have you gone nuts from boredom?

Not boredom, but hunger.

And everything's backwards.

The front's to the east and there's a peaceful town to the west.

How'd it go?

Will they give it?

Yes, they will.

I hope you brought some food with you.

They didn't offer me any dumplings.

Don't get upset.

Where's Szarik?

I don't know.

I was captured by the SS.

Szarik saved me but then disappeared.

I had to run, there were five of them.

Maybe he ran into a mine.

That's impossible.

Look, here comes somebody.

I'll ask him where we can buy some food around here.

Hello. I see you're here in my field.

Hello. War isn't selective.

We won't trample much.

You think I care about the grain? I know it's war.

What's left will grow anew.

I see you've been here all day without food.

So I brought you some.

We were ready to go to town...

to buy something to eat.

We're waiting here for a new engine.

Money won't buy you anything in town.

And waiting gets lonely.

We waited for you for five and a half years.

How we longed to see you.

West didn'tjoin us until the winter of 1941...

the same time our Kaszubian "Griffin" was formed.

Then things started happening.

A policeman would disappear.

A sentry's post would burn down or a bridge would blow up.

How was it when our boys got here? We just got out of the hospital.

How was it? It was great.

Your tanks took the city quickly.

But this poor guy stayed here.

Lieutenant Olgierd Jarosz. He was our commander.

Have to remember that name because we'll have to repaint it someday...

and tell the children about him.

Where was he from?

Russia.

The last name sounds Polish.

Because he was a Pole.

His grandfather was a political prisoner exiled by the czar.

Olgierd was returning to Poland.

Is West a pole? It's a strange name.

He's a Pole but the partisans called him West.

What's his real name?

I don't know and there's no need to ask.

I wouldn't tell you even if I knew.

It's a partisan thing.

It's his business. He'll tell us if he wants to.

What is it, don't you like my split pea soup?

He's been with us throughout the war.

He's late for dinner today.

He'll be hungry when he gets here.