Original subtitles

PIROSMANI

Written by

ErIom AKHVLEDIANI Georgy SHENGELAYA

Directed by Georgy SHENGELAYA

Director of Photography K. APRYATIN

Production Designers A. VARAZI, V. ARABIDZE

Music by V. KUKHIANIDZE

EngIish SubtitIes by T. Kameneva

Starring AvtandiI VARAZI

AIso starring David ABASHIDZE

Zurab KAPIANIDZE Teimuraz BERIDZE

Boris TSIPURIA Shota DAUSHVILI

Maria GVARAMADZE Nino SETURIDZE

RozaIia MINCHIN Guivi ALEKSANDRIA

AIexander REKHVIASHVILI Amir KAKABADZE

GEORGIA-FILM Studio

Now when they drew near JerusaIem,

and came to the Mount of OIives,

then Jesus sent two discipIes, saying to them,

" Go into the viIIage opposite you,

and immediateIy you wiII find a donkey tied,

and a coIt with her.

Loose them and bring them to Me.

And if anyone says anything to you,

you shaII say,

'T he Lord has need of them.'''

So the discipIes went and did

as Jesus commanded them.

They brought the donkey and the coIt,

Iaid their cIothes on them,

and set Him on them.

And when He had come into JerusaIem,

aII the city was moved,

saying, " Who is this?''

For ten years we were growing up together.

I Ioved him Iike a brother.

I taught him to read and write.

And he wrote a Iove Ietter to me.

He tried to kiss me.

Is this the right thing to do?

He knew he mustn't do it.

Why?

He himseIf destroyed our friendship.

So you're Ieaving, NikoIo?

Yes, ma'am, I can't sit at home any Ionger.

And where are you going, my son?

To the city, ma'am.

You'd better go to the viIIage, instead of the city, NikoIo.

You have a sister there. You couId manage the farm.

I'm no good at farming, ma'am.

Before she died, your mother asked us to Iook after you.

Aren't you happy here?

I got to go to the city, ma'am.

WeII, if you've made up your mind, go then.

May the Saint George protect you.

HeIIo. CaII the innkeeper.

AII right.

ShaIva.

HeIIo.

HeIIo, heIIo.

PIease, come on in.

You haven't visited us for quite a whiIe.

You're right.

PIease, be seated.

This is a painter, he's my friend. He came from a faraway country.

So don't disappoint us.

I'II do my best.

Hurry up.

To your repast. May the Lord send you aII the best.

What is this?

It's a giraffe.

The giraffe has died.

He couIdn't survive in TifIis' cIimate.

Who painted it?

NikoIo, the waII painter.

Don't you know him? Everybody knows him here.

He's taII and skinny Iike a dried fish.

It's him who's painted up aII TifIis taverns.

- Where's he now? - I can't teII.

Haven't seen him for a Iong time.

I'm not even sure if he's stiII aIive. Maybe he's aIready dead.

He had many friends in Sands, go and taIk to them.

They'II teII you where and how he is.

Niko had his own shop once.

But a man's Iife is Iike a smaII boat in the sea,

it goes whichever way the wind bIows.

Do you have more of his pictures?

Of course I have.

How are you, dear?

Oh, NikoIo!

When did you arrive?

C'mon, show me my goddaughter.

Sona.

A reaI angeI. She didn't Iet her godfather down.

- And where's Dimitri? - He'II be here any minute.

Your Dimitri is cheating on you.

He's got a mistress. It's the taIk of the town.

Who wiII ever want him? I'II go put the samovar on.

I was kidding, dear, don't bear a grudge.

- You know who I am? - My godfather.

HeIIo, NikoIo.

HeIIo, Dimitri.

You've come for Iong?

I came to see you. I need your advice.

- Are you going to get married? - Who wouId want me?

What is it, then?

I've been on wheeIs for 3 years now.

I got tired of the rumbIe of the train.

It's much nicer to hear the Iocomotive's whistIe from afar.

I've saved a IittIe money.

You're my kin. I'm your Sona's godfather.

I got no one cIoser than you in this town.

Let's open a shop and seII goods.

Life wiII be easier for you, too.

And I'II become somebody.

- Where wiII we get the money? - I said I got some money.

We'II get rich

and I'II buiId myseIf a wooden house,

up on the hiII, with a good view of the town.

I'II buy a big samovar.

You'II come to visit.

We'II be drinking tea and recaIIing those times.

What eIse does a man need?

What is this for?

Why? It's them who give us cheese, miIk and butter.

PeopIe wiII say, " Niko and Dimitri have cows painted on their shop.''

And they wiII come more often.

- Did you paint it? - Yes, me.

Give me time and I'II paint for you reindeer with big beautifuI antIers.

Here comes our first customer.

A head of cheese, butter, yogurt and honey in combs.

Eighty kopecks.

Goodbye. Take care.

- You know who's that man? - No, I don't.

He's Prince MagashviIi's cook.

The miIk is pouring out, Niko.

Just a minute.

Wait! Wait!

Whose grass is this?

SeII it to me.

What do you need it for?

I haven't been to the viIIage for so Iong, dear.

I'II spread it and Iie down on it. It'II feeI pIeasant.

This way we'II get no profit.

Don't you urge me on, dear. I'm seIIing as I can.

What do you want? I guess you want it on credit again?

NikoIo, you're a kind man.

My son is coming tomorrow, he'II pay you up.

So come tomorrow. He'II be seIIing tomorrow.

Get up, NikoIo. Wake up.

How can you sIeep on damp dirt?

Get up, NikoIo, your sister's here to see you.

How did you find me?

We were asking peopIe about you. And they sent us here.

So they know where my shop is.

They sure do. Everybody in town knows you.

I haven't seen you for ages. How are you?

Are the chiIdren aII right?

So far they are, thank God.

But we Iive in want and darkness, sIaving away.

You're gIad we came, aren't you?

Of course I am.

I brought a IittIe of my own wine.

But nothing more, I'm sorry. We had a bad harvest this year.

Wait, I'II be right back.

My brother must've got rich. See what a business he has?

Yes.

Why don't you teII your brother

to buy some fIour for us here?

I'II seII it in the viIIage.

We'II profit, and he won't be at a Ioss.

We were taIking about you.

How matured you've got, so efficient.

And what did you think?

But you don't ask why we came here.

Rich or poor, you're stiII my brother.

I'm your sister, your own fIesh and bIood.

What concerns you, concerns me, too.

That's right.

Money isn't everything, you have to Ieave something to remember you by.

I don't get what you're driving at.

Man's Iife is as short as a donkey's taiI. Your time has come.

What time?

Time for you to get married.

Any girI wiII be happy to marry you.

OnIy don't take some city poseur.

A wife shouId be modest and obIiging,

and she must come from your home viIIage.

We happen to know such a girI.

You'II never Iose her in bed.

They're coming! Coming!

They're bringing the bride!

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

WeIcome.

Be seated.

This gIass we'II drink to the dove

sitting on a branch and cooing.

And the second gIass I shaII drink to the pigeon

that the wind carries to and fro, and then Iands him next to that dove.

I'm going to kiII my brother-in-Iaw!

I'II cut his throat with this dagger!

Why are you yeIIing? What happened?

Take the dagger away.

My reIatives have deceived me. They've squandered aII my fIour.

They taIked me into getting married,

they brought me a bride you'd be frightened to Iook at.

Your reIatives deceived you? It serves you right.

That's how it turns out.

It means I couIdn't come to terms with your mercenary worId.

Then I don't need you, either! Go away, my dear!

Good morning, Niko.

What wouId you Iike, mister cook?

A head of cheese.

A pot of butter.

And honey in combs.

- How much do I owe you? - Five rubIes.

I used to pay 80 kopecks for this.

And now it's Iike this.

Everything's different here now.

If you agree, put the money on the counter.

If not, the door of my shop is aIways open.

You can go out as you came in.

HeIIo, NikoIo. Where have you been?

Tomorrow my son is coming, and he'II pay you up for everything.

Maybe something happened to him, he hasn't been coming for so Iong?

Maybe you know something, NikoIo?

Don't be shy, mother, take whatever you want.

Your son wiII come soon.

Come in, take everything.

Give me your hand, I'II pour you some. You Iove honey, don't you?

You've cIosed your shop?

Yes, I have.

WiII you seII me your pictures?

Why not?

- How much do you want for them? - As much as you can give.

You said you know

where the graves of Queen Tamar and RustaveIi are?

OnIy don't teII anyone about it.

Or some impious man may Iearn it

and defiIe the hoIy pIaces.

My grandfather showed me a rock. That rock has a crevice.

If you manage to go through it, you'II see a vaIIey with an everIasting day,

where the sun never sets.

That's where their graves are.

Let's go now and find those graves.

It's nighttime, NikoIo. Where shaII we go?

Let's drink to those who've been wronged by Iife,

to the unfortunate,

to widows and orphans, to the wretched,

to everybody who's suffering in this worId.

May the Lord heIp them.

To justice, honor and humanity.

What? You Iike our Niko's pictures?

Very much.

I wouId buy this one if you agree to seII.

But we wouId Iike to see the painter himseIf

and heIp him.

Don't offer Niko money.

He used to have some, but he didn't vaIue it.

He won't take it anyway, too proud. For this, he's been nicknamed Count.

Do you know where he may be now?

I don't know what to say... He's wandering about the city.

Nobody knows what wind is carrying him.

Food wiII do no good to a Ione man.

Don't get bitter at the reverses of fortune.

Join us, Iet's drink together.

BIess our tabIe, good man.

Or at Ieast curse us.

What are you grieving about? What worm is eating out your heart?

Share it with us. We're human, too.

Maybe we'II understand you.

It's hard to go through a Iife aIone.

To your wonderfuI company.

Do you want me to paint something?

It's good you dropped by. Paint something.

And I'II hang it on this chipped waII.

- Like this? - Yes, Iike this.

- You want the wineskin here? - Yes, the wineskin.

ShaII I Ieave the cart?

Leave it.

Where shaII I put this barreI?

The barreI? Over there.

I toId you to make the buIIs red.

So you want red buIIs?

You know what?

You don't know anything about this.

Go behind your counter and seII.

Good afternoon.

Niko, enough of hanging about the streets.

Come to work for me.

I'II pay you, I'II give you a room and cIothes.

Once a week you can go to the bathhouse.

And put the money in your moneybox.

When you're done with your work and have free time,

you may paint as much as you wish, I won't mind.

I can't Iive in shackIes.

Show us what you've done.

You've come, NikoIo?

I worked a Iot.

I need a rest now.

What are you thinking about, NikoIo?

Have a drink, and that'II be it.

How much vodka am I supposed to drink in this Iife?

ShaII I drink it sIower and be sIaving Ionger,

or drink it aII in one take and thus bring my end cIoser?

I can't decide what's better.

Drink up, Niko.

Drink and don't think about it.

Our whoIe Iife is a motIey river.

One ought to go in step with it,

uphiII or downhiII.

Otherwise you won't endure its adversities.

I understand aII this.

But I can't Iive Iike other peopIe do.

I got stuck in the throat of this cursed Iife.

It won't swaIIow me, nor Iet me go.

Why don't you get married?

Your wife wiII be Iooking after you, you'II have chiIdren.

And you'II Ieave a trace in Iife.

Why don't you want to get married?

No. No.

I won't be abIe to stand a baby's crying.

I don't want either a wife or chiIdren.

I'II go and take a waIk in the garden.

Pour me some vodka. I'm choking.

These are the best paintings of our Niko.

For these princes

who are drinking, one couId easiIy pay

thirty rubIes.

And this is the actress Margarita.

The woman NikoIo was in Iove with.

What? They don't Iike our Niko's pictures?

They must be thinking that they can paint better.

What's the matter? Why are you yeIIing?

Let them get out of here!

Vano.

This is Vano!

Vano, what's the matter with you? CaIm down.

Let go of me!

They've got the whoIe worId snared in their cobweb.

What's the matter, Vano? Did anybody hurt you?

Leave me aIone, for God's sake!

HeIIo.

HeIIo.

Are you Niko PirosmanashviIi?

Yes, it's me.

We've been Iooking for you, we've gone through the whoIe town.

We're artists, too.

We admire your work.

You've done so much in aII this time.

Do you know that you're a great painter?

Soon many wiII know your name.

Niko PirosmanashviIi.

Yes, Niko PirosmanashviIi.

Listen, Iet's go Iook for the graves of Queen Tamar and Shota.

ShaII we?

Of course we shaII, NikoIo.

Do you remember where that crevice in the rock is?

Yes, of course I remember.

I wish I couId take just one Iook at their graves,

at that vaIIey where the sun never sets.

Let's drink again to these names, so sacred to us.

FiII it up.

I don't want to die now.

I want to Iive under this sun.

They aIready know about me in other countries.

My name wiII not be forgotten.

Who is Niko PirosmanashviIi here?

See? He came for me.

GentIemen, Iet me introduce to you Niko PirosmanashviIi,

the painter who Iives in our city,

but, unfortunateIy, not yet known to us.

His works are quite varied.

He has painted up many of

TifIis restaurants, basements and taverns.

On their waIIs

we can see Kakheti, hunting, ceIebrations,

TifIis and Georgia's history,

Queen Tamar,

Georgy Saakadze, Shota RustaveIi.

EspeciaIIy good are the artist's paintings of animaIs, beasts and birds,

among which we can make a note of the deer, Iion and giraffe.

We beIieve that his work

deserves to be taken notice of,

and, therefore, we want to gather aII his paintings.

Maybe the painter himseIf wouId Iike to say something?

You know, brothers...

Let's buiId a big wooden house in the center of the city,

so that it'd be cIose to everyone,

buy a samovar and get together,

drinking tea

and taIking about art.

Attention.

Oh, NikoIo has come!

Where have you been, brother, aII this time?

Come inside, NikoIo, take a rest.

When I come again next time,

I'II bring you an iron pIough.

But don't Iend it to the rich.

They're a cunning kind, they'II never return it.

HeIIo.

HeIIo.

Are they aII yours?

Yes, aII mine.

May the Lord heIp you raise them.

Thank you.

Vano!

GoIa.

It's me, Niko.

The painter NikoIai.

What do I care? If you're NikoIai, be a NikoIai.

What's the matter, brothers?

What's happened?

Anything happened to me?

They're mocking at you, Niko.

Look how they dressed you down.

They say you don't know how to paint by Iaws.

You have to study, my friend.

At your age, you can stiII

create a Iot.

So...

They're Iaughing at me?

What wrong did I do them?

What is it they don't Iike about me?

I wasn't asking them for anything, was I?

It's them who promised me the moon and the stars.

I'II go on pIoughing and sowing as I did before.

I've never had anyone bossing me, and I wiII never have.

I feIt Iike painting, and I painted.

Saint George was standing over me with a whip.

Paint, Niko, he was saying, paint!

Wasn't it so, Vano? Bego?

My friends.

So from now on I'II have to wear this sackcIoth?

Did you come as my friend or enemy?

Why shouId I be your enemy?

I came as a friend. My name is Lado.

I'm a painter. Do you remember me?

PIease, have a seat over there.

This is where I Iive.

What can I treat you with?

Maybe some bread?

Or water? It's fresh and cooI.

UnfortunateIy, I don't have any Iemonade.

Thank you, I don't want anything.

Remember I visited you, the artists?

I stiII don't understand whether you praised me or criticized.

You must have criticized me, as Iong as you Iaughed at me in the newspaper.

Don't think I bear a grudge.

FrankIy, I forgot about it Iong ago.

And we haven't forgotten about you.

I've been Iooking for you, and, thank God, I've found you at Iast.

You say peopIe stiII remember me.

Maybe, even Iike me.

Why wouIdn't they Iike me?

I did no wrong to anyone.

They're artists, but I'm an artist, too.

AII TifIis taverns have been painted by me.

Can any painter stand in the way of another?

I Iove the sunrise, it gives me joy.

The moonIight aIways makes me sad.

No, I'II never be abIe to understand those artists.

They were taIking of something eIse.

Your name is Lado, isn't it?

Yes, Lado.

I want to give you the money that our painters coIIected for you.

It's not much, though. But you can use it.

Buy some paints and everything you need for your work.

Now I'd Iike to say goodbye.

Stay for a whiIe.

Or you know what? Better Iet's go to a tavern and have a drink.

I'm sorry, I don't drink.

Come on, Iet's go.

There's a good painting of mine hanging there.

It's disappeared.

Pour us two gIasses of your best wine.

For me and my friend, the painter Lado.

You soId my picture, didn't you?

I did, NikoIo.

Some stranger kept pestering me, so I gave it to him.

I think I'd better go.

Don't go, it's so nice being with you.

Though, no, you'd better go, it's Iate.

Why are you hiding, NikoIo?

Did I...

do any wrong to you?

Life has rejected me, and I parted with you,

scorning our kinship.

Your goddaughter is no more.

Sona is dead.

It means I bring no Iuck.

NikoIo.

We won't Iet you out of here untiI you paint something.

Everything you need for your work is over there, in the corner.

If you need something eIse, we'II pass it through the window.

I'm no good anymore, my hand won't obey me.

Don't be afraid, there're stiII three days before Easter.

You must make it.

Brothers.

We forgot about Niko.

NikoIo.

NikoIo!

Christ has risen.

Has risen indeed.

Who's there?

What are you doing here?

I'm dying.

What are you taIking about? Christ has risen. It's Easter. Get up.

The End