When the Trees Were Tall (Когда деревья были большими)

MAXIM GORKY FILM STUDIO

FIRST ARTISTIC UNION

WHEN TREES WERE BIG

Script NIKOLAI FIGUROVSKY

Director LEV KULIDZHANOV

Cinematography VALERI GINZBURG

Production Design PYOTR GALADZHEV

Music - LEONID AFANASIEV Sound Editing - DMITRI BELEVICH

starring INNA GULAYA YURI NIKULIN

also featured

LEONID KURAVLYOV EKATERINA MAZUROVA

VASSILIY SHUKSHIN LYUDMILA CHURSINA ELENA KOROLYOVA

- Motocross? - Yeah.

Please keep it quiet, Kuzma Kuzmich!

Would you please not bring garbage inside, Kuzma Kuzmich.

By the way, yesterday they were here again asking about you.

- The police? - Of course. The summons is on the table.

- The idiot will get evicted from Moscow. - No, he won't.

Police can't do anything nowadays.

They'll just talk and hand hold him for a whole 'nother year.

If he had a wife, no police intervention would be needed.

He was married. Had it been me, I'd have straightened him out. Quickly.

Gossiping again?

Oh Lord, just leave the man alone.

Heard that?

Mister! Mister, when you were little,

did you not listen to your mom?

That's right. Your mom guessed correctly.

If you don't listen to your mom, you'll grow up to be like me.

So now what?

Listen...

Three months ago you had a warning. Did they talk to you?

Did you promise?

Since then you've been incarcerated twice. Once for 15 days and then for 10 days.

A streak of bad luck.

Life has black and white streaks. I'm going through a black streak right now.

- Why don't you want to work? - Can't find a job in my field.

Wait, you're a machinist, right?

How long ago was that? My hands are not the same anymore.

Lately I've been a warehouse worker. Supply agent.

That's my field.

Fired for mismanagement of funds.

No, politics.

Oh, Mr. Iordanov...

You used to be a working man, fought in war, have military honors...

and now look what you've become.

Dishonest dealings at work, drunkenness. Selling flowers at the market.

Is that proper activities for a man like you?

If only I could find a job in my field...

Go work as a machinist! I'll make a call right now, you can start work tomorrow morning.

No, I won't be a machinist. A warehouse agent - yes, any time.

But why?

I won't be able to do it. I forgot everything, lost the skills.

Learn it again!

- Are you joking? - Goddammit!

- You can be a working man. - So what?

Make me a supply agent. I'll do that.

Don't want anything else.

That's enough. Here's my letter to the city directorate...

We request that your Moscow residency be annulled...

and you are ordered to move out of the city.

- To live in the wilderness? - That's all, you may leave.

Thank you for the talk, comrade Major.

- Have a good day. - Wish you all the best. Next, please!

Comrade Major, this is citizen Suharev. Here's the case file.

- Masha dear, port wine and candy. - Sure.

- So? - What? Want some more?

- No, it's enough. - As you wish.

- So what do they say? - Well, what do they say...

They say...

"We'll evict you from Moscow."

What do you think? Can they do that? Or just trying to scare me?

They can.

No, just trying to scare you.

No luck for me at all. Such a bad streak in life.

Who's lucky nowadays? For instance, I got burned on Stefan Zweig.

Thought he was a real fine writer. But the government published his works anew.

Now I'm stuck with 14 cases of unsold books. And what a disappointment Maupassant was!

I don't believe in Conan Doyle anymore.

It's like living in a dream.

Can I congratulate you on a new purchase?

- Yeah, I've had my eye on it for a long time. - Do you need any help with delivery?

Comrade, please don't take help from random people.

Our store will deliver everything and set it up for you.

Maybe you can tell him that I'm your relative or friend?

- No, I shouldn't. - Well, all right.

To the left.

Taxi!

Taxi!

Excuse me, where does the taxi stop around here?

Well, thank you. Thank you.

- Can I congratulate you on a new purchase? - Yes.

- Delivery help? - Yes, that'd be nice.

- By taxi or on foot? - By taxi, it's far from here.

Right away.

- Do you agree to hire me for help? - Yes, yes.

- Oh, Lord! - It's all right.

I got it. Everything is OK.

- It's a useful thing. - Only very heavy.

That's OK, we'll deliver.

So here we are. Home.

And I was energized to walk up another floor.

No need.

So, how much do I owe you?

In all honesty?

And justice?

With an elevator - it's one price, but without an elevator...

One moment. Everything will be all right.

All good.

In half an hour I will come to give you a shot, please be ready.

Who is stronger?

Watch out, you're gonna break my hand.

Olya, look at the man over there. He's all alone and he's lonely.

No one came to see him today. Go share some candy with him.

Take more.

Mister.

This is for you.

- For me? - Yes.

Thank you. Good girl!

I'll have them with tea.

Over there in the corner. Is that him?

Hello.

- Oh... hello. - So, you're alive?

Yes.

- How's the laundry machine? - Thanks to you...

it's not working.

My son-in-law is berating me, my daughter is hounding on me day and night,

why I didn't call them for help.

I wanted to give them a surprise. So a surprise it was.

She said go...

and see how your "helper" is doing. The man is more important than the machine.

I owe you the cost of the machine.

Once I'm out of the hospital, I start working and get you the machine.

I forgot, what's your apartment number?

Oh really, like that will ever happen. I hope no bones broken at least?

No.

Well, thank God.

You're probably all alone?

- Like a guard on night watch. - That's what I thought.

You look neglected and uncared-for. Could see right away that you don't have a family.

Why so?

- Just not very lucky. - And no children either?

Never had any.

That's bad.

- Nothing good about it. - The war destroyed many families.

Back in our village...

there's a young woman, poor thing, she's so sad that she doesn't have parents.

- They left her? - Not at all.

Next to our village the Germans had attacked a column of evacuees.

The little girl lost her parents in all the chaos.

Either her parents were killed or not...

But the girl was only one year old. Our whole village helped to raise her.

I used to live in the village with my husband, after my husband died...

my daughter and son-in-law had me move to the city, so I'm not all alone.

Yes, of course.

Otherwise I would have stayed there. Our village is very nice. I'm used to things there.

Our collective farm is very good!

Why did I start talking about the farm?

- You were saying it's not good to be alone. - Oh, yes.

So this young woman searched.

Hoped to find at least some relatives...

At least some very distant relatives.

It's easy to find nowadays. File a search request and you get the answer.

Yes, if the parents were searching for her.

They would say in August of 1941 on Selivanovo train station we lost a small girl.

Then she would be found right away.

But how can she find them?

She only knew them as "mom and dad." No first names, no last names.

No,

most likely none of them are alive any more.

- What was the name of the train station? - Selivanovo.

Selivanovo.

The name sounds familiar.

Maybe even my regiment was stationed there during the war.

Many regiments were stationed near our village.

I remember.

Have you moved here permanently or thinking of going back?

Permanently. I even sold my house. I'm a permanent resident of Moscow now.

I see.

Selivanovo.

"Mister, this is for you."

Hey, neighbor...

- I saw that you have a pencil. - Yes, I do.

- Here you go. - No.

You write down somewhere the name "Selivanovo."

Selivanovo.

You don't get it, Volodya.

In the hospital there was a truck driver on a neighboring bed. A girl came to visit him.

Saying, "Daddy, daddy."

I even felt a lump in my throat.

- Ha! You poet. - Why poet?

Because you should only go for a scam, when you have something to gain.

Why a scam? What is this word "scam"?

A scam is a scam.

Some daddy you are. Yeah right!

It's not about that. Think about it... She's all alone.

I am too. She wants to have a kinsperson to live with. And I do too.

- So why should I not try it? - Well, go ahead. Try it.

Did you file a search request?

- I did. - Take it back,