"supported by NFC/MDM/FFA in co-production with BNT present" "a film by Ivan Cherkelov /Vassil Zhivkov" "editor Gergana Zlatanova sound Alexander Bachvarov / Sebastian Schmidt" "costumes Doriana Kebedjieva" "art design Vanina Geleva" "director of photography Rali Ralchev" "Executive producer Russi Lutskanov" "co-producer Jens Korner producer Rossitsa Valkanova" "written and directed by Ivan Cherkelov /Vassil Zhivkov" "CHRISTMAS TREE UPSIDE DOWN" "part one THE CALF" "Nasso, don't you want some wine?" "Just a glass?" " No, no..." "It makes a difference with running water, right Vassil?" "Good that here it's raining every day." "Is it going to rain today?" "Of course..." "I'll be expecting you at my place around one thirty." "Yes, as soon as we get ready and because it's full of joy..." "and easy." "The moment you land at the airport you are seized by this ease..." "And the people smile at you and they notice you." "All of a sudden you become special, somebody people care about." "Why did you come back then?" "Don't be silly." "I can't stand him, that's why." "I don't love my husband, God bless him..." "Is this cat yours?" "Sruoy tac sith si?" "What?" " Sruoy tac sith si?" "Jesus!" "I have this awful feeling... as if I've got into a ten-year-old can." "You're repeating backwards the same nonsense as 10 years ago, holding the same glass, drinking the same lousy brandy!" "At 10 in the morning!" "It's driving me crazy!" "The only difference is that your hair is missing, and your nose's grown longer." "Don't you have any curiosity for something new?" "For something..." "Are you totally dead inside?" "Have you... just like that?" "Don't you have a dream?" "Wouldrt you like to stand on the riverbank and look at sunset at the Manattan skyline?" "Wouldrt you like to feel as a part of all this, a part of something truly beautiful, something meaningful, enchanting..." "I'm not talking sleazy lyrics here." "The greatest minds of the world are gathered there, it's the core of the world!" "Dlrow eht fo eroc eht?" "I nearly died of laughter, you know..." "It's actually nice to have you back." "Just like it used to be." "You came back because of Vassil, didn't you?" "We'll bring Nasso too, right, Uncle Peter?" "Yes, why not... of course..." "I'll go shave." "I'm coming to see you in a sec." "I'm coming, too." "They don't look like sisters to me." "Are they sisters?" " They are." "They are not." " They are, I'm telling you." "They can't be." " They're sisters." "How come she hasn't been to their villa before?" "She's in love with Vassil." "You're making this up." " I'm not." "You don't pay attention." "One of them is his cousin or aunt, I'm not exactly sure." "About the other two - I've got no idea." "Uncle Peter is a former secret agent." "He's lived abroad a lot." "He loves telling endless, bla-bla-bla stories." "And why do you hang out with them?" " And why do you ask questions?" "They are just ordinary people." "He's my neighbor, should I shoot him dead or what?" "Let's go back." "I hate strolling most of all." "Arert you hungry?" "You've changed so much!" "You've grown old, your hair's gray." "No one loves you." "No one cares about you." "What?" " Nothing." "You know, I haven't spent a single day without thinking of you." "Not a single day." "Hey, listen..." "You've got it all wrong." "This story was over five years ago." "What is there to think about?" "You must admit she's pretty..." "But the man is handsome, too." " Yes, so stout and handsome..." "Uncle Georgi, what's up?" "Don't you worry!" "The calf's in the cowshed." "The butcher's waiting." "The jars are ready." "It's all been taken care of." "...in politics, and state management, in secret services, in the army and in media, in business, commercials and promotions, a lot of lies are being used." "Tsetska is Lena's cousin!" "...getting to the conclusion that modern society is wading deeper and deeper in lies." "I am extremely pleased to have you - people near and dear, all gathered here around this table." "To me this is a great honor, a special treat, it is respect..." "A man who's not alone is a rich man." "Last year was rather hard for me." "Last year his wife passed away." "Some years ago, I was invited to a party." "A birthday party like this, a special occasion." "And the man was special, you know, a high official." "So, he had invited over thirty people." "Everything was ready, the table was incredible..." "All kind whiskey and vodka, crabs and lobsters..." "But..." "But only five people came." "Out of thirty-five - only five." "The situation got pretty unpleasant." "For the host, for his wife, for the rest of us." "What I mean is - it's not pleasant to be left alone." "If people don't respect you." "Come on, uncle Peter!" "Cheers!" "Cheers!" "Cheers!" "And you are kind, and sweet, and gentle, madam!" "And I truly love you." "Wife, are you drinking vodka?" "So, Alla, you've just arrived from the States." "I've been there for six months, visiting my daughter." "I enjoyed it." "They live in Boston." "They've bought a $700000 house." "They're well off, but it's a very expensive city." "Where were you living in the States?" "In New York for 4 years." "With my husband and our kid." "For how long?" " 4 years." "We decided to come back..." "I mean, we decided that I return first and then..." "Of course, if you didn't like it there." "Tzetzka is Lydia's cousin if you wish to know." "This is not true!" "Peter and Lena are cousins, and Lydia..." "Exactly." "Lydia and Tzetzka both come from Troyan, but..." "In London, at a reasonable restaurant..." "They can't stand each other!" "They may not stand each other and still be cousins!" "No way!" "Tzetzka's Tumpalov's cousin and..." "When did you come to Sofia?" " I came on April 21, 1956." "From the station we went" "Can't be 1956, this was happening in 1957!" "In 1956 Tumpalov was still in Troyan." "Was he?" "Why do you always argue?" "You think you're always right?" "No one remembers a thing, just you!" "Tumpalov used to live near the Seminary." "A few words - again..." "It's a great pleasure for me to have you - people near and dear, around this table." "To me this is respect, this is a great honor to me, a special treat." "To be surrounded by friends is highly valuable..." "OK." "That's enough." " Why is Vassil shooting?" "Uncle Peter wants to send a tape to his daughter in Boston." "To Uncle Peter, the American!" "Cheers!" "The meat!" "What's going on?" " Celebration." "Yes, Nasso." " Yes, Nasso." "Celebration." " Celebration." "Help yourselves while it's still hot." "Make a plate for Nasso, too." "I don't want any!" "I'll go pee." "I don't want him to shoot me." "Quiet!" "Don't make a fool of yourself!" "The meet is sweet." " It can't be." "It's sweet." " It's not." "Try it and you'll agree it's sweet." "Have you spiced it with sugar instead of salt?" "I haven't used salt at all." "It was salted in the jar." "It just seems sweet to you." " It is sweet." "If it were sweet, it would be impossible to eat." "It is impossible to eat." "I have heard that you..." "Will you sing something for us?" "I'll call you later." "Last winter the Great Bear Constellation fell here." "And the Lesser Bear, too." "Both of them." "You haven't changed at all." "You're as romantic as before." "Ah, sure..." "And in the morning when I got up, right in front of me, on the frozen lake, there was this great white bear - sitting and staring at me." "I don't say a thing and she keeps staring at me." "Then she gathered her cubs and took off." "You said the bears were two." "And why are you telling me this nonsense?" "This chick is fresh from the States, you think, let's blow her mind." "That's exactly what I think." "Yes." "Let's go back." " Why?" "Because you hate strolls" "No, not like this." "The other way around." "Don't you teach him..." " Put in a pinch of..." "I know what to put in." "If you want to add something, do it yourself..." "Mix it up!" " I know how to mix it." "Do you think it's like stuffing peppers?" "Mind your own business." "Shall we put in some..." "No bones, no bones..." "What meat it is without bones?" "Meat with no bone" "part two THE WOODEN ANGEL" "So, we've got still an hour or so to go?" "It can take up to two hours." "And, does she buy the mince?" "Grandma doesn't like ready-made things." "All she buys is bread and oil." "Everything else..." "She minces the meat herself." "Pork and some beef, never just pork." "When she makes meatballs, it's a celebration." "And salt and sugar?" "Sugar in meatballs?" "Doesrt your grandma buy salt and sugar?" "Well, I suppose she does..." "She never adds onion." "She waits for the mince to rest." "And she shapes the meatballs quite large and absolutely identical." "Before frying them she dips them in whipped yolk." "And they become crusted..." "And absolutely delicious!" "How can I get to..." "How do I get to "Alexander Nevski", the church?" "The church?" "Don't you understand me, young lady" " Yes, I do." "So, there's no such thing - a shelter in the church?" "I told you several times." "This is not 18th century England." "Orphanages, shelters, poorhouses and others." "Right, young lady?" "Yes." "Are you going to Varna?" "The last train leaves at 23:05 for Varna." "Via Gorna Oryahovitza." "Well, OK." " Mezdra, Levski," "Gorna Oryahovitza and Varna." "Well, OK." " Arert you going to any of these destinations?" " No." "And in the morning the first train goes to Lakatnik, at 4:24." "To Kurilo, Rebrovo, Svoge." "Bov and Lakatnik." "But it leaves at platform 1." "The ticket counter is down in the underpass." "The waiting room will be open at 5.30." "Girl, are you alright?" "Stand up!" "Right." "Right." "We're closing the waiting room shortly." "If you would..." "And what does he say?" " I'll strangle you, he says." "I'll strangle you and I'll do the time." "And he curses." "He drinks and cries, and curses." " Poor soul!" ""Go back", he says, "into your mother's dead ass. "" "They sit together at the table, grandma and him." "Dad starts crying with the first drink." "Grandma doesn't cry, no!" ""Shut up, shame on you!" she yells." "But he keeps on going through tears:" ""You slut, go back into your mother's dead ass!"" "Why "dead ass"?" " My mom died ten years ago." "Otherwise he's a quiet man." "He's a railway man, works at the station." "Every now and then he hugs me." "He brings me cookies, ice-cream..." "Poor soul!" " Then he starts again:" ""You slut, you dragged my bowels all over town!"" "And so it goes." "I'll just wash myself quickly here and then I'll mop the floor." "Sure, go ahead." "Don't worry." "Yesterday, while I was drowsing here in the afternoon," "I imagined my wedding:" "Me, as a bride dressed in white, and the wedding guests all in white..." "The groom..." "I couldn't see him clearly..." "There were three bands playing." "A gipsy brass band, another one with guitars, and a classical one with violins and all..." "They play simultaneously." "And we walk under something like a vault of blooming branches." "And we dance." "I love dancing." "To me dancing makes the celebration." "Do you go to the disco?" "You are not that old." "What are you doing now?" " I pressed this button here." "I didn't mean that." "I've been watching you for several days..." "Well..." "I'm five months pregnant." "I quit school after the first term." "I live in Dve Mogili - a small town up North." "I live with dad and grandma." "They don't want to hear about the baby." "I ran away from home and came here to see..." "No." "I ran away from home and came here to give away the baby." "No, not to give it away - to give birth and stay here." "Not exactly stay..." "I don't really know why I ran away." "I wanted to see something different." "That's it." "Now do you think I'm crazy?" "Do I want that much?" "I don't exactly know what I want, but my son growing up in Dve Mogili - it wouldn't be fair!" "Or in the orphanage in Tarnovo!" "I went to see it with dad and grandma." "The headmistress had a mustache..." "Listen, my dad was a tractor driver." "He used to tell me he was like a screw." "You take him out and the tractor wouldn't work." "But without the tractor my dad is nothing too." "Just a simple screw..." "You don't get it, do you?" "What's your name, actually?" " Marin." "Marin?" "Cool." "I'm Raina." "They call me Rasha." "Rasha?" "Cool." "What are you going to do now?" " What can I do?" "I'll go back home." "And we'll raise the baby - dad, grandma and me." "You may come and visit us." " I may." "I have this from grandma." "A Christmas tree toy." "Must be fifty years old." "I carry it with me all the time." "May I give it to you as a gift?" "Rasha!" "Are you going, love?" "Good luck and come back soon." "Grandma's sixty-five." "She's a teacher in the elementary school." "How old are you?" " I'm seventy-one." "Seventy-one?" "!" "You look fifty-five." "Where are you going I'm going to my cousin in Samokov." "I haven't seen her for ages." "She may not even be there." "She may be at the seaside or I don't know where..." "We're going to the Rila Lakes." "I'm starving." "Eat!" "Chew!" "Chew and don't chatter!" "Part three SOCRATES" "Eat properly!" "Chew hard!" "Chew and don't chatter!" "Eat properly!" "Chew hard!" "Chew and don't chatter!" "But why was he convicted?" "He was teaching, Blanche, that trees have to be cut down." "What?" "Trees, you know." "Eat properly!" "I'm a courier, a postman." "At the air force headquarters." "We're all university graduates." "'Cause the job is responsible." "Why did they sentence him?" "How come for a tree..." "Forget about the tree, Blanche!" "What's the lousiest thing in the army?" "Why are you calling me "Blanche"?" ""Blanche" in French means "white"." "Your face is all white." "You get it?" " I get it." "The lousiest thing in the army is the total lack of celebration." "No celebration." "Only a dull, monotonous, pointless routine." "And by "celebration" I don't mean fireworks or who knows what." "No..." "Tell me about the trees." "To be born, to live, to die - it's a celebration!" "It's something extraordinary." "It's a joy." "Not just bla-bla-bla." "Here they don't celebrate." "They serve." "They eat, they fart and serve." "Yeah." "I get it." "The trees..." "Blanche!" "I'm talking here about the pillars of army life." "OK." "Do you remember his name?" "Socrates." "I know his name." "I'm not an idiot." "Well done!" "Socrates taught that the whole world is a tree upside down." "Roots upward, leaves downward." "And that the world we live in is just a reflection of the real one." "Like a tree by a lake that reflects in the water." "And people focus on crap, on reflections, not on the real things." "That's why they're unappy." "He was sentenced to death for this?" "He was sentenced to death for this." "What a strange thing!" "While I was in chains," "I felt pain." "Now that they're gone, I feel pleasure." "It seems they always follow one another." "Socrates, may I ask you something?" "Go ahead, it's still possible." "A while ago you talked about the world and the Universe." "Who is the connection between the Universe, man and God?" "I don't know." "And what's the use of such knowledge in the moment of death?" "Yes..." "It's time for me to go and wash myself." "And then I'll drink the poison." "I'll spare the women the trouble to wash me dead." "All right, Socrates." "And how shall we bury you?" "Bury me?" "As you decide." "As long as you can catch me." "As long as I don't slip out." "No, they couldn't sentence him to death for this." "Whatever he taught or preached..." "Why not?" "He undermined the foundations of the society." "How come?" "Like this." "Society's based on three things - money, moral code and pleasure." "Everybody wants to have pleasure." "But one needs money for that, right?" "On the other hand, pleasure and morality are connected as well." "You can't have pleasure without any limitations." "And Socrates taught that these three things don't matter if one doesn't care about his soul, about truth..." "If one doesn't see life as a celebration." "You, for instance." "Why are you here?" " Me?" "Forget about me." "I run away often, too often." "And they catch me too often." "Where do you go when you run away?" "I go home, where else." " And what do you do there?" "I listen to music, what else." "Girls come over..." "That's why you're not sentenced to death." "You're only in the army jail." "You don't undermine any foundations." "You have your pleasure at home, privately." "I don't quite get you." "Never mind." "What kind of music do you listen to?" "I would like to thank you, Socrates." "You never reproached me for a thing." "You never got angry with me." "You didn't curse me as all convicts do." "You were the noblest, the gentlest, and most perfect man to have ever come here." "Farewell, Socrates." "You know what news I bring." "Farewell." "Farewell to you too." "A nice man." "A kind man." "He often visited me and we talked." "A wonderful man." "Criton, ask them to bring in the poison." "They must have prepared it." "All right, Socrates, but wouldn't you like to have something to eat or drink?" "The sun isn't down yet." "Some people want to make love before they die." "Since you know about these things, tell me what I have to do." "You have to drink up the cup and walk until your feet feel heavy." "Then you should lie down." "Thus the poison will work." "Well, give it to me, then." "It's hemlock." "Pure herb, impeccable." "Hemlock." "You get cold and your blood thickens." "I see." "What's the matter with you?" "Strange people!" "That's why I sent the women and the children away!" "It's good for you to walk a little." "The poison will work faster." "Come on, be strong!" "Everything is upside down." "It's upside down because it's a reflection..." "But if it's a reflection, then the real thing must exist too." "If we place a mirror here," "we'll see ourselves in it." "Because we are real." "Because we exist." "And when I'm saying the world is a reflection, do you know of what?" "I don't." "Of what?" "Never mind." "My feet feel heavy." "I can't speak..." "Shall we carry you inside?" "No." "Do you feel anything?" "No." "When the cold reaches his heart," "Criton... part four THE SAILBOAT" "She's begging every officer," ""Let my sweet Ivan out, after a kiss he'll go back in. "" "Oh, my guitar, hear my blues." ""Let my sweet Ivan out, after a kiss he'll go back in. "" "Oh, my guitar, hear my blues." "The sergeant won't let me come out." "The captairs laughing up his sleeve. ~" ""No leave for you, you, lazy bastards!"" "Oh, my guitar, hear my blues," ""No leave for you... "" "Baskets and spoons!" "Baskets and spoons!" "It's only two bucks..." "The sergeant won't let me come out." "The captairs laughing up his sleeve." ""No leave for you, you, lazy bastards!"" "Oh, my guitar, hear my blues." ""No leave for you, you, lazy bastards!"" "Oh, my guitar, hear my blues." "Part five THE BOAR" "...and she asks me:" ""What kind of wine do you want?"" ""How am I to tell you if you haven't told me what wines you have?"" ""We have white Hungarian and red Bulgarian"." ""What?" " White Hungarian and red Bulgarian." "So, their white was Hungarian and their red was Bulgaria." "I'm not some lousy Hungarian to drink white Hungarian." "So, I cut it straight: "Do I look like some lousy Hungarian?"" ""No, you don't. " "Then how am I to drink white Hungarian?"" "You know I don't drink wine at all." "Neither white, nor red." "Still, why would she try to foist some white Hungarian wine on me?" "I'll have beer, I said." "They had all sorts of beer." "This boar's no good." "Seems kind of frail to me." "And his color is..." "Look, he's got on top of her!" "Well, good luck!" "The swine, brother, needs lots of care." "The swine is like a bee." "It needs a lot of caring, feeding, cleaning..." "It needs a scratch behind the ears..." "Your father was an expert with swine." "God bless his soul." "It's not a job for anybody." "Ah, they did it." "Brother, why don't you sell me the boar?" "You're not good for this job." "Brother!" "Grab the swine and go fuck yourself, brother." "Brother!" "Cut down on them a bit." "You don't smoke like a normal man." "You are pumping them as peanuts." "Brother, go fuck yourself." " You're such a boar." "But you'll meet your match!" "Part six THE DRUM" "Hey, they've gathered again." "Can you hear the drum?" "They'll go jumping and dancing like crazy." "Every now and then they do it." "I'm not against it." "Not at all!" "But it's all envy and spite..." "They'd cut each other's throat for a pumpkin!" "For a pumkin!" "Still, they go dancing." "Something keeps eating them, keeps beating inside them..." "I'm from the village of Piperkov Chiflik." "I was born sixty-four years ago." "I grew up here." "High school in Slokochnitsa." "Then the technical school in Shumen for five years." "I studied machine-building." "Valentin Georgiev Bagaliiski is my name."