"This film is dedicated to the legendary hero of his people, Chermeni." "Two centuries ago, he was the first to raise the poor, in the fight for their rights, against the rich landowners, the Aldares." "GEORGIA-FILM presents" "CHERMENI" "Screenplay:" "Grigori PLÍEV," "Alexandr MISHARIN y Nikolái SANISHVILI" "Directed by:" "Nikolái SANISHVILI" "Camera:" "Dudar MARGUÍEV" "Scenery:" "Revaz MIRZASHVILI" "Music:" "Ilyá GABARÁIEV" "English subtitles:" "Stephen MACONI" "Main roles:" "Chermeni:" "Bimbulat VATÁIEV" "Bestol:" "Vladímir TJAPSÁIEV" "Dakko:" "Konstantín SLÁNOV" "Kasái:" "M. ABÁIEV" "Jadzhí:" "K. DAUSHVILI" "Azau:" "Teresa KANTEMÍROVA" "Dzandar:" "U. JURÚMOV" "Sadul:" "F. KALÁGOV" "Dzíu:" "A. DZIVÁIEV" "Tsarái:" "D. GABARÁIEV" "Berdó:" "Z. KAPIANIDZE" "Chermeni's mother:" "V. ANDZHAPARIDZE" "Muldar:" "A. SLÁNOV" "Yes, there will be a storm." "But, nothing makes a dent in Chermeni." "How could he possibly not be cold?" "Look, I'm wrapped-up in a bashlik and a burka, but even I am cold." "What are we going to do with him?" "He is used to it." "He always goes around like that." "In the end, he's a bastard." " Here, Chermeni." " No, thanks." "It will be useful to you at night." "When it becomes cold." "Take it." "It's fine, Bibó." " What is it?" " Someone just ran and hid behind that rock formation." "There." "No, Chermeni, you're just imagining things." "There's no one there." "Chermeni, look, a hawk." "It must have just caught its prey." "That's good." "We mustn't leave a single one alive." "What about Chermeni?" "If he arrives at the village, everything will be uncovered." "He won't." "Get back!" "We'll have to move all these stones out of the way." "Kasái, you should cover your face." "Chermeni..." "Here." "You can shoot them." "They're not human." "Dzíu!" "Tsarái, don't let him leave!" "Is this Bibó's rifle?" "Look, he won't even shoot anyone." "The village has entrusted you with the cattle to sell it and buy grain." "The winter will be cold and hunger will take over!" "And what have you been doing?" "You haven't even shot anyone." "Coward!" "Get out of the village!" "The mothers of the dead must not see you." "We should throw it out." "Let it go." "Silence!" "Dakko, you know that my son is tied by his feet and hands to his oath, to never use weaponry against another human being." "Everyone knows that." "Aldares!" "What do you want from him?" "We must throw him out of the village!" "The voice of the people is the voice of God." "Be quiet." "He's breathing!" "Chermeni, don't go!" "Forgive me!" "My pain is that which has spoken, not I myself." "Dzíu." "Be pleased, mountain dwellers!" "My son, Kasái, has crushed the ambush of the bandits." "He will bring us everything we need to survive the winter, so that we elderly do not die, and so that our children can grow." "By which path will your Kasái come?" "By the path of the brave." "That path." "Dakko, my brother, would you now allow my son Charmén to remain in the village?" "Tell the people not to throw him out." "No, he will go." "The distinguished elderly of the clan never change their decisions, brother." "That is right." "Chermeni, rise." "You called me, father?" "Fill the horn." "Have some yourself as well." "My son, I could not defend you." "You know very well that Dakko worships the old laws, those of our ancestors." "I may not break them in any way." "Ah, Dakko, Dakko...!" "He is my mate, as if we have been fed by the same breasts!" "He hates us both." "Do not fret, father." "I am not upset with you." "Do not worry..." "I know what you're like, Chermeni, I know your type." "But there are many things that you do not know." "I know what you speak of." "No, my son, you know nothing." "Dakko warns Tsarái, which mountain pass the poor shall lead their cattle through." "They are thieves, Dakko and Tsarái are." "They loot and sell what they've stolen, or divide it between themselves." "Both of them are thieves!" "So it really was Kasái..." "I was not mistaken." "What are you saying?" "Did you see him in this mountain pass?" "Yes, among the bandits." "What about Dzíu...?" "Has he also seen Kasái?" "No." "He was wounded." "The people won't believe you." "If they would, I would show them... that Dakko is a thief and bandit." "Dear God!" "Why have you punished me this way?" "Perhaps you are unaware?" " Bestol, don't ruin the girl's life!" " Get off me!" "Fear God'a wrath." "God has already punished me, giving me such a wife as you." "He has left me without a son!" "What a beautiful gazelle you have caught, Bestol!" "His mistress will be most unhappy." "An unlawful wife." "For the Aldares, everything is legal." " Bestol!" " I tell you to let me pass!" " Give me a son!" " Go away!" "I beg you, do not ruin my life!" "Leave me!" "Make me a son!" "I need a son!" "He will be a bastard!" "That will make him a servant!" "Why would you want such a son?" "You will ruin his life!" " I require a son!" " Do not violate me, I beg you!" "He will be a free mountain dweller!" "Give me a son!" "Let go of me!" "Chermeni." "Come closer." "Closer, closer." "Here, there is evil everywhere." "Evil and violence, my son." "Evil generates more evil." "Do not throw stones in the mountains;" "you will cause an avalanche." "May kindness and love be your weapon." "Yes, mother." "A servant may be more pure and more honorable than the most noble of peoples." "Never kill another person, okay, my child?" " Okay." " Swear it." "I swear." "So, where are you off to now?" "To the other side of the pass." "There I have a brother bound by oath." "His name is Berdó; he is Georgian." "Or rather, I will go to the house of Inal, in Kabarda." "Forgive me, son, for not being able to protect you." "I will wait for you." "Run, Dzandar!" "What is this mess?" "Chermeni?" "It would be best to eliminate him, no?" "No, Kasái, he saved my life." "Oh well, he'll end up dying anyway!" "Put him in the cart." "What happened?" "Kasái has returned!" "Kasái killed a snow panther!" "Kasái is back!" "Kasái has returned!" "With a panther!" "I am very proud of you!" "My son, you have killed a ferocious panther." "No, father." "It was Chermeni who saved Dzandar from an impending death." "Away with the coward!" "My son, Chermeni!" "Chermeni must regress." "My son, Chermeni." "My child." "Give thanks to God, my child." "The Caucasian mountain dwellers do not forgive cowardice, but they praise courage." "Good people, we must pray to God, and offer him a offering, because Kasái has saved us from hunger." "Bring him home." "Dakko will charge us so much for this bread that we will end up broke." "And he will skin us to close the deal." "Careful." "Tsarái has sent gold." "Your share, father." "Here it is." "All of it." "But I do not want to die without seeing your child." "I need a grandson." "I must know, with a hundred years of anticipation, who will be the owner, of the Kobán mountain pass." "I have already found you a wife." "Who?" "The daughter of Jadzhí." "Azau?" "I have already made an agreement with her father." "Thank you, padre." "And what about Chermeni?" "It seems that he will die." "But if he doesn't die..." "Someone can help him die." "Serve our guest, sister." "Go." "...however, your daughter is not the most beautiful in the village." "Perhaps I'm still not the best hunter in all of Kobán?" "Even if I kill a bird in flight." "My dagger hits the target a hundred times in a row!" "Two hundred!" "That's how it was in your youth." "But now your hands tremble." "My hands?" "Look." "See that fly?" " It flew away." " If it hadn't, I would have nailed it in the head." "Start talking." "Do you not see that all the alcohol has been drunk?" "Well, Jadzhí." "We have spent a lot of time drinking." "We have made many toasts." "Only one, we haven't made." "To the couple." "Let us drink." "Any mountain dweller would consider it an honor to have a son-in-law like Chermeni." "Honest and brave." "You have denied the hand of your daughter in the middle of the village." "But the idea that Chermeni is your son-in-law must soften your heart." "I know you all like the palm of my hand." "You need my land for your ragged Chermeni, not Azau." "Perhaps you could survive on your piece of the land?" "You don't have it now nor will you ever." "We will." "You will?" "Where?" "Do you think Dakko will give you the land?" "This is what he will give you!" "If he doesn't give it to us, we will take it by force!" "What will you take by force?" "Dzíu." "The land...!" "We do not measure people by their wealth like you." "What?" "We know that you do not need a son-in-law;" "you wish to receive a large dowry for her!" "Do you think no one sees that you intend to sell her to Kasái?" "There must be a reason why Dakko gives you bread, vodka and sheep." "Brat!" "Get out of here!" "May not you nor even your scent remain!" "I will not here another word on this matter!" "Leave this place!" "I'm sure the fly didn't tell you that." "And whether you like it or not, your Azay will marry Kasái!" " She is in love with Chermeni!" " Bite your tongue." "Azau!" "Azau!" "How is Chermeni?" " I am Chermeni!" " No!" "I am Chermeni!" "Brat!" "Listen to them, the name they are yelling, the man they are praising!" "We go nights without sleeping, worried about the village." "Where are the people's thanks?" "They're just playing." "They're boys." "Quiet!" "He mounted our shoulders." "He doesn't believe in God, nor the law of the mountains, the Adat." "Praised and glorious be the Highest." "He gives us our daily bread and the longevity of our lives." "He helped Kasái save our village from hunger." "Today we will make a offering to the Highest, to our savior, the all-powerful God." "Praise be to God." "Amen." "Amen." "Every pest gives birth to another pest." "Dakko has sucked the blood out of us for forty years." "Soon it will be Kasái's turn." "For every loaf of bread, we must beg it of Dakko, bowing to him." "Maybe there is not enough alcohol at that end of the table?" "Or the ram might be thin?" "Here there is quite enough alcohol and the meat is juicy." "Even so, there's something missing." "What's missing?" "Happiness." "And what is happiness, my child?" "Who knows the answer, mountain dwellers?" "What is this happiness that everyone speaks of?" "We will decide what is best for our village." "The victor will recieve this horn." "Sadul, you will begin." "Tell us:" "What does it mean to be happy?" "To love and be loved." "What must we elders do, then?" "No, that happiness is only for the young." "To have a loaf of bread today, tomorrow and forever!" "To be happy, one must have his land and his cattle." "To be free with equal rights!" "To have an abundant harvest!" "To live in peace with one's neighbors." "No, to have as much alcohol as water in a river!" "I wouldn't miss a horn of alcohol like that for anything in the world!" "Dakko, in order to be happy, one must live an honorable life, with an open soul." "Perhaps you disagree with Jadzhí?" "The horn is rightfully yours." "And now, Jadzhí, the whole village shall know, that you and I wish our children happiness, to the beautiful Azau and to my Kasái." "Dzíu." "People of Kobán, step forward and be brave." "The most accurate shot may send me to the matchmaker." "Kasái, step forward." "We shall see if you are worthy of my daughter." "Well, who's next?" "What are you trying to do, raffle off your daughter to the most accurate bachelors of our village, as if she were a whore?" "For the Caucasian rider, in a sense, the woman is a whore." "And there is nothing one can do about it, as that is what God wanted." "Chermeni!" "Now no one may prevent them from being together." "No, Sadul." "Jadzhí has said that Azau will go to the man with the best aim in our village." "Or rather, to the free Caucasian." "While Chermeni is a servant." "I will make my son a free Caucasian, the ruler of his own destiny." "You do not have the right to do that, without the consent of the clan elders." "Without my consent!" "You will be punished by the law of your ancestors." "Jadzhí, I hope you will stand by your word." "Will you give to Chermeni the hand of Azau?" "A mountain dweller cannot betray his word." "What's going on?" "What else has happened?" "It's a disgrace!" "They have robbed the herd of horses!" "Let us go after them!" "Set off!" "I will find them." "Go and see Tsarái and promise him 10 gold coins for Chermeni's head." "Kasái!" "When we return, we will celebrate the wedding." "I have decided to give you the hand of my sister, Zareta." "Tsarái, they are following us." "Sadul, pick five people, make a detour and close the path." "Dzíu, Kambulat, you stay with me." "Sadul, we will make an ambush." "Berdó!" "Chermeni!" "Berdó!" "Where is our cattle?" "What?" "Have they robbed you, too?" "Chermeni." "Are you my devout brother?" "I love you more than my real brother." "You know that." "Then give me that swine over there." "Take him." "Let's see!" "Come." "Come here!" "Pray." "Pray, I say!" " Do it!" " I will tell you the whole truth." "I swear to God!" "I didn't want to..." "Dakko and other Aldares landowners are the ones robbing you." "They even wanted me to kill you, Chermeni." "For ten gold coins." "Would you repeat that in front of the people?" "Answer him." "I would." "Bring Tsarái!" "Tsarái!" "They finally captured him." "Well, tell the people the truth." "Why do you not speak?" "Do not be afraid." " Speak." " I will." "I will tell you everything." "Tsarái!" "Tsarái!" "Tsarái!" "Why did you kill him?" "We will do the same to anyone who threatens our clan." "You were afraid of him." "I fear no one." "Who should I fear?" "You?" "No, not me, Kasái." "You were afraid he would tell the truth!" "Tsarái told us everything!" "You are a thief and a murderer!" "Who has taught you to offend and slander us?" "He thinks I am blind and cannot see." "My eyes see everything." "They see too much!" "I will have them taken from you!" "Try." "Lousy dog!" "Bold of you to say!" "I will take them from you!" "I'll pull them out myself!" "Stop them." "Thank fate." "You have violated the laws of the Adat." "But the Adat itself has saved you." "And I respect the Adat." "If it is fair." "But if it allows thieving," "I will not submit to its laws." "And as much as you try to frighten us, we will still plow the earth that you have taken from us poor." "Stop, Chermeni!" "Rethink this!" "If someone wants to prevent it, he will come to the field, and there we will speak." "Chermeni!" "They are going to plow our land." "Let them try." "Damn it, our traditions of a hundred years are collapsing." "Think about it, Chermeni!" "A tattered man has gone to work!" "This has never happened in Osetia." "And to top it off, you are plowing the land of the Aldares." "Have you gone crazy?" "Do you think the village will continue to hold out, dying of hunger?" "They have taken all of our land." "They haven't even left a little piece for the poor." "Where is the justice in that?" "No, we will take that which is ours." "We will plow the earth regardless!" "What are they doing?" "!" "They're plowing my land, too?" "!" " Father!" " Chermeni!" " Good day, denizens of Kobán." " Good day, Prince." "Did you call for me, Dakko?" "Yes, Muldar." "We have a problem, a big problem." "I have already taken measures." "My horsemen are here." " What do you ask of us?" " Come into the house." "We hope our visitor enjoys good health!" "We are in great debt to Prince Muldar." "Let us make a toast to your health." "To the Prince's health!" "Thank you, my friends." "Daughter, do not let anyone in." "We should kill him in front of everyone." "Then, we will scare the servants." " Is that dangerous, Prince?" " Yes." "It would provoke fury, rather than fear." "We cannot kill him in Osetia." "Of course not." "Bestol shall send his son with an order." "There, I will finish him." "Here, have some." "What do you say, brother?" "We await your word." "He dishonors you." "Reflect as much as you feel necessary." "What seems better to you:" "renouncing the laws of Adat, or losing your unlawful son?" " There is no other alternative, Bestol." " Make your decision." "He refuses to speak." "Damn it!" "Or perhaps he agrees." "How dare he!" "Chermeni, Prince Muldar has arrived." " Muldar?" " For what?" "For some reason, that thief has come here." "They are planning something." "That must be it." " Did he come alone?" " Yes, he did." "I didn't see anyone else with him." "Did you decide to warn us?" "Why did you suddenly decide to do that, I wonder?" "I owe you my life." "Chermeni!" "Jadzhí?" "Come in." "May Saint George endow this house with happiness!" "Take these." "This is the wedding gift of the village." "Put it on." "It is a good gift." "Here." "That is not all." "The village will celebrate your wedding as well." "What if he hasn't earned it?" "He has." "Is that true, Chermeni?" "One gathers that which one sows." " Dzíu, bring it in." " Now?" "Wait." "You will bring it in after." "First, we must speak." "Pour some for me." "Do you remember when you had thrown us out?" "Yes, I do." "I threw out your matchmakers." "Do not become angry." "Jadzhí, we will reunite so that Chermeni pays the dowry for his wife." "I don't intend to pay any dowry.." "May Saint George preserve this house!" "Thank you." "I don't need that dowry." "Do not say a word about this in the village." "Jadzhí, you are a true Caucasian!" "They forgot that we have friends." "So, Dzíu, put the saddle on the horse," "Ride to Berdó and tell him I am waiting for him." "I will go with Dzíu." " He must do this himself." " It is dangerous to go alone." "Okay, you go, too." "Just don't take out Dzíu's eyes from above." "The horses are sweaty, so let's let them rest." "You and I will eat and rest." "Sounds good." " Where are you going?" " I want to tie up the horses." "Don't worry about it, we'll be leaving soon anyway." "Why are you standing?" "Sit." "Muldar's horsemen?" "Where are you going?" "Stop!" "The bride is coming." "Here." "We wish you much happiness and a long life." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Be happy, my children." "Thirty of my horsemen await their signal." "The blades of their swords can put an end to any party." "Prince, we shall wait for Bestol." "May joy reign in this house!" "May you live many happy years in this house!" "And may anguish never destroy your happiness!" "May your family be as strong and inseperable, as this chain and its links." "May you be united forever, by the links of this chain." "And may the fire take anyone who transgresses your happiness." "Ah, give me some!" "Here is the sweetness that you have brought to this house." "Share it with everyone." "Take the spoon." "First, the eldest." "May your life be as sweet as the honey." "There must be enough for everyone." "On the contrary, they'll say the bride isn't suitable." "Now we will entertain the friends of the bride." "May God give this house seven boys and a blue-haired girl." "May God give you a legitimate child." " Let go of me!" " Give me a son!" "I beg of you, do not ruin my life, let me be." "Make me a son!" "I need a son!" "He will be a bastard!" "They'll turn him into a servant!" "Why would you want such a son?" "You would ruin his life!" " Did you meet Bestol?" " We couldn't find him anywhere." "We will have to bring your Caucasian horsemen to the village." "Kasái, send Chermeni a few sheep for the wedding." "O merciful God, forgive me for this sin." "Follow me!" "Eat, have a good apetite." " Thank you." " You are welcome." "Here, a gift from the wedding table." "Thank you, thank you." "Here we go!" "Here." "How is everything over there?" "Everything is in order, do not worry." "Soon you will see your Azau." "Do you see them?" "What are you thinking about?" "No one knows anything about Dzíu, nor Berdó." "God help them." " Is Chermeni here?" " Yes." "What happened?" "Are you injured?" "You're bleeding." "Child!" "Chermeni!" "What happened, Dzíu?" "They are killing Berdó and his friends over there!" "Muldar attacked us." "We have to save Berdó." "Sorry, Mother." "Do not say a word to anyone." "The wedding must go on." "Give me a rifle!" "Give me a horse, Sadul!" "Dzíu!" "Let go of me." "Chermeni!" "Chermeni!" "Chermeni!" "Everyone, on to the wedding!" "Chermeni!" "Thank you, my friend." "Today you have become a man." "Never forget this morning, Dzíu." "Chermeni!" "Azau..." "THE END" "Translated from Spanish by Stephen Maconi"