Script by V. Yezhov and G. Chukhrai
Directed by G. Chukhrai
Photography by
V. Nikolaev and E. Savelyeva
Starring:
Alyosha - Vladimir Ivashov
Shura - Zhanna Prokhorenko
c 1 959 MOSFI LM
This is the road to town.
Those who leave our village,
and those who later return
to their birthplace,
walk along this road.
She's not waiting for anyone.
The one she used to wait for,
her son Alyosha,
did not return from the war.
He's buried far from his birthplace,
near a town with a foreign name.
Strangers bring flowers to his grave.
They call him a Russian soldier,
a hero, a liberator.
But to her he was simply a son,
about whom she knew everything
from the day he was born
to the day he left
along this road for the front.
He was our friend.
We will tell his story,
a story not everyone knows--
not even her--his mother.
BALLAD OF A SOLDI ER
- That"s it! Let"s go!
- But what about reporting?
You want to report
from the next world? Scram!
Eagle! Eagle! I see tanks!
Eagle! Eagle! Do you read me?
Eagle! This is Finch.
This is Finch! Eagle!
This is Finch! Answer me!
Yes, this is Finch!
I see tanks! Four of them!
They"re heading straight towards me.
There"s no infantry.
I can pull back.
You don"t like that, eh?
- Skvortsov, report to the general.
- Skvortsov, report to the general.
Here he is, Comrade General.
Private Skvortsov,
reporting as ordered.
Well, hero, come here.
Tell us everything that happened.
Were you at the observation point?
- Yes.
Well, what happened?
Comrade General, to be honest,
I was afraid!
They were so close...
I was scared.
You were so scared
that you knocked out two tanks?
Out of fright?
Everybody hear?
I wish everybody were so scared.
Wait a minute. Is it possible
that somebody else did it?
No, it was me.
Excellent.
I"m putting you up for a decoration.
Include Skvortsov on the list.
- Yes, Comrade General.
Please make note of this.
Comrade General,
instead of my decoration,
could I go home to see my mother?
- How old are you?
- Nineteen.
When I was leaving, I didn"t have time
to say good-bye to my mother.
And I just got a letter from her.
The roof is leaking.
Please let me go, Comrade General.
We"d all like to go home, Skvortsov,
but we can"t leave the front.
This is war and we"re all soldiers.
I wouldn"t have asked you
if we weren"t all taking a rest now.
I just need one day,
Comrade General.
I"ll fix the roof
and come right back.
Well, should we let Skvortsov
go home?
Let him fix the roof?
Just make sure you"re back on time!
Well, I... Comrade General...
I"ll do whatever it takes!
Sit down.
You"re pretty lucky, Skvortsov.
Where are you going?
To Georgievsk, the village of Sosnovka.
I could be there by tomorrow.
- No, my friend.
The way things are going nowadays,
a day won"t be enough.
I"ll give you two days to get there
and two to get back.
And two to fix the roof.
Satisfied?
Comrade General.
Can I go now?
- Go!
Just make sure you"re back on time.
- Yes, Comrade General!
Fellows, give us a hand!
- Take care!
- Thanks, guys!
- Have a good trip!
- Thank you!
Hey, friend! Wait a minute!
Are you going on leave?
- Yes.
- To Georgievsk?
- Yes.
I"m from Uzlovaya.
We"re neighbors!
Stop by at this address.
- I won"t have enough time. I can"t.
You have to change trains
at Uzlovaya anyway.
Chekhov Street.
Not far from the station.
Stop by, friend!
- Okay. What should I say?
Say that you saw me!
Tell Liza that her Sergei is all right,
that you saw him yourself.
Tell his Liza that he dreams
about her day and night.
Sergei, you ought to give her
some sort of present.
What can he give?
Everything he has is army-issue.
Quit talking!
Sergeant, give Sergei a cake of soap!
It"s for his wife!
- His ration is only for one washing.
- Give him a whole cake.
I have only two cakes
for the entire platoon.
- Well, give him one.
- That"s against regulations.
- Come on, Comrade Sergeant!
- Don"t be