Olimpius Inferno (2009) Movie Script
....
I just arrived, I was in Moscow.
It settled down now.
No, probably not today: I
promised I'd be home today.
What did you want?
Not now, ok? I really can't
speak to you at the moment.
No, I'm at the TV station.
What actor? No, I wrote the
script myself. Bye.
Hi. Take a seat.
When will we film the movie?
That's a mighty story, alright.
Tell me, though, is it all true?
True? The truth is much uglier.
When did you meet them?
About 3 days before the war.
Moscow. Press Bureau. Aug. 6, 2008.
- So you want to go to South Ossetia?
Well, yeah: you get your
coverage and I'll get my term paper.
LA, US State Department. Aug. 6, 2008.
South Ossetia? I think that's in Georgia.
Yeah, you'll need to get a Georgian
visa and then fly to Tbilisi.
To I go their through Tbilisi?
If they find out you're a journalist
you won't get your visa.
Fly to Vladikavkaz instead and
then to Tskhinvali.
- I don't have a travel passport.
- Take your state ID, it should suffice.
US citizens travelling to that region
are advised to get 12 vaccines.
Where should I get them?
Some in the shoulder, some...
lower.
- Shit, I can't stand injections.
- And what about dysentery?
And the vaccines?
What vaccines? Just don't
go drinking from rain pools.
Ok, and what kind of currency
do they have there?
I suppose euro. They
all have euro over there.
I think even in Ukraine.
Georgia... no, it says here
they have something called 'lari'.
They have lari there, don't they?
What lari? Who needs them?
Take rubles with you and you'll be all set.
What are you going there for?
'Olympius Inferno'.
You speak Georgian?
It's Latin. It's the name of the
butterfly I intend to catch.
Excuse me, you want
to catch what there?
I'm an entomologist. I
have a university grant
to collect butterflies and
shoot a documentary about them.
Are your parents aware
of where you're going?
Do I need to get their written permission?
I'm just asking. You're old enough
to do weird stuff on your own.
Are you going alone?
No, with a childhood friend.
You know, the men in Caucasus -
they're... I travelled there
at the times of the USSR.
Would I want to make you a company...
No, thanks, I'll be fine on my own.
You'll get your documents at
our office in Vladikavkaz.
- Well, have a nice trip.
- Thank you.
Here are the lists of addresses.
Should you need any assistance
call our embassy, they'll help you out.
Have a great trip.
Thanks a lot.
OLYMPIUS INFERNO
[Unofficial translation by Alex S.]
Say 'cheese', guys.
One-two... Okey, thanks.
Can I take a picture of you, please?
Great.
He looks like a normal guy,
what does he need butterflies for?
Does he speak Russian at all?
He did, when I spoke to him on the phone.
He moved when we were in 8th grade.
Mishka! How long
do we have to wait for you?
Hi.
Zhenka...
You didn't expect me
to grow into a woman?
You know what? No, I didn't:
I though you're
a six-foot african American.
Shall we kiss?
- Hi.
- Hi.
This is Viktor Andreyich,
peackeepers colonel.
Hello, Michael.
- Nice to meet you.
Ahsar here will be our guide.
Nice to meet you. I spoke on the phone
with your main office, and they
told me you're the best specialist.
- No need for formalities.
Let me help you.
- Thank you.
Do you still have war here?
Yes, in the morning they've repelled
a tank division, but we expect
them to attack again in the evening.
Aren't you aware of it?
Our State Dept. didn't warn me.
The war ceased over 15 years ago.
A war with whom?
With the Georgians.
And here they come.
Hi, everyone!
The wine's on me.
- Thank you, Vaho.
Nowadays everyone lives peacefully
here and we help to keep it that way.
How do you expect to be friends with them?
They don't like to work,
drink wine in the morning.
And you don't?
- Going over to Ahsar's national park?
- Yep.
I can take you wherever you want.
No, thanks.
I'll be your guide for a modest fee.
Thanks.
Planning to do some filming?
A scientific research.
Well, I won't go taking his bread.
Well, we're not saying farewell yet.
You still haven't told me about your wife.
It'll take some three
days next time we meet.
Are you certain there
won't be any shooting here?
Don't worry. They won't
shoot you, that's certain.
- Thank you, goodbye.
- Bye.
Maybe we should've hired that other guy.
He would've carried the equipment.
Would it cost a lot?
- Mikey.
- Half of your belongings.
He says he's here to earn money:
his family's in Georgia.
He sells everything,
he'd even sell his own mother.
All Georgians are normal, but
this one's kind of strange.
I caught him a couple of
times in the national park.
He doesn't look like a poacher.
Who knows what
he's been searching for?
Do you have normal roads over here?
What?
Hi, how's your wife and children?
Fine, and yours?
Everything's perfect.
Madam.
How's the wine?
Fantastic wine.
Pour in some more.
Michael.
- No-no.
C'mon, the car will stop working.
Let's go.
Enjoy your stay.
Say hi to your wife.
Who was that? A relative of yours?
No idea, I saw him for the first time.
Hello.
- My wife, Saira.
Michael, Zhenya.
- Nice to meet you.
Bad sign: the Georgians are leaving.
Perhaps, they're leaving for a weekend.
With the belongings? I'm afraid
they might start bombardments again.
Where are they going?
What did she say?
She says it's a tradition for entire
Georgian families to visit the weddings.
I'm fine.
- Are you ok?
Sorry, dear, it's the kids.
They're off to see granddad
and we're still stumbling on their stuff.
How many kids to you have?
- Three.
We have a tradition: three pies
should be on the table to symbolize
sun, water and earth.
To the Almighty!
Let St. George keep us safe.
To our meeting and your visit.
You don't like araka?
Ahsar, we need to get to the park.
Let's go.
Finish your drink and we'll go.
Let's go!
- Quite, they're showing Saakashvili.
Who is it?
- You don't know? It's the king of Spain.
No way.
- It's Georgian president.
...and the Russian party will monitor
the status of Ossetian autonomy.
Thank God. No more war.
Do you trust him?
Whe else can we trust?
Our children
are taught to hide in the basement
when they hear loud banging.
Let's drink to peace,
to kids growing up without war.
A marvelous toast!
To peaceful skies above our heads.
We should be going to the park.
You're such a pain in the neck.
C'mon, let's go.
...less than a day remaining before
the openning ceremony for the Olympics,
but new records have already been set:
these Olympics are the most expensive...
Hey, Jess, honey.
No, I'm fine, my voice is ok.
I'm not ill.
Listen... maybe, I thought, you know...
maybe we should announce our
engagement as soon as I come back.
We'll throw a barbecue party,
we'll call all the friends.
No formal suits or restaurants.
And please, let's not ask mom.
Think about it.
No... I just can't right now.
I'll call you later.
Yeah, of course I love you.
I miss you too, bye.
So, let's ride, groom?
Let's ride.
Why there're always fighting
going on in the Caucasus?
You just can't be waging war here.
Mishka.
I know now why your olymplus-plimplus
inhabits these places.
An ideal place.
Why did you bring all that junk with you?
What are you going to
do to this poor butterfly?
We'll cut its feet and
dry it in the oven. Is that so, Mike?
No, Zhenya. I'll collect
them and make a documentary.
You'll be climbing mountains
like a mountain goat?
It's much simpler than that.
Come.
It's very hard to film
night butterflies.
Olympius inferno flies with speed
of up to 50 km/h.
We'll set up the cameras
in places of their likely appearance,
it'll be triggered by movement
which will bring picture in focus.
Can you please hold it for me?
The image is transferred to the
receiver and saved on a hard drive.
Over here.
And then it comes up on the screen.
So that we can see what's being shot.
Marvelous.
The hard disk can store hundreds
of hours of footage.
Thank you.
That's it.
Now we just need to set up
the cameras.
Can't we do it in the morning?
A normal man doesn't work in
the evenings.
I even brough araka with me.
What araka? A true scientist
can't miss an entire night.
Yes, he can't. When we filmed in Africa
twenty hours a day no one whined.
Ah, Ahsar. The equipment -
it's very expensive, so you'll be
watching it, while we
set up the cameras.
Watching? There's no one here.
I don't even lock the doors.
- For a separate fee, obviously.
- Nevermind, go on.
Thank you.
Why did you become an entomologist?
It's a prestigious occupation in the US.
Even Nabokov was
interested in entomology.
Well, if Nabokov himself...
Why not a doctor, as your dad?
I tried studying,
but didn't feel anything for it.
Did you fall unconscious
during your first autopsy?
Yep.
Landed with my head right
inside the intestines.
No way. Yuck.
The head got stuck, they
pulled me by my feet.
They called the cops and firemen.
And then?
Then? That's it! I've been
like that ever since.
It was a minor joke, Zhenya.
- Can I laugh now?
Yep.
Thanks.
Blissus leucopterus!
What's that?
An aspirator.
It works like a vacuum cleaner.
Michael, what's wrong?
Michael!
- Call 911.
- What 911?! Breathe!
I won't do a mouth-to-mouth breathing.
Spit it out!
I swallowed it.
What was it?
A chinch bug
...of the lygaeidae family.
Have you ever used
this piece of junk before?
A thousand times.
You haven't even peeled off a price tag.
There was a ladder.
Imagine your butt sticking
out of the rocks
and a butterfly is sitting on top of it.
Yes, yes, ok?
You know, it's my first time
catching insects,
and we visited Africa with
Jessica as tourists.
I can't do a single thing!
Is this what you wanted to hear?
Is it? Why the hell did you
come with me in the first place?
It's your dad who called up my mom
asking to find someone to
keep an eye on his boyscout, who
all of a sudden rushed to
Ossetia.
- Don't even continue.
But frankly, I just wanted to
see the guy whom I
had a crush on in high school.
Yeah, and he was blind and
didn't pay attention to how I
followed him. Then he
left for America, and I was writing
letters for three years and never
received a single answer.
I didn't receive any letters.
We moved frequently.
And Jessica has been my girlfriend
since high school.
We'll soon be engaged.
Well, I also have a very cool
boyfriend you can only dream of.
I don't dream of men.
Let's go on, boyscout.
So you plan to leave your
cameras throughout entire Ossetia?
I didn't invite you here.
Let's sort it out once and for all
who's helping whom.
Where did you get them from?
Our counter-intelligence officer
told us to look for them.
We found them approximately
a mile away from here.
The guy has an American passport.
And the girl carried no ID on her.
Untie and send them some place far
from here. Let the embassy sort it out.
The counter-intelligence is here.
Where did the Americans come from?
They're not Americans, they're Russians
with American passports.
And the girl's definitely from Moscow.
I was certain they'll
be around here somewhere.
What the fuck are they doing here?
We'll take care of it, colonel.
Please remind all military
personnel that filming
and calling home is prohibited.
I will, captain.
What equipment did you bring with you?
-Entomologic.
There's an aspirator, containers.
We came to film butterflies.
Olympius inferno.
Give me back my phone, I need to call
an embassy.
How many video cameras do you have?
Just one, it's in the village and
we also have a photo camera.
We went looking for butterflies.
Please, let us go.
Do you belive in this
butterflies bullshit yourselves?
Put them in the car.
Excuse me.
Captain Addams.
I was told that you
detained an American citizen.
False information, captain.
They're Russians.
-No, we're Americans.
-This man is under protection of the
American flag. - The passport is a
fake. Mind your own business.
- He's an American!
Control, captain Adams.
Michael Oria is in Georgian custody.
He has a visa
effective as of yesterday.
[In Georgian] If you wouldn't be
an American, you bastard, I'd...
I had a chance to learn
your language, captain.
Thank you. Our headquarters
confirm that US citizen
Michael Oria is indeed present
in Georgia. He has to be
evacuated and delivered
to the embassy.
They have to let her go as well.
I don't care about citizens
of other states.
- She's my fiance!
- I repeat...
- I'm telling you she'll get her citizenship
after our wedding.
We have all the papers ready for it.
I'm not leaving without her.
Do you want me to stay here?
Release the girl.
And have him return the camera.
This is property of
an American university.
What the hell is going on here?
- It's an operation to restore
constitutional order in the country.
- It's war!
Yes, honey, it's war.
Listen, Zhenya, we need to Tbilisi
as soon as possible.
We have to leave as soon as possible.
So that they find out there
that I'm not your fiance there?
Zhenya!
Zhenya! Stupid woman!
Zhenya, where are you going?
Run faster, we have to find Ahsar.
He's not here.
Michael, look what's going on.
It's her...
...olympius inferno.
- It's a miracle.
- Wake up from your trance.
Do you understand that this will
be making tomorrow's headlines?
One could only dream of it.
We have to take it with us.
Do you think you'll get far with it?
Zhenya, it's university's property.
I can go to jail, if I lose it!
Then go ahead and guard it.
C'mon, leave it.
Zhenya!
Zhenya, I need to hide it all.
C'mon, answer me!
Ahsar? Ahsar, are you alive?
We're in the park.
Ashar, they stared a war!
Yep, got it.
He's waiting for us at home.
He'll take us to the peacekeepers.
Get down!
- What are you doing?
- Where are they?
Go!
- Ahsar!
- Saira!
Speak!
Vaho, don't you recognize me?!
He just shot a man.
- Stay down!
We have to call the cops.
He has to be arrested.
C'mon, we've got to run away.
Whom are you calling?
- An embassy, they'll save us.
He's looking for us, don't you
understand? He'll do the same to us!
Let's go! Only our troops will help us!
Don't look back!
...killing Ossetian civilians:
women, children, old men
- and most of them are Russian citizens.
In line with Constitution and Federal laws
I have to protect their lives
as a president of Russian Federation.
No matter where they're located.
We will not leave unpunished
the killing of our people.
Where are we going?
We're going in the wrong direction.
We're going in the right direction.
How do you know?
Do we have a choice?
We're lost, aren't we?
We're lost!
I told you we had
to contact the embassy.
Stop whining and call your embassy.
Have them send a warship for you.
There's no signal here.
Buy yourself a better phone.
Who are you?
We're... Russians.
It's the Russians.
Where are you going?
To our troops, to peacekeepers.
That's in the opposite direction.
Come.
Stupid.
Where are you going?
I'm going to Tskhinvali, to fight.
Keep quiet! We're headed for
the city, to our relatives.
Gabo, you're the only son I have left.
Yesterday his father was killed right
in our backyard by the tanks.
Me and Gabo wanted to bury him,
but the neighbors told us that
his body was boobytrapped.
- What do you mean?
They set a grenade under the body,
and when the relatives come to pick
the body up, they get blown up.
We didn't manage to bury him.
Eat, dear.
Take some more bread and cheese.
Go down this road, but make sure you're
not seen from the road itself.
Okey?
I'll walk you and
then I'll be going to Tskhinvali.
It's along the way.
Come on.
Hello?
Hi, Andrey.
Me? Everything's fine.
The weather's beautiful.
No, don't contact your friends at the
military. No, they don't sell
tickets to Ossetia.
- Is it a Kalashnikov?
- Baby, really, I'm fine.
Yeah, I'll call you myself. My
battery's dying and I don't have a charger.
- Bye!
- It's a safety lock.
That's a single-shot mode
and that's a burst mode.
And that's a bolt.
- Can I hold it?
- Sure.
- Are there any bullets in it?
- Nope.
Ok, we've gotta go.
Let's go.
Hello? Who did you get
this number from? From mom?
Andrey, please don't call me every
five minutes.
No, there's no war here.
We're having a barbecue party.
Love ya, bye!
Why don't you want to talk to him?
- I have nothing to say.
- Nothing?
What do you want me to tell him?
That we're in deep shit?
That I have no clue where we're at?
That's some nazi's killing people
in front of me and I'm being followed
by a frigging Yank. And then they'll take my
mom to the hospital with a heart attack.
He'll fly over here and get killed.
- Quiet!
It's our troops.
There are journalists over there.
- Zhenya, they'll take us to the peacekeepers.
- They'll take you alright, but no me.
No worries, I'll walk by myself.
- Thanks a lot.
- No, thank you. If it wasn't for you
my mom would never let me go.
- Bye!
- Zhen, come on, they'll leave without us.
What you can see behind me
are the consequences of mass
air bombing. We're in one
of the Georgian villages
destroyed by Russian air attack.
This night illegal military forces of
South Ossetia
aided by the Russians
attacked Georgia.
Independent Georgia has to defend itself.
Francis Avatow, SBC.
Hello, I'm sorry, I'm an American.
Great.
- We were caught in the fire with my
fiance. We need your help.
- So, you're Yank.
- I wanted to tell you: it's not Georgia
that was attacked.
- Look, we can take you away, if you want.
You just said
it's Georgia and it's not.
We're going to Tskhinvali.
We can drop you off on our way.
You said it's Georgia,
but we're in South Ossetia.
Look, I don't want to discuss that.
Everything I said will be
on the air within half an hour.
I can prove that it was Georgia,
who launched the attack.
Well, that seems interesting.
I can't offer you a price
without seeing it first.
Okey.
Do you still doubt?
Now to the terms.
You'll start with an interview with me.
Second, when using this footage
you'll credit me.
And third, a financial settlement.
Take the disk.
Hey, what are you doing?!
Put your hands on the car.
Honey, tanks and aircraft are bullshit.
The main thing in journalism...
Have you ever heard of a media war?
Now everybody thinks that
Georgia was attacked.
I forgot to write down your phone
number. I plan to visit Moscow
after the war, go studying.
Will you show me around?
No problem.
- Get in the car!
- And give us back the disk.
Michael, say 'cheese'.
C'mon, you can do better.
That's a smile of a retard.
Gabo! Stop laughing and
look in the camera.
Take off your helmet.
Tell me, why are they doing it?
It's a new type of warfare.
It's won by the one who shouts the most.
Remember Iraq: your people were
insisting there are chemical
weapons there. And after the war
they've discovered it's not there.
Oops, sorry.
People devour whatever
they're told on the TV.
We too believed Saakashvili
when he told us there'll be peace.
It's information warfare at its best.
There was a case, when
one western journalist borrowed
footage of the Afghanistan war
in which a body is dragged behind
a Russian-built tank.
Then he declared that it's proof of
Russian atrocities in Chechnya.
Thank goodness, the truth was
discovered later on
and a scandal followed.
Why do you want
to become a journalist?
I want to reveal the truth
using your hard disk.
It's not our troops.
Don't stop - we're journalists.
- Where are you taking them?
- To Tskhinvali.
We're already late. They intend
to film some general there.
Pull your car over there.
I told you to pull the car over.
I have an order not to let journalists
in. There's still fighting going on.
You'll have to wait about four hours.
These bastards haven't conquered
Tskhinvali yet. They hope to be done
within four hours.
Dammit, I need to get there.
Where are our peacekeepers?
You want me to ask the Georgians?
To tell them we're looking for friends?
Excuse me, can I take few pictures?
Take away their camera
and lock them inside.
What do they want from us?
We have to get to Tskhinvali asap.
It's the main foothold of the peacekeepers.
There's fighting there, haven't
you heard him?
Do you want no one
to know about this?
I don't want to die.
Don't worry. I'll take look after you
just as I promised your dad.
You said the peacekeepers will
help us. Yet they couldn't help
themselves.
- Civilized people don't shoot peacekeepers.
It's not my war.
Well, I'm going.
Where are you going?
I'll tell them I have to get to the city.
I'll leave the car behind and try to
get to Tbilisi some way or another.
And you do whatever you want.
I thought you'll grow
into second Nabokov.
And you've grown into a crybaby
full of butterflies.
Ok.
So what do you propose?
We'll take the disk to the TV
and tell the truth.
- Tell me.
- It's gonna be a bomb.
The girl, she's got real shots of the
beginning of the operation.
She's gonna go down in the
history of journalism.
Why does it make you so happy?
I'm talking as a professional.
If the Russians air it
no one will believe our story anymore.
- What do they look like?
A tall, American guy,
and a Russian girl,
and then, there's a local boy.
Look, they've got the jeep. It's got
an SBC logo on it.
- Get this loser to the front lines.
- My uncle's a major.
I don't give a fuck about your uncle.
- What's going on?
- Our cover has been blown.
Zhen, wait up. Stop.
Listen, let's throw that disk away.
And then we'll hide until it's all over.
- No.
- How many more people have to die?
Like that kid.
- He was saving us. He wanted us to
tell the truth.
- Is this what you'll tell his mom?
Who's next in line?
Me? Or you?
They're hunting us.
- Do as you wish, boyscout.
I'll walk alone.
I owe Gabo too much.
Hello? Jessica, baby,
I miss you too.
You heard what?
But it's not true.
No, Georgia started it.
What? Listen, no, I'm fine
they're taking me to an embassy,
and then - to an airport.
Yes, of course my car's bulletproof.
No, baby, I'm perfectly fine.
I'll talk to you later.
I love you. Bye!
She says our TV stations claim
it was you who attacked Georgia.
What did you expect?
We have freedom of press and
they can say whatever they want.
They were cheated.
- By whom?
I don't know.
I guess by Georgia.
Do you believe it?
Where are we going?
I'm going to Tskhinvali.
To peacekeepers' headquarters.
And what if there're no more
headquarters there?
You should've told us earlier, captain.
They're likely in Tskhinvali by now.
I don't see them yet.
You have an hour. Capture them
alive and search them well.
They're shooting - it's a good sign,
it means they haven't captured the
city yet.
- Do you know the way?
- Roughly.
- Where are we now?
Probably in the southern outskirts.
We have to ask the locals where's
the peacekeepers' base.
- Look for an ATM, we'll need money.
Take off your helmet.
- What?!
Take off your helmet!
- Why?
..and the vest as well.
Because it's a NATO uniform.
Taxi!
Let's go.
Freeze!
Lay down!
Wait for me.
Over there!
There's a shelter.
My baby! My little boy!
Help me!
Don't scream!
Help me!
- He's wounded.
Help me!
- Mike, what are you waiting for? Help me!
C'mon, pick him up!
Is there a doctor here?
- No, no doctors here.
My little boy's dying! Please help!
You studied for a doctor,
your father's a doctor.
I have a hemophobia.
- You what?
I fall unconscious when I see blood.
Look at his wound.
- Zhenya, don't make me do it!
I can't.
- I told you to look at him!
Mike! Michael, wake up!
Michael!
We have to get a fragment out.
We need medicine, tools,
we need bandages, injections,
antibiotics.
Do you hear me?
We need tools and drugs.
Michael!
- We've got fifteen minutes.
Then it'll be too late.
- Where do I take it?
Is there a pharmacy nearby?
- It was two blocks away, but it
got bombarded.
- There's an ambulance parked outside.
We need antibiotics.
Where's your fucking pharmacy?
It's around the corner,
but it's totally ruined.
Give the boy some water.
Someone! Help!
Please, hurry up!
Why can't you hurry up?!
- Keep quiet!
My little boy...
Make me an injection.
- Can't you do it by yourself?
No, I can't. The injection will help keep
me conscious. In the arm...
It was the most painful shot in my life.
If I lose consciousness, don't
slap me, use ammonia instead.
I need a knife.
- Here, take mine.
Fire.
- Take the candle.
Hurry up, will you!
Move your hands away
and hold his head.
Thanks, but don't shove
it in my mouth. - Sorry.
Hold his head.
Hand me the pincers.
Hold his wound.
Raise his head.
Hold the bandage.
Tie it up!
The sleeve.
He'll live.
- Thank you very much!
I'll be praying for you
for the rest of my life.
Vaho, you've let me down.
We'll get help for as
long as we play the victim.
If they get away, be a man
and blow your brains out.
Wait, I'll be there shortly.
- Can we open the road from the city?
A humanitarian cordon?
- What for?
They'll think in the west that
we let the civilians leave.
- That should not concern you.
- But they'll also try to use it to escape
and reach the Russians together
with other refugees. There's only one
way out of the city. Think about it.
- I'll get in touch with the general.
It's an all-out genocide of the Ossetian
people. We don't know anything about
our relatives. The communication
lines are cut off.
It's outside of any norms
of a civilized society.
We saw it ourselves: an old lady
was fleeing with two little children,
and the tank ran them over.
We've reached an agreement
that from 3 pm to 6 pm
we'll declare one-side truce
on the part of the Georgian troops.
What did he say?
He's saying the civilians can leave.
- Do you believe him?
What if it's true? We have to risk it.
- How will you know?
He's still bleeding. There's nothing more
I can do here. We need to get him to
the hospital.
- Someone has to go and then let
everyone else know.
- How will you go? On my back?
- You have a car.
- I can bring the wheels, if you care:
the bastards shot my garage.
- There's an ambulance car, if it's still
in one piece.
- Then we have to go.
I'll go with you.
- Take the bag.
Hurry up.
It's got manual transmission.
- Do you know how to drive?
I drove in school. Drive yourself.
There's a clutch pedal. Now press the
breaks. Start the engine!
Go!
- Release the clutch slowly.
Now drive!
Your Secretary of State, Condoleezza
Rice, made a statement
condemning Russian aggression towards
Georgia. Great Britain's
prime minister has released
statements criticizing Russian
aggression.
- Soon you'll see.
Many countries of the world
rally for isolating Russia.
US warships are moving towards
Georgia's shores.
Let's hope it won't
start World War III.
Why don't they
mind their own business?
All of my neighbors were Georgians.
We've always celebrated together.
Hold still, my dear. I think
he wants to drink. Do you have water?
No, don't let him drink.
Have patience, we'll arrive soon.
How much longer do we have to drive?
We're half way there.
We have to call our relatives and let
them know they can leave the city.
We'll drop the boy off and return to
pick them up.
They're here to get us.
Freeze!
Mind showing me the butterflies?
Where's the disk?
We lost it in Tskhinvali
during a bombardment.
Bring the old man.
We've got a lot of bullets.
Listen, we don't have any disk, let him go.
Don't do it! Is this what
you're looking for?
Please let us go. We have an injured
little boy with us in the car.
I'll let you go, if
this is what I'm looking for.
You're free to leave.
- Where are you taking him?
- She'll come with me.
The Russian girl will go home
with the refugees. And as for you,
US citizen, will come to Tbilisi.
- She's my fiance!
Then you can write her an SMS telling
you arrived home safely.
I want to say goodbye to her!
There's a backup copy in the notebook.
We'll pick it up, when it's all over.
We have to make it look natural,
as if I was leaving my fiance behind.
I think that's natural enough.
I doesn't mean a thing,
got it?
I know.
Fighting for the whole day,
no time to even take a piss.
Captain, sir, I've done as you ordered.
They have a copy.
Your parents are in the US, aren't they?
Please...
Please, don't mess with them.
I won't be able to save
you for the second time.
How's the life over there?
Not so bad.
You should've left and gone back home.
Your fiance...
- Wait.
Please, calm down. Your girl's injured,
but we can still save her.
I'll help you.
She's still breathing, we can still save
her. Pick her up.
Lost your way, gamardzhoba?
I'm Russian, I'm Russian!
I have a wounded girl in the car.
Where's a nearest hospital?
Drive further down the road, turn left,
then straight ahead for about 40
kilometers.
Go, go!
Hej, buddy, lend me a phone to
send an SMS that I'm alive.
Guys, I found a long lost buddy.
Here.
Hello? Who is it?
Andrey who?
Andrey, she's wounded lightly.
I'm telling you she's wounded!
Where are you?
Where are you at?
Hello? Hello?!
Ok, viewers, joining us here
in the studio is Michael,
an entomologist and a witness to
recent events in South Ossetia.
Together with Michael is his fiance,
who was probably worried sick
while he was away.
- Yeah, but, all that is behind us now,
so finally we can get married.
- I bet, fantastic!
Michael, maybe you can tell us
a little bit about the Russian attack on
Georgia.
- It was the other way around.
Maybe you didn't understand the question.
- No, I have proof. I have
several hours of footage showing
the attack of Georgian troops on Ossetia.
Ok, wonderful, why don't we take a look
at that shocking footage Michael
has provided us with.
Wow, congratulations, Michael!
I'm sure this footage will be of
great interest to
National Geographic channel.
Our decision is final and we're totally
serious about this issue:
we've recognized two new sovereign
states in line with international laws.
We acknowledge their existence
according to international treaties.
This was Dmitry Medvedev's interview
to the 'Figaro' newspaper, in which
he confirmed that Russia will not
review its decision to recognize
independence of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia. Foreign mass media
couldn't dismiss the words of the
president, unlike witness accounts of
the Georgian aggression.
In other news, an American TV channel
has invited Michael Oria, an entomologist
who just returned from South Ossetia.
Michael visited Ossetia to film a
documentary on olympius inferno
butterfly, but ended up in the midst of
fighting. The entomologist brought
with him footage with proof of Georgian
troops' assault on South Ossetian
territory. But it wasn't shown
to the American public.
- Hello?
- Hi, boyscout.
Me? I'm fine.
I want to congratulate you.
I hope you two to live long enough
for a gold wedding anniversary.
- Thanks.
- And I'll send you a gift.
A baby carriage.
Thanks, send it right away.
And better still, a carriage for two babies.
Better still, congratulate me live.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
That's one powerful story...
I don't like the ending, though.
In movies you have
to provide hope to people.
So, work on the ending,
for the girl to remain alive in the movie.
I'd like that very much myself.
I just arrived, I was in Moscow.
It settled down now.
No, probably not today: I
promised I'd be home today.
What did you want?
Not now, ok? I really can't
speak to you at the moment.
No, I'm at the TV station.
What actor? No, I wrote the
script myself. Bye.
Hi. Take a seat.
When will we film the movie?
That's a mighty story, alright.
Tell me, though, is it all true?
True? The truth is much uglier.
When did you meet them?
About 3 days before the war.
Moscow. Press Bureau. Aug. 6, 2008.
- So you want to go to South Ossetia?
Well, yeah: you get your
coverage and I'll get my term paper.
LA, US State Department. Aug. 6, 2008.
South Ossetia? I think that's in Georgia.
Yeah, you'll need to get a Georgian
visa and then fly to Tbilisi.
To I go their through Tbilisi?
If they find out you're a journalist
you won't get your visa.
Fly to Vladikavkaz instead and
then to Tskhinvali.
- I don't have a travel passport.
- Take your state ID, it should suffice.
US citizens travelling to that region
are advised to get 12 vaccines.
Where should I get them?
Some in the shoulder, some...
lower.
- Shit, I can't stand injections.
- And what about dysentery?
And the vaccines?
What vaccines? Just don't
go drinking from rain pools.
Ok, and what kind of currency
do they have there?
I suppose euro. They
all have euro over there.
I think even in Ukraine.
Georgia... no, it says here
they have something called 'lari'.
They have lari there, don't they?
What lari? Who needs them?
Take rubles with you and you'll be all set.
What are you going there for?
'Olympius Inferno'.
You speak Georgian?
It's Latin. It's the name of the
butterfly I intend to catch.
Excuse me, you want
to catch what there?
I'm an entomologist. I
have a university grant
to collect butterflies and
shoot a documentary about them.
Are your parents aware
of where you're going?
Do I need to get their written permission?
I'm just asking. You're old enough
to do weird stuff on your own.
Are you going alone?
No, with a childhood friend.
You know, the men in Caucasus -
they're... I travelled there
at the times of the USSR.
Would I want to make you a company...
No, thanks, I'll be fine on my own.
You'll get your documents at
our office in Vladikavkaz.
- Well, have a nice trip.
- Thank you.
Here are the lists of addresses.
Should you need any assistance
call our embassy, they'll help you out.
Have a great trip.
Thanks a lot.
OLYMPIUS INFERNO
[Unofficial translation by Alex S.]
Say 'cheese', guys.
One-two... Okey, thanks.
Can I take a picture of you, please?
Great.
He looks like a normal guy,
what does he need butterflies for?
Does he speak Russian at all?
He did, when I spoke to him on the phone.
He moved when we were in 8th grade.
Mishka! How long
do we have to wait for you?
Hi.
Zhenka...
You didn't expect me
to grow into a woman?
You know what? No, I didn't:
I though you're
a six-foot african American.
Shall we kiss?
- Hi.
- Hi.
This is Viktor Andreyich,
peackeepers colonel.
Hello, Michael.
- Nice to meet you.
Ahsar here will be our guide.
Nice to meet you. I spoke on the phone
with your main office, and they
told me you're the best specialist.
- No need for formalities.
Let me help you.
- Thank you.
Do you still have war here?
Yes, in the morning they've repelled
a tank division, but we expect
them to attack again in the evening.
Aren't you aware of it?
Our State Dept. didn't warn me.
The war ceased over 15 years ago.
A war with whom?
With the Georgians.
And here they come.
Hi, everyone!
The wine's on me.
- Thank you, Vaho.
Nowadays everyone lives peacefully
here and we help to keep it that way.
How do you expect to be friends with them?
They don't like to work,
drink wine in the morning.
And you don't?
- Going over to Ahsar's national park?
- Yep.
I can take you wherever you want.
No, thanks.
I'll be your guide for a modest fee.
Thanks.
Planning to do some filming?
A scientific research.
Well, I won't go taking his bread.
Well, we're not saying farewell yet.
You still haven't told me about your wife.
It'll take some three
days next time we meet.
Are you certain there
won't be any shooting here?
Don't worry. They won't
shoot you, that's certain.
- Thank you, goodbye.
- Bye.
Maybe we should've hired that other guy.
He would've carried the equipment.
Would it cost a lot?
- Mikey.
- Half of your belongings.
He says he's here to earn money:
his family's in Georgia.
He sells everything,
he'd even sell his own mother.
All Georgians are normal, but
this one's kind of strange.
I caught him a couple of
times in the national park.
He doesn't look like a poacher.
Who knows what
he's been searching for?
Do you have normal roads over here?
What?
Hi, how's your wife and children?
Fine, and yours?
Everything's perfect.
Madam.
How's the wine?
Fantastic wine.
Pour in some more.
Michael.
- No-no.
C'mon, the car will stop working.
Let's go.
Enjoy your stay.
Say hi to your wife.
Who was that? A relative of yours?
No idea, I saw him for the first time.
Hello.
- My wife, Saira.
Michael, Zhenya.
- Nice to meet you.
Bad sign: the Georgians are leaving.
Perhaps, they're leaving for a weekend.
With the belongings? I'm afraid
they might start bombardments again.
Where are they going?
What did she say?
She says it's a tradition for entire
Georgian families to visit the weddings.
I'm fine.
- Are you ok?
Sorry, dear, it's the kids.
They're off to see granddad
and we're still stumbling on their stuff.
How many kids to you have?
- Three.
We have a tradition: three pies
should be on the table to symbolize
sun, water and earth.
To the Almighty!
Let St. George keep us safe.
To our meeting and your visit.
You don't like araka?
Ahsar, we need to get to the park.
Let's go.
Finish your drink and we'll go.
Let's go!
- Quite, they're showing Saakashvili.
Who is it?
- You don't know? It's the king of Spain.
No way.
- It's Georgian president.
...and the Russian party will monitor
the status of Ossetian autonomy.
Thank God. No more war.
Do you trust him?
Whe else can we trust?
Our children
are taught to hide in the basement
when they hear loud banging.
Let's drink to peace,
to kids growing up without war.
A marvelous toast!
To peaceful skies above our heads.
We should be going to the park.
You're such a pain in the neck.
C'mon, let's go.
...less than a day remaining before
the openning ceremony for the Olympics,
but new records have already been set:
these Olympics are the most expensive...
Hey, Jess, honey.
No, I'm fine, my voice is ok.
I'm not ill.
Listen... maybe, I thought, you know...
maybe we should announce our
engagement as soon as I come back.
We'll throw a barbecue party,
we'll call all the friends.
No formal suits or restaurants.
And please, let's not ask mom.
Think about it.
No... I just can't right now.
I'll call you later.
Yeah, of course I love you.
I miss you too, bye.
So, let's ride, groom?
Let's ride.
Why there're always fighting
going on in the Caucasus?
You just can't be waging war here.
Mishka.
I know now why your olymplus-plimplus
inhabits these places.
An ideal place.
Why did you bring all that junk with you?
What are you going to
do to this poor butterfly?
We'll cut its feet and
dry it in the oven. Is that so, Mike?
No, Zhenya. I'll collect
them and make a documentary.
You'll be climbing mountains
like a mountain goat?
It's much simpler than that.
Come.
It's very hard to film
night butterflies.
Olympius inferno flies with speed
of up to 50 km/h.
We'll set up the cameras
in places of their likely appearance,
it'll be triggered by movement
which will bring picture in focus.
Can you please hold it for me?
The image is transferred to the
receiver and saved on a hard drive.
Over here.
And then it comes up on the screen.
So that we can see what's being shot.
Marvelous.
The hard disk can store hundreds
of hours of footage.
Thank you.
That's it.
Now we just need to set up
the cameras.
Can't we do it in the morning?
A normal man doesn't work in
the evenings.
I even brough araka with me.
What araka? A true scientist
can't miss an entire night.
Yes, he can't. When we filmed in Africa
twenty hours a day no one whined.
Ah, Ahsar. The equipment -
it's very expensive, so you'll be
watching it, while we
set up the cameras.
Watching? There's no one here.
I don't even lock the doors.
- For a separate fee, obviously.
- Nevermind, go on.
Thank you.
Why did you become an entomologist?
It's a prestigious occupation in the US.
Even Nabokov was
interested in entomology.
Well, if Nabokov himself...
Why not a doctor, as your dad?
I tried studying,
but didn't feel anything for it.
Did you fall unconscious
during your first autopsy?
Yep.
Landed with my head right
inside the intestines.
No way. Yuck.
The head got stuck, they
pulled me by my feet.
They called the cops and firemen.
And then?
Then? That's it! I've been
like that ever since.
It was a minor joke, Zhenya.
- Can I laugh now?
Yep.
Thanks.
Blissus leucopterus!
What's that?
An aspirator.
It works like a vacuum cleaner.
Michael, what's wrong?
Michael!
- Call 911.
- What 911?! Breathe!
I won't do a mouth-to-mouth breathing.
Spit it out!
I swallowed it.
What was it?
A chinch bug
...of the lygaeidae family.
Have you ever used
this piece of junk before?
A thousand times.
You haven't even peeled off a price tag.
There was a ladder.
Imagine your butt sticking
out of the rocks
and a butterfly is sitting on top of it.
Yes, yes, ok?
You know, it's my first time
catching insects,
and we visited Africa with
Jessica as tourists.
I can't do a single thing!
Is this what you wanted to hear?
Is it? Why the hell did you
come with me in the first place?
It's your dad who called up my mom
asking to find someone to
keep an eye on his boyscout, who
all of a sudden rushed to
Ossetia.
- Don't even continue.
But frankly, I just wanted to
see the guy whom I
had a crush on in high school.
Yeah, and he was blind and
didn't pay attention to how I
followed him. Then he
left for America, and I was writing
letters for three years and never
received a single answer.
I didn't receive any letters.
We moved frequently.
And Jessica has been my girlfriend
since high school.
We'll soon be engaged.
Well, I also have a very cool
boyfriend you can only dream of.
I don't dream of men.
Let's go on, boyscout.
So you plan to leave your
cameras throughout entire Ossetia?
I didn't invite you here.
Let's sort it out once and for all
who's helping whom.
Where did you get them from?
Our counter-intelligence officer
told us to look for them.
We found them approximately
a mile away from here.
The guy has an American passport.
And the girl carried no ID on her.
Untie and send them some place far
from here. Let the embassy sort it out.
The counter-intelligence is here.
Where did the Americans come from?
They're not Americans, they're Russians
with American passports.
And the girl's definitely from Moscow.
I was certain they'll
be around here somewhere.
What the fuck are they doing here?
We'll take care of it, colonel.
Please remind all military
personnel that filming
and calling home is prohibited.
I will, captain.
What equipment did you bring with you?
-Entomologic.
There's an aspirator, containers.
We came to film butterflies.
Olympius inferno.
Give me back my phone, I need to call
an embassy.
How many video cameras do you have?
Just one, it's in the village and
we also have a photo camera.
We went looking for butterflies.
Please, let us go.
Do you belive in this
butterflies bullshit yourselves?
Put them in the car.
Excuse me.
Captain Addams.
I was told that you
detained an American citizen.
False information, captain.
They're Russians.
-No, we're Americans.
-This man is under protection of the
American flag. - The passport is a
fake. Mind your own business.
- He's an American!
Control, captain Adams.
Michael Oria is in Georgian custody.
He has a visa
effective as of yesterday.
[In Georgian] If you wouldn't be
an American, you bastard, I'd...
I had a chance to learn
your language, captain.
Thank you. Our headquarters
confirm that US citizen
Michael Oria is indeed present
in Georgia. He has to be
evacuated and delivered
to the embassy.
They have to let her go as well.
I don't care about citizens
of other states.
- She's my fiance!
- I repeat...
- I'm telling you she'll get her citizenship
after our wedding.
We have all the papers ready for it.
I'm not leaving without her.
Do you want me to stay here?
Release the girl.
And have him return the camera.
This is property of
an American university.
What the hell is going on here?
- It's an operation to restore
constitutional order in the country.
- It's war!
Yes, honey, it's war.
Listen, Zhenya, we need to Tbilisi
as soon as possible.
We have to leave as soon as possible.
So that they find out there
that I'm not your fiance there?
Zhenya!
Zhenya! Stupid woman!
Zhenya, where are you going?
Run faster, we have to find Ahsar.
He's not here.
Michael, look what's going on.
It's her...
...olympius inferno.
- It's a miracle.
- Wake up from your trance.
Do you understand that this will
be making tomorrow's headlines?
One could only dream of it.
We have to take it with us.
Do you think you'll get far with it?
Zhenya, it's university's property.
I can go to jail, if I lose it!
Then go ahead and guard it.
C'mon, leave it.
Zhenya!
Zhenya, I need to hide it all.
C'mon, answer me!
Ahsar? Ahsar, are you alive?
We're in the park.
Ashar, they stared a war!
Yep, got it.
He's waiting for us at home.
He'll take us to the peacekeepers.
Get down!
- What are you doing?
- Where are they?
Go!
- Ahsar!
- Saira!
Speak!
Vaho, don't you recognize me?!
He just shot a man.
- Stay down!
We have to call the cops.
He has to be arrested.
C'mon, we've got to run away.
Whom are you calling?
- An embassy, they'll save us.
He's looking for us, don't you
understand? He'll do the same to us!
Let's go! Only our troops will help us!
Don't look back!
...killing Ossetian civilians:
women, children, old men
- and most of them are Russian citizens.
In line with Constitution and Federal laws
I have to protect their lives
as a president of Russian Federation.
No matter where they're located.
We will not leave unpunished
the killing of our people.
Where are we going?
We're going in the wrong direction.
We're going in the right direction.
How do you know?
Do we have a choice?
We're lost, aren't we?
We're lost!
I told you we had
to contact the embassy.
Stop whining and call your embassy.
Have them send a warship for you.
There's no signal here.
Buy yourself a better phone.
Who are you?
We're... Russians.
It's the Russians.
Where are you going?
To our troops, to peacekeepers.
That's in the opposite direction.
Come.
Stupid.
Where are you going?
I'm going to Tskhinvali, to fight.
Keep quiet! We're headed for
the city, to our relatives.
Gabo, you're the only son I have left.
Yesterday his father was killed right
in our backyard by the tanks.
Me and Gabo wanted to bury him,
but the neighbors told us that
his body was boobytrapped.
- What do you mean?
They set a grenade under the body,
and when the relatives come to pick
the body up, they get blown up.
We didn't manage to bury him.
Eat, dear.
Take some more bread and cheese.
Go down this road, but make sure you're
not seen from the road itself.
Okey?
I'll walk you and
then I'll be going to Tskhinvali.
It's along the way.
Come on.
Hello?
Hi, Andrey.
Me? Everything's fine.
The weather's beautiful.
No, don't contact your friends at the
military. No, they don't sell
tickets to Ossetia.
- Is it a Kalashnikov?
- Baby, really, I'm fine.
Yeah, I'll call you myself. My
battery's dying and I don't have a charger.
- Bye!
- It's a safety lock.
That's a single-shot mode
and that's a burst mode.
And that's a bolt.
- Can I hold it?
- Sure.
- Are there any bullets in it?
- Nope.
Ok, we've gotta go.
Let's go.
Hello? Who did you get
this number from? From mom?
Andrey, please don't call me every
five minutes.
No, there's no war here.
We're having a barbecue party.
Love ya, bye!
Why don't you want to talk to him?
- I have nothing to say.
- Nothing?
What do you want me to tell him?
That we're in deep shit?
That I have no clue where we're at?
That's some nazi's killing people
in front of me and I'm being followed
by a frigging Yank. And then they'll take my
mom to the hospital with a heart attack.
He'll fly over here and get killed.
- Quiet!
It's our troops.
There are journalists over there.
- Zhenya, they'll take us to the peacekeepers.
- They'll take you alright, but no me.
No worries, I'll walk by myself.
- Thanks a lot.
- No, thank you. If it wasn't for you
my mom would never let me go.
- Bye!
- Zhen, come on, they'll leave without us.
What you can see behind me
are the consequences of mass
air bombing. We're in one
of the Georgian villages
destroyed by Russian air attack.
This night illegal military forces of
South Ossetia
aided by the Russians
attacked Georgia.
Independent Georgia has to defend itself.
Francis Avatow, SBC.
Hello, I'm sorry, I'm an American.
Great.
- We were caught in the fire with my
fiance. We need your help.
- So, you're Yank.
- I wanted to tell you: it's not Georgia
that was attacked.
- Look, we can take you away, if you want.
You just said
it's Georgia and it's not.
We're going to Tskhinvali.
We can drop you off on our way.
You said it's Georgia,
but we're in South Ossetia.
Look, I don't want to discuss that.
Everything I said will be
on the air within half an hour.
I can prove that it was Georgia,
who launched the attack.
Well, that seems interesting.
I can't offer you a price
without seeing it first.
Okey.
Do you still doubt?
Now to the terms.
You'll start with an interview with me.
Second, when using this footage
you'll credit me.
And third, a financial settlement.
Take the disk.
Hey, what are you doing?!
Put your hands on the car.
Honey, tanks and aircraft are bullshit.
The main thing in journalism...
Have you ever heard of a media war?
Now everybody thinks that
Georgia was attacked.
I forgot to write down your phone
number. I plan to visit Moscow
after the war, go studying.
Will you show me around?
No problem.
- Get in the car!
- And give us back the disk.
Michael, say 'cheese'.
C'mon, you can do better.
That's a smile of a retard.
Gabo! Stop laughing and
look in the camera.
Take off your helmet.
Tell me, why are they doing it?
It's a new type of warfare.
It's won by the one who shouts the most.
Remember Iraq: your people were
insisting there are chemical
weapons there. And after the war
they've discovered it's not there.
Oops, sorry.
People devour whatever
they're told on the TV.
We too believed Saakashvili
when he told us there'll be peace.
It's information warfare at its best.
There was a case, when
one western journalist borrowed
footage of the Afghanistan war
in which a body is dragged behind
a Russian-built tank.
Then he declared that it's proof of
Russian atrocities in Chechnya.
Thank goodness, the truth was
discovered later on
and a scandal followed.
Why do you want
to become a journalist?
I want to reveal the truth
using your hard disk.
It's not our troops.
Don't stop - we're journalists.
- Where are you taking them?
- To Tskhinvali.
We're already late. They intend
to film some general there.
Pull your car over there.
I told you to pull the car over.
I have an order not to let journalists
in. There's still fighting going on.
You'll have to wait about four hours.
These bastards haven't conquered
Tskhinvali yet. They hope to be done
within four hours.
Dammit, I need to get there.
Where are our peacekeepers?
You want me to ask the Georgians?
To tell them we're looking for friends?
Excuse me, can I take few pictures?
Take away their camera
and lock them inside.
What do they want from us?
We have to get to Tskhinvali asap.
It's the main foothold of the peacekeepers.
There's fighting there, haven't
you heard him?
Do you want no one
to know about this?
I don't want to die.
Don't worry. I'll take look after you
just as I promised your dad.
You said the peacekeepers will
help us. Yet they couldn't help
themselves.
- Civilized people don't shoot peacekeepers.
It's not my war.
Well, I'm going.
Where are you going?
I'll tell them I have to get to the city.
I'll leave the car behind and try to
get to Tbilisi some way or another.
And you do whatever you want.
I thought you'll grow
into second Nabokov.
And you've grown into a crybaby
full of butterflies.
Ok.
So what do you propose?
We'll take the disk to the TV
and tell the truth.
- Tell me.
- It's gonna be a bomb.
The girl, she's got real shots of the
beginning of the operation.
She's gonna go down in the
history of journalism.
Why does it make you so happy?
I'm talking as a professional.
If the Russians air it
no one will believe our story anymore.
- What do they look like?
A tall, American guy,
and a Russian girl,
and then, there's a local boy.
Look, they've got the jeep. It's got
an SBC logo on it.
- Get this loser to the front lines.
- My uncle's a major.
I don't give a fuck about your uncle.
- What's going on?
- Our cover has been blown.
Zhen, wait up. Stop.
Listen, let's throw that disk away.
And then we'll hide until it's all over.
- No.
- How many more people have to die?
Like that kid.
- He was saving us. He wanted us to
tell the truth.
- Is this what you'll tell his mom?
Who's next in line?
Me? Or you?
They're hunting us.
- Do as you wish, boyscout.
I'll walk alone.
I owe Gabo too much.
Hello? Jessica, baby,
I miss you too.
You heard what?
But it's not true.
No, Georgia started it.
What? Listen, no, I'm fine
they're taking me to an embassy,
and then - to an airport.
Yes, of course my car's bulletproof.
No, baby, I'm perfectly fine.
I'll talk to you later.
I love you. Bye!
She says our TV stations claim
it was you who attacked Georgia.
What did you expect?
We have freedom of press and
they can say whatever they want.
They were cheated.
- By whom?
I don't know.
I guess by Georgia.
Do you believe it?
Where are we going?
I'm going to Tskhinvali.
To peacekeepers' headquarters.
And what if there're no more
headquarters there?
You should've told us earlier, captain.
They're likely in Tskhinvali by now.
I don't see them yet.
You have an hour. Capture them
alive and search them well.
They're shooting - it's a good sign,
it means they haven't captured the
city yet.
- Do you know the way?
- Roughly.
- Where are we now?
Probably in the southern outskirts.
We have to ask the locals where's
the peacekeepers' base.
- Look for an ATM, we'll need money.
Take off your helmet.
- What?!
Take off your helmet!
- Why?
..and the vest as well.
Because it's a NATO uniform.
Taxi!
Let's go.
Freeze!
Lay down!
Wait for me.
Over there!
There's a shelter.
My baby! My little boy!
Help me!
Don't scream!
Help me!
- He's wounded.
Help me!
- Mike, what are you waiting for? Help me!
C'mon, pick him up!
Is there a doctor here?
- No, no doctors here.
My little boy's dying! Please help!
You studied for a doctor,
your father's a doctor.
I have a hemophobia.
- You what?
I fall unconscious when I see blood.
Look at his wound.
- Zhenya, don't make me do it!
I can't.
- I told you to look at him!
Mike! Michael, wake up!
Michael!
We have to get a fragment out.
We need medicine, tools,
we need bandages, injections,
antibiotics.
Do you hear me?
We need tools and drugs.
Michael!
- We've got fifteen minutes.
Then it'll be too late.
- Where do I take it?
Is there a pharmacy nearby?
- It was two blocks away, but it
got bombarded.
- There's an ambulance parked outside.
We need antibiotics.
Where's your fucking pharmacy?
It's around the corner,
but it's totally ruined.
Give the boy some water.
Someone! Help!
Please, hurry up!
Why can't you hurry up?!
- Keep quiet!
My little boy...
Make me an injection.
- Can't you do it by yourself?
No, I can't. The injection will help keep
me conscious. In the arm...
It was the most painful shot in my life.
If I lose consciousness, don't
slap me, use ammonia instead.
I need a knife.
- Here, take mine.
Fire.
- Take the candle.
Hurry up, will you!
Move your hands away
and hold his head.
Thanks, but don't shove
it in my mouth. - Sorry.
Hold his head.
Hand me the pincers.
Hold his wound.
Raise his head.
Hold the bandage.
Tie it up!
The sleeve.
He'll live.
- Thank you very much!
I'll be praying for you
for the rest of my life.
Vaho, you've let me down.
We'll get help for as
long as we play the victim.
If they get away, be a man
and blow your brains out.
Wait, I'll be there shortly.
- Can we open the road from the city?
A humanitarian cordon?
- What for?
They'll think in the west that
we let the civilians leave.
- That should not concern you.
- But they'll also try to use it to escape
and reach the Russians together
with other refugees. There's only one
way out of the city. Think about it.
- I'll get in touch with the general.
It's an all-out genocide of the Ossetian
people. We don't know anything about
our relatives. The communication
lines are cut off.
It's outside of any norms
of a civilized society.
We saw it ourselves: an old lady
was fleeing with two little children,
and the tank ran them over.
We've reached an agreement
that from 3 pm to 6 pm
we'll declare one-side truce
on the part of the Georgian troops.
What did he say?
He's saying the civilians can leave.
- Do you believe him?
What if it's true? We have to risk it.
- How will you know?
He's still bleeding. There's nothing more
I can do here. We need to get him to
the hospital.
- Someone has to go and then let
everyone else know.
- How will you go? On my back?
- You have a car.
- I can bring the wheels, if you care:
the bastards shot my garage.
- There's an ambulance car, if it's still
in one piece.
- Then we have to go.
I'll go with you.
- Take the bag.
Hurry up.
It's got manual transmission.
- Do you know how to drive?
I drove in school. Drive yourself.
There's a clutch pedal. Now press the
breaks. Start the engine!
Go!
- Release the clutch slowly.
Now drive!
Your Secretary of State, Condoleezza
Rice, made a statement
condemning Russian aggression towards
Georgia. Great Britain's
prime minister has released
statements criticizing Russian
aggression.
- Soon you'll see.
Many countries of the world
rally for isolating Russia.
US warships are moving towards
Georgia's shores.
Let's hope it won't
start World War III.
Why don't they
mind their own business?
All of my neighbors were Georgians.
We've always celebrated together.
Hold still, my dear. I think
he wants to drink. Do you have water?
No, don't let him drink.
Have patience, we'll arrive soon.
How much longer do we have to drive?
We're half way there.
We have to call our relatives and let
them know they can leave the city.
We'll drop the boy off and return to
pick them up.
They're here to get us.
Freeze!
Mind showing me the butterflies?
Where's the disk?
We lost it in Tskhinvali
during a bombardment.
Bring the old man.
We've got a lot of bullets.
Listen, we don't have any disk, let him go.
Don't do it! Is this what
you're looking for?
Please let us go. We have an injured
little boy with us in the car.
I'll let you go, if
this is what I'm looking for.
You're free to leave.
- Where are you taking him?
- She'll come with me.
The Russian girl will go home
with the refugees. And as for you,
US citizen, will come to Tbilisi.
- She's my fiance!
Then you can write her an SMS telling
you arrived home safely.
I want to say goodbye to her!
There's a backup copy in the notebook.
We'll pick it up, when it's all over.
We have to make it look natural,
as if I was leaving my fiance behind.
I think that's natural enough.
I doesn't mean a thing,
got it?
I know.
Fighting for the whole day,
no time to even take a piss.
Captain, sir, I've done as you ordered.
They have a copy.
Your parents are in the US, aren't they?
Please...
Please, don't mess with them.
I won't be able to save
you for the second time.
How's the life over there?
Not so bad.
You should've left and gone back home.
Your fiance...
- Wait.
Please, calm down. Your girl's injured,
but we can still save her.
I'll help you.
She's still breathing, we can still save
her. Pick her up.
Lost your way, gamardzhoba?
I'm Russian, I'm Russian!
I have a wounded girl in the car.
Where's a nearest hospital?
Drive further down the road, turn left,
then straight ahead for about 40
kilometers.
Go, go!
Hej, buddy, lend me a phone to
send an SMS that I'm alive.
Guys, I found a long lost buddy.
Here.
Hello? Who is it?
Andrey who?
Andrey, she's wounded lightly.
I'm telling you she's wounded!
Where are you?
Where are you at?
Hello? Hello?!
Ok, viewers, joining us here
in the studio is Michael,
an entomologist and a witness to
recent events in South Ossetia.
Together with Michael is his fiance,
who was probably worried sick
while he was away.
- Yeah, but, all that is behind us now,
so finally we can get married.
- I bet, fantastic!
Michael, maybe you can tell us
a little bit about the Russian attack on
Georgia.
- It was the other way around.
Maybe you didn't understand the question.
- No, I have proof. I have
several hours of footage showing
the attack of Georgian troops on Ossetia.
Ok, wonderful, why don't we take a look
at that shocking footage Michael
has provided us with.
Wow, congratulations, Michael!
I'm sure this footage will be of
great interest to
National Geographic channel.
Our decision is final and we're totally
serious about this issue:
we've recognized two new sovereign
states in line with international laws.
We acknowledge their existence
according to international treaties.
This was Dmitry Medvedev's interview
to the 'Figaro' newspaper, in which
he confirmed that Russia will not
review its decision to recognize
independence of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia. Foreign mass media
couldn't dismiss the words of the
president, unlike witness accounts of
the Georgian aggression.
In other news, an American TV channel
has invited Michael Oria, an entomologist
who just returned from South Ossetia.
Michael visited Ossetia to film a
documentary on olympius inferno
butterfly, but ended up in the midst of
fighting. The entomologist brought
with him footage with proof of Georgian
troops' assault on South Ossetian
territory. But it wasn't shown
to the American public.
- Hello?
- Hi, boyscout.
Me? I'm fine.
I want to congratulate you.
I hope you two to live long enough
for a gold wedding anniversary.
- Thanks.
- And I'll send you a gift.
A baby carriage.
Thanks, send it right away.
And better still, a carriage for two babies.
Better still, congratulate me live.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
That's one powerful story...
I don't like the ending, though.
In movies you have
to provide hope to people.
So, work on the ending,
for the girl to remain alive in the movie.
I'd like that very much myself.