Dovbush (2023) Movie Script
We express gratitude
to our Polish colleagues
for their contribution
to making this film,
and to the Polish nation
for their continued support for Ukraine.
Leave me be.
You probably came to listen to the legend
of a glorious mountain avenger
who robbed from the rich,
gave to the poor
and hid the gold
all over mountains, right?
Or maybe about an avenger
who could stomp
from one mountain to another
lightning flashing from his eyes,
and tuck the sun into his belt, right?
There's none of that here.
I'll tell you the truth, not a tale.
I'll tell you how God gives
and how God takes,
how people praise to heaven
and then trample underfoot.
I'll tell you about a man
who I knew like myself.
His name
Dovbush.
1733. The king of Poland is dead.
France, Spain, Austria and Russia
compete to capture the throne.
A brutal and bloody war starts.
The destiny of Poland
is being decided near Gdask.
Russias army has surrounded
Hetman Potockis troops.
The Russian cannons must be destroyed
in order to break through the siege.
Potocki sends elite hussars
and desperate Carpathian conscripts.
HAGELSBERG CANNON FORThe cavalry will attack
when our flag flies above the tower.
Hetman Potocki promises freedom
to any who survive.
Let's go, boys.
It's the only path to freedom.
Hang onto this.
Guard.
Wait.
Let's go, boys.
Three
Follow me.
Watch out!
- Take him!
- I'm here!
Hurry up!
Men coming!
Message for Hetman Potocki!
Hetman! We're ready to attack!
Any news?
We're fighting
but there is no flag on the tower!
We wait!
Wait for the signal!
Sir!
No surrender!
Sir! Get to the top!
Get down!
Sir! Get up!
Time for the signal!
Let's go!
Be quiet!
Everything is going to be okay.
Sound the attack!
Lucky devil!
Oleksa, come back. I'm waiting
Hold your horses
My brother's getting married
Just look at her!
Marichka!
Last chance to change your mind!
Oleksa
Out of the way! Your Princess is coming!
Ivan!
Ivan! Get out of here!
Run, brother!
What's your name?
Dovbush.
Where do you hail from?
The Carpathians. Black Mountain.
Take it.
Here. You earned it.
You promised me my freedom.
I'll talk to the Hetman.
Don't worry.
You'll see your mountains again soon.
Drink it!
Hold on, soldier!
To victory!
Glory to Hetman Potocki!
Glory!
Princess Jabonowska.
To you as well!
I wanted to see his fall from power.
Instead I witness his victory.
You lost a battle. Not the war.
Princess Jabonowska.
Your Grace.
How could our enemy hope
to vanquish a knight like you?
I'm astonished to see you.
War is no place
for a fragile highborn lady.
We are here to serve our homeland.
To victory!
To victory!
And for our army's return home.
Princess, we are fighting a war.
I need the army here.
My lands are inhabited by Ruthenians.
They're savage and rebellious.
I need soldiers. And a commander.
Gentlemen, Colonel Przeuski!
Gentlemen!
The hero of the day!
Behold, a true knight!
I saw him destroy the enemy cannons!
- Glory!
- Glory!
- Glory!
- Glory!
I hereby promote him to captain!
My son,
I need a loyal officer
to guard the border.
Princess Jabonowska is a widow
Our great princess!
- Hurrah!
- Hurrah!
- Do something.
- Yes, my lord.
To victory!
Hurrah!
Take him.
You son of a bitch.
Damn to hell these
who brought war to God's earth.
Lords hide their sons in their cellars
and send the poor
to die like cattle to slaughter.
My Oleksa vanished like that in the war.
No. Think he's the only one
who'll be buried like that?
I didn't go to that funeral.
Couldn't bear it.
They paid me for Oleksa's death.
My son's bones rot in a foreign land.
I don't want this money.
Take the money.
And erect a cross in Oleksa's memory.
THREE YEARS LATER
Bandits!
It's The Butcher!
You're almost there.
Glory to God!
It's the Butcher! God save us!
- The Butcher?
- See this knife?
- We're just merchants
- Shut your mouth.
Now listen.
Listen good.
The nobles have no power here.
This road is mine.
And if you don't pay
or raise your hand against me
your name will be carved on this knife.
Who are you? Who?
Your name! Say your name!
What did I tell you? Say your name!
Yatsek.
Yatsek Voitsekhovski
What did I tell you, bastard?
What did I say?
- For God's sake, please
- Silence!
All of you! Remember my name!
My name is Dovbush.
GRAND PRINCESS JABONOWSKA'S CASTLE
Is something wrong?
Tenants complain about being robbed.
They say there is no order in my lands.
I'll show you what they write.
I'll take care of it.
How?
Every time our Smolaks go after them,
the Opryshkos vanish
into the Black Mountain.
Opryshkos I'll make them come to us.
- My Colonel Przeuski
- I'm a captain.
Poland honors its heroes.
You're a colonel now.
My lady, how can I thank you?
You know how.
The soldiers dragged Oleksa into the army.
I haven't had a moment's peace since.
It was my fate, not his.
I would've found a way out.
I've missed him every day he's been gone.
I see him everywhere.
I asked you, to bring him back, Lord.
But you're deaf to me.
Now, Lord, I ask you nothing.
I'll take care of things myself.
Move your, asses, bastards!
Chain him to the stocks!
You'll all die here!
Oleksa!
Oleksa!
The cliff had blood stains.
Did you see it?
Ivan, we need to go home.
- Mom will be mad.
- You're afraid?
When we become Opryshkos,
we will hide here ourselves.
Look, there's a sign on the wall!
Don't move!
Just you two here?
What's your name?
I'm Oleksa. That's my brother Ivan.
Are you going to die?
See this?
It's the ax of Tanas.
He who has it will never
be touched by Death.
I want to be an Opryshko!
I'm not scared of anything!
Oh, put out your hand!
The ax will be yours!
- And to you.
- Long life.
Show us again.
I'll show you one more time.
Shake it, shake it again and
you win it all!
Understood?
Understood!
Look at how the boys enjoy themselves.
Let 'em have their fun.
We only live once.
I'd sell my soul to play like that!
Ivan! Listen to it!
Why do you always do this?
Why do you provoke God?
Are you looking for death?
No. Not death.
Glory.
Protect me, Lord.
Please. Take what God has given me.
I'm not a thief.
Who could ever think that?
Are you alone here?
One is never alone.
But other than me,
there is no one else here.
Is that the road to Kuty?
Yes.
But don't go there now.
Manhunters are there!
Calamity haunts you. Misfortune!
Your way is to the mountains.
To the polonynas!
Your road goes there.
That's where your destiny calls you.
That's where you'll lose your chains.
There you will see your name on the stone.
REST IN PEACE
OLEKSA DOVBUSH
Give me the next one!
He is a good match for you, my lady.
Now!
I am a widow
and the Grand Princess of the Crown.
You propose I become
a colonel's wife?
Your Grace, may I
I represent someone I cannot name.
Who offers you support.
But you must show
that you rule your lands,
and your subjects fear and obey you.
Go on!
Go on! Bring it here!
Good boy!
Russia spreads its talons
and looks to the West.
I see a woman with a crown
in Poland's future.
Russia's gold will help you
buy an army and take power.
But you must show you have
no mercy on all who oppose you.
Teofila!
Something ventured, something gained.
Glory to Jesus Christ.
Glory forever. Come in.
Smolaks are looking
for someone in the valley.
Either Opryshkos or prisoners.
You'll stay with us for now.
- You like my ax?
- Yeah.
It's magical.
It was used to kill a werewolf.
Its owner can't be killed by a bullet.
And will never be touched by Death.
- Can I hold it?
- Why not?
- Take it.
- Thank you.
Mykhailo.
- How is life down in the valley?
- Bad times.
Jabonowska's olonel Przeuski
and his Smolaks
are all over the mountains,
hunting Opryshkos
The bandit Dovbush is wanted for robbery,
murder and treason.
They came to Vasyl Dovbush's house.
They took everything.
Grilled him about
where his son Ivan is hiding.
By law, all possessions
of the outlaw Dovbush's family
are transferred to the Crown,
and to the ruler of the Black Mountain
and the Jabonowski territory,
Grand Princess of the Crown,
Teofilia Jabonowska.
- Vasyl told them nothing.
- Where's your son hiding?
You want to find my son?
You can join him right now!
The funeral is today.
You think you people are free?
You are our property.
If you raise your hand against a noble,
you will die!
My beautiful child!
My beloved Vasyl!
Get up, look at me, walk with me!
My beloved child,
who will I live with now?
How can I go on living?
What if he doesn't come, sir?
He'll come.
He's a Hutsul.
He has to be at his parents' funeral.
It's their law.
Hold him!
It can't be
You told me he was dead!
There's too many of them!
Welcome, brother.
I'll have revenge.
I'll never forgive.
They loved you.
When the army sent word you were dead,
Mama cried her eyes out.
Father put up a cross in memory of you.
I saw that cross.
And Marichka?
Married to Dzvinchuk.
Polish power ends beyond that mountain.
It's Wallachia there.
Go there. Live as a free man.
I won't be free until I avenge them.
Then join my gang.
You're a bandit.
You rob people.
I am an Opryshok!
I take back what's mine.
I only kill when I have to.
These are my mountains.
I am the master here.
If someone comes to my home
and tells me how to live,
I'll cut out his liver.
Our people are sheep.
Useless.
They've been milked and skinned alive.
But they can't stop fighting each other.
Someone has to fight for them.
Let's go.
The Black Mountain lands
are just clay and rock.
You could have all of Poland.
- What about my subjects?
- The peasants?
They will go to the Czarina
along with their cattle.
They are not even Catholics.
You'll get enough gold
to overthrow Jzef Potocki.
All we need is your signature.
"With land as the recognizance"?
My father granted
these people their freedom.
I'll betray his word.
It's only fair.
The Russian Czarina needs a guarantee.
If your father's word
is more important to you,
he'd be surprised by your choice.
Grand Princess.
It's your Ladyship's decision.
Please think about it.
Would you rather have this rebellious,
wild land?
Or the Polish Crown?
You're going abroad.
To bring back an important shipment.
- And what about the Colonel?
- Will wait for you here.
Oleksa, is what people say true?
You were struck by lightning
when you were a child?
Yes!
I saw it!
We were children, herding goats.
There was a strong thunderstorm,
just like now.
We decided to hide behind a rock
I look around. A goat is missing.
The black one.
I ran out and grabbed the goat.
But the goat raised its tail,
and wagged its wiener in God's face!
I was gaping at all this
It was the Devil!
Yes?
What's with that Devil?
What's with that Devil?
The Devil stood there gaping at me.
- Right Hand, is there gunpowder?
- That's all there is.
No Smolaks. No guards! He's cheap.
Come on.
Ivan!
I'm with you.
But I won't kill for no reason.
Nobody's killing anyone.
We're just fooling around.
- Glory to Jesus.
- Glory forever.
Hold this.
- Glory to Jesus.
- Glory forever.
This your boy?
What does Mama call you?
Know who I am?
You're Ivan Dovbush. The Butcher.
Yeah!
What's your name?
See this knife?
Want his name carved on it too?
Where's the money?
Tell him where the money is.
He's crazy. He'll gut the kid!
Hurry up and show the money!
- I myself am afraid of him.
- Have pity on your boy!
Where's the money?
Show me the money!
I'll finish the little shit right now!
I'm gonna cut him!
I don't have any money!
What should I cut off first?
Maybe his ear?
You choose!
I told you. He's a lunatic!
I'll gut him like a pig!
- He's crazy!
- I'm crazy!
- He's out of his mind. Hurry!
- I'm gutting him now!
With this knife!
- I'll show you!
- I'll gut him!
I've got a key!
Hurry! Unlock the chest! Faster!
Don't kill him!
He's cooperating.
Don't shit yourself, boy!
The bullet hit Oleksa point blank.
But it didn't kill him.
It bounced off like nothing.
The Devil had to help him.
If you married Oleksa you'd be poor.
God saved you from that.
No matter.
What's this?
- Where's the money?
- This is money.
These are people's debts.
They're to be in debt forever.
Them, their children, their grandchildren.
That's how it works. Right?
Oleksa took the papers
and burned them.
He burned the debts!
We don't owe anything to anyone, Marichka.
I can't believe
we're coming back empty-handed.
I've never seen our people happier.
- Help me. It's heavy.
- Oleksa.
The bullet hit you in the chest. I saw it.
How are you still alive?
Saw it with my own eyes.
The bullet was gigantic!
Fellow told me he saw it happen.
The bullet that hit him was huge.
Right in the heart. He just
Caught it! In his bare hand.
At the last second, he caught it.
Like this!
His hands are strong.
And his eye sees into your soul!
When they ran out of bullets,
Oleksa choked them all.
With his bare hands.
Three hundred soldiers.
Choked them to death. Alone.
Choked them to death. Alone.
He choked them all.
Oh, Dovbush, Dovbush!
Look.
Bastard hit my ax.
Keep it to yourself.
Marichka!
Grab this stick!
- Oleksa!
- Hold on!
Give me your hand!
Oleksa
They told me you were dead.
You were so beautiful
in your bridal crown.
I remember our wedding night.
We didn't have a wedding night.
Your eyes.
Your lips
I kissed them so many times in my dreams.
Oleksa, I was waiting for you.
- Goodbye, Marichka.
- Wait!
I vowed in tserkov to be Dzvinchuk's wife.
But I vowed before God to be yours.
I'm a poor orphan, no father, no mother
All I own is between my legs
With no one to bother
She crossed a bridge
And gave it to a mute
It's good with a mute
an't spread ill repute
Oh, the young lady
Loved Peter and Ivan
And Petra only until lunch
Nice pipe you've got there, Oleksa.
What's it to you?
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Quiet!
To the left. Hurry! The rest with me!
Did he have fun?
He shouldn't have gone to the village!
Quiet. Someone ratted us out.
Oleksa, stop.
A woman's been the death
of more than one Opryshko.
You hear me? The whole gang
will hang because of your Marichka.
They are following us.
How does it look?
No way out. Forty Smolaks coming.
Thirty or forty of them
One must be a good pathfinder.
They're tracking us.
We can take them here.
No. We go to the cliff.
Are you crazy?
To the cliff! Move!
- Hurry up! We've got him trapped!
- Hurry up!
- Go first.
- Gone! Gone! Let's go!
Follow him, go!
My ax!
- Hurry!
- We're not going to make it.
Oleksa, you next.
I'll lead them away.
Are you crazy?
Don't wait for me!
They're behind us!
He's running away!
Hold it.
There. After them!
Surround him!
- Don't shoot at him!
- Yes, sir.
He's mine.
Missed!
Wait, there's Oleksa!
Bastard! Where'd he go?
Find him!
Now!
- Yes, sir.
- Look for his trail!
Find him, sons of bitches!
Hurry!
- Do you see him?
- No.
He could have survived, right?
- He could have jumped.
- It's a long way down.
If he jumped,
his bones rot at the bottom of the ravine.
And if Przeuski caught him
he'll wish he jumped.
What took you so long?
The food's cold!
Damn!
- You're alive!
- Oh, man!
You made it!
Get a load of this guy!
I told you! Nobody can kill him!
- Your second resurrection!
- How'd you get away?
What do you need this for?
I must avenge them.
They were wronged. That's the law.
Are you sure you're the one to do it?
You're not like your brother.
Your heart is different.
It aches for your people.
Would you act differently in my place?
There is no justice without mercy.
My dear friend,
the blessing of a friend is more important
that the blessing of an angel.
I found a pipe in the river.
Is it yours?
This land is your home too.
I won't forget that, Besht.
May you merit to do more good deeds.
Vartan! Food!
Remember. I'm the leader.
If I tell you to do something,
you listen and do as I say.
Vartan!
Tell Ivan what you told me.
About the gold.
An iron-clad carriage
is leaving Wallachia.
Przeuski and 20 Smolaks
are meeting it here.
It's carrying gold. Lots of gold.
It's Muscovite money.
Word is the money
bought our land and our people.
And the Russian gold will buy an army.
And that army will shoot us all.
Like chickens.
But if the gold is ours?
We can put together our own army.
And give our people their freedom.
- How about it, Ivan?
- Someone's got to fight for our people.
Let's do it.
Yeah!
It's a trap! Get out of here!
Get on your horses! Now!
Follow me! Quick! To the bridge!
Move it!
A gift, gentlemen!
Look out!
Smolaks!
Oleksa!
- My knife!
- I will take it!
- Leave it!
- I need my knife!
- Jump!
- For fuck's sake! Pick it up!
- Wait, not yet!
- Got it!
Kiss my ass, you motherfuckers!
Fuck!
Arkan!
Our power! Our will!
Arkan!
Our gold!
I'm alone in this wasteland
But not for long.
I wrote to Hetman Potocki.
He'll send his army
and I'll restore order.
I need good soldiers.
I can't rely on anyone.
You can rely on me.
I'll find them.
I'll turn over every stone.
Every village.
I'll find them and destroy them.
I'll decorate trees with their bowels.
Gauge out their eyes.
Rip out their tongues and nails.
Every one of them.
Their wives.
Their children.
Their grandparents. Everyone.
Boys!
I've made equal shares.
So
grab one
and let's get out of here.
I'll go with you.
Wallachia for me.
- Coming, brother?
- Wait
What about the people?
We've earned this! The right to live well.
- Yes or no?
- Yes!
You see? It's settled.
Let's go.
But what about the people?
Jabonowska and Przeuski
will punish them.
Now we have gold.
We can buy weapons
and overthrow the lords.
You think they need arms?
They'll drink away
those arms and betray you.
They need a good whipping!
I don't want to live among slaves.
- Ivan, stop it!
- Back off!
- Ivan! Wake up!
- Now we can win back our freedom.
We'll never have freedom here! Or power!
Only the lords will change.
One after another.
Time's up!
Brothers. Let's go!
Who's with me?
Boys
Look at these dogs.
You'll all lose your heads. For him.
Think I don't know why you want to stay?
- Shut up.
- He doesn't care about any of you.
- Shut up!
- Only about his Marichka
- Shut your mouth!
- His whore!
- You Herod!
- Leave him!
I love you, brother.
"I, Grand Princess of the Crown"
"Teofilia Jabonowska, ne Jasinowska"
announce to all whom it may concern."
"to end the robberies
of the bandit Dovbush,
who robs towns with his Opryshkos"
"and hides in various villages."
"We announce"
"a reward for his head
of 100 Zloty.
Anyone who leads us
to the Opryshkos' hiding places
and to Dovbush himself,
will be freed from the obligation
to pay taxes for life.
And will earn praise and eternal glory."
We'll keep it here. Its time will come.
You take the rest.
You know what to spend it on.
Be smart about it.
We need fighters.
Not talkers.
- You guys should go to hell.
- Too far.
We'll go to Kuty.
They've got some fighters there.
- Good. I'll go East. You take the West.
- We'll find enough men.
- We need guns.
- The Vlachs will get us guns.
They'd go to hell if there was gold in it.
Hell is not necessary.
Then go to the Vlachs.
Go now.
People paid taxes with it.
They pay with our money.
Rumor has it the Dovbush brothers
had a quarrel.
Like it? We've got more!
Pistols, muskets, gunpowder, bullets.
Got enough gold, we'll get you a cannon.
- Where from?
- Hungary.
These guys have waited two days
to make a deal.
Good. We'll talk.
I'll wait out here.
Glory to Jesus!
You're surrounded!
Surrender!
Cover the rear! Fight!
Break down the door!
Aim!
Where is Oleksa Dovbush?
Coming after you!
A real bandit. The real deal.
- Has he talked?
- Not yet.
Forgive me, Father.
Soon, I will commit a sin.
I will kill a man.
Who will you kill, my son?
I will kill
you, Father.
BORDER FORTRESS, WALLACHIA
My dear, how wonderful you are!
Look at her, how beautiful she is!
I've come a long way.
Lost everything, but found you.
They've promised 300 Zlotys for his head.
But if you kill him, the Devil himself
I'll tell you a secret.
They say Przeuski strangled babies
at the breast with his bare hands.
Przeuski poured burning
tar down peoples' throats
I hope that Herod
will go to the bottomless pit!
But no one would betray the boys.
He stole the gold
and gave it to the people.
Of course they won't betray him.
The nobles won't just hand
over their property and gold.
They offer their wedded wives
to save themselves!
Oleksa fears nothing.
Neither God, nor Devil.
Nothing helps.
I've tried everything.
Roots, herbs nothing helps.
The wound is cursed.
A brother's blood was shed.
He dreams and sees his Marichka.
He calls his soul mate.
"Marichka, Marichka."
- Oleksa! It's us!
- Marichka
Oleksa! I'm already here with you.
Loafers hang around here
Drink it.
He who has it will never
be touched by Death.
I want to be an Opryshko.
I'm not scared of anything!
No?
Put out your hand!
What if you got shot in the heart?
Only if it's a silver bullet
blessed by 12 priests
in 12 different tserkovs.
Want me, honey?
Hey, buddy. Pay, this is my
My knife.
Nice flutes.
I wish I had a cannon.
Is it true that bullets can't kill Oleksa?
Should I tell them the story of the ax?
- Have you seen the mark on Oleksa's back?
- Yes.
Know how he got it?
Listen up!
Zabo.
Oleksa was a little boy.
There was a terrible storm
in the mountains.
Oleksa was hit by lightning.
Zabo!
His father found him half-dead on a rock.
He didn't know what to do.
He dug a hole and laid him in the ground
From the sun, from the clouds,
from the Void
The earth returned Oleksa to life.
When you defend your own land,
your mountains, no bullet will take you.
Oh, people
Before, they used
to curse Oleksa high and low.
Said he robs and kills for no reason,
and visits married women.
And now they pray to him like a holy icon.
The rich spread out their tables
and pay him to leave them be.
And the poor
go to Oleksa Dovbush like a judge.
Before, they said Marichka was a whore
because she played around with Oleksa.
But now they say it's Dzvinchuk's fault,
and should now give her back to her lover.
They also say he'd be better off
hanging himself from a spruce.
- Your husband is home.
- I don't care. You are my husband.
You have to go.
You almost died yesterday.
I can't.
I can't lose you again.
Haven't you heard?
No one can kill me.
My ax protects me.
Death itself runs away from me.
Don't joke. It's not funny.
Who's joking?
Unless someone makes a bullet.
A pure silver bullet.
Blessed by 12 priests and 12 masses.
Maybe then.
But no one will ever
make a bullet like that.
Marichka! Give me a blanket!
Pour it on me!
They burned down the tserkov.
Everyone thinks it was us.
It was the Dovbush brothers,
the bandits.
It was them! Robbed the tserkov
and then set it on fire!
I don't believe it. They're our kind.
Ivan held a knife to my throat
and asked, "What's your name?"
The bell-ringer swears it was Ivan.
But I wasn't scared.
- Then he told Oleksa to burn the tserkov!
- That's not true! It wasn't Oleksa!
- How would you know?
- Let her speak!
- Oleksa didn't do that!
- How?
Because I was with him last night!
I went by the tavern.
Signs of a fight. And blood.
None of our guys were there.
And one more thing,
Adam, our Polish friend, has disappeared.
If it's true
we've got to stop him.
Glory to God!
See that knife?
This road belongs to me.
And if you don't pay,
your name will be carved on this knife.
It's a sin to rob us, my good man.
We are men of God.
Sins don't scare us. We're sinners.
I'm Ivan Dovbush.
Is that so?
You're way uglier than Ivan.
Oleksa, you're wounded.
- Just shoot him!
- Go ahead. Shoot, you pig.
Your father was a dog.
He died like a dog. By my knife.
Oleksa! Let me shoot him!
He's mine.
Come on!
Oleksa! What are you doing?
Now you're dead, bastard.
It's over
Our Father
Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name
Thy kingdom come
The Dovbushes!
People, stop it!
This is who burned down the tserkov.
Who is this?
That's Scar!
They know the truth.
Tell the truth!
Money.
Rebuild the tserkov.
Stolen money.
Our people's money.
Earned by our sweat and blood.
Ivan's knife.
With the names of his victims.
Please, pray for them.
- My lady! My dove!
- What lady?
I am your lady!
I'll show you the dove at home.
WALLACHIAN TAVERN
"AT THE SIGN OF THE DOVE"
A man has wronged me.
My honor is violated.
I want him dead.
Everything has a price.
Name?
Oleksa Dovbush.
He will come to my house.
We've heard about the bounty on his head.
I'll give you the reward.
And this
This is all my money.
But everyone must think I killed him.
You will send me
this pigeon when he comes.
Scar is back. Call the Colonel!
Scar?
You didn't let us own our land,
but you won't rule us.
You stole our land and took our freedom.
As you don't fear
to torture and skin people
I don't fear the sin of taking your life.
No walls,
no iron gates, no hetman,
no tsar will protect you.
Count. I want my papers back.
An outlaw has emerged on your lands.
They say no weapon can kill him.
I'll pay back the gold.
The royalty, whose name I will not speak,
negotiates only with those who hold power.
The Lord of Black Mountain
is Oleksa Dovbush.
Not you, my lady.
I'll fix everything.
Our fortress is impregnable.
When Potocki's army gets here
We'll crush Dovbush's riot.
You ruined my life.
You ruined everything.
To end the rage
and defiance of Oleksa Dovbush
who robs towns and villages,
kills and destroys,
I, Jzef Potocki, Voivode of Stanisaww,
and Great Hetman of the Crown,
am personally heading
to the lands of Galicia to Stanisaww
with the Crown army.
From this day on,
any man who gives shelter to the Opryshkos
will be put to death!
Any man who joins the bandits
will be put to death!
Any man who by word
or deed violates the nobles'
lawful right to land,
will be put to death!
They're looking for you everywhere!
The Smolaks will be here soon.
Petro and Pavlo are dead.
Thirty of our brothers are in prison.
Right Hand will be tortured.
Then executed in the market like a dog.
Oleksa, let's go far away.
Where nobody knows us.
Marichka. I'm done running.
I want to live. Here.
Free! On my own land!
Take me with you.
Let me go.
I'll be back for you in three days.
Give me just three days, and nothing,
not God, not any man, will keep us apart.
Oleksa.
You are my life.
Go
Full company with wagon trains.
Crown Guard.
Potocki's army. They'll hold their line.
They fire at 50 paces.
They reload quickly.
The officers are yours.
Just don't shoot their musicians.
May our land protect us.
Reload!
Fire!
Forward!
Get down!
Fire!
Where are they?
Get to the top!
Down!
To the top!
Wait! Do not burn them.
My name is Oleksa Dovbush.
I was a soldier, just like you.
Like you, my officers drove us
like cattle to the slaughter.
If you don't want
to burn in hellfire right here,
put down your weapons.
We're fighting for our land!
What are you fighting for?
Potocki's Guards have finally arrived!
Get the Colonel!
Company Halt!
Open the gate!
We've captured Dovbush!
They've got Dovbush!
- Open the gate!
- Forward!
Betrayal!
Disguised Opryshkos!
Defend!
Man the barricades!
Man the barricades!
Hold the fort!
Ax!
Come on!
Find our prisoners! Don't hurt our men!
Vasyl, cover me!
Take him!
Follow me! To the tower!
I've found an entrance to the dungeon.
- Aim!
- Fire at will!
Here!
Fight to the last breath!
Stop them!
Get the keys!
Hang on, brothers! We're here!
- Zabo!
- I'm here.
Hold on, my brother.
Come on!
You won't take me alive!
Bastards!
You're alive.
Alive.
What do you think? I'm immortal.
Easy, easy.
Is it day or night?
It's morning.
Stay with him.
Dovbush! Come for me!
Closer, closer a bit!
Dovbush, time to die!
Stop!
Give me another! Faster!
Come to me!
We will all die!
Take the weapons.
Burn the rest of the lords' belongings.
We defeated a hundred.
But thousands will come.
Get everyone together and head for Kuty.
I'm going for Marichka.
What did you do, Stefan?
Did you buy a bird to keep it in a cage?
Let her go.
If that's what you want.
Here.
Wait.
So everyone knows she's mine.
Here.
A mouse in the pantry.
- Where?
- Sit, my bird. Think about it.
- Stefan, open up!
- I will be back on Saturday.
Open the door!
Marichka!
Marichka!
Marichka!
In here!
Stefan locked me in.
I'm coming in!
Where are you?
Dovbush!
You really believe
only a silver bullet can kill you?
Who are you?
Who are you?!
Your death.
- Ivan.
- No.
Ivan Dovbush is dead.
You stole his gang.
You stole his glory.
You stole my name.
You chose to leave.
I wanted to live.
Then go live!
Or come back to us. People need our help!
People need money!
Money for Dovbush's head!
People need one who will kill for them.
And die for them.
Shoot.
I am Dovbush.
Oleksa!
- Oleksa! Are you hurt?
- I'm alive.
Blessed Mother!
Soldiers coming!
Oleksa!
We have to hurry. But easy!
- My ax!
- Get out of here!
Hurry!
Hurry!
Oleksa, I'm staying.
What? No!
- I'll come to you to the Black Mountain.
- Marichka, no.
Blessed Mother! They killed him!
Killed him!
What happened?
Killed him!
You killed my Oleksa!
You killed my Oleksa!
Killed my Oleksa
This is Dovbush?
Stefan, you killed my Oleksa!
Say that you killed him!
- Say that you killed him!
- Yes.
Declaration in the name of Jzef Potocki,
present here.
For high state treason
and the attempt to seize power,
by this secret decree
Grand Princess Teofilia Jabonowska
forfeits all her Galician
castles and lands
to the Polish Crown,
under the control of Hetman Jzef Potocki.
Today I will announce
that you now choose
to serve the Virgin Mary
and have entered the convent
for the rest of her life.
Hear ye, hear ye!
"I, Grand Princess Teofilia Jabonowska,
am pleased to declare
that the leader
of all the disorders and upheavals,
who is guilty of destroying
the wealth and estate of ours,
the outlaw Oleksa Dovbush, is dead.
Stefan Dzvinchuk, the subject of mine,
who has brought the bandit to grave
from this day forward is freed
from the duty to pay taxes
and receives 300 pieces of gold.
The body of the outlaw Oleksa Dovbush
will be hacked into 12 pieces
and hung along the roads of Galicia!
So rules the high court
in the presence
of the sovereign of Galician lands,
Grand Princess Teofilia Jabonowska."
What do I do now?
We show them that here, we are the power.
You see, God
I
I knew a man who cheated death.
His name
Dovbush.
OUR STRUGGLE GOES ON
to our Polish colleagues
for their contribution
to making this film,
and to the Polish nation
for their continued support for Ukraine.
Leave me be.
You probably came to listen to the legend
of a glorious mountain avenger
who robbed from the rich,
gave to the poor
and hid the gold
all over mountains, right?
Or maybe about an avenger
who could stomp
from one mountain to another
lightning flashing from his eyes,
and tuck the sun into his belt, right?
There's none of that here.
I'll tell you the truth, not a tale.
I'll tell you how God gives
and how God takes,
how people praise to heaven
and then trample underfoot.
I'll tell you about a man
who I knew like myself.
His name
Dovbush.
1733. The king of Poland is dead.
France, Spain, Austria and Russia
compete to capture the throne.
A brutal and bloody war starts.
The destiny of Poland
is being decided near Gdask.
Russias army has surrounded
Hetman Potockis troops.
The Russian cannons must be destroyed
in order to break through the siege.
Potocki sends elite hussars
and desperate Carpathian conscripts.
HAGELSBERG CANNON FORThe cavalry will attack
when our flag flies above the tower.
Hetman Potocki promises freedom
to any who survive.
Let's go, boys.
It's the only path to freedom.
Hang onto this.
Guard.
Wait.
Let's go, boys.
Three
Follow me.
Watch out!
- Take him!
- I'm here!
Hurry up!
Men coming!
Message for Hetman Potocki!
Hetman! We're ready to attack!
Any news?
We're fighting
but there is no flag on the tower!
We wait!
Wait for the signal!
Sir!
No surrender!
Sir! Get to the top!
Get down!
Sir! Get up!
Time for the signal!
Let's go!
Be quiet!
Everything is going to be okay.
Sound the attack!
Lucky devil!
Oleksa, come back. I'm waiting
Hold your horses
My brother's getting married
Just look at her!
Marichka!
Last chance to change your mind!
Oleksa
Out of the way! Your Princess is coming!
Ivan!
Ivan! Get out of here!
Run, brother!
What's your name?
Dovbush.
Where do you hail from?
The Carpathians. Black Mountain.
Take it.
Here. You earned it.
You promised me my freedom.
I'll talk to the Hetman.
Don't worry.
You'll see your mountains again soon.
Drink it!
Hold on, soldier!
To victory!
Glory to Hetman Potocki!
Glory!
Princess Jabonowska.
To you as well!
I wanted to see his fall from power.
Instead I witness his victory.
You lost a battle. Not the war.
Princess Jabonowska.
Your Grace.
How could our enemy hope
to vanquish a knight like you?
I'm astonished to see you.
War is no place
for a fragile highborn lady.
We are here to serve our homeland.
To victory!
To victory!
And for our army's return home.
Princess, we are fighting a war.
I need the army here.
My lands are inhabited by Ruthenians.
They're savage and rebellious.
I need soldiers. And a commander.
Gentlemen, Colonel Przeuski!
Gentlemen!
The hero of the day!
Behold, a true knight!
I saw him destroy the enemy cannons!
- Glory!
- Glory!
- Glory!
- Glory!
I hereby promote him to captain!
My son,
I need a loyal officer
to guard the border.
Princess Jabonowska is a widow
Our great princess!
- Hurrah!
- Hurrah!
- Do something.
- Yes, my lord.
To victory!
Hurrah!
Take him.
You son of a bitch.
Damn to hell these
who brought war to God's earth.
Lords hide their sons in their cellars
and send the poor
to die like cattle to slaughter.
My Oleksa vanished like that in the war.
No. Think he's the only one
who'll be buried like that?
I didn't go to that funeral.
Couldn't bear it.
They paid me for Oleksa's death.
My son's bones rot in a foreign land.
I don't want this money.
Take the money.
And erect a cross in Oleksa's memory.
THREE YEARS LATER
Bandits!
It's The Butcher!
You're almost there.
Glory to God!
It's the Butcher! God save us!
- The Butcher?
- See this knife?
- We're just merchants
- Shut your mouth.
Now listen.
Listen good.
The nobles have no power here.
This road is mine.
And if you don't pay
or raise your hand against me
your name will be carved on this knife.
Who are you? Who?
Your name! Say your name!
What did I tell you? Say your name!
Yatsek.
Yatsek Voitsekhovski
What did I tell you, bastard?
What did I say?
- For God's sake, please
- Silence!
All of you! Remember my name!
My name is Dovbush.
GRAND PRINCESS JABONOWSKA'S CASTLE
Is something wrong?
Tenants complain about being robbed.
They say there is no order in my lands.
I'll show you what they write.
I'll take care of it.
How?
Every time our Smolaks go after them,
the Opryshkos vanish
into the Black Mountain.
Opryshkos I'll make them come to us.
- My Colonel Przeuski
- I'm a captain.
Poland honors its heroes.
You're a colonel now.
My lady, how can I thank you?
You know how.
The soldiers dragged Oleksa into the army.
I haven't had a moment's peace since.
It was my fate, not his.
I would've found a way out.
I've missed him every day he's been gone.
I see him everywhere.
I asked you, to bring him back, Lord.
But you're deaf to me.
Now, Lord, I ask you nothing.
I'll take care of things myself.
Move your, asses, bastards!
Chain him to the stocks!
You'll all die here!
Oleksa!
Oleksa!
The cliff had blood stains.
Did you see it?
Ivan, we need to go home.
- Mom will be mad.
- You're afraid?
When we become Opryshkos,
we will hide here ourselves.
Look, there's a sign on the wall!
Don't move!
Just you two here?
What's your name?
I'm Oleksa. That's my brother Ivan.
Are you going to die?
See this?
It's the ax of Tanas.
He who has it will never
be touched by Death.
I want to be an Opryshko!
I'm not scared of anything!
Oh, put out your hand!
The ax will be yours!
- And to you.
- Long life.
Show us again.
I'll show you one more time.
Shake it, shake it again and
you win it all!
Understood?
Understood!
Look at how the boys enjoy themselves.
Let 'em have their fun.
We only live once.
I'd sell my soul to play like that!
Ivan! Listen to it!
Why do you always do this?
Why do you provoke God?
Are you looking for death?
No. Not death.
Glory.
Protect me, Lord.
Please. Take what God has given me.
I'm not a thief.
Who could ever think that?
Are you alone here?
One is never alone.
But other than me,
there is no one else here.
Is that the road to Kuty?
Yes.
But don't go there now.
Manhunters are there!
Calamity haunts you. Misfortune!
Your way is to the mountains.
To the polonynas!
Your road goes there.
That's where your destiny calls you.
That's where you'll lose your chains.
There you will see your name on the stone.
REST IN PEACE
OLEKSA DOVBUSH
Give me the next one!
He is a good match for you, my lady.
Now!
I am a widow
and the Grand Princess of the Crown.
You propose I become
a colonel's wife?
Your Grace, may I
I represent someone I cannot name.
Who offers you support.
But you must show
that you rule your lands,
and your subjects fear and obey you.
Go on!
Go on! Bring it here!
Good boy!
Russia spreads its talons
and looks to the West.
I see a woman with a crown
in Poland's future.
Russia's gold will help you
buy an army and take power.
But you must show you have
no mercy on all who oppose you.
Teofila!
Something ventured, something gained.
Glory to Jesus Christ.
Glory forever. Come in.
Smolaks are looking
for someone in the valley.
Either Opryshkos or prisoners.
You'll stay with us for now.
- You like my ax?
- Yeah.
It's magical.
It was used to kill a werewolf.
Its owner can't be killed by a bullet.
And will never be touched by Death.
- Can I hold it?
- Why not?
- Take it.
- Thank you.
Mykhailo.
- How is life down in the valley?
- Bad times.
Jabonowska's olonel Przeuski
and his Smolaks
are all over the mountains,
hunting Opryshkos
The bandit Dovbush is wanted for robbery,
murder and treason.
They came to Vasyl Dovbush's house.
They took everything.
Grilled him about
where his son Ivan is hiding.
By law, all possessions
of the outlaw Dovbush's family
are transferred to the Crown,
and to the ruler of the Black Mountain
and the Jabonowski territory,
Grand Princess of the Crown,
Teofilia Jabonowska.
- Vasyl told them nothing.
- Where's your son hiding?
You want to find my son?
You can join him right now!
The funeral is today.
You think you people are free?
You are our property.
If you raise your hand against a noble,
you will die!
My beautiful child!
My beloved Vasyl!
Get up, look at me, walk with me!
My beloved child,
who will I live with now?
How can I go on living?
What if he doesn't come, sir?
He'll come.
He's a Hutsul.
He has to be at his parents' funeral.
It's their law.
Hold him!
It can't be
You told me he was dead!
There's too many of them!
Welcome, brother.
I'll have revenge.
I'll never forgive.
They loved you.
When the army sent word you were dead,
Mama cried her eyes out.
Father put up a cross in memory of you.
I saw that cross.
And Marichka?
Married to Dzvinchuk.
Polish power ends beyond that mountain.
It's Wallachia there.
Go there. Live as a free man.
I won't be free until I avenge them.
Then join my gang.
You're a bandit.
You rob people.
I am an Opryshok!
I take back what's mine.
I only kill when I have to.
These are my mountains.
I am the master here.
If someone comes to my home
and tells me how to live,
I'll cut out his liver.
Our people are sheep.
Useless.
They've been milked and skinned alive.
But they can't stop fighting each other.
Someone has to fight for them.
Let's go.
The Black Mountain lands
are just clay and rock.
You could have all of Poland.
- What about my subjects?
- The peasants?
They will go to the Czarina
along with their cattle.
They are not even Catholics.
You'll get enough gold
to overthrow Jzef Potocki.
All we need is your signature.
"With land as the recognizance"?
My father granted
these people their freedom.
I'll betray his word.
It's only fair.
The Russian Czarina needs a guarantee.
If your father's word
is more important to you,
he'd be surprised by your choice.
Grand Princess.
It's your Ladyship's decision.
Please think about it.
Would you rather have this rebellious,
wild land?
Or the Polish Crown?
You're going abroad.
To bring back an important shipment.
- And what about the Colonel?
- Will wait for you here.
Oleksa, is what people say true?
You were struck by lightning
when you were a child?
Yes!
I saw it!
We were children, herding goats.
There was a strong thunderstorm,
just like now.
We decided to hide behind a rock
I look around. A goat is missing.
The black one.
I ran out and grabbed the goat.
But the goat raised its tail,
and wagged its wiener in God's face!
I was gaping at all this
It was the Devil!
Yes?
What's with that Devil?
What's with that Devil?
The Devil stood there gaping at me.
- Right Hand, is there gunpowder?
- That's all there is.
No Smolaks. No guards! He's cheap.
Come on.
Ivan!
I'm with you.
But I won't kill for no reason.
Nobody's killing anyone.
We're just fooling around.
- Glory to Jesus.
- Glory forever.
Hold this.
- Glory to Jesus.
- Glory forever.
This your boy?
What does Mama call you?
Know who I am?
You're Ivan Dovbush. The Butcher.
Yeah!
What's your name?
See this knife?
Want his name carved on it too?
Where's the money?
Tell him where the money is.
He's crazy. He'll gut the kid!
Hurry up and show the money!
- I myself am afraid of him.
- Have pity on your boy!
Where's the money?
Show me the money!
I'll finish the little shit right now!
I'm gonna cut him!
I don't have any money!
What should I cut off first?
Maybe his ear?
You choose!
I told you. He's a lunatic!
I'll gut him like a pig!
- He's crazy!
- I'm crazy!
- He's out of his mind. Hurry!
- I'm gutting him now!
With this knife!
- I'll show you!
- I'll gut him!
I've got a key!
Hurry! Unlock the chest! Faster!
Don't kill him!
He's cooperating.
Don't shit yourself, boy!
The bullet hit Oleksa point blank.
But it didn't kill him.
It bounced off like nothing.
The Devil had to help him.
If you married Oleksa you'd be poor.
God saved you from that.
No matter.
What's this?
- Where's the money?
- This is money.
These are people's debts.
They're to be in debt forever.
Them, their children, their grandchildren.
That's how it works. Right?
Oleksa took the papers
and burned them.
He burned the debts!
We don't owe anything to anyone, Marichka.
I can't believe
we're coming back empty-handed.
I've never seen our people happier.
- Help me. It's heavy.
- Oleksa.
The bullet hit you in the chest. I saw it.
How are you still alive?
Saw it with my own eyes.
The bullet was gigantic!
Fellow told me he saw it happen.
The bullet that hit him was huge.
Right in the heart. He just
Caught it! In his bare hand.
At the last second, he caught it.
Like this!
His hands are strong.
And his eye sees into your soul!
When they ran out of bullets,
Oleksa choked them all.
With his bare hands.
Three hundred soldiers.
Choked them to death. Alone.
Choked them to death. Alone.
He choked them all.
Oh, Dovbush, Dovbush!
Look.
Bastard hit my ax.
Keep it to yourself.
Marichka!
Grab this stick!
- Oleksa!
- Hold on!
Give me your hand!
Oleksa
They told me you were dead.
You were so beautiful
in your bridal crown.
I remember our wedding night.
We didn't have a wedding night.
Your eyes.
Your lips
I kissed them so many times in my dreams.
Oleksa, I was waiting for you.
- Goodbye, Marichka.
- Wait!
I vowed in tserkov to be Dzvinchuk's wife.
But I vowed before God to be yours.
I'm a poor orphan, no father, no mother
All I own is between my legs
With no one to bother
She crossed a bridge
And gave it to a mute
It's good with a mute
an't spread ill repute
Oh, the young lady
Loved Peter and Ivan
And Petra only until lunch
Nice pipe you've got there, Oleksa.
What's it to you?
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Quiet!
To the left. Hurry! The rest with me!
Did he have fun?
He shouldn't have gone to the village!
Quiet. Someone ratted us out.
Oleksa, stop.
A woman's been the death
of more than one Opryshko.
You hear me? The whole gang
will hang because of your Marichka.
They are following us.
How does it look?
No way out. Forty Smolaks coming.
Thirty or forty of them
One must be a good pathfinder.
They're tracking us.
We can take them here.
No. We go to the cliff.
Are you crazy?
To the cliff! Move!
- Hurry up! We've got him trapped!
- Hurry up!
- Go first.
- Gone! Gone! Let's go!
Follow him, go!
My ax!
- Hurry!
- We're not going to make it.
Oleksa, you next.
I'll lead them away.
Are you crazy?
Don't wait for me!
They're behind us!
He's running away!
Hold it.
There. After them!
Surround him!
- Don't shoot at him!
- Yes, sir.
He's mine.
Missed!
Wait, there's Oleksa!
Bastard! Where'd he go?
Find him!
Now!
- Yes, sir.
- Look for his trail!
Find him, sons of bitches!
Hurry!
- Do you see him?
- No.
He could have survived, right?
- He could have jumped.
- It's a long way down.
If he jumped,
his bones rot at the bottom of the ravine.
And if Przeuski caught him
he'll wish he jumped.
What took you so long?
The food's cold!
Damn!
- You're alive!
- Oh, man!
You made it!
Get a load of this guy!
I told you! Nobody can kill him!
- Your second resurrection!
- How'd you get away?
What do you need this for?
I must avenge them.
They were wronged. That's the law.
Are you sure you're the one to do it?
You're not like your brother.
Your heart is different.
It aches for your people.
Would you act differently in my place?
There is no justice without mercy.
My dear friend,
the blessing of a friend is more important
that the blessing of an angel.
I found a pipe in the river.
Is it yours?
This land is your home too.
I won't forget that, Besht.
May you merit to do more good deeds.
Vartan! Food!
Remember. I'm the leader.
If I tell you to do something,
you listen and do as I say.
Vartan!
Tell Ivan what you told me.
About the gold.
An iron-clad carriage
is leaving Wallachia.
Przeuski and 20 Smolaks
are meeting it here.
It's carrying gold. Lots of gold.
It's Muscovite money.
Word is the money
bought our land and our people.
And the Russian gold will buy an army.
And that army will shoot us all.
Like chickens.
But if the gold is ours?
We can put together our own army.
And give our people their freedom.
- How about it, Ivan?
- Someone's got to fight for our people.
Let's do it.
Yeah!
It's a trap! Get out of here!
Get on your horses! Now!
Follow me! Quick! To the bridge!
Move it!
A gift, gentlemen!
Look out!
Smolaks!
Oleksa!
- My knife!
- I will take it!
- Leave it!
- I need my knife!
- Jump!
- For fuck's sake! Pick it up!
- Wait, not yet!
- Got it!
Kiss my ass, you motherfuckers!
Fuck!
Arkan!
Our power! Our will!
Arkan!
Our gold!
I'm alone in this wasteland
But not for long.
I wrote to Hetman Potocki.
He'll send his army
and I'll restore order.
I need good soldiers.
I can't rely on anyone.
You can rely on me.
I'll find them.
I'll turn over every stone.
Every village.
I'll find them and destroy them.
I'll decorate trees with their bowels.
Gauge out their eyes.
Rip out their tongues and nails.
Every one of them.
Their wives.
Their children.
Their grandparents. Everyone.
Boys!
I've made equal shares.
So
grab one
and let's get out of here.
I'll go with you.
Wallachia for me.
- Coming, brother?
- Wait
What about the people?
We've earned this! The right to live well.
- Yes or no?
- Yes!
You see? It's settled.
Let's go.
But what about the people?
Jabonowska and Przeuski
will punish them.
Now we have gold.
We can buy weapons
and overthrow the lords.
You think they need arms?
They'll drink away
those arms and betray you.
They need a good whipping!
I don't want to live among slaves.
- Ivan, stop it!
- Back off!
- Ivan! Wake up!
- Now we can win back our freedom.
We'll never have freedom here! Or power!
Only the lords will change.
One after another.
Time's up!
Brothers. Let's go!
Who's with me?
Boys
Look at these dogs.
You'll all lose your heads. For him.
Think I don't know why you want to stay?
- Shut up.
- He doesn't care about any of you.
- Shut up!
- Only about his Marichka
- Shut your mouth!
- His whore!
- You Herod!
- Leave him!
I love you, brother.
"I, Grand Princess of the Crown"
"Teofilia Jabonowska, ne Jasinowska"
announce to all whom it may concern."
"to end the robberies
of the bandit Dovbush,
who robs towns with his Opryshkos"
"and hides in various villages."
"We announce"
"a reward for his head
of 100 Zloty.
Anyone who leads us
to the Opryshkos' hiding places
and to Dovbush himself,
will be freed from the obligation
to pay taxes for life.
And will earn praise and eternal glory."
We'll keep it here. Its time will come.
You take the rest.
You know what to spend it on.
Be smart about it.
We need fighters.
Not talkers.
- You guys should go to hell.
- Too far.
We'll go to Kuty.
They've got some fighters there.
- Good. I'll go East. You take the West.
- We'll find enough men.
- We need guns.
- The Vlachs will get us guns.
They'd go to hell if there was gold in it.
Hell is not necessary.
Then go to the Vlachs.
Go now.
People paid taxes with it.
They pay with our money.
Rumor has it the Dovbush brothers
had a quarrel.
Like it? We've got more!
Pistols, muskets, gunpowder, bullets.
Got enough gold, we'll get you a cannon.
- Where from?
- Hungary.
These guys have waited two days
to make a deal.
Good. We'll talk.
I'll wait out here.
Glory to Jesus!
You're surrounded!
Surrender!
Cover the rear! Fight!
Break down the door!
Aim!
Where is Oleksa Dovbush?
Coming after you!
A real bandit. The real deal.
- Has he talked?
- Not yet.
Forgive me, Father.
Soon, I will commit a sin.
I will kill a man.
Who will you kill, my son?
I will kill
you, Father.
BORDER FORTRESS, WALLACHIA
My dear, how wonderful you are!
Look at her, how beautiful she is!
I've come a long way.
Lost everything, but found you.
They've promised 300 Zlotys for his head.
But if you kill him, the Devil himself
I'll tell you a secret.
They say Przeuski strangled babies
at the breast with his bare hands.
Przeuski poured burning
tar down peoples' throats
I hope that Herod
will go to the bottomless pit!
But no one would betray the boys.
He stole the gold
and gave it to the people.
Of course they won't betray him.
The nobles won't just hand
over their property and gold.
They offer their wedded wives
to save themselves!
Oleksa fears nothing.
Neither God, nor Devil.
Nothing helps.
I've tried everything.
Roots, herbs nothing helps.
The wound is cursed.
A brother's blood was shed.
He dreams and sees his Marichka.
He calls his soul mate.
"Marichka, Marichka."
- Oleksa! It's us!
- Marichka
Oleksa! I'm already here with you.
Loafers hang around here
Drink it.
He who has it will never
be touched by Death.
I want to be an Opryshko.
I'm not scared of anything!
No?
Put out your hand!
What if you got shot in the heart?
Only if it's a silver bullet
blessed by 12 priests
in 12 different tserkovs.
Want me, honey?
Hey, buddy. Pay, this is my
My knife.
Nice flutes.
I wish I had a cannon.
Is it true that bullets can't kill Oleksa?
Should I tell them the story of the ax?
- Have you seen the mark on Oleksa's back?
- Yes.
Know how he got it?
Listen up!
Zabo.
Oleksa was a little boy.
There was a terrible storm
in the mountains.
Oleksa was hit by lightning.
Zabo!
His father found him half-dead on a rock.
He didn't know what to do.
He dug a hole and laid him in the ground
From the sun, from the clouds,
from the Void
The earth returned Oleksa to life.
When you defend your own land,
your mountains, no bullet will take you.
Oh, people
Before, they used
to curse Oleksa high and low.
Said he robs and kills for no reason,
and visits married women.
And now they pray to him like a holy icon.
The rich spread out their tables
and pay him to leave them be.
And the poor
go to Oleksa Dovbush like a judge.
Before, they said Marichka was a whore
because she played around with Oleksa.
But now they say it's Dzvinchuk's fault,
and should now give her back to her lover.
They also say he'd be better off
hanging himself from a spruce.
- Your husband is home.
- I don't care. You are my husband.
You have to go.
You almost died yesterday.
I can't.
I can't lose you again.
Haven't you heard?
No one can kill me.
My ax protects me.
Death itself runs away from me.
Don't joke. It's not funny.
Who's joking?
Unless someone makes a bullet.
A pure silver bullet.
Blessed by 12 priests and 12 masses.
Maybe then.
But no one will ever
make a bullet like that.
Marichka! Give me a blanket!
Pour it on me!
They burned down the tserkov.
Everyone thinks it was us.
It was the Dovbush brothers,
the bandits.
It was them! Robbed the tserkov
and then set it on fire!
I don't believe it. They're our kind.
Ivan held a knife to my throat
and asked, "What's your name?"
The bell-ringer swears it was Ivan.
But I wasn't scared.
- Then he told Oleksa to burn the tserkov!
- That's not true! It wasn't Oleksa!
- How would you know?
- Let her speak!
- Oleksa didn't do that!
- How?
Because I was with him last night!
I went by the tavern.
Signs of a fight. And blood.
None of our guys were there.
And one more thing,
Adam, our Polish friend, has disappeared.
If it's true
we've got to stop him.
Glory to God!
See that knife?
This road belongs to me.
And if you don't pay,
your name will be carved on this knife.
It's a sin to rob us, my good man.
We are men of God.
Sins don't scare us. We're sinners.
I'm Ivan Dovbush.
Is that so?
You're way uglier than Ivan.
Oleksa, you're wounded.
- Just shoot him!
- Go ahead. Shoot, you pig.
Your father was a dog.
He died like a dog. By my knife.
Oleksa! Let me shoot him!
He's mine.
Come on!
Oleksa! What are you doing?
Now you're dead, bastard.
It's over
Our Father
Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name
Thy kingdom come
The Dovbushes!
People, stop it!
This is who burned down the tserkov.
Who is this?
That's Scar!
They know the truth.
Tell the truth!
Money.
Rebuild the tserkov.
Stolen money.
Our people's money.
Earned by our sweat and blood.
Ivan's knife.
With the names of his victims.
Please, pray for them.
- My lady! My dove!
- What lady?
I am your lady!
I'll show you the dove at home.
WALLACHIAN TAVERN
"AT THE SIGN OF THE DOVE"
A man has wronged me.
My honor is violated.
I want him dead.
Everything has a price.
Name?
Oleksa Dovbush.
He will come to my house.
We've heard about the bounty on his head.
I'll give you the reward.
And this
This is all my money.
But everyone must think I killed him.
You will send me
this pigeon when he comes.
Scar is back. Call the Colonel!
Scar?
You didn't let us own our land,
but you won't rule us.
You stole our land and took our freedom.
As you don't fear
to torture and skin people
I don't fear the sin of taking your life.
No walls,
no iron gates, no hetman,
no tsar will protect you.
Count. I want my papers back.
An outlaw has emerged on your lands.
They say no weapon can kill him.
I'll pay back the gold.
The royalty, whose name I will not speak,
negotiates only with those who hold power.
The Lord of Black Mountain
is Oleksa Dovbush.
Not you, my lady.
I'll fix everything.
Our fortress is impregnable.
When Potocki's army gets here
We'll crush Dovbush's riot.
You ruined my life.
You ruined everything.
To end the rage
and defiance of Oleksa Dovbush
who robs towns and villages,
kills and destroys,
I, Jzef Potocki, Voivode of Stanisaww,
and Great Hetman of the Crown,
am personally heading
to the lands of Galicia to Stanisaww
with the Crown army.
From this day on,
any man who gives shelter to the Opryshkos
will be put to death!
Any man who joins the bandits
will be put to death!
Any man who by word
or deed violates the nobles'
lawful right to land,
will be put to death!
They're looking for you everywhere!
The Smolaks will be here soon.
Petro and Pavlo are dead.
Thirty of our brothers are in prison.
Right Hand will be tortured.
Then executed in the market like a dog.
Oleksa, let's go far away.
Where nobody knows us.
Marichka. I'm done running.
I want to live. Here.
Free! On my own land!
Take me with you.
Let me go.
I'll be back for you in three days.
Give me just three days, and nothing,
not God, not any man, will keep us apart.
Oleksa.
You are my life.
Go
Full company with wagon trains.
Crown Guard.
Potocki's army. They'll hold their line.
They fire at 50 paces.
They reload quickly.
The officers are yours.
Just don't shoot their musicians.
May our land protect us.
Reload!
Fire!
Forward!
Get down!
Fire!
Where are they?
Get to the top!
Down!
To the top!
Wait! Do not burn them.
My name is Oleksa Dovbush.
I was a soldier, just like you.
Like you, my officers drove us
like cattle to the slaughter.
If you don't want
to burn in hellfire right here,
put down your weapons.
We're fighting for our land!
What are you fighting for?
Potocki's Guards have finally arrived!
Get the Colonel!
Company Halt!
Open the gate!
We've captured Dovbush!
They've got Dovbush!
- Open the gate!
- Forward!
Betrayal!
Disguised Opryshkos!
Defend!
Man the barricades!
Man the barricades!
Hold the fort!
Ax!
Come on!
Find our prisoners! Don't hurt our men!
Vasyl, cover me!
Take him!
Follow me! To the tower!
I've found an entrance to the dungeon.
- Aim!
- Fire at will!
Here!
Fight to the last breath!
Stop them!
Get the keys!
Hang on, brothers! We're here!
- Zabo!
- I'm here.
Hold on, my brother.
Come on!
You won't take me alive!
Bastards!
You're alive.
Alive.
What do you think? I'm immortal.
Easy, easy.
Is it day or night?
It's morning.
Stay with him.
Dovbush! Come for me!
Closer, closer a bit!
Dovbush, time to die!
Stop!
Give me another! Faster!
Come to me!
We will all die!
Take the weapons.
Burn the rest of the lords' belongings.
We defeated a hundred.
But thousands will come.
Get everyone together and head for Kuty.
I'm going for Marichka.
What did you do, Stefan?
Did you buy a bird to keep it in a cage?
Let her go.
If that's what you want.
Here.
Wait.
So everyone knows she's mine.
Here.
A mouse in the pantry.
- Where?
- Sit, my bird. Think about it.
- Stefan, open up!
- I will be back on Saturday.
Open the door!
Marichka!
Marichka!
Marichka!
In here!
Stefan locked me in.
I'm coming in!
Where are you?
Dovbush!
You really believe
only a silver bullet can kill you?
Who are you?
Who are you?!
Your death.
- Ivan.
- No.
Ivan Dovbush is dead.
You stole his gang.
You stole his glory.
You stole my name.
You chose to leave.
I wanted to live.
Then go live!
Or come back to us. People need our help!
People need money!
Money for Dovbush's head!
People need one who will kill for them.
And die for them.
Shoot.
I am Dovbush.
Oleksa!
- Oleksa! Are you hurt?
- I'm alive.
Blessed Mother!
Soldiers coming!
Oleksa!
We have to hurry. But easy!
- My ax!
- Get out of here!
Hurry!
Hurry!
Oleksa, I'm staying.
What? No!
- I'll come to you to the Black Mountain.
- Marichka, no.
Blessed Mother! They killed him!
Killed him!
What happened?
Killed him!
You killed my Oleksa!
You killed my Oleksa!
Killed my Oleksa
This is Dovbush?
Stefan, you killed my Oleksa!
Say that you killed him!
- Say that you killed him!
- Yes.
Declaration in the name of Jzef Potocki,
present here.
For high state treason
and the attempt to seize power,
by this secret decree
Grand Princess Teofilia Jabonowska
forfeits all her Galician
castles and lands
to the Polish Crown,
under the control of Hetman Jzef Potocki.
Today I will announce
that you now choose
to serve the Virgin Mary
and have entered the convent
for the rest of her life.
Hear ye, hear ye!
"I, Grand Princess Teofilia Jabonowska,
am pleased to declare
that the leader
of all the disorders and upheavals,
who is guilty of destroying
the wealth and estate of ours,
the outlaw Oleksa Dovbush, is dead.
Stefan Dzvinchuk, the subject of mine,
who has brought the bandit to grave
from this day forward is freed
from the duty to pay taxes
and receives 300 pieces of gold.
The body of the outlaw Oleksa Dovbush
will be hacked into 12 pieces
and hung along the roads of Galicia!
So rules the high court
in the presence
of the sovereign of Galician lands,
Grand Princess Teofilia Jabonowska."
What do I do now?
We show them that here, we are the power.
You see, God
I
I knew a man who cheated death.
His name
Dovbush.
OUR STRUGGLE GOES ON