Rutenberg

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April Com. (1989) Ltd.

Presents

A film by Eli Cohen

Menashe Noy

Ayelet Zorer

Lior Ashkenazi

Mark Ivanir

"Rutenberg"

Screenplay

Yaron Zelig

Producers

Omri Meron, Ruth Lev Ari

Director

Eli Cohen

Friday, February 13, 1931

This will be the inauguration

of the largest and most ambitious

plant in the Middle East.

Ten years ago, engineer

Pinhas (Pyotr) Rutenberg

arrived in the Land of Israel.

He, who was a well known

revolutionary political terrorist

in Russia, became a Zionist.

Alongside his brother Avraham,

he formulated a bold plan:

To bring electricity

to the Land of Israel,

an economic

and technological revolution.

In Naharaim, at the junction

of the Jordan and Yarmukh rivers,

he established an electricity plant.

The channels,

the dams and the modern equipment...

are all

ready for the festive opening.

His Royal Highness,

Prince Abdallah...

Honored High Commissioner,

Naharaim engineers and workers.

People of Naharaim.

Today,

with the inauguration of the plant,

today, with the opening

of the first hydro-electric plant

on the Jordan...

Mr. Avraham! - Yes?

- We must open the dam!

The channel will not hold!

Today,

with the inauguration of the plant.

Today, with the opening

of the hydro-electric plant.

Today, with the opening

of the hydro-electric plant.

Hydro-electric.

Hydro-electric...

Mr. Rutenberg?

Mr. Rutenberg?

Bring more sacks!

More sand! Sand!

Hurry!

Hurry up!

What are you waiting for?

Faster!

We must open

the dam!

Impossible. Impossible.

Avraham said no.

Put a few more sacks there!

Move more to the left!

Leonard.

Your brother.

Yes, Avraham.

Just a moment.

How much do you say? 60?

The dam will hold it.

No, no, no.

We will not open the reserve dam.

I calculated all the risks.

The tolerance is more than 60.

Avraham. Avraham.

Don't worry. I'm here.

Go slowly. - Quick!

Go slowly.

Hurry.

More to the left! Beguznik!

More to the left, Beguznik!

Careful! Careful there!

Everyone move away quickly!

Savirski!

Avraham!

Avraham!

Avraham! - Why are you yelling?

Look how much mud you tracked in.

Well, what...

Avraham. Avraham...

- What? - Everything is destroyed.

Pick this up.

Move the cart.

Where is the doctor?

Get the doctor!

Get the doctor!

Not good?

Bad?

Very bad. Summon Zemah.

Mr. Rutenberg,

all is prepared for the journey.

Leonard, I want you to remain here.

- What do you mean? Mr. Rutenberg...

Leonard, I need you here.

Zemah.

Give this to Becky.

Tell her it is from me.

Come on, Zemah,

we don't have all day.

You will regret this!

A little to the left.

No, no, too much.

Not too much. Just a bit.

Just a moment.

Come toward me, toward me.

A few steps toward me.

Go back.

Pinhas, it is not good here,

I told you it is too sloped.

Riskin, just a moment.

Just a moment.

Here, here, hold it here.

- Riskin, what are you doing?

Come on, I said here.

- Pinhas, look at the numbers.

Mr. Rutenberg.

- Well? - The numbers.

The slopes... - The numbers,

I know the numbers, Avraham.

I know your numbers.

- The numbers...

It is not acceptable.

Not acceptable?

Not acceptable? - Not acceptable -Yes

Anyone can do acceptable,

I'm talking to you about revolution.

I am reminding you, Pinhas,

we came here to do a water survey.

Mr. Rutenberg! - Correct?

A survey of the water potential

in the Land of Israel.

Not a revolution, a water survey.

Your transformers

will not be there, or there...

And you know what? Not there, either.

Nothing will be here.

It is all a pipe dream.

- Mr. Rutenberg? - What!

Where should I stand.

- Riskin, come over here.

It will be here. - All right.

Hand me that, please.

Tomorrow is another day. Good night.

- Good night, Riskin.

Shouldn't you go to sleep, Pinhas?

- No, I'm not tired.

Pinhas...

I want to discuss

something with you.

A position is available

with the rail company...

I am not interested in those things.

- No, I'm talking about me now.

They are looking for a manager

for their engine workshop.

I am going to accept.

I am going to manage

the engine workshop

for the Land of Israel Rail Company.

- Engine workshop? - Yes.

You are an engineer, Avraham.

You're going to be a rail mechanic?

With trains, you

know where they depart

and exactly when they will arrive.

That's the beauty, they're

predictable. - They're boring.

Predictable, Pinhas, predictable.

You can sleep soundly at night.

And our project?

- Your project, yours, Pinhas.

I... I, as usual,

am simply following you.

Because that is who you are, Pinhas.

To you, I am...

I'm sorry,

I can't take it any more, Pinhas.

I'm sorry, I...

need my own life.

So you are

leaving me alone. - No,

You are not

going to do that to me, Pinhas.

Avraham, I need you. - Need...

- Yes, yes, I need you.

Especially now,

when I am going to raise funds.

I need you. You are my brother.

- Good night, Pinhas.

Avraham. - What?

- Do you remember when you were six

I carried you on my back

and transferred you

from one river bank to the other?

What did you say then?

I was right. The ice in fact

didn't hold us. - But we made it.

Should I remind you how we made it?

Should I remind you how I made it?

But did we make it?

Yes or no?

- You are mad, simply mad.

We made it.

We made it,

we made it, we made it!

Have we arrived?

- No, we are stuck.

Something with the engine...

No, everything is all right here.

If everything is all right, why

have we been here for 20 minutes?

We should have arrived

two hours ago.

I told you we need a new model.

Is there gasoline?

- Gasoline? - Gasoline, yes.

Great, Zemah. Now what?

- I told Mr. Leonard

maybe we should take more gasoline.

He said we must leave urgently.

Oh, really, Zemah,

you are the driver,

not Leonard, you.

- Yes. Should I walk to Merhavia?

Excuse me, it is a 30 minute walk.

- Will talk make the car run? - No.

Zemah...

Thank you.

He hasn't arrived yet?

No, no, six hours ago.

No. No,

because he asked me to remain.

Becky, Becky...

Operator...

Operator...

Operator...

The lines are down.

- It is late, Becky. Go to sleep.

Leonard...

I am going.

Becky, I will only be five minutes.

Leonard! - Five minutes.

Becky, five minutes.

Pardon me, five minutes.

Welcome, Mr. Rutenberg.

- Is all ready to be signed?

The thing is, Churchill...

- When will he see me?

Pay the lad

what he is owed.

You could have warned me.

- I tried to.

What is this matter

of the Arab delegation?

Churchill. He stipulates that

the Arabs agree to the concession.

Free enterprise, yes.

A national movement, absolutely not.

Then I will announce

that it is my own private enterprise

Dr. Weizman

will not see that positively.

And with no electricity, Dr. Weizman

will see nothing at all.

Becky, Becky, Becky.

Becky, please don't do this.

We said we'd go out on the river...

Then let's go. - Okay.

I'll just say goodbye and we'll go.

You'll just say goodbye

and he'll just ask you

to do one more small thing for him,

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