«IN THE CIRCLE OF KUNDUZ» Page #5

In the cramped oblong space of the hall, Otto sees three fans slowly rotating the blades from the ceiling, driving air flows. People in Afghan national clothes and traditional headdresses are eating and drinking tea on the couch, peacefully talking. On the wall is a large portrait of the smiling Mujahideen leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The guests are served by the son of Yakub Khan - ZALMAY, a sporty dark—skinned youth of thirteen with an embroidered kandahari (Pashtun skullcap with a domed slit in front), black wavy hair. Zalman wears a patterned vest over a traditional Afghan shirt (perukhan, an Afghan national costume in the form of a knee-length shirt with trousers).

Otto sprawled on a wide couch resting and waiting for the order to be delivered. Contemplating the street hustle, medieval faces in traditional clothes, brisk market bargaining, donkey and horse-drawn carriage, chaises, carts, a caravan of two-humped giant camels arriving from afar, loaded with huge bales of goods, the noise of incessant street hubbub is heard. Otto takes out the notebook and photographs handed over by Ismatulla, looks at a group photo with six Soviet soldiers. Than puts the photo back in the backpack. He leans back, enters a doze.

The measured creak of fan blades, the clink of dishes, the clatter of dice, the shuffle of checkers "shesh-besh", the multilingual hubbub of the tea house guests can be heard. The iconic Afghan singer Ahmad Zahira sings "DAST AZ TALAB NADARAM" soulfully from the sound speakers.

Otto is dozing. Zalmay serves sizzling lamb rib kebab, a flatbread, and a pot of green tea on the table. Otto does not react, he continues to doze.

29. EXT. KAZAN RAILWAY STATION — DAY.

TITLE:
MOSCOW. KAZAN RAILWAY STATION, 1984.

There are noisy festivities on the platform – soldiers' send-off. A crowd of relatives and friends, beloved girls and some conscripts. Wives are tipsy.

People are quietly drinking, snacking on chicken legs, singing songs to the guitar. Nearby, drowning out the hubbub, a tape recorder loudly plays the song of the bard Alexander NOVIKOV.

The order "Conscripts to the wagons!" is passed. Conscripts, wanting to take seats in the compartment from above, rush inside the train cars.

30. INT. CARRIAGE COMPARTMENT — DAY.

There is a fight in one of the compartments of a group of short-haired conscripts.

Rostov resident Sergey Sidorenko (SIDOR) drops a backpack and warm clothes of Buryat Darkhan Badmaev (MONGOL) from Ulan-Ude from the upper tier and takes his place.

Mongol pulls Sidor from above, the confrontation begin. German Streltsov (STRELA) from Leningrad comes to Sidor's aid. Sidor and Strela are piling on Mongol. Rustam Tukaev (RUST) from Tatarstan, seeing this, jumps down from the opposite upper tier and begins to pull Sidor and Strela away from Mongol. In support of Sidor and Strela, Rust is tied by muscovite Ivan Kostrov (KOSTER). German Konstantin Thevs (KOSTYAN) from Kazakhstan takes the side of Rust and Mongol.

The conflict grows into a fight on different tiers – at the bottom and at the top, three on three are fighting. A military patrol walking along the carriage with an officer, a senior lieutenant and two soldiers of the internal troops, abruptly stops the fight. Everyone is taking up empty seats. The train is moving quietly. The sound of the tape recorder is already drowning out the noise of the train gaining speed. The verses of NOVIKOV 's song are barely audible.

31. EXT. WAGON WITH RECRUITS — DAY.

An ensign and a soldier of the clothing service distribute sets of new military uniforms to recruits. Sidor, Strela, Rust, Mongol, Koster and Kostyan, and others are located on the lower and upper tiers. View in the window of the sun-scorched Kyzyl-kum and Kara-Kum deserts of Western Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Along the railway track, Kazakh dwellings are visible embedded in the ground. A group of swarthy children looks out of the embrasures at the rushing train, without taking their eyes off. Through the window you can see the cemetery with monumental necropolises and mazars, dunes and double-humped camels.

The sound of the wheels is slowing down. Short-term stop. On the platform, good-natured Asians in national clothes - men and women sell chureks, eggs, katyk, curdled milk to travelers. From the windows of the train going in the opposite direction, into the open–opposite window of the compartment with recruits, civilian passengers throw canned food, sausage, tea, cigarettes to conscripts.

The train continues running.

32. EXT. TURKESTAN. A FINE NIGHT - DARK

The train with recruits slows down, stops at a quiet stop.

TITLE:
SOUTHERN UZBEKISTAN, TERMEZ REGION.

THE VIEW FROM THE WINDOW IS A DESERTED PLATFORM.

View from the train window: a deserted platform. A carpet of stars spread out in the sky. A lantern with a dimly glowing lamp swings steadily on a pole, creaking, dimly illuminating the platform of a compact one-story station.

An old—time soldier in full-dress uniform comes out of the building - a troublesome senior sergeant. Tanned, toned, the cap is pushed back on the back of the head, the tunic with gold buttons is well fitted and well ironed. There are tank emblems in the buttonholes, the medal "For Bravery" sparkles on the chest. The sergeant does not pay attention to the stopped train and the bald faces of the recruits contemplating from the windows. He gets up, spreads his legs wide and lights a cigarette with a match.

The sergeant inhales the smoke with a full chest, throws his head up and, enjoying the beauty of the starscape, thinks about something. The recruits silently continue to look at what is happening. Unexpectedly SIDOR, loudly, as soon as he can, so that the sergeant will certainly hear, shouts.

SIDOR:

Hey, demob, answer me!

Two — these f***ing years,

Will they fly by quickly?!

The DEMOB, does not lower his gaze to Sidor, takes a drag again and, barely smiling, freezes in thought, scrolls through the events of military service in memory. Seconds later, the DEMOB comes out of the cycle of thoughts, directs his gaze to the window from where the question followed, proudly pronounces with a non-obvious drawl.

DEMOB:

"But f*** knows!"

33. EXT. TRAIN STATION — NIGHT.

TITLE:
SOUTH UZBEKISTAN, TERMEZ STATION.

Military men in yellow field uniforms for regions with a hot climate are waiting on the platform — they are lean, tanned in wide-breasted panama hats and army boots. The train passes the last meters, stops with a screech. There is a group of officers and soldiers on the platform. The SENIOR OFFICER is slightly ahead, loudly commanding the newcomers who are looking out of the train windows.

SENIOR OFFICER:

Fellow soldiers! Listen to my command: everyone urgently leave the location of the cars and, in two columns, quickly load into the KAMAZ trucks waiting on the square in front of the railway station!

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