«ZUGZWANG OF OBER LIEUTENANT BRUNO THEVS» Page #9

55. EXT. HOSPITAL GARDEN — FLASHES OF DAWN

Otto, leaning on a cane, walks around the hospital garden, waiting for Bruno.

A taxi with Bruno arrives, Otto gets in, the taxi is leaving.

56. INT. TAXI ON THE STREETS OF KUNDUZ — FLASHES OF DAWN.

Bruno and Otto drive through Kunduz in a taxi, they drive into one of the streets, stop at an adobe house.

Interpreter YAHYA MUKHADI is waiting for them, getting into a taxi - all three are heading to the mountainous region of Khost Wa Firing, the village of Yahchan-Khurd.

57. EXT. YAHCHAN-KHURD VILLAGE — DAY.

TITLE:
YAHCHAN-KHURD VILLAGE, KHOST WA FIRING COUNTY, BAGHLAN PROVINCE.

The taxi stops at the home of the former mujahid one-armed Ismatullah. The passengers are getting out.

Yahya Muhadi's call "Ismatullah" is answered by an agitated Ismatullah.

OTTO:

(positively)

AsSalamu Alaikum Ismatullah!

ISMATULLAH:

(suspiciously)

Vaaleikum AsSalam!

OTTO:

(pointing with his hand)

This is the son of one of the Shuravi who died in the battle that you told me about. His name is Bruno.

Yahya translates Otto's words.

Ismatulla looks guiltily and sadly into Bruno's eyes and, putting his right palm to his heart, bows his head.

Ismatullah is shivering with excitement, holding the stump of his left arm with his palm, hidden in the sleeve of a perukhan (Afghan long shirt) tied with a ribbon.

ISMATULLAH:

(with empathy)

I am sincerely sorry. A lot of our Mujahideen and Shuravi died in that battle. You see...

(ostentatiously stretches out the stump of his left arm)

...in that war, I got badly hurt.

Yahya Muhadi translates Ismatullah's speech.

A gang of children aged from seven to eleven years runs up. Three of them — two boys and a younger girl — are nailed to Ismatulla, take him in a tight embrace in the waist area.

BRUNO:

(surprised)

Are these yours?!

ISMATULLAH:

(proudly)

Al-Hamdu li-Llahi! My younger ones!

Bruno takes out hundreds of euro bills from his pocket, passes one to each of the children.

The children take the money and, looking into Ismatullah's eyes, immediately hand it over to him.

BRUNO:

(with joy)

Good upbringing!

Ismatullah was touched by the offering and put his hand to his heart.

ISMATULLAH:

Tashakur!

(with gratitude, embarrassed)

It wasn't necessary at all.

Ismatullah gathers his thoughts, and with a wave of his hand invites Bruno, Otto and Yahya Mukhadi to go into the courtyard of his home.

58. INT. ISMATULLAH'S HOUSE — DAY.

Ismatullah, Bruno, Otto and Yahya Muhadi enter the house.

Women, girls of the family, who are busy with the household, seeing strange men, jump up from their seats and hurriedly leave. Ismatullah and the guests take off their shoes, sit down on a colorful screen. One of the sons – a young man of eleven years old brings tea. Ismatullah pours it into bowls, begins the story.

ISMATULLAH:

It was the middle of June 1986.

DOCUMENTARY VISUAL SERIES WITH AFGHAN MUJAHIDEEN ATTACKING SOVIET TRANSPORT CONVOYS

ISMATULLA (VO)

The Shuravi were pulling columns from Kunduz to Faizabad. Groups of Mujahideen attacked their columns and mined the highway.

Our detachment was waiting for the order of Commander Kazi Kabir to descend from the mountains and strengthen these groups with weapons and additional manpower.

In the early morning of June 16, 1986, we heard the sound of approaching helicopters and saw the landing troops.

The confrontation was stubborn. There were dead and wounded on both sides. But Shuravi had a lot of them.

The fight lasted all day. It continued at night. Then I was wounded and miraculously survived.

With his remaining hand, Ismatullah moves a fruit dish on the table closer to the guests.

ISMATULLAH:

After two months of treatment in Pakistan, I returned to the squad. This coincided with the time when the Mujahideen were rebuilding the destroyed base. At the place where the Shuravi were storing their dead and wounded, under boulders, I found a notebook that had fallen out of the pocket of one of the Shuravi and two photos enclosed in it — six soldiers standing in an embrace and a Russian girl. The notebook was covered in blood.

(looking at Bruno)

The day your reporter friend came to Yahchan Khurd, promising to write the truth about the Afghan war, I told him about that dramatic battle and handed over these relics.

(pause)

The Russians were brave warriors, not like these cowards from ISAF.

Otto and Bruno exchanged glances.

BRUNO:

(resolutely)

Can we get to that place?!

ISMATULLA:

Why not?! It's not far from here.

(lifting a beige pakol - Afghan headdress from his sweating forehead, with a reservation)

Unless, of course, you are ready to spend the night in the mountains?!

BRUNO:

(resolutely)

We are ready!

59. NAT. VILLAGE OF YAHCHAN-KHURD - MORNING FLASHES OF DAWN.

Ismatullah, Bruno and Yahya Mukhadi load blankets, a bag of provisions, leather bales with water on 2 donkeys and set out on their way. Otto sees them off them and stays in the village.

60. EXT. THE MOUNTAIN REGION — TWILIGHT

Ismatulla, Bruno, Yahya Mukhadi walk along the bottom of a deep gorge, squeezed by mountain ranges at the mouths of narrow, rapidly flowing river.

61. NAT. THE MOUNTAIN REGION - DARK.

The expedition stops moving, breaks up a bivouac.

Ismatullah is lighting a bonfire. Bruno, Yahya Mukhadi, Ismatullah are warming themselves by the campfire, Ismatullah skillfully removes the kettle from the fire, pours tea into bowls for everyone, passes pieces of flatbread to everyone.

62. EXT. THE MOUNTAIN REGION - DAY.

Ismatullah loads the donkeys with belongings and, together with Bruno, Yahya Mukhadi, sets out on his way.

The village of Dekhmiran is visible ahead, it is spread out at the foot of the mountain with the back side pressed against a gentle saddle.

Ismatullah leads Bruno and Yahya Mukhadi up the mountain. All three ascend to the top, descend into the saddle lying between two mountains.

Ismatullah stops, looks around, gets visibly excited. He turns to face one of the peaks, covers his eyes with his palm from the blinding edge of the sun from behind the edge of the mountain, and begins the narration.

63. EXT. THE MOUNTAIN REGION - DAY.

TITLE:
KHOST WA FIRING, BAGHLAN PROVINCE. THE MOUNTAIN STAGE OF OPERATION MANEUVER, JUNE 1986.

To the mountain plateau (saddle) a pair of Soviet MI-8MT helicopters flies up and hovers between the mountains.

ISMATULLA (V.O.)

Early in the morning, Soviet helicopters arrived and began landing troops here.

Rebels who came out of hiding are hitting helicopters from grenade launchers from the slopes of the mountains.

ISMATULLA (V.O.)

The site was under the control of our firing points. We immediately opened targeted fire and burned two of their helicopters in a short time.

Two MI-8MT helicopters are engulfed in flames, burning.

The fire of the rebels is intensified by small arms fire.

KOSTER, MONGOL, SIDOR, STRELA, RUST, KOSTYAN jump out of 2 burning helicopters with heavy weapons, they immediately join the battle. There is a stubborn fire confrontation.

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