Based on a novel by Vladimr Krner.
What's the matter?
Sit still. Where are you going?
Where are we, Dad?
- Go and have a look!
- That's impossible.
Stop crying.
We're in the middle of nowhere.
The train goes no further.
You'll have to get off.
Have your identity cards ready.
- Am I to walk with the child?
- Quiet.
How are we going
to carry the luggage?
How stupid!
- Fero, help me.
- Get out of the way.
Damn you!
The Jerries will help you -
it isn't far to the village.
Show her the way!
- It takes a lot of courage...
- Marian, come on.
Are you alone?
Go and report to the National
Committee at the Mayor's.
You heard me. That goes for you too.
Report to the police officer, Hejna!
Why don't you get out of the way?
- Let's see your papers!
- Get a move on, old man...
Stop fooling around
and show us your papers.
Jindra, come here!
Look at that stupid face.
Must be a Jerry.
Look at his boots.
Gestapo-style.
Nonsense.
I know the style, they're Canadian.
Get up!
Get up, I said.
Kindly leave me alone.
He can't be serious.
Did you hear that?
Let's take him outside.
Shall we?
- Don't touch me, I don't feel well.
- Start moving!
Stop fooling around, I told you...
I told you not to touch me.
You must be joking.
What's in that bag?
Watch out, he has a gun!
Bastard!
How do you feel?
All right. It's stopped bleeding...
Are you insisting
that these papers are yours?
Victor Chotovicky, Lieutenant...
"Member of the Czechoslovak Forces,
served in Great Britain with the RAF,
"is to take over the management
of Alfred Heinemann's property
"at Schwarzbach.
"The above named officer
will make an inventory.
"He is under direct orders
of the Regional Committee at Olomouc
"and the Ministry of Defence."
May I?
Signed Vymazal, Squadron Leader...
To begin with,
not Schwarzbach but Cerny otok.
Papers like this are a dime a dozen.
I could have you locked up.
You don't happen to have
a glass of milk?
No, I never drink the stuff.
What's wrong?
What's wrong with you?
Nothing.
Really, nothing.
Will you have a drop of this?
That would kill me. I have ulcers.
You served in the RAF with ulcers?
I worked in the store.
Where?
In Aberdeen, Scotland.
And what's this for?
We all got it as a parting present.
We got nothing.
I've got to requisition this.
You don't have a permit...
And who issues such permits?
I do.
Is it American?
The cigarette, I mean.
English, it was part of my rations.
Hejna speaking.
Yes, Squadron Leader.
Yes, he's here.
Damned!
Yes, I hear.
I understand. You can trust me.
Yes. Goodbye.
Damn! The idiots!
That seems to be correct.
I am sorry.
I know Squadron Leader Vymazal.
- We met during the mobilisation.
- I see.
I am sorry. The boys will apologise.
I'd rather they didn't.
I hope you understand -
there are all sorts of trash
coming to settle here -
but I'll teach them
that we aren't in Texas!
This isn't Sorrento!
Isn't Sorrento in Italy?
Never mind. I won't have it.
This is going to be a village
like any other.
I understand.
Just a minute, Lieutenant.
Put this in your bag
and choose an M.G.
Inspector!
Mr Hejna!
Franz Hallmeier set fire to his house!
That's what we have to cope with
every day.
I'd like to...
- Fire!
- Here you are!
- Fire!
- Coming!
Take some ammunition too...
Where's the fire-brigade?
Sorry, Inspector,
we can't get to the water
because of Hallmeier's livestock.
- Where are Karel and Jindra?
- They are here.
But the herd is wild with fear.
They are waiting for you. Come on.
I am no bullfighter, stupid!
Stay here, just in case.
There's been too much of this.
I'm going to take hostages
the way they used to.
Where do I get the keys?
You fool! Even the gate is missing.
I'll send one of the boys along.
Don't.
I want to be alone.
If you want to be alone, Lieutenant,
take the M.G.
I won't.
And don't call me Lieutenant.
Mr Chotovicky,
why did you come here?
One day Ulrich saw a monster
under a tree
20 heads, and a beautiful...
This is the end of the road.
Sir!
Sir!
What are you doing there?
You mustn't go there!
What are you doing there?
I'm looking for Heinemann's house.
What?
Heinemann's house!
Get back to the road!
There are landmines everywhere!
You won't give up, Basler?
I'm going to report you!
Leave them alone,
they haven't noticed me.
Are you Czech?
Yes. We're the only Czechs here
who've lived with them during the war.
Where did you get this?
I am a victim of love.
- What?
- Never mind.
I know what they are capable of.
They even mined under the corpses
before they left.
We couldn't give them a decent burial.
Could you let me have some milk?
Why not?
We are getting a seventh cow.
Dad and I have to manage alone now.
Our Vilma has gone off to Opava.
We are going to get Germans
to help with the farm.
Vilma is my big sister.
- I have no mother.
- You have no mother?
No. She died.
Dad keeps complaining
and running off to the doctor.
Mother never said a word,
and then she died.
You are kind.
- How old are you?
- Only 15. What's this?
Chewing gum.
An American invention.
What about you, do you have a family?
Don't chew so hard, yourjaws will hurt.
No. I don't have one.
That's all right.
You don't have to worry.
What are you doing here?
Answer me!
Don't you understand Czech?
You're German.
A pass to be back in the camp at 4:00.
All right.
How did you get in?
I don't understand Czech.
Oh, I see...
Only one? Or are there more?
That's all.
- Two?
- Yes, only two.
My God!
What's the matter with you?
Sorry.
I just woke up.
Just now?
What have you been doing all night?
I slept.
I slept for 15 hours.
I'm still dazed.
Everything's rotten, Lieutenant.
Is your package in order?
Quite. You can keep the booze.
All I want is the fruitjuice.
Thanks. That's something special
and you don't want to be paid?
No.
I think we're going to get along.
I am sure we will.
Autumn is lovely up here.
Yes. That's what I need.
Peace and quiet, long walks.
To be cut off
from the rest of the world.
This isn't quite the rest of the world.
This isn't quite the right place.
Why isn't it?
You'll be enjoying your peace and quiet
till I find you
with your throat cut one day.
You can't be serious.
Do you find her to your satisfaction?
She knows what to cook.
Her dad had something wrong
with his liver.
He was on a diet too.
He'll hang all right.
Who?
Her dad, Heinemann?
I took him to Olomouc myself.
- What?
- The girl is his daughter.
Didn't you know?
The daughter of the great Fascist,
Heinemann.
You can have someone else
if you're afraid of her.
- Nonsense.
- This used to be a Jewish residence.
Heinemann took over
and played the baron.
I always say what you don't earn
with honest work isn't blessed.
I never requisitioned even a radio
and I was the first to get here.
The girl must take after her mother.
Her mother was a decent,
religious woman.
But I wouldn't trust anyone nowadays.
Come!
Come.
I'll show you something.
Nasty, isn't it?
This is what they called the stocks
in the Middle Ages.
Later they used it for the dogs.
Heinemann used it
for Polish prisoners in winter.
Well...
They say he beat people
to death right here.
Was she there?
Well, yes. God only knows
what she's witnessed.
We all get what's due to us.
The old man will hang
and his daughter scrubs floors.
That's what I call justice.
Could I keep her here, Inspector?
Keep what?
The girl, to live here. I am supposed
to eat every two hours.
Oh, all right, I understand.
Wait! Take your coat off,
you are going to stay here.
Don't argue, you're staying here.
- What is she saying?
- She doesn't want to stay.
She says
she'd rather stay in the camp.
She doesn't want to stay.
Pity, I've been treating her well.
You shouldn't.
Don't be too soft on her.
As long as her dad is at our mercy
she's going to be good, I bet.
I've made up my mind.
You are going to stay here!
Deal with her in your own way,
Lieutenant.
Just don't take it seriously.
Don't take it seriously.
I'll be back.
Why did you get up?
Sit down.
What's your name?
Adelheid.
Good morning.
Is this your room?
Yes, it was my room.
Is that you?
Yes.
My father. My mother is dead.
My brother was killed in Russia,
near Schitomir.
Would you?
No.
Bastards!
Wait...
...to wait...
I wait...
Bed...
And wait in bed...
Wait in my bed...
Shall I make a fire in the bathroom?
- What?
- In the bathroom.
The bathroom... yes, do.
Go to my room.
And wait in my bed.
Stop drinking and get to work.
We want this to be a happier place.
You've tidied up the library.
You've done a good job.
What about this?
Save it, every drop is precious.
- Do you drink?
- I'll be damned.
- Submarine fuel, that's what it is.
- Where did you find it?
Behind the books.
A bottle for each classic.
That's fate.
I've been searching
the cellar, the attic,
but never the library.
Sorry, I refuse to burn books.
I've finished. Let's go.
That's the stuff.
I say,
Johann Strauss was a great artist -
a man of high principles
and above all, a great lover.
Above all...
Don't overdo it.
The first sip is the strongest.
Tell her to have a drink, too.
Miss Heinemann!
Come here.
Cheers.
A true German woman,
keeps up with the men,
come what may.
The only good thing she learned.
Cheers!
Listen to what they're playing!
Listen...
I know these waltzes.
The first one's called
"Nur fr Natur".
Then the one about...
the dangerous cousin.
This one...
...is from "The Merry War".
"Der lustige Krieg".
Do you mind if I take my jacket off?
I don't mind.
What are you doing, you idiot?
I just want to find out
where the shooting is...
Stop fiddling with it, you fool.
And don't give her any more booze.
The silly laughs shows
she's had enough.
She ought to eat something.
Go and eat something.
Turn the record over, quickly.
Picking on me again. As always.
Damn. Let go!
That's enough!
Where have you been, Lieutenant?
Hungary, Yugoslavia,
via Port Said to England.
Had a good time, did you?
I was stuck in Scotland
till the end of the war.
- Did you meet any black girls?
- I did.
Black, Jewish... and Arab.
Thanks.
I met a black girl
with dyed blonde hair.
What? That's a joke.
Which one was better in bed?
I don't know.
I didn't put them to the test.
I never... had a black girl.
Slovak girls, yes, even German,
and a Ukrainian
working in the cotton-mill.
But a black girl...
What's wrong?
You need some fresh air.
Tell him to get out.
A black girl...
Will you have a drink with me?
I have to eat something.
I have to eat all the time
though I've never enjoyed it.
I hate it all: food, cigarettes, drinks.
You talk like a fool.
Were you worried?
I told you to keep your trap shut.
Were you worried
one of the girls would give you VD?
Shut up!
- Have you ever been drunk?
- How drunk?
So drunk you had a complete blackout.
A long time ago.
Before my mother died.
I inherited the weak stomach from her.
Nonsense.
I was looking forward to going home.
And now I've found only strangers.
I don't understand anyone.
There are things
one shouldn't think about.
Switch the light off, my eyes hurt.
So you won't have a drink?
I've had enough.
What's this supposed to be?
What got into you?
Look at her, how she stares!
The beast! I'd like to kick her.
Go to my room
and wait for me in bed.
So that's the way things are.
Why not? I agree.
That's the easy way.
Otherwise, just hit her!
- What did you say?
- Nothing.
That's your business.
I don't mind.
Much has been drunk here
in the past.
OK...
I can take it.
Captain Andrejs
was a better drinking partner.
A great guy, a partisan,
served in Bene' army...
Six years in the underground...
We took over... together.
Damn!
So you've been shooting
at the pictures?
Only for fun.
- Let go, Lieutenant.
- Don't call me Lieutenant!
Get out! You too!
- I haven't done anything.
- That's even worse.
I don't want to see anyone.
Please go.
Go, go.
The lady is through.
I want her back at the camp
by 8:00 am.
That's for your information,
Lieutenant Chotovicky.
As you wish.
That's what I've been expecting
but the lady stays.
Good night.
I told you to watch out.
Good night.
Beyond the grave we will remain
in friendship and fidelity.
Deep, holy nature, let me be a child,
to sleep like a child and in peace.
God's Sun, walking alone
in the blindness of passing time,
goes to the crossroads in the field,
where we will part,
where lies a cross...
Do you understand Czech?
My diary, where did you find it?
I am glad you don't understand me
as if I were talking to a dog.
When I woke up next to you
in the morning
I thought I had come home.
I dreamt my parents were standing
in the yard,
and shut the gate when they saw me.
Adelheid?
Are you here?
Sitting in the dark?
The table in our kitchen
was made of lime-wood.
When they carved up a pig,
it was streaked with blood.
But if you scrubbed it with sand,
it was as white as snow.
Our dog used to lie under the table.
I used to throw
fatty scraps of meat to her.
- Shall I leave the light on?
- Yes, maybe.
Why do you close your eyes?
I couldn't...
Come, come...
Hey!
What did you tell her?
Don't you understand?
What did you tell her?
Old Heinemann was hanged yesterday
in Olomouc.
- Adelheid!
- No!
Is that you, Adelheid?
We seem to have a visitor.
- Who else has a key?
- The third key...
Sorry. Get dressed quickly.
I need a hot drink.
I feel awful.
Go to hell!
What are you here for?
Oh, dear God...
Go away! Go!
It will soon pass.
At last, I feel I have come home.
Do you understand?
Adelheid! Are you listening?
What's the matter?
It's snowing.
Sorry to bother you
but I have a serious reason...
There's a serious reason...
What reason?
A reason
that concerns the young lady.
As you know, she's the daughter
of the biggest Nazi in the region.
He's dead.
And you already told me.
I've just learned that she went
to a convent school at Beuthen.
- Do you know what that means?
- I don't.
They only took the best.
I've seen a lot
but I've never seen worse whores.
- Do you want to know the details?
- Anything else?
Yes. Hansgeorg Heinemann.
What about him?
He died, in Russia.
Quite a number of corpses
have come back alive.
Would you mind
if I stayed here overnight?
You're welcome.
I'm glad I don't have to explain.
My people are keeping watch
on the village, but you are alone.
What's going to become of her?
That depends.
Was someone shooting here
yesterday?
Someone's always shooting.
Right now, I want to catch
young Heinemann.
Will you let her stay?
- For the time being.
- For how long?
Till we catch him. A day or two.
We are sure to get him by then.
- And then what?
- How should I know?
I said that depends.
I had to report it.
What do you want
so as to leave her alone?
Two bottles of Cognac.
I'll get them for you.
And to knock your teeth in,
Mr Chotovicky.
Excuse me. I'm making a cup of tea.
You are a bastard!
You make me sick.
To buy a woman
for two bottles of Cognac.
Your hands are cold.
Have a drink.
Are you afraid?
No.
Let go, please.
Don't be afraid.
Everything's going to be all right.
You will see.
Everything's going to be all right.
You don't happen to have ointment
to put on these cursed frostbites?
Hans!
Hansgeorg!
What have you done?
Beast!
Beast!
Come, Victor.
You still want to talk to her?
Here.
Thanks.
They want to take you to Olomouc.
I am supposed to give evidence.
You don't have to be afraid.
I will not say anything.
I don't want to hurt anyone.
I am sorry for you.
All I want to know is...
Shall I translate?
...did you hate me all the time?
Even when...
...I had that attack
and you came to help me?
When?
No, I didn't, then...
Do you remember the day after...
She remembers the first day...
You watched me chop wood...
...when you came down, you blushed.
Later, I found you had slipped
a pack of cigarettes in my bag.
I was surprised.
The pills you had to take,
you always broke them up.
I didn't quite know
what you wanted from me.
You seemed so shy... and then...
Then you sent me upstairs
to wait for you in bed.
Then you were just like all the others.
That can be changed!
I can't stay alone.
I have no one else...
What?
She wants to know what you said.
Tell her I have no one, only her.
Tell her that.
Don't be afraid, Adelheid.
I can help if you want me to.
Do you hear, Adelheid?
- What are you staring at?
- Get it over with, Lieutenant.
Come. Let's go.
Take this little exhibition away,
will you?
Exhibits, Captain!
Take them away.
If we reach the town in daylight,
we have to go.
I've seen enough.
- Are you through with her?
- I've finished, Captain.
Captain! We're in trouble, Captain!
She won't open the door.
She asked to...
I sent terba to watch the wndow
in case she'd try to escape.
I've been here watching the door.
That's terrible!
Date, place, time of death...
Let's say 3:25...
Here.
Come and read the statement.
Here you are.
Do you want me to read it to you?
Protocol about the suicide
of Adelheid Heinemann -
spinster, date of birth...
That's beside the point.
Cause of death:
suicide by strangulation...
The dead woman was wearing
a reddish fur coat without a collar.
Her face was pressed
against the right side of the wall.
Under the fur coat,
the dead woman
was wearing blue trousers,
white socks and ski-boots,
a grey sweater
buttoned on the left shoulder.
The fur coat was unbuttoned.
One of its three buttons was missing.
In the pockets was 657 crowns,
five gold coins and a ticket
from Cern Voda to Orlice
worth 27 crowns, dated 21 December.
On her left wrist
she wore a gold watch.
The watch stopped at 7:13.
Under the grey sweater,
the dead woman was wearing
a white slip, undamaged, a bra,
briefs, suspender belt,
home-made stockings...