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,
and you'll just agree,
because he always persuades you
just to do everything for him.
Becky, I'm doing this for us,
I'm doing it for both of us.
Leonard! - Five minutes.
Ilyusha.
Come to papa. Come to me.
- Pyotr.
Look, this is the center of the world
- My name is Savirski.
I understand, I understand,
electricity, electricity.
Falling water, turbine. I understand
everything, except one thing.
I understand it is important to get
governmental approval, I understand.
I had forgotten
how beautiful you are, Lena.
Why did you bring me here?
- Look, Mama.
Come here.
Come to me.
Did you draw that?
Go draw something else.
Go draw.
Keep traveling
around the world...
Why did you bring me to London?
I miss you, Lena.
I miss you both.
Is that why you left me in Russia,
so you could miss me from Italy?
Then you left me in Paris,
so you could miss me from Palestine?
I don't know where else. I want you
to return to Paris with me.
I know, Lena, I know.
Not a day goes by without my
thinking of you and Ilyusha.
I love you, Lena. I always have.
- I love you, too
but I want you to return with me.
I can't take it any longer.
I don't want to be alone any longer.
I want you with me, understand?
Listen, listen.
It is only for a few months.
In a few months I will begin building
my plant in Palestine.
And then you and Ilyusha will come.
- Yes, we will come...
You can speak
Russian there, too.
And our home will be by the plant.
- Yes, yes.
Here.
You see,
you will see me from the window.
And you will come home
at 5:00 to eat with us? - Yes.
Possibly at 6:00.
You will never change.
Never.
It is not customary here to barge in
with no advance notice...
It is not customary here?
- It is not customary here...
I leave you here alone
for two months,
and what do I find upon my return?
I have a wuss in hand, a wuss!
Mr. Rutenberg, I went to see
the offices they are offering me,
two rooms by Church St.,
two minutes from the City.
It is now or never for me.
Leonard, there are those
who create history,
and there are those who are
trampled by history.
So decide where you want to be.
- In the City.
In the City. So, I am going
to create an historic revolution
and you wish to remain
in London...
Son of a bitch!
Pyotr, you must help him.
When you fled Russia...
After...
After Gapon.
There were people here who helped.
You got help.
Mama, look, foam.
He is your friend.
You were partners,
and you know
many influential people here.
Yes, and they are waiting
for the first mistake I make.
I am begging you,
do something, for me.
Please help him, for me.
Please, Pyotr.
All right.
Volodia.
Pyetkeh!
I understand everything.
I understand you must not
be seen with a Bolshevik.
You may be seen,
but I am a Bolshevik.
The situation in Russia
is worse today than under the Czar.
You know who their deputy minister
for coal industries is?
Ramizov. Our good friend.
We were wrong, Pyotr
Moiseyevich.
If Kerensky was not a coward, they
would have hung Lenin and Trotsky
and then they would have cried.
"We were wrong", you were wrong.
I was wrong...
I was only wrong
about one thing.
I chose the wrong friends.
Twenty years together,
and what do I receive in return?
A knife in the back.
I came to him,
to Ramizov's office,
and he said to me:
"Volodia, what do you want?
Times change. Everything changes.
We don't need you any longer."
He dumped me like a dog.
Listen to me,
I need your help.
Pyotr Moiseyevich, I need
papers to stay here.
I'm an illegal immigrant.
Help me.
I'm sorry, brother, I'm sorry.
Not now.
Pyotr, I won't last 2-3 months.
I need help now.
Pyotr, help me.
You're the last one I have left.
I'll die, like a dog.
I'm very sorry.
I'm very sorry.
Did you see Volodia, Pyotr?
- Yes.
Will you help him?
Pyotr.
Look, it lights up.
You see? - Yes.
That is electricity.
You see, Ilyusha?
Look.
You see, this wire...
Did you see? - Yes.
Electricity.
Mr. Rutenberg?
Mr. Rutenberg?
Are you done? Leonard,
we won't get anywhere this way.
We have plenty more time.
Besides, I don't understand
what you see in cinema. So vulgar.
Snob. - What? What did you say?
- Nothing, nothing at all.
You are not good
at anything?
I am simply allowing you
to realize yourself.
To realize, not fondle.
Becky, you really
must learn to draw.
This is how you see me?
- Who said it was you?
What is this, what is this,
this stupid hat?
It is not a hat.
It is a shoe. Rutenberg's.
Hey, not Weizman.
Leave Weizman alone.
Give me Weizman.
Give me...
What would you do without me?
- Fall down.
Go, Leonard.
Daddy's waiting for you.
Mordehai Savirski.
Okay, after incoming mail,
During the signing...
Who is that?
What is she doing here?
Who wants to know?
- Becky...
This is Becky Feinstein,
we are going to be married.
Married?
- Lf you allow him to.
Why didn't you tell me,
Leonard? Married.
Becky has volunteered to help us,
Mr. Rutenberg.
I appreciate
what you are doing for us.
You can save your gratitude,
Mr. Rutenberg.
All I want
is to leave here with Leonard,
as quickly as possible.
- We have tickets to the cinema.
All right. Let's see.
- This is the English version.
We thought you would prefer
to be here when
we begin
the Hebrew version.
There is no problem
with the diagrams,
we reviewed all of the data,
everything is okay, but... - But?
The technical details, they...
don't translate well into Hebrew.
There are not enough technical terms
in Hebrew. - Then create them.
Nice, Savirski, nice.
Leonard.
Churchill agreed to see you.
On Thursday.
Great.
I'm sorry,
I got the obituaries.
I would give
my last chip
to see the faces
of the Foreign Ministry clerks
as they see him leaving Churchill.
- You are so kind.
Don't worry, he's buried
in his papers, he won't see it.
You know him,
with all his funny ways.
What does it matter?
In two weeks it will be behind us.
I'm opening my own office
and you can stop
working for other people.
- He asked me to join him.
Think about it,
machinery for sale... - Leonard.
He offered
that I join him in Palestine.
Don't tell me you said yes.
- He is pressuring me.
I know those tricks. "There are
those who create history...
and those who are trampled
by history."
"Where do you want to be?"
Come here.
- Now, Lena, now?
Not when... - When you'll build
me a house in Palestine?
And you'll come home to eat
at 5:00? Sit down.
Put the bags in, please.
Have a good life.
You got everything you wanted,
you succeeded. Be happy.
You got what
you wanted most in life.
Lena, don't leave me. My business...
- Again with your business?
My business will give us a life,
Lena. - Leave me alone!
Leave me alone! Let me be!
My business will give us a life,
Lena. - Let's go.
My business is also life...
it is also life, Lena.
Traitor. Provocateur.
Would have turned us all in. - Gapon?
Now he's haunting me
from the grave.
We must see Churchill.
- He also reads newspapers.
I must see him. - What will
you tell him? - I don't know
Mr. Rutenberg,
this was returned
from the Arab delegation.
They do not like gifts.
- Dammit!
So, everything is...
Where will I be able
to find you?
Mr. Rutenberg?
Mr. Rutenberg?
You will regret this!
You will regret this!
Where?
You want to go where?
Can you think of another way
to show Churchill
that not only am I not against
British interests, to the contrary,
I am helping him forward them?
- Forwarding the interests...
You are still wanted there,
they will shoot you like a dog.
Leonard, if you're not careful,
I might think you worry about me.
The fact that I want to be on my own
doesn't mean that I don't...
Leonard, do you know when
you can begin worrying about me?
When people stop saying that I am
crazy, aggressive, a dictator.
Then you may start worrying.
True, it is risky,
but this trip
is my only chance.
It is more than the risk...
- Leonard,
electricity is not something
one receives for nothing.
Electricity is created, from scratch.
Like an idea.
Except it this case you have water
and turbines that turn
and transformers
that conduct it.
Electricity is the heart
of the world today, Leonard.
Creating electricity is creating life
- So what does God do?
Churchill hates Bolsheviks.
He will never buy it.
"Platform 1 St. Petersburg"
We have grown old.
We've grown old, Pyotr Moiseyevich,
since the revolution in 1905.
- Yes.
How is Lenushka?
- Well, thank you.
I've heard Volodia
is also in London
You know more than I.
It's my job.
You have brought someone who can
take care of our problem? - Yes
Guthrie,
Minister Churchill's aide.
I have a question.
What do you get out of this?
Ajob, money?
What will historians
say about our meeting?
Nothing,
they will not say a thing.
This meeting never took place.
This is Churchill's aide.
- Nice to meet you.
Let's do business.
If the British stop supporting
those opposing the revolution...
Is that your house?
Go home, quickly!
This is for Volodia.
It is a pity
he was so nave.
Do you ever feel nostalgic?
- Yes, I am a nostalgic type.
But nostalgic for the future.
Goodbye, Dima.
We will not meet again,
Pyotr Moiseyevich.
Bravo!
Please...
Please. Cheers!
Cheers. - Cheers!
I wonder how he behaves
when he is truly sad.
Mr. Rutenberg, we did it.
You did it.
We are doing this
for you.
Ah, Leonard,
your letter of recommendation.
You know that Savirski
is joining me?
Well, Savirski is an idealist.
- And you? What are you, Leonard?
I think it is
very realistic, Mr. Rutenberg.
Realistic, of course. And I am also
sure you will enjoy every moment.
If you are buried with paperwork
at first, that's not terrible.
No one ever died of paperwork.
- All right, Mr. Rutenberg...
The main thing is
that you'll have your own office.
And even if you don't have
your own office that's not terrible.
One of the large firms
will surely want you.
Mr. Rutenberg, please.
- They will probably give you
some office in their back wing.
You can sit there
with all sorts of young lawyers.
You will sit and argue all day over
who will represent the milkman,
who will represent
the pickpocket.
Once in a while they will surely
invite you for a glass of sherry
because you argued successfully
without the judge falling asleep.
All right, six months.
Six months, Mr. Rutenberg.
Not one day longer.
Six months, Becky,
it is only six months.
Six months, Leonard,
is an entire lifetime.
You want to dance?
Lead the way.
Mr. Rutenberg...
- Some things are never forgotten.
Well? - No one would listen.
What do you mean no one
would listen? - No one would listen.
Did you tell them
it is a matter of life and death?
I tried, but there is no one
listening, Mr. Rutenberg.
For me, did you tell them
that it is for me?
No one would listen,
I told you.
Normal people are asleep.
It is two a.m. Pardon me.
All right. - Are we leaving?
Sleep, Zemah, sleep.
- It is very cold. - Yes it is cold.
Slowly, slowly.
This slope...
- Avraham! Avraham.
Come look, look.
Pinhas, I had started to worry.
- Pinhas...
Good thing you are here, we had a
breach in the upper water channel.
We must make
all kinds of quick decisions
regarding what to do now.
Pinhas...
Is there damage? - A lot.
To the turbines as well.
We must make decisions quickly,
very quickly. Listen there is...
Becky, Becky, Becky.
Pardon me...
He sent this for you.
Pardon, who? - Leonard.
The old man had him remain in Haifa
so he asked me.
Yes. Ah... thank you.
- Are you okay? - Yes, thank you.
Mr. Rutenberg,
what a wonderful flood.
We have amazing footage.
- Wonderful. - Metz, later.
Hold on tightly!
Leverage! Give me leverage!
Tight! Hold on tight!
Grab on and pass it to this side!
Give me leverage to the left!
- Come on, get out of the water!
Everyone out of the water!
Everyone out of the water!
There is not other way
to save the transformer.
Do you hear me?
Get out of the water immediately.
Pinhas, what are you doing?
They are doing it for you.
Put the gun away.
I don't need
anyone else dying for me.
We can continue.
- Within half an hour
I do not want to see anyone
walking around the camp.
We had a rough night.
Go get some rest.
We can continue,
Mr. Rutenberg. - We will continue
but we can't do anything now.
Do nothing. Go rest.
Hillel! Hillel, quick its Shoshana,
she is in the hospital.
What are you looking at me for?
Go.
Gentlemen, I ask that you all
stop working and go to sleep.
Stop and get some sleep.
Shimon, please take your men
to the camp.
I should have known.
- I saw it...
No one could have known,
Pinhas.
The last thing
we need right now
is for you to start
blaming yourself.
Avraham, I will blame
whomever I want, all right?
Whomever I want.
I should have known.
I should have been here.
Yes? What exactly
would you have done here, Pinhas?
Gone into the water with your cane?
Gone into the water like Moses
and split it with your cane, hah?
Is that what you would have done?
You think that you
are so great, right Pinhas?
No, really, tell me,
what would you have done here, what?
Stuck your finger
in the dike, hah?
Stopped the cart
before it turned over onto Savirski?
Did something
happen to Savirski?
A cart turned over on him.
He tried to submerge the dike
so as not to open the reserve dam.
And you let him?
You let him pay
for my mistakes?
You're not the only one who feels
guilty, do you understand, Pinhas?
Not. The only. One.
Doctor, why is he not
receiving morphine?
He is in hypobolemic shock,
morphine would not be absorbed.
Besides,
his heart is so weak
that I don't think
he will make it.
Shouldn't we
transfer him to Tiberias?
Mr. Rutenberg,
he won't make it there alive.
Hillel, get out of here.
Look at that mud,
get out of here.
This is what you are photographing?
This?
You are giving
ammunition to my enemies.
Mr. Rutenberg,
please, I request
that he who deals with electricity
should do so,
and let me deal with my art.
- Your art? - Hillel!
No matter how you look at it,
it won't be less than 40 thousand.
Okay,
we'll raise the money in London.
Sure. They'll be very pleased,
very pleased.
Yesterday we promised them
profit shares,
today we are asking
for more money.
Pinhas, we'll have to ask
the Zionist authorities.
I don't want to deal with them.
You don't want to deal with them?
They don't want to deal with you.
Thank you. - Pinhas...
- It is 40 thousand pounds, Pinhas.
Forty thousand. - Kirshner and Damari
are waiting outside.
They want to speak with you. - What?
What do they want from me now?
I am not in the mood
for the workers' union. I'm sorry.
Avraham, do me a favor,
go and speak with them.
They want to speak with you.
- Avraham!
You should get some rest,
Pinhas.
What will happen?
Things will be all right.
I will think of something.
I almost forgot.
For me?
From London.
I thought you'd be pleased.
I am pleased.
I'm thrilled.
Pinhas, the workers are unsettled.
- Unsettled.
That is not good.
- I am settled.
We have been building for 4 years
and all was ruined in one night.
Becky...
Becky, wait.
Speak to them, Pinhas,
you have to speak to them.
You saw them this morning,
speak to them.
Yes, what do you want?
This isn't a time for union business
Mr. Rutenberg, we...
- Know that you are very busy now,
But...
- I am. - We have been talking.
We feel guilty
about what happened.
You are not to blame
for what happened.
No, no, that's not it...
- It is not a matter of blame.
We want to help you
get the things back on track.
So we thought that...
- No, we decided.
We have spoken with the workers
and we will all work for free
until the station is rebuilt.
The only thing we need
is food
for us and our families.
The can pay us the rest
when you are able.
There is no need...
I will raise the funds
we need to complete the plant.
Tell them that I am
very appreciative.
I phoned Leonard.
He will arrive
with the first bus from Haifa.
I need him there.
- And Savirski needs him here.
Come, Nehemia, Gershon.
Lifshitz, come here!
Gentlemen...
What's happening? - All will be well.
We went to see the old man,
and he promised that everything
would go back to the way it was.
And you believe him? - He said so.
Rutenberg gave his word.
I told you,
we should not believe that man.
We can't sit around
doing nothing.
We must do something.
- Shut your mouth.
Shut up... - Let him be.
You know Meir. Let it go.
You are such a fool, Damari.
Not the union or the Jewish Agency.
- Them and anyone who can help.
Absolutely not.
If we turn to them now
they will want to turn me
into a national enterprise.
We are a national enterprise.
- It is my national enterprise!
Yours?
Ours. Run my way.
What way is that...
What are you talking about, Pinhas?
Mina, please get
Haim Arlozorov for me.
I want one thing to be very clear,
tell him that.
This is your doing.
Tell him that, I want no part of it.
I understand.
What did I tell you?
When you close doors, Pinhas,
you close them tightly.
It is good that you came,
he needs you.
He asked to see you.
- Is that a good sign?
Mr. Rutenberg, good thing you came.
We need more sand.
It's all right. - We don't have
enough sand to plug the...
Savirski, it's all right.
We don't need more. - Don't need more
We plugged the breach, the water is
flowing. Everything is under control.
When you are well, we'll talk
and prepare new plans.
Very good. New plans.
Pinhas...
It is all in the details,
that is what you always said.
Remember? In London.
The details...
- Are the most important things.
The most important things...
Hello, Mr. Rutenberg.
Calm down, Leonard.
- No, I will not calm down!
Why do we always
treat him with kid gloves?
The funeral will be tomorrow at noon
at Kvutzat Kinneret. - At Kinneret?
Why at Kinneret? - Because we have
no appropriate place.
What do you mean?
This is the appropriate place. Here.
Here, where he worked
and toiled and dreamed. Here.
Why does he want to bury him
at Kinneret?
So as not to be reminded
of the mistakes he made?
Enough, Leonard.
- I did not even get to say goodbye.
And why does he always
want me to remain in Haifa?
Leonard, it was a flood,
it could not have been predicted.
He could not have known
that disaster would strike, right?
Why do you want
me to remain in Haifa?
Don't run away, answer me!
Why do you always
want me to remain in Haifa?
Leonard is right. We will
bury him here, in Naharaim.
Cheers. - Cheers!
Meir, what are you writing?
About the way
in which a megalomaniac dreamer
leads a bunch of mindless fools
toward disaster.
Who are you calling a dreamer?
- Is it my factory?
It is the Jewish people's factory.
And what has happened?
The man has become
a millionaire thanks to us.
What is it with you, Meir?
- I'll tell you what's bothering him.
You want to be like him.
That is what is bothering you.
But you never will be
because all you can do is talk.
David, you are full of it...
- I don't want you discussing him.
Sit down, sit down.
Pour me some of that.
Come on,
I won't rat you out to the directors.
What about you, Meir?
Won't you join us?
As long as the generator is running
we can continue working.
Very good, Meir.
Let him be an example to you.
Cheers! - Cheers!
To Savirski! - To Savirski!
Meir, Meir, Meir...
- Meir, put the phone down.
The directors should know
what craziness is going on here.
And I am going to phone...
- Over my dead body! Let it go.
He is right.
- Over your dead body?
If he continues to insist
that is precisely what will happen.
Listen to me... - Let go of him!
- Listen to me, shut up!
The old man will decide whom
and when to phone, do you hear?
The old man? He is busy
drinking vodkas one after the other,
and none of you have the guts
to say the emperor has no clothes!
Meir, calm down!
- The emperor has no clothes!
Then General Foch
sent a telegram
to the High Command.
"I am surrounded by the enemy,
my flanks have collapsed,
my rearguard is exposed,
I am going to attack."
Going to attack.
Has anyone seen Mr. Rutenberg?
Hillel? Meir?
You are blind.
Are you all blind?
Pinhas...
It does not appear
to be his heart.
He has been drinking.
I have seen
Pinhas when he drinks.
It is not the drink.
- Avraham, what are you doing?
Do you want to put
ideas in his head?
He said it is not my heart.
- I said it is probably not the heart
I will come by tomorrow morning
to take blood for testing.
In the meantime, take this.
- What is it?
A pill,
so that you will get some sleep.
Doctor, for me sleep is a luxury
that I cannot allow myself.
What is this? - It is
my letter of resignation, Pinhas.
You hired me
to serve as your doctor
but you don't allow me to do my job,
so I resign.
Wait, Doctor. Pinhas...
Edelman,
you have a lot of nerve,
but my doctor
won't allow me to get upset.
Why are you looking
at me like that?
No one blames you,
Leonard.
Don't patronize me, do you hear?
Don't patronize me.
If I had to,
I would say it all to him again
despite what you think.
- How do you know what I think?
Don't I know what you are thinking?
Don't I?
Please, tell me
what you are thinking.
I haven't finished cleaning them.
- I want them dirty.
You can soil them again
after I have cleaned them.
Where are you going?
"Exalted and sanctified
is God's great name
"In the world He
has created according to His will
"And may He establish
His kingdom..."
He's not here. I'm telling you,
if he doesn't come to the funeral
something serious must be going on.
- Not now, Damari.
This is no joke.
Our future is up in the air.
Mr. Rutenberg, you shouldn't be
out here in this weather.
Dr. Edelman, with all due respect,
you work for me, not the reverse.
Yes, and I am telling you
that if you go on this way
you will be lying here next to him
very soon.
"May there be much peace from
Heaven
"life for us and all Israel
and say, Amen.
"He who makes peace in His heights
may He make peace upon us
"And upon all Israel
and say, Amen."
We have come here today...
to bid farewell...
"Everything changes.
"You can make a fresh start
with your final breath.
"But what has happened
has happened
"and the water you
once poured into the wine
"cannot be drained off again.
"Everything changes.
"You can make a fresh start
with your final breath."
How long will it take
until he is forgotten?
One year, two?
- We will remember him.
And who will remember us, Becky?
Who will remember us?
Will you marry me?
What?
Will you marry me?
Does that mean yes?
Pinhas, do you remember back in Omni
when you carried me on your back
from one river bank
to the other?
The ice didn't hold us.
- But we made it.
People, Avraham...
People are what is important.
We will place the transformers there
like you said at the start.
Where is everyone?
They do not feel well...
- Go to each room and get them.
I don't care. I want you to go
to each room and gather everyone.
They don't want to come. - Everyone.
- Wait, wait, please.
Meir, Meir
I am requesting
that you postpone the meeting.
This is not a good time.
We all know
Mr. Rutenberg.
That goes without saying.
No need to lie or to betray...
Let him speak!
- But, I ask...
Gentlemen, gentlemen,
Naharaim will continue to be
the best possible place to work.
What? What?
Gentlemen, this is a crock.
You are relying on a man
who is leading you astray.
How can you speak of Mr. Rutenberg?
- I...
Are you not ashamed?
- Do not interfere!
Do not interfere!
I'm telling you, it is all a crock...
Meir says the plant will close down
and I don't believe it, but if so
Mr. Rutenberg should have the guts
to come and tell us outright.
The truth is simple and cruel,
and I say... - Meir
That we should all
go up to the white house.
He is lying there in his bed
while we... - Meir
You are inciting everyone,
it is an act of sabotage!
Madorski, you have always been
and will always remain an ass kisser
Watch your mouth.
- We should go up there,
and not leave
until the old man provides answers.
We'll show him
the true Hebrew workers
who cannot be taken advantage of!
Meir, you don't want to cut off
your nose to spite your face.
Avraham, stay out of it,
this is workers' business.
Whoever wants answers,
let's go, up to the white house.
You don't want to do that,
you will regret it later.
Please! - Let's go.
- Follow him. - Let's go.
Today, with the opening of the
hydro-electric plant on the Jordan,
an important chapter
in the revival of a wasteland,
barren of God and man,
comes to a close.
All those who worked and helped
will be praised by future generations
That is what I plan to say
within a relatively short time,
as soon as we finish
repairing the damages.
What will historians
say about this speech?
They will say that they were simply
empty words. - Precisely.
They will say that they were simply
empty words. Thank you, Meir.
We all know that it is not the words
or the turbines
or even Pinhas Rutenberg.
They are not what got us electricity
But rather...
Ben David of the engines.
Riskin. Where is Riskin?
Riskin the surveyor.
Ofania..."Who wants herring?"
Everyone here
is asking himself today
what the hell have we been wasting
all these difficult days on?
All the long nights?
The months?
The years? For what?
Why do we do it?
We do it so that we may
touch life, grab onto life.
To grasp it with our own hands.
With everything we've got.
You and I, in this place, together
must grab hold of life...
with all we've got.
And then some.
Because we have nothing else.
Grab it!
Two days after the flood
Pinhas Rutenberg left for London
to raise capital
to repair the damages.
The Naharaim Station
opened a year later
and furnished
electricity to the entire area
until
the War of Independence in 1948.
Pinhas Rutenberg died in 1942
at the age of 62.
He left the power enterprise
to his younger brother, Avraham.
"Rutenberg"
Subtitle production:
Elrom Studios