In the Heart of the Machine (2022) Movie Script
1
Forward Pictures Entertainment
National Film Centre
Silvernoise Frame
Immerse FX present
Silence!
Get in formation!
A Forward Pictures Entertainment
Production
For the national anthem
of Republic of Bulgaria!
Attention!
My name is Boris Radulov,
but everybody calls me Bohemy.
An old Jew gave me this name.
He was buying gold and dollars from me.
Roughly translated, a Bohemian
is a man who loves life.
I stopped loving my life the day
I came to Sofia prison in 1971.
But the name stuck.
Prison is complicated.
The first few years are hard.
Then comes the feeling
that you were born here. One adapts.
Hi, Bohemy.
Are you gonna eat your desert?
- Move!
- Get lost!
Here.
Did you hear about Moustache Meto?
He stitched his balls to his pants.
- Fucking psycho!
- For real, Teach?
For real! 8 stiches.
Completely crazy.
Do you think this is normal, Bohemy?
I don't give a fuck about Meto's balls.
- Get lost!
- Sit at the next table.
- I was told to sit here.
- The next table!
- Tolya, are you gonna eat the jam?
- Today I will.
Give it to him. Don't be a dick.
All these deserts
will give you the squirts.
Some of the guards are OK.
Especially when an inmate
is as important as me.
- Are you the boss today?
- Yes.
Good for you!
Inmates are considered important
if they can be used.
But Vekilski
doesn't recognize this rule.
He's a sadist. Always on the look
for someone to put in the infirmary.
Head or hands?
It wasn't me, boss! I swear!
People say that his wooden baton
has a girl's name.
That he's calling it Stefka.
We all fear Stefka.
There was a Gipsy boy,
known as the Tear.
He had a tear tattooed
on his right cheek.
At first he wasn't afraid of Stefka,
but after 3 months in the infirmary
with a thorn rectum,
he started fearing it too.
It's good to be afraid in prison.
But not too afraid.
If the fear gets the best of you,
you're fucked.
2nd Workshop
of the Kremikovtsi Steel Plant.
The place where every inmate
dreams to be send to.
2 days here count as 3 days
of your sentence. But there's more.
Working here
makes you feel normal again.
You can imagine that
you could leave at 5 PM.
That after work you could have a cognac
and go wherever you like.
The Hungarian restaurant, some bar...
Depending on the money in your pocket.
But the truth is that at 5 PM
you go back to your cell.
And nobody serves you cognac.
The dream dies and you say 'fuck you'
to yourself, to the Party
and to your mother
for bringing you to this world.
LONG LIVE
THE COMMUNIST PARTY!
'All men have dog souls.
They get used to everything.'
That's not mine. I read it somewhere
and I liked it.
It's especially true
when we talk about convicts.
Inmates are sly, corrupt, immoral
and most of all unlucky people.
But they are people nevertheless.
Chess is like life. You have to plan
three moves ahead to succeed.
So you are all successful?
Don't touch the chess pieces
with these greasy hands, Krasi.
- Why?
- Because! Take it from him.
We should've founded a gambling club.
At least there is money in gambling.
- You can't make money by gambling.
- Can I have my 20 Lev back?
Here... Mastic liquor.
Check.
Your move, Bohemy.
'Good night.
I'll wake you up tomorrow.'
'You are my alarm clock...'
Ask 10 inmates who's got it worse
and you'll get 10 different answers.
But they have one thing in common.
Every inmate hates prison
and dreams about fucking it over.
Or at least about surviving it.
About winning.
But in order to win
you have to know two things well -
the prison and yourself.
IN THE HEART OF THE MACHINE
I hear good things about your crew.
Have a seat.
Don't stand like that.
Do you know what this is?
- "Hydraulic valves."
- It's a possibility. For both of us.
A quality product
will give the prison a good name.
Which is a bonus for me.
And could be a bonus for you.
All the details are inside.
Daily quotas etc. What do you think?
May I ask for
a personal favor, Warden?
- As long as it's in my power.
- I want a furlough.
- Sorry. No way.
- Just for a day.
Right now it's not possible.
I understand.
Is this about the child?
Listen, Radulov...
I really want to help you.
You can have the child here for a day.
In my office,
not in the visiting rooms.
Thank you, Warden.
But I don't want him here.
This is all I can do.
Am I free to go?
Take the papers with you.
I don't think we can manage this.
Sit down!
If you double the production volumes
in six months,
next year I'll get you a parole.
You'll go home to your child.
- I'll need more people.
- Take anyone you want.
- Kolyo.
- The Vlach?
- The Cleaver.
- Forget it!
No one else has the knowhow.
The Death row.
A whole different breed of jailbirds.
If you see them in the yard
you'd never guess that these
are the most dangerous murderers.
They walk calmly.
They even joke among themselves...
But at night in their cells
it's a different story.
There they are tense
and react to every little noise.
They can tear anyone apart
because the self-preservation instinct
is stronger than any thought.
Every morning at 4 AM
the guards take them out of their cells
and no one knows if they would take him
to the john or to the Bear hole.
That's what we call the tunnel
where people get executed.
Some cry like children,
others fight...
But Cleaver...He's silent.
You never know what he's thinking.
And nobody dares asking.
He came here before me
and waits to be executed.
He waits in silence.
I worked with him
when I first got here.
Sometimes they allowed him to work.
Get up!
Two queer's from Vratsa
tried to rape me in the lunch break.
Cleaver broke their knees
with his bare hands.
He almost bit off
one of the queer's throat.
That day we became friends.
The kind of friends who see
each other rarely and in silence.
He's a tamed beast and a great worker.
A kind of lathe virtuoso.
Fuck...
Some idiot took Cleaver
out of Death row.
It was me.
You are bonkers.
The guy works nonstop.
And you don't shut up.
Does he speak at all?
I don't know.
I've never heard him say anything.
- They say he ate his own tongue.
- Krasi...
It's true!
Tell him, Teach.
I don't know.
I'm not worried about Cleaver.
Georgiev...
- Yes, boss?
- Get in front.
I'm fine here.
Does anybody else think
that he has a reservation?
Kovachki... Sit down!
Junior... Could you please help me
pull my pants up?
Just a little...
Did you like it, Junior?
I'll let you touch it again.
Silence!
Georgiev... Come here.
Closer.
I said closer.
The hands.
I would break them
but you have to work today.
One day in solitary.
And no more work for a week.
Come on, boss!
I was just fucking with... Junior.
Two days in solitary.
Back in the line.
ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP
Watch and learn.
You'll have to do it tomorrow.
My mistake, Comrade Captain.
I didn't react properly.
You are not used
to their shenanigans yet.
- Who is he?
- Serafim Georgiev. The Needle.
He was on Death row
but now he serves a life sentence.
We should have killed him
right away if you ask me.
- What did he do?
- What...
He burgled a house in Sofia.
Went in at night.
There was an ill granny living there.
He strangled the granny
to silence her.
Then he got drunk and fell asleep.
The granddaughter came in the morning.
He strangled her too.
But not before raping her.
A bit like 'Little Red
Riding Hood' minus the hunter.
Never offer them your hand.
They'll bite it off completely.
- Where is Tolya?
- He fell ill.
That's not what I heard.
What's the daily quota, Bohemy?
What are you doing here
if you don't know the quota?
Be quiet, old man.
- If Tolya dies, I'll fuck you up.
- Is that so? Let's do it.
Listen scumbag...
This is my workshop.
Work and behave yourself.
So you are not just a rat?
You are a guard now?
Don't worry about me.
Just pray for Tolya to live.
I'm so scared!
Do you see me shaking?
Hey, Bohemy...
Is it true that you are giving
blowjobs to the Warden?
Is there a problem?
No.
I'm explaining the daily quotas.
Please...
Hey, Junior!
We like chocolates too.
Please.
- Celebrating the new job?
- I had a son yesterday.
Best wishes.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
I keep one key. The other...
If something happens,
every guard knows where it is.
These creatures are murderers,
rapists and pedophiles.
And you are giving them chocolates.
They may look like people
but they are not human.
Don't get fooled by appearances.
I understand.
You have to be strict and...
Persuasive.
Show them that you are not afraid.
They are animals. If they smell fear,
they'll tear you apart.
Today won't be that bad.
- Should we lock the workshop?
- No.
They have nowhere to go.
Remember one thing.
You have the stick.
And they know it.
What's wrong, Cleaver?
I barely got you here.
We have to work.
Why did we stop?
There's something inside.
What is it?
Probably a rat.
A rat... With feathers.
A bird? Let me see!
You are right. It's a pigeon.
Or one of those...
What were they called?
- It doesn't matter. It's a bird.
- How the fuck did it get inside?
It's stuck.
I think it has a broken wing.
Where did you get this from?
- Come and see.
- No way.
Now what?
Well done, Bohemy!
The bird is completely fucked now.
- You take it out then!
- How?
There are no instruments here.
We have to lean the lathe.
How would we do that,
you dumb Gipsy? It weighs 2 tons.
You are the dumb one, Serafim.
We have a crane.
- The crane won't help.
- Why did it get inside?
- Why did you get in prison?
- I got caught.
That's it. Fate.
Why did you stop working?
- There is a bird in the machine.
- You are slacking.
We are not shitting you, boss.
Look for yourself.
Turn the machine on.
It will spit out the sparrow.
This would be murder, boss.
- We could go to prison.
- Silence!
This is not a school trip.
Turn the lathe on.
Gyuzelev!
Do it, Bohemy.
This is Cleaver's lathe.
I don't know how it works.
- Kovachki...
- Yes?
Turn the lathe on!
Yes, sir.
- I can try to take it out.
- I said turn it on!
Turn it on
and I'll rip his head off.
Gipsy, block the door.
This is fate, Bohemy.
The patrol team
will be here any minute.
Let us go now and you'll get
just some time in solitary.
Shut up!
What should we do, Teach?
The bird wasn't a coincidence.
What do you mean?
You know what I mean. Fate!
Bullshit!
I'll get the patrol team here.
So you will throw us to the wolves?!
Go ahead!
- You are a cocksucker!
- Shut up!
I'm trying to save your asses.
But I might skip yours.
If you go out...
I'll rip his head off.
That's the spirit, Cleaver!
Death sentence!
You will all get one.
Death sentence?
Is he right, Bohemy?
- Are they gonna kill us?
- Like rabid dogs.
Wow! Stefka seems to be vicious.
Right, boss?
We didn't do anything wrong.
Right, Bohemy?
- Right?
- Calm down, Krasi.
We didn't do anything wrong,
right Teach?
A riot! Taking hostages and
endangering the life of an official.
- No...
- You have 5 minutes!
Cleaver did it.
Cleaver and Needle...
- Shut up, you Gipsy!
- Fuck you! You'll get us killed.
- I'll jam Stefka in your ass!
- Fuck you!
Get a grip!
We are in this shit together
and we'll get out of it together.
What about the patrol team?
I won't go out.
Because there is no riot.
There are no hostages.
And nobody's life
has been threatened.
We simply lost our cool.
Is that right?
Are you all right, Junior?
Can't you hear me, boy?
Are you all right?
I'll be fine.
Here... The boy's all right.
Let's put an end to this nonsense.
We'll get back to work
and then Captain Vekilski
will put us in solitary.
I say let's kill the cops
and get out of here.
- Nobody's asking you.
- And what about you?
- Maybe we have to kill you.
- Go ahead!
Quit measuring your dicks.
Let's hear what Vekilski has to say.
Untie me, let the boy go
and I'll decide what to do.
- He's lying!
- Shut up, Needle.
As if you don't know him.
If we let him go, we are all fucked.
Not all of us. Just you.
You just said that we are all
in this shit together.
We were.
But every man bears his cross.
I'm with Bohemy.
Me too. Bohemy is right.
What about you, Cleaver?
It's over, Cleaver.
You have a quota to fulfill.
The bird?
The bird is dead. Let the boy go
and get back to work.
It's alive.
It doesn't matter.
You saw that we tried to get it out.
- We didn't try.
- Come on, Cleaver!
The boy can't breathe.
Do you want to kill him?
There is no way!
You saw that I tried.
- The bird is a goner.
- Then he is a goner too.
That's it, Cleaver!
I'll kill the other one.
Nobody is going to die!
Get a grip, man!
He became a father yesterday.
He even brought us chocolates.
And you want to kill him for a bird?
The bird is already fucked.
Do you want us to be fucked too?
Why is this bird so important?
It doesn't belong here, Bohemy.
Cleaver is sad about a bird.
Did you all hear that?
Cleaver...
- How is your brother doing?
- Shut up!
Are you sad about him too?
Did you try to save him?
Easy, Nikola!
The scumbag isn't worth it.
Boss... If he kills the boy,
it will be on you.
How come?
Did I put the chain on his neck?
You are provoking him.
Needle is right, you are a scumbag.
The bird has nothing to do
with this, Teach. Right, Bohemy?
- I'm sorry?
- This is why you got Cleaver out.
To escape with him.
- What?
- But you needed Needle too.
And you organized
the incident with Tolya in the mess.
I don't know anything.
- Is it true, Bohemy?
- Bullshit!
- But now we have to escape.
- There was no plan.
- And nobody is escaping.
- What then?
We'll negotiate.
Nego-what? 'We'll let the boy go
if you get the hen out?'
Krasi is right. If the boy dies
there is no negotiation.
Junior? Junior...
Please let go a bit!
Just a bit!
Here...
Do you hear me?
What's your name?
Junior Guard Veselin Kovachki.
Rough first day on the job...
Right, Comrade Junior Guard?
Vekilski!
It's getting worse.
Riot! Prison break...
What's going on, Vekilski?
Don't even think about
opening the door.
Watch it!
I'm inmate Boris Radulov.
Please let me speak to the Warden.
They are armed!
Get away from the door!
They'll shoot you.
- I repeat, inmate Boris Radulov...
- Move!
Please...
- I'm going to the car. Stay here...
- No!
- Nikola, let me speak to them, son.
- No.
- I have to report this.
- We'll both go.
And if they escape?
Let me talk to them
before something worse happens.
And the bird?
Belev, stay alert!
I won't be long.
The bird chose your machine.
Not ours.
Give us the chance to choose too.
First Sergeant Tonchev speaking
from Workshop 2. Operator? Hello?
Freeze!
I want to report an offence, officer.
First Sergeant Tonchev speaking.
Operator, can you hear me?
Bohemy, close the door.
Don't move! Hands in the air!
They are in the air, son.
Relax.
Come on, you fucker!
Why did you do this, son?
They killed him.
They killed Teach!
They killed him.
AMBULANCE
- Hello, Comrade Warden.
- What's going on, Lalev?
- They have hostages in the workshop.
- Who are the hostages?
Captain Deyan Vekilski
and a new guy... Kovachki.
Who was shot?
- Yordan Manev.
- Teach.
- Attempted escape.
- Teach escaping?
- Their requests?
- We don't know, Comrade Warden.
- We haven't contacted them.
- And what are you waiting for, Lalev?
- I see Kozarev is here.
- He is on duty with the SAWT team.
We don't need the SWAT team.
Get him out of here!
He has an order
signed by the Minister.
Try to establish a connection.
I want to speak to Radulov.
Yes, sir.
Greetings, Comrade Colonel.
- I heard you were on a leave.
- Not anymore.
You can go now.
I'll deal with the problem myself.
- I don't think so.
- I don't want to raise the tension.
Me too.
I'm here to deal with the situation.
Your armed men will put at risk
the lives of the people inside.
You have high risk inmates there.
- Don't tell me how to do my job!
- Easy, Colonel.
- We are on the same side here.
- There are no sides, Kozarev.
And you are dismissed.
Go home and enjoy the nice weather.
- I'm sorry but you can't dismiss me.
- So be it.
- Come with me.
- Sorry?
- Move right away.
- I don't think you get it.
- I don't follow your orders.
- I know whose orders you follow.
Normal people escape from prison.
We locked ourselves inside.
Do you think that Teach
said to himself this morning:
'Today is the day I get fucked.'
- Do you think one feels it?
- You feel it alright.
I for one have the feeling
that we are all fucked.
I can't stand you, Needle.
But I agree with you.
What do you think, Bohemy?
Can one feel the end coming?
I don't know.
I only know that we all die
sooner or later.
And life continues... Without us.
Teach is with the Greek girls
he was talking about now.
The girls with long hairs
and big eyes.
Teach is in a body bag at the morgue.
Come on...
Come on!
Leave the pig on the ground!
- And his soul?
- There is no such thing as a soul.
Maybe you have no soul
but I have one.
So some people have souls
and others don't?
I have a soul because I believe.
If you don't believe...
I do. I believe that if we
don't open the door we are all dead.
If we don't open the door?
Teach opened the door.
And that was it.
Look around, Gipsy.
Look around!
Look around!
Do you see another solution?
- I see one.
- Me too.
We open the door
and we surrender calmly and quietly.
So you believe in salvation.
I'm opening the door.
- I'll say when we open the door.
- So we could all get killed?
- Fuck you, Cleaver!
- If the bird loses a feather...
- I'll kill you all!
- I'm opening and I'm surrendering.
I'll kill the guy!
Kill him then.
Bohemy!
Yes. I agree with you.
Yes but...
The situation requires a different
approach, Comrade Minister.
Yes... Yes, sir!
Yes he's here.
Captain Kozarev speaking.
Yes, Comrade Minister.
You have one hour.
Then it's my turn.
Incident my ass.
Now what?
What's next?
Say something, Bohemy!
Come on! You want
to take the bird out, don't you?
- Yes.
- So we have to disassemble the lathe.
And we can't take it apart
while he's tied to it.
- You can't do it in 10 minutes.
- I can try.
We don't have much time.
Get lost, Junior.
Is it alive, Bohemy?
It's moving.
If we want to get to the bird,
we have to take out the suspension.
And to take out the suspension,
we have to take the cover off.
Give me the keys
to Cleaver's chain, Vekilski.
Vekilski!
Thanks.
We take the bird out
and then we surrender.
Are you insane?
What do you mean 'surrender'?
Exactly that! We take the bird out,
we open the door and get on the floor.
- No way! Who made you the boss?
- I am the foreman.
- Blow me! I'm not surrendering.
- And what's your plan?
- I'll escape.
- Where?
- No one can escape from here.
- I can!
I'll take Vekilski and Junior.
I'm not dumb like Teach.
You are dumber if you think
that you can get out of here alive.
I told you to be silent.
You are not my boss, Bohemy.
Do I have to make it clearer?
If we open the door
they'll kill us all.
Cleaver, wait! Listen!
We can do it together.
I'll hold Vekilski, the boy is for you.
After we pass the checkpoint
it's an hour-long drive.
How will we remove this thing?
I have no idea.
What...
Cut the power.
It will rip your hands off.
He's right.
It's singing.
Tell my why, Cleaver?
I dream that I'm dying.
But not exactly dying.
They put me in a coffin.
Then they take me to a bare field
to bury me there.
They lower the coffin in the grave
but I open my eyes.
But I'm not awake.
I lay in the coffin.
I know that I'm dreaming
but I can't wake up.
I start knocking.
I want to get out and I cry.
I scream as loud as I can.
'Let me out, you fuckers!'
'I'm alive! I'm alive!'
But the gravediggers are laughing
somewhere above me.
They are burring me alive.
I can't breathe.
An then... I die for real.
I die every night, Bohemy.
Every night.
And if we take the bird out
you'll stop dreaming?
I don't know.
I don't know.
Gipsy...
Get the lever here ASAP.
Serafim...
Come and help, man.
I don't care about the bird.
I sleep like a baby.
Junior...
- I'll help but I have one condition.
- Condition?
- You can't make demands, boy.
- Let captain Vekilski go.
He'll explain everything.
Would you like to fuck me too?
- I will get you more time.
- What?
- I will get you more time.
- Do whatever you want.
But he stays here.
Right?
Stop it!
Listen, Junior... The men outside
don't care for us or for the bird.
They haven't killed us yet
just because you and Vekilski are here.
If he goes it's only you.
Are you sure that
they care enough for you?
You have two options:
To come and help.
Or to be tied like Vekilski.
26 YEARS FOR MURDER
FOR THE PROSECUTION
LEUT. KOZAREV
You really fucked us, Cleaver.
I hope this bird is golden.
In some tribes' believe systems
the bird is a symbol of liberty.
Slime ball? What slime, Junior?
Birds have no slime.
No... S-Y-M. Symbol.
It's something like a sign.
Well...
To my tribe a bird is a meal.
- You eat pigeons?
- Pigeons? Never.
My grandma used to say
that the souls of the dead
come back as pigeons.
It's a big sin to kill a pigeon.
It could bring you
bad luck for eternity.
If a pigeon enters your home
someone's going to die.
This is not true.
And this workshop isn't our home.
- And this might not be a pigeon.
- Tell that to Teach.
Souls of dead people...
What people?
I don't know.
Probably friends and relatives.
Stop pretending to be witches.
Let's take the bird out and go.
Go where, Bohemy? Back to prison?
You won't go back there.
You'll all be dead by sunset.
Shut up, you filthy monkey!
Let's try from the bottom.
We'll need a bigger lever.
- Krasi... Get the support bar here.
- Alone?
I'll help him.
Come on.
- They won't get out voluntarily.
- They will. But they want something.
What does an inmate want?
To escape.
- You see everything in black and white.
- That's my job.
- It's easier to make decisions.
- Easier to make the wrong decisions.
This is all just talk.
We both want the same thing.
Meanwhile you don't care
how many people will die.
My job is to protect the civilians
and the prison officers.
- We have two dead guards inside.
- They are not dead.
- How can you be sure?
- I know the inmates in the workshop.
Krasi...
- What did Cleaver do?
- What do you think?
He murdered somebody?
What are you doing, Junior?
Pretending to be my friend?
I'm just making a conversation
while helping you.
People like you don't just help.
I saw you sharing looks with Vekilski.
You are planning something.
But nobody fucks with Cleaver.
Even the cops.
Take that end.
Three murderers and a rapist.
You've read their files
but you don't know them.
I know Radulov. He knows how
to get murderers organized.
- This is exactly what he did here.
- He isn't fond of you either.
- Why do you protect them?
- Why do you want to kill them?
- I'm here to do my job.
- To get inside and shoot everybody?
A rabid dog needs a stick,
not a bone.
Do you know where Prikolnitsa is?
No.
- He was living there with his brother.
- Cleaver?
He wasn't Cleaver back then.
He was Kolyo the Artisan,
working at the steel mill.
He was doing well and so he decided
to pay for his brother's wedding.
He invited the whole village.
Music, meals, drinks...
A king's wedding.
Basically he was a very good man.
A man with a big soul.
And a big problem... Alcohol.
He didn't drink often
but when he did...
The day of the wedding
he starts drinking at noon.
His brother tells him to stop
dancing and embarrassing himself.
Kolyo goes bonkers. He paid
but he is not allowed to dance?
'He can't tell me what to do!'
Kolyo goes home
and comes back with a cleaver.
Then splits his brother's head.
- Their father tries to stop him...
- He killed his father too?
Like a pig!
People start screaming and running.
His mother sees everything
and collapses on the ground.
She died later in the hospital.
- Did he tell you all this?
- He doesn't speak.
- Then how do you know?
- The whole Kyustendil County knows.
- Go there and ask anyone.
- How did they get him?
They didn't get him.
He went to the cops and surrendered.
His hands were still covered
in his brother's and father's blood.
Come on!
I knew a man like you.
In the military.
He was very self-confident too.
Just trying to do his job.
I'm not here to talk, Radoev.
The Minister ordered me to wait
and I'm waiting.
If it was up to me
everything would be already over.
- Do you know what happened to him?
- I don't care.
The new Minister sent him to
Belyane Prison Camp. He's still there.
Thanks for the coffee.
Lalev!
If someone has any ideas,
let's hear them. I'm done.
Colonel Radoev speaking.
Bohemy, come to the door.
An hour.
I need an hour, Bohemy.
- Our time is up, Cleaver.
- The bird is salvation.
No! The bird is the problem.
So you are not looking for salvation?
I'm looking for a solution.
Inmate Boris Radulov.
I'm listening, Warden?
- Open the door, Bohemy.
- We need some more time.
- No! What do you want?
- It's complicated.
It will get more complicated very soon.
Just tell me.
- There is a bird in Cleaver's machine.
- So?
- We have to take it out.
- Why?
- It belongs elsewhere.
- Pardon?
I told you it's complicated.
Do you realize the consequences
of not opening the door?
Yes, sir. But I also know
what will happen if I open it.
- I'm trying to find a balance here.
- Me too.
Just one more hour, please.
Two at the most.
- I want to talk to Vekilski.
- Speak up, he's listening.
Are you there, Vekilski?
- Yes, Comrade Warden.
- Describe the situation.
There is no bird.
They need the time to escape.
- Are you insane, Vekilski?
- This is all planned.
This is not true, Warden.
What about Nikola Gyuzelev,
Comrade Warden?
Boris Radulov begged you
to let him come and work here.
Serafim Georgiev the Needle
is also here.
He almost killed an inmate
to take his place in the workshop.
But I saw through their scheme.
You saw nothing, boss!
If it wasn't for Bohemy
you both would've been dead already.
- Krasi!
- Where is the boy?
- He's here and he's fine.
- Gyuzelev almost suffocated him.
Cleaver!
Everybody listen to me!
You'll all get 10 days in solitary
and you won't be allowed to work.
Just open the door
and nobody will get hurt.
Like Teach?
It was an accident, Bohemy.
Let's fix this mess.
Teach also tried to fix the mess.
He was alone and unarmed.
His hands were in the air.
I knew Teach for 20 years.
When I came here he was already in.
He used to tell me that
I am more of a convict than he is.
Because I come here every day
and lock the door behind myself.
I used to laugh
but I don't find it funny anymore.
I realized that he was right.
I'm an inmate just like you, Bohemy.
I want to escape but it's too late.
Do you hear me, Bohemy?
Open the door
and let's go back to our cells.
Another hour.
That's all I'm asking.
I promise that we will surrender
after that.
You'll have an hour if you let
the guards go. You have my word.
- We'll think about it.
- You have 5 minutes. And Bohemy...
Yes?
Your parole next year
depends on these 5 minutes.
Parole, Bohemy?
The Warden promised you parole?
They promised to let you go?
What did you promise them?
To be a rat?
Did you sell out, you piece of shit?
Is it true?
It's true.
What did you promise them, Bohemy?
You know what I promised.
You saw the blueprints.
Hydraulic valves for armored transports.
Double quantity.
That's why I got you out of Death row.
So no paroles for us?
You fucking stupid son of a bitch!
They lie. They'll use you
and then they'll forget about you.
How can you be so dumb
to believe their lies?!
I believe Radoev.
What are you doing?
- I'm letting Vekilski go.
- No way! We're not letting them go!
- Just the scumbag. Junior stays.
- Forget it, Bohemy!
Vekilski is going out.
It's better for the bird.
The order is 'shoot to kill'.
We are not dealing with people.
We have a solution.
- Really?
- They are letting the guards go.
- The inmates will come out in an hour.
- In an hour?
- Why in an hour?
- We have a deal.
- A deal with Radulov?
- What's your problem with him?
You really don't know how bad
your favorite inmate is.
I have no favorites
and I don't like your tone.
He stabbed the victim 8 times
for 120 grams of gold and some money.
His accomplices are on Death row.
Do you know why he isn't there?
No. But I know who investigated
the case for the prosecution.
- They're getting out.
- Stay out of this!
- Where is the other one?
- Junior will stay with us.
- We had a deal.
- The boy is all right, Warden.
He won't be hurt.
This was close, Bohemy.
Do you still believe him?
- What are you doing?!
- Your job! They're playing with you.
The other guard is dead
and they are trying to escape.
To escape where?
You just want to kill everybody.
- You shot a guard!
- I aimed for the inmate.
- This thing should've been over.
- You're not getting away with this!
The time is up.
Go on!
- What are you doing?
- I'm giving it water.
- You'll drown it.
- May I?
Cleaver...
Enough.
The bird must be thinking about us.
'I met the best inmates in the world.'
- It doesn't know that we are inmates.
- Of course! Birds have no brains.
Be quiet, please!
You are not helping one bit.
You are so dumb, Krasi!
Probably the bird ate you brains.
It's singing again.
It's probably thanking us.
- It'll thank us when we get it out.
- Do you remember the fairytale
Teach was reading to us?
The one about the sea and the fish?
'The Old Man and the Sea.'
It's not a fairytale, it's a novel.
Not that one! The one about
the fisherman and the golden fish.
This is the name of the fairytale.
'The Fisherman and the Golden Fish.'
Right!
Imagine if this bird
was actually the Golden Bird.
We take it out
and it starts speaking to us.
'You saved my life, boys.
You have one wish each.'
- The fish granted three wishes.
- This is a bird. One wish.
One is enough for me.
Do you know what my wish will be?
I want to be like the bird.
I want to have wings and feathers
and fly away.
Far and away.
Why not ask to be free
and still be human?
And where should I go, Bohemy?
No matter where I go
I'll still be a prisoner.
People like us cannot be saved.
The sky is the only freedom.
Flying and whistling with joy.
You have a point.
Of course I do.
What about you, Junior?
- What about me?
- Do you have a wish?
I want to turn back time and be
as far away from here as possible.
Move!
Look at him! He heard about
the wishes and decided to help.
- This won't do, Needle.
- It will do!
It's too thick, man. Forget it.
- It won't do.
- It will do!
I wish for a new head.
- What do you mean?
- Exactly what I said.
I want to see another man
when I look in the mirror.
It's possible. Doctors do it.
They call it plastic surgery.
Few hours on the table
and you will look like Alain Delon.
- Who is Alain Delon?
- A French actor.
- You can't be an actor. You are dumb.
- I don't want to be an actor.
Shut your mouth or even the bird
won't be able to help you.
- Who do you want to be?
- Doesn't matter.
I don't want to be Needle.
No way, bro. You are who you are.
And that's it.
I want to be just Serafim Georgiev.
Or Doctor Serafim Georgiev.
Very well, Doctor.
Your hands are longer.
Try to take the support bar out.
Watch and learn.
- A bit to the left.
- Wait...
That's it! A little bit more.
Well done. A bit more.
Come on.
- Almost ready.
- I can't do it.
It's reaping my hand off.
What about you, Bohemy?
What's your wish?
The same as every inmate's wish.
Freedom.
What about you, Cleaver?
It's your turn for a wish.
- I don't have a wish.
- You don't want anything?
I just want to save the bird.
That will be enough for me.
- And what will you do with the bird?
- I'll let it go? Let it fly.
We have to remove this thing.
I don't know what it's called.
No bolts. We'll have to cut it off.
The grinder won't do the job.
We need the keys
to the spare parts rack, boss.
I don't know about the bird
but I can make your wish true.
There is a safe
full of weapons upstairs.
Bring the weapons to me
and you'll be free.
You won't be punished.
I'll help you with the parole.
Why do you need weapons, Vekilski?
The SWAT team will be here soon.
Exactly! They will come here
and what will they do?
They will kill us all.
You saw what happened earlier.
You saw whose orders they follow.
Kozarev's.
I heard that he framed you, Bohemy.
Is it true?
- Parole you say?
- I saw Cleaver make you do all this.
You are his hostage too.
It's the truth.
You tried to help everybody
but you couldn't do it.
The Warden likes you.
You'll be out within six months.
Six months are a lot less
than sixteen years.
Think about yourself, Bohemy.
Is it true that you raped a child?
No.
In our village girls become women
a lot younger. I didn't rape her.
I stole her.
It's our custom.
But her parents don't like me.
- They called the cops.
- What happened to the girl?
- We got married.
- In prison?
The Warden married us last summer.
Connect the oxygen.
What are you waiting for?
Bring the oxygen here.
- It's strange.
- What?
How something this small
can turn your life upside down.
Do you know what was the first thing
that crossed my mind
after I split my brother's head open?
'I messed his shirt.
You can't wash blood off.'
'His wedding shirt is ruined forever.'
That was my first thought.
Then someone tried to stop me.
I turned around and swung the Cleaver.
Then everything went dark.
The next day I learned
that I have killed dad.
But I couldn't stop thinking
about the goddamn shirt.
I tried to hang myself...
But the rope snapped.
It's not as easy to die
as it appears.
It's easy.
But you aren't a man
who takes the easy path.
I see him before me...
My brother.
In the middle of the day.
In my cell.
He appears with his chopped head
and his bloody shirt and says:
'You have to wash my shirt, brother.
I can't marry in this shirt.'
But mom and dad don't come to me.
They'll never forgive me
for killing their son.
The bird won't help you
get rid of the nightmares.
It won't help you forget.
I don't want to forget, Bohemy.
I just want to feel human again.
You are human.
There are no humans in prison, Bohemy.
We are all animals.
Nobody cares about us
and we don't care about anybody.
But if we do something good we'll be
human again at least for a while.
Look at them.
I believe this is freedom.
What about you?
Do you have a bird you care about?
I do.
But I have never seen him.
I have a son.
- I write him letters.
- About what?
About who I am, where I am...
The reason I am here.
Shit like that.
But it doesn't mater
because I don't send the letters.
Write to your son
about what you did minutes ago.
I heard what Vekilski said to you.
So you want me to tell him
that he will never see his father?
- Because I helped you save a bird?
- No!
Tell him you acted like a human being.
The bird is here for a reason, Bohemy.
And it's not us saving it.
Be very careful!
The enemy had time to prepare.
They are expecting us.
We are talking about four armed,
well-organized and ruthless murderers.
They won't hesitate to use force.
Your task is to squash immediately
any attempt at aggression
on their part.
If in doubt - shoot!
There are guards in the workshop!
Neutralizing the rioters
will be your first priority.
You'll do it fast
and without any mistakes.
- Everything clear?
- Yes, Captain!
Take your positions.
We'll start with removing the door.
Yes, sir!
Hey, airheads! Give me the torch
before you blow yourselves up.
- What do you need it for?
- To cut the lathe, what else?
What's your angle?
You care about the little bird now?
No. But my whole body hurts.
You wasted half an hour already.
I'll cut it in five minutes
and we'll all go home.
I don't trust the scumbag.
Try it again.
I think we should untie him.
He suffered enough already.
What do we have to lose?
Don't be afraid!
Come on, girl!
Why doesn't she fly away?
- Maybe her wing is broken?
- No. She's afraid.
Come on! You are free.
Maybe she doesn't want to escape.
Her wings are dirty. We need water.
Yes! Give me the can, Krasi.
Take it easy, boss.
I'll open the door. The bird is free.
This bird?
All these years
I was trying to be tolerant.
But today you showed me
that all my efforts were in vain.
Thank you.
Boris Radulov, Serafim Georgiev,
Krasimir Grigorov, Nikola Gyuzelev...
Your death sentences are guaranteed.
On the floor!
- Kovachki...
- You don't need the weapon, Captain.
- We can open the door.
- Do as I say.
Keep an eye on them.
I'll open the door myself.
Cleaver...
Get on the floor.
- Do it! He'll kill you.
- Cleaver...
Get on the floor, man!
I just want the bird to fly away.
Everybody on the floor!
On the floor!
Final warning!
Nikola!
Get down!
Fire!
Bohemy! Bohemy!
Fire!
Fire!
Fire!
Everything is under control,
Comrade Captain.
Lower your weapon.
Nobody got a death sentence.
Kovachki testified that Cleaver lost it
and took everyone else hostage.
The dead Cleaver took all the blame
and we dodged the bullet.
I don't know why Junior helped us.
And I couldn't ask him.
I never saw him again.
I learned that he had quit his job.
Prison isn't for everybody.
Kolyo the Cleaver died
on August 6th 1978
in the 2nd Workshop
of the Kremikovtsi Steel Plant.
He was executed.
The official report stated
that he started a riot, took hostages
and then killed a guard.
Not a word about the bird.
Maybe they were right.
The bird was hard to explain.
I find it hard to explain
even after all those years.
You can find humanity
in the most unexpected places.
For those of us who were there
Cleaver never died.
He flew away with the bird.
And a small part of us
flew away with them.
At the end Cleaver was right.
It wasn't just a bird.
And we didn't save it.
It saved us.
We learned how to be human
and being human is not easy.
Neither in prison nor outside it.
My name is Boris Radulov,
but everybody calls me Bohemy.
And I am your father.
IN MEMORY OF BORIS RADULOV - BOHEMY
film by
Martin Makariev
Alexander Sano
Julian Vergov
Igor Angelov
Hristo Petkov
Bashar Rahal
Hristo Shopov
Ivaylo Hristov
Stoyan Doichev
Vladimir Zombori
written by
Borislav Zahariev
produced by
Alexander Penev
produced by
Martin Makariev
director of photography
Andrey Andreev
film editing by
Nikola Milenov
production designer
Samuil Ganev
music composer
Viktor Stoyanov
costume designer
Vesela Dineva
VFX producer
Jordan Markov
Forward Pictures Entertainment
National Film Centre
Silvernoise Frame
Immerse FX present
Silence!
Get in formation!
A Forward Pictures Entertainment
Production
For the national anthem
of Republic of Bulgaria!
Attention!
My name is Boris Radulov,
but everybody calls me Bohemy.
An old Jew gave me this name.
He was buying gold and dollars from me.
Roughly translated, a Bohemian
is a man who loves life.
I stopped loving my life the day
I came to Sofia prison in 1971.
But the name stuck.
Prison is complicated.
The first few years are hard.
Then comes the feeling
that you were born here. One adapts.
Hi, Bohemy.
Are you gonna eat your desert?
- Move!
- Get lost!
Here.
Did you hear about Moustache Meto?
He stitched his balls to his pants.
- Fucking psycho!
- For real, Teach?
For real! 8 stiches.
Completely crazy.
Do you think this is normal, Bohemy?
I don't give a fuck about Meto's balls.
- Get lost!
- Sit at the next table.
- I was told to sit here.
- The next table!
- Tolya, are you gonna eat the jam?
- Today I will.
Give it to him. Don't be a dick.
All these deserts
will give you the squirts.
Some of the guards are OK.
Especially when an inmate
is as important as me.
- Are you the boss today?
- Yes.
Good for you!
Inmates are considered important
if they can be used.
But Vekilski
doesn't recognize this rule.
He's a sadist. Always on the look
for someone to put in the infirmary.
Head or hands?
It wasn't me, boss! I swear!
People say that his wooden baton
has a girl's name.
That he's calling it Stefka.
We all fear Stefka.
There was a Gipsy boy,
known as the Tear.
He had a tear tattooed
on his right cheek.
At first he wasn't afraid of Stefka,
but after 3 months in the infirmary
with a thorn rectum,
he started fearing it too.
It's good to be afraid in prison.
But not too afraid.
If the fear gets the best of you,
you're fucked.
2nd Workshop
of the Kremikovtsi Steel Plant.
The place where every inmate
dreams to be send to.
2 days here count as 3 days
of your sentence. But there's more.
Working here
makes you feel normal again.
You can imagine that
you could leave at 5 PM.
That after work you could have a cognac
and go wherever you like.
The Hungarian restaurant, some bar...
Depending on the money in your pocket.
But the truth is that at 5 PM
you go back to your cell.
And nobody serves you cognac.
The dream dies and you say 'fuck you'
to yourself, to the Party
and to your mother
for bringing you to this world.
LONG LIVE
THE COMMUNIST PARTY!
'All men have dog souls.
They get used to everything.'
That's not mine. I read it somewhere
and I liked it.
It's especially true
when we talk about convicts.
Inmates are sly, corrupt, immoral
and most of all unlucky people.
But they are people nevertheless.
Chess is like life. You have to plan
three moves ahead to succeed.
So you are all successful?
Don't touch the chess pieces
with these greasy hands, Krasi.
- Why?
- Because! Take it from him.
We should've founded a gambling club.
At least there is money in gambling.
- You can't make money by gambling.
- Can I have my 20 Lev back?
Here... Mastic liquor.
Check.
Your move, Bohemy.
'Good night.
I'll wake you up tomorrow.'
'You are my alarm clock...'
Ask 10 inmates who's got it worse
and you'll get 10 different answers.
But they have one thing in common.
Every inmate hates prison
and dreams about fucking it over.
Or at least about surviving it.
About winning.
But in order to win
you have to know two things well -
the prison and yourself.
IN THE HEART OF THE MACHINE
I hear good things about your crew.
Have a seat.
Don't stand like that.
Do you know what this is?
- "Hydraulic valves."
- It's a possibility. For both of us.
A quality product
will give the prison a good name.
Which is a bonus for me.
And could be a bonus for you.
All the details are inside.
Daily quotas etc. What do you think?
May I ask for
a personal favor, Warden?
- As long as it's in my power.
- I want a furlough.
- Sorry. No way.
- Just for a day.
Right now it's not possible.
I understand.
Is this about the child?
Listen, Radulov...
I really want to help you.
You can have the child here for a day.
In my office,
not in the visiting rooms.
Thank you, Warden.
But I don't want him here.
This is all I can do.
Am I free to go?
Take the papers with you.
I don't think we can manage this.
Sit down!
If you double the production volumes
in six months,
next year I'll get you a parole.
You'll go home to your child.
- I'll need more people.
- Take anyone you want.
- Kolyo.
- The Vlach?
- The Cleaver.
- Forget it!
No one else has the knowhow.
The Death row.
A whole different breed of jailbirds.
If you see them in the yard
you'd never guess that these
are the most dangerous murderers.
They walk calmly.
They even joke among themselves...
But at night in their cells
it's a different story.
There they are tense
and react to every little noise.
They can tear anyone apart
because the self-preservation instinct
is stronger than any thought.
Every morning at 4 AM
the guards take them out of their cells
and no one knows if they would take him
to the john or to the Bear hole.
That's what we call the tunnel
where people get executed.
Some cry like children,
others fight...
But Cleaver...He's silent.
You never know what he's thinking.
And nobody dares asking.
He came here before me
and waits to be executed.
He waits in silence.
I worked with him
when I first got here.
Sometimes they allowed him to work.
Get up!
Two queer's from Vratsa
tried to rape me in the lunch break.
Cleaver broke their knees
with his bare hands.
He almost bit off
one of the queer's throat.
That day we became friends.
The kind of friends who see
each other rarely and in silence.
He's a tamed beast and a great worker.
A kind of lathe virtuoso.
Fuck...
Some idiot took Cleaver
out of Death row.
It was me.
You are bonkers.
The guy works nonstop.
And you don't shut up.
Does he speak at all?
I don't know.
I've never heard him say anything.
- They say he ate his own tongue.
- Krasi...
It's true!
Tell him, Teach.
I don't know.
I'm not worried about Cleaver.
Georgiev...
- Yes, boss?
- Get in front.
I'm fine here.
Does anybody else think
that he has a reservation?
Kovachki... Sit down!
Junior... Could you please help me
pull my pants up?
Just a little...
Did you like it, Junior?
I'll let you touch it again.
Silence!
Georgiev... Come here.
Closer.
I said closer.
The hands.
I would break them
but you have to work today.
One day in solitary.
And no more work for a week.
Come on, boss!
I was just fucking with... Junior.
Two days in solitary.
Back in the line.
ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP
Watch and learn.
You'll have to do it tomorrow.
My mistake, Comrade Captain.
I didn't react properly.
You are not used
to their shenanigans yet.
- Who is he?
- Serafim Georgiev. The Needle.
He was on Death row
but now he serves a life sentence.
We should have killed him
right away if you ask me.
- What did he do?
- What...
He burgled a house in Sofia.
Went in at night.
There was an ill granny living there.
He strangled the granny
to silence her.
Then he got drunk and fell asleep.
The granddaughter came in the morning.
He strangled her too.
But not before raping her.
A bit like 'Little Red
Riding Hood' minus the hunter.
Never offer them your hand.
They'll bite it off completely.
- Where is Tolya?
- He fell ill.
That's not what I heard.
What's the daily quota, Bohemy?
What are you doing here
if you don't know the quota?
Be quiet, old man.
- If Tolya dies, I'll fuck you up.
- Is that so? Let's do it.
Listen scumbag...
This is my workshop.
Work and behave yourself.
So you are not just a rat?
You are a guard now?
Don't worry about me.
Just pray for Tolya to live.
I'm so scared!
Do you see me shaking?
Hey, Bohemy...
Is it true that you are giving
blowjobs to the Warden?
Is there a problem?
No.
I'm explaining the daily quotas.
Please...
Hey, Junior!
We like chocolates too.
Please.
- Celebrating the new job?
- I had a son yesterday.
Best wishes.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
I keep one key. The other...
If something happens,
every guard knows where it is.
These creatures are murderers,
rapists and pedophiles.
And you are giving them chocolates.
They may look like people
but they are not human.
Don't get fooled by appearances.
I understand.
You have to be strict and...
Persuasive.
Show them that you are not afraid.
They are animals. If they smell fear,
they'll tear you apart.
Today won't be that bad.
- Should we lock the workshop?
- No.
They have nowhere to go.
Remember one thing.
You have the stick.
And they know it.
What's wrong, Cleaver?
I barely got you here.
We have to work.
Why did we stop?
There's something inside.
What is it?
Probably a rat.
A rat... With feathers.
A bird? Let me see!
You are right. It's a pigeon.
Or one of those...
What were they called?
- It doesn't matter. It's a bird.
- How the fuck did it get inside?
It's stuck.
I think it has a broken wing.
Where did you get this from?
- Come and see.
- No way.
Now what?
Well done, Bohemy!
The bird is completely fucked now.
- You take it out then!
- How?
There are no instruments here.
We have to lean the lathe.
How would we do that,
you dumb Gipsy? It weighs 2 tons.
You are the dumb one, Serafim.
We have a crane.
- The crane won't help.
- Why did it get inside?
- Why did you get in prison?
- I got caught.
That's it. Fate.
Why did you stop working?
- There is a bird in the machine.
- You are slacking.
We are not shitting you, boss.
Look for yourself.
Turn the machine on.
It will spit out the sparrow.
This would be murder, boss.
- We could go to prison.
- Silence!
This is not a school trip.
Turn the lathe on.
Gyuzelev!
Do it, Bohemy.
This is Cleaver's lathe.
I don't know how it works.
- Kovachki...
- Yes?
Turn the lathe on!
Yes, sir.
- I can try to take it out.
- I said turn it on!
Turn it on
and I'll rip his head off.
Gipsy, block the door.
This is fate, Bohemy.
The patrol team
will be here any minute.
Let us go now and you'll get
just some time in solitary.
Shut up!
What should we do, Teach?
The bird wasn't a coincidence.
What do you mean?
You know what I mean. Fate!
Bullshit!
I'll get the patrol team here.
So you will throw us to the wolves?!
Go ahead!
- You are a cocksucker!
- Shut up!
I'm trying to save your asses.
But I might skip yours.
If you go out...
I'll rip his head off.
That's the spirit, Cleaver!
Death sentence!
You will all get one.
Death sentence?
Is he right, Bohemy?
- Are they gonna kill us?
- Like rabid dogs.
Wow! Stefka seems to be vicious.
Right, boss?
We didn't do anything wrong.
Right, Bohemy?
- Right?
- Calm down, Krasi.
We didn't do anything wrong,
right Teach?
A riot! Taking hostages and
endangering the life of an official.
- No...
- You have 5 minutes!
Cleaver did it.
Cleaver and Needle...
- Shut up, you Gipsy!
- Fuck you! You'll get us killed.
- I'll jam Stefka in your ass!
- Fuck you!
Get a grip!
We are in this shit together
and we'll get out of it together.
What about the patrol team?
I won't go out.
Because there is no riot.
There are no hostages.
And nobody's life
has been threatened.
We simply lost our cool.
Is that right?
Are you all right, Junior?
Can't you hear me, boy?
Are you all right?
I'll be fine.
Here... The boy's all right.
Let's put an end to this nonsense.
We'll get back to work
and then Captain Vekilski
will put us in solitary.
I say let's kill the cops
and get out of here.
- Nobody's asking you.
- And what about you?
- Maybe we have to kill you.
- Go ahead!
Quit measuring your dicks.
Let's hear what Vekilski has to say.
Untie me, let the boy go
and I'll decide what to do.
- He's lying!
- Shut up, Needle.
As if you don't know him.
If we let him go, we are all fucked.
Not all of us. Just you.
You just said that we are all
in this shit together.
We were.
But every man bears his cross.
I'm with Bohemy.
Me too. Bohemy is right.
What about you, Cleaver?
It's over, Cleaver.
You have a quota to fulfill.
The bird?
The bird is dead. Let the boy go
and get back to work.
It's alive.
It doesn't matter.
You saw that we tried to get it out.
- We didn't try.
- Come on, Cleaver!
The boy can't breathe.
Do you want to kill him?
There is no way!
You saw that I tried.
- The bird is a goner.
- Then he is a goner too.
That's it, Cleaver!
I'll kill the other one.
Nobody is going to die!
Get a grip, man!
He became a father yesterday.
He even brought us chocolates.
And you want to kill him for a bird?
The bird is already fucked.
Do you want us to be fucked too?
Why is this bird so important?
It doesn't belong here, Bohemy.
Cleaver is sad about a bird.
Did you all hear that?
Cleaver...
- How is your brother doing?
- Shut up!
Are you sad about him too?
Did you try to save him?
Easy, Nikola!
The scumbag isn't worth it.
Boss... If he kills the boy,
it will be on you.
How come?
Did I put the chain on his neck?
You are provoking him.
Needle is right, you are a scumbag.
The bird has nothing to do
with this, Teach. Right, Bohemy?
- I'm sorry?
- This is why you got Cleaver out.
To escape with him.
- What?
- But you needed Needle too.
And you organized
the incident with Tolya in the mess.
I don't know anything.
- Is it true, Bohemy?
- Bullshit!
- But now we have to escape.
- There was no plan.
- And nobody is escaping.
- What then?
We'll negotiate.
Nego-what? 'We'll let the boy go
if you get the hen out?'
Krasi is right. If the boy dies
there is no negotiation.
Junior? Junior...
Please let go a bit!
Just a bit!
Here...
Do you hear me?
What's your name?
Junior Guard Veselin Kovachki.
Rough first day on the job...
Right, Comrade Junior Guard?
Vekilski!
It's getting worse.
Riot! Prison break...
What's going on, Vekilski?
Don't even think about
opening the door.
Watch it!
I'm inmate Boris Radulov.
Please let me speak to the Warden.
They are armed!
Get away from the door!
They'll shoot you.
- I repeat, inmate Boris Radulov...
- Move!
Please...
- I'm going to the car. Stay here...
- No!
- Nikola, let me speak to them, son.
- No.
- I have to report this.
- We'll both go.
And if they escape?
Let me talk to them
before something worse happens.
And the bird?
Belev, stay alert!
I won't be long.
The bird chose your machine.
Not ours.
Give us the chance to choose too.
First Sergeant Tonchev speaking
from Workshop 2. Operator? Hello?
Freeze!
I want to report an offence, officer.
First Sergeant Tonchev speaking.
Operator, can you hear me?
Bohemy, close the door.
Don't move! Hands in the air!
They are in the air, son.
Relax.
Come on, you fucker!
Why did you do this, son?
They killed him.
They killed Teach!
They killed him.
AMBULANCE
- Hello, Comrade Warden.
- What's going on, Lalev?
- They have hostages in the workshop.
- Who are the hostages?
Captain Deyan Vekilski
and a new guy... Kovachki.
Who was shot?
- Yordan Manev.
- Teach.
- Attempted escape.
- Teach escaping?
- Their requests?
- We don't know, Comrade Warden.
- We haven't contacted them.
- And what are you waiting for, Lalev?
- I see Kozarev is here.
- He is on duty with the SAWT team.
We don't need the SWAT team.
Get him out of here!
He has an order
signed by the Minister.
Try to establish a connection.
I want to speak to Radulov.
Yes, sir.
Greetings, Comrade Colonel.
- I heard you were on a leave.
- Not anymore.
You can go now.
I'll deal with the problem myself.
- I don't think so.
- I don't want to raise the tension.
Me too.
I'm here to deal with the situation.
Your armed men will put at risk
the lives of the people inside.
You have high risk inmates there.
- Don't tell me how to do my job!
- Easy, Colonel.
- We are on the same side here.
- There are no sides, Kozarev.
And you are dismissed.
Go home and enjoy the nice weather.
- I'm sorry but you can't dismiss me.
- So be it.
- Come with me.
- Sorry?
- Move right away.
- I don't think you get it.
- I don't follow your orders.
- I know whose orders you follow.
Normal people escape from prison.
We locked ourselves inside.
Do you think that Teach
said to himself this morning:
'Today is the day I get fucked.'
- Do you think one feels it?
- You feel it alright.
I for one have the feeling
that we are all fucked.
I can't stand you, Needle.
But I agree with you.
What do you think, Bohemy?
Can one feel the end coming?
I don't know.
I only know that we all die
sooner or later.
And life continues... Without us.
Teach is with the Greek girls
he was talking about now.
The girls with long hairs
and big eyes.
Teach is in a body bag at the morgue.
Come on...
Come on!
Leave the pig on the ground!
- And his soul?
- There is no such thing as a soul.
Maybe you have no soul
but I have one.
So some people have souls
and others don't?
I have a soul because I believe.
If you don't believe...
I do. I believe that if we
don't open the door we are all dead.
If we don't open the door?
Teach opened the door.
And that was it.
Look around, Gipsy.
Look around!
Look around!
Do you see another solution?
- I see one.
- Me too.
We open the door
and we surrender calmly and quietly.
So you believe in salvation.
I'm opening the door.
- I'll say when we open the door.
- So we could all get killed?
- Fuck you, Cleaver!
- If the bird loses a feather...
- I'll kill you all!
- I'm opening and I'm surrendering.
I'll kill the guy!
Kill him then.
Bohemy!
Yes. I agree with you.
Yes but...
The situation requires a different
approach, Comrade Minister.
Yes... Yes, sir!
Yes he's here.
Captain Kozarev speaking.
Yes, Comrade Minister.
You have one hour.
Then it's my turn.
Incident my ass.
Now what?
What's next?
Say something, Bohemy!
Come on! You want
to take the bird out, don't you?
- Yes.
- So we have to disassemble the lathe.
And we can't take it apart
while he's tied to it.
- You can't do it in 10 minutes.
- I can try.
We don't have much time.
Get lost, Junior.
Is it alive, Bohemy?
It's moving.
If we want to get to the bird,
we have to take out the suspension.
And to take out the suspension,
we have to take the cover off.
Give me the keys
to Cleaver's chain, Vekilski.
Vekilski!
Thanks.
We take the bird out
and then we surrender.
Are you insane?
What do you mean 'surrender'?
Exactly that! We take the bird out,
we open the door and get on the floor.
- No way! Who made you the boss?
- I am the foreman.
- Blow me! I'm not surrendering.
- And what's your plan?
- I'll escape.
- Where?
- No one can escape from here.
- I can!
I'll take Vekilski and Junior.
I'm not dumb like Teach.
You are dumber if you think
that you can get out of here alive.
I told you to be silent.
You are not my boss, Bohemy.
Do I have to make it clearer?
If we open the door
they'll kill us all.
Cleaver, wait! Listen!
We can do it together.
I'll hold Vekilski, the boy is for you.
After we pass the checkpoint
it's an hour-long drive.
How will we remove this thing?
I have no idea.
What...
Cut the power.
It will rip your hands off.
He's right.
It's singing.
Tell my why, Cleaver?
I dream that I'm dying.
But not exactly dying.
They put me in a coffin.
Then they take me to a bare field
to bury me there.
They lower the coffin in the grave
but I open my eyes.
But I'm not awake.
I lay in the coffin.
I know that I'm dreaming
but I can't wake up.
I start knocking.
I want to get out and I cry.
I scream as loud as I can.
'Let me out, you fuckers!'
'I'm alive! I'm alive!'
But the gravediggers are laughing
somewhere above me.
They are burring me alive.
I can't breathe.
An then... I die for real.
I die every night, Bohemy.
Every night.
And if we take the bird out
you'll stop dreaming?
I don't know.
I don't know.
Gipsy...
Get the lever here ASAP.
Serafim...
Come and help, man.
I don't care about the bird.
I sleep like a baby.
Junior...
- I'll help but I have one condition.
- Condition?
- You can't make demands, boy.
- Let captain Vekilski go.
He'll explain everything.
Would you like to fuck me too?
- I will get you more time.
- What?
- I will get you more time.
- Do whatever you want.
But he stays here.
Right?
Stop it!
Listen, Junior... The men outside
don't care for us or for the bird.
They haven't killed us yet
just because you and Vekilski are here.
If he goes it's only you.
Are you sure that
they care enough for you?
You have two options:
To come and help.
Or to be tied like Vekilski.
26 YEARS FOR MURDER
FOR THE PROSECUTION
LEUT. KOZAREV
You really fucked us, Cleaver.
I hope this bird is golden.
In some tribes' believe systems
the bird is a symbol of liberty.
Slime ball? What slime, Junior?
Birds have no slime.
No... S-Y-M. Symbol.
It's something like a sign.
Well...
To my tribe a bird is a meal.
- You eat pigeons?
- Pigeons? Never.
My grandma used to say
that the souls of the dead
come back as pigeons.
It's a big sin to kill a pigeon.
It could bring you
bad luck for eternity.
If a pigeon enters your home
someone's going to die.
This is not true.
And this workshop isn't our home.
- And this might not be a pigeon.
- Tell that to Teach.
Souls of dead people...
What people?
I don't know.
Probably friends and relatives.
Stop pretending to be witches.
Let's take the bird out and go.
Go where, Bohemy? Back to prison?
You won't go back there.
You'll all be dead by sunset.
Shut up, you filthy monkey!
Let's try from the bottom.
We'll need a bigger lever.
- Krasi... Get the support bar here.
- Alone?
I'll help him.
Come on.
- They won't get out voluntarily.
- They will. But they want something.
What does an inmate want?
To escape.
- You see everything in black and white.
- That's my job.
- It's easier to make decisions.
- Easier to make the wrong decisions.
This is all just talk.
We both want the same thing.
Meanwhile you don't care
how many people will die.
My job is to protect the civilians
and the prison officers.
- We have two dead guards inside.
- They are not dead.
- How can you be sure?
- I know the inmates in the workshop.
Krasi...
- What did Cleaver do?
- What do you think?
He murdered somebody?
What are you doing, Junior?
Pretending to be my friend?
I'm just making a conversation
while helping you.
People like you don't just help.
I saw you sharing looks with Vekilski.
You are planning something.
But nobody fucks with Cleaver.
Even the cops.
Take that end.
Three murderers and a rapist.
You've read their files
but you don't know them.
I know Radulov. He knows how
to get murderers organized.
- This is exactly what he did here.
- He isn't fond of you either.
- Why do you protect them?
- Why do you want to kill them?
- I'm here to do my job.
- To get inside and shoot everybody?
A rabid dog needs a stick,
not a bone.
Do you know where Prikolnitsa is?
No.
- He was living there with his brother.
- Cleaver?
He wasn't Cleaver back then.
He was Kolyo the Artisan,
working at the steel mill.
He was doing well and so he decided
to pay for his brother's wedding.
He invited the whole village.
Music, meals, drinks...
A king's wedding.
Basically he was a very good man.
A man with a big soul.
And a big problem... Alcohol.
He didn't drink often
but when he did...
The day of the wedding
he starts drinking at noon.
His brother tells him to stop
dancing and embarrassing himself.
Kolyo goes bonkers. He paid
but he is not allowed to dance?
'He can't tell me what to do!'
Kolyo goes home
and comes back with a cleaver.
Then splits his brother's head.
- Their father tries to stop him...
- He killed his father too?
Like a pig!
People start screaming and running.
His mother sees everything
and collapses on the ground.
She died later in the hospital.
- Did he tell you all this?
- He doesn't speak.
- Then how do you know?
- The whole Kyustendil County knows.
- Go there and ask anyone.
- How did they get him?
They didn't get him.
He went to the cops and surrendered.
His hands were still covered
in his brother's and father's blood.
Come on!
I knew a man like you.
In the military.
He was very self-confident too.
Just trying to do his job.
I'm not here to talk, Radoev.
The Minister ordered me to wait
and I'm waiting.
If it was up to me
everything would be already over.
- Do you know what happened to him?
- I don't care.
The new Minister sent him to
Belyane Prison Camp. He's still there.
Thanks for the coffee.
Lalev!
If someone has any ideas,
let's hear them. I'm done.
Colonel Radoev speaking.
Bohemy, come to the door.
An hour.
I need an hour, Bohemy.
- Our time is up, Cleaver.
- The bird is salvation.
No! The bird is the problem.
So you are not looking for salvation?
I'm looking for a solution.
Inmate Boris Radulov.
I'm listening, Warden?
- Open the door, Bohemy.
- We need some more time.
- No! What do you want?
- It's complicated.
It will get more complicated very soon.
Just tell me.
- There is a bird in Cleaver's machine.
- So?
- We have to take it out.
- Why?
- It belongs elsewhere.
- Pardon?
I told you it's complicated.
Do you realize the consequences
of not opening the door?
Yes, sir. But I also know
what will happen if I open it.
- I'm trying to find a balance here.
- Me too.
Just one more hour, please.
Two at the most.
- I want to talk to Vekilski.
- Speak up, he's listening.
Are you there, Vekilski?
- Yes, Comrade Warden.
- Describe the situation.
There is no bird.
They need the time to escape.
- Are you insane, Vekilski?
- This is all planned.
This is not true, Warden.
What about Nikola Gyuzelev,
Comrade Warden?
Boris Radulov begged you
to let him come and work here.
Serafim Georgiev the Needle
is also here.
He almost killed an inmate
to take his place in the workshop.
But I saw through their scheme.
You saw nothing, boss!
If it wasn't for Bohemy
you both would've been dead already.
- Krasi!
- Where is the boy?
- He's here and he's fine.
- Gyuzelev almost suffocated him.
Cleaver!
Everybody listen to me!
You'll all get 10 days in solitary
and you won't be allowed to work.
Just open the door
and nobody will get hurt.
Like Teach?
It was an accident, Bohemy.
Let's fix this mess.
Teach also tried to fix the mess.
He was alone and unarmed.
His hands were in the air.
I knew Teach for 20 years.
When I came here he was already in.
He used to tell me that
I am more of a convict than he is.
Because I come here every day
and lock the door behind myself.
I used to laugh
but I don't find it funny anymore.
I realized that he was right.
I'm an inmate just like you, Bohemy.
I want to escape but it's too late.
Do you hear me, Bohemy?
Open the door
and let's go back to our cells.
Another hour.
That's all I'm asking.
I promise that we will surrender
after that.
You'll have an hour if you let
the guards go. You have my word.
- We'll think about it.
- You have 5 minutes. And Bohemy...
Yes?
Your parole next year
depends on these 5 minutes.
Parole, Bohemy?
The Warden promised you parole?
They promised to let you go?
What did you promise them?
To be a rat?
Did you sell out, you piece of shit?
Is it true?
It's true.
What did you promise them, Bohemy?
You know what I promised.
You saw the blueprints.
Hydraulic valves for armored transports.
Double quantity.
That's why I got you out of Death row.
So no paroles for us?
You fucking stupid son of a bitch!
They lie. They'll use you
and then they'll forget about you.
How can you be so dumb
to believe their lies?!
I believe Radoev.
What are you doing?
- I'm letting Vekilski go.
- No way! We're not letting them go!
- Just the scumbag. Junior stays.
- Forget it, Bohemy!
Vekilski is going out.
It's better for the bird.
The order is 'shoot to kill'.
We are not dealing with people.
We have a solution.
- Really?
- They are letting the guards go.
- The inmates will come out in an hour.
- In an hour?
- Why in an hour?
- We have a deal.
- A deal with Radulov?
- What's your problem with him?
You really don't know how bad
your favorite inmate is.
I have no favorites
and I don't like your tone.
He stabbed the victim 8 times
for 120 grams of gold and some money.
His accomplices are on Death row.
Do you know why he isn't there?
No. But I know who investigated
the case for the prosecution.
- They're getting out.
- Stay out of this!
- Where is the other one?
- Junior will stay with us.
- We had a deal.
- The boy is all right, Warden.
He won't be hurt.
This was close, Bohemy.
Do you still believe him?
- What are you doing?!
- Your job! They're playing with you.
The other guard is dead
and they are trying to escape.
To escape where?
You just want to kill everybody.
- You shot a guard!
- I aimed for the inmate.
- This thing should've been over.
- You're not getting away with this!
The time is up.
Go on!
- What are you doing?
- I'm giving it water.
- You'll drown it.
- May I?
Cleaver...
Enough.
The bird must be thinking about us.
'I met the best inmates in the world.'
- It doesn't know that we are inmates.
- Of course! Birds have no brains.
Be quiet, please!
You are not helping one bit.
You are so dumb, Krasi!
Probably the bird ate you brains.
It's singing again.
It's probably thanking us.
- It'll thank us when we get it out.
- Do you remember the fairytale
Teach was reading to us?
The one about the sea and the fish?
'The Old Man and the Sea.'
It's not a fairytale, it's a novel.
Not that one! The one about
the fisherman and the golden fish.
This is the name of the fairytale.
'The Fisherman and the Golden Fish.'
Right!
Imagine if this bird
was actually the Golden Bird.
We take it out
and it starts speaking to us.
'You saved my life, boys.
You have one wish each.'
- The fish granted three wishes.
- This is a bird. One wish.
One is enough for me.
Do you know what my wish will be?
I want to be like the bird.
I want to have wings and feathers
and fly away.
Far and away.
Why not ask to be free
and still be human?
And where should I go, Bohemy?
No matter where I go
I'll still be a prisoner.
People like us cannot be saved.
The sky is the only freedom.
Flying and whistling with joy.
You have a point.
Of course I do.
What about you, Junior?
- What about me?
- Do you have a wish?
I want to turn back time and be
as far away from here as possible.
Move!
Look at him! He heard about
the wishes and decided to help.
- This won't do, Needle.
- It will do!
It's too thick, man. Forget it.
- It won't do.
- It will do!
I wish for a new head.
- What do you mean?
- Exactly what I said.
I want to see another man
when I look in the mirror.
It's possible. Doctors do it.
They call it plastic surgery.
Few hours on the table
and you will look like Alain Delon.
- Who is Alain Delon?
- A French actor.
- You can't be an actor. You are dumb.
- I don't want to be an actor.
Shut your mouth or even the bird
won't be able to help you.
- Who do you want to be?
- Doesn't matter.
I don't want to be Needle.
No way, bro. You are who you are.
And that's it.
I want to be just Serafim Georgiev.
Or Doctor Serafim Georgiev.
Very well, Doctor.
Your hands are longer.
Try to take the support bar out.
Watch and learn.
- A bit to the left.
- Wait...
That's it! A little bit more.
Well done. A bit more.
Come on.
- Almost ready.
- I can't do it.
It's reaping my hand off.
What about you, Bohemy?
What's your wish?
The same as every inmate's wish.
Freedom.
What about you, Cleaver?
It's your turn for a wish.
- I don't have a wish.
- You don't want anything?
I just want to save the bird.
That will be enough for me.
- And what will you do with the bird?
- I'll let it go? Let it fly.
We have to remove this thing.
I don't know what it's called.
No bolts. We'll have to cut it off.
The grinder won't do the job.
We need the keys
to the spare parts rack, boss.
I don't know about the bird
but I can make your wish true.
There is a safe
full of weapons upstairs.
Bring the weapons to me
and you'll be free.
You won't be punished.
I'll help you with the parole.
Why do you need weapons, Vekilski?
The SWAT team will be here soon.
Exactly! They will come here
and what will they do?
They will kill us all.
You saw what happened earlier.
You saw whose orders they follow.
Kozarev's.
I heard that he framed you, Bohemy.
Is it true?
- Parole you say?
- I saw Cleaver make you do all this.
You are his hostage too.
It's the truth.
You tried to help everybody
but you couldn't do it.
The Warden likes you.
You'll be out within six months.
Six months are a lot less
than sixteen years.
Think about yourself, Bohemy.
Is it true that you raped a child?
No.
In our village girls become women
a lot younger. I didn't rape her.
I stole her.
It's our custom.
But her parents don't like me.
- They called the cops.
- What happened to the girl?
- We got married.
- In prison?
The Warden married us last summer.
Connect the oxygen.
What are you waiting for?
Bring the oxygen here.
- It's strange.
- What?
How something this small
can turn your life upside down.
Do you know what was the first thing
that crossed my mind
after I split my brother's head open?
'I messed his shirt.
You can't wash blood off.'
'His wedding shirt is ruined forever.'
That was my first thought.
Then someone tried to stop me.
I turned around and swung the Cleaver.
Then everything went dark.
The next day I learned
that I have killed dad.
But I couldn't stop thinking
about the goddamn shirt.
I tried to hang myself...
But the rope snapped.
It's not as easy to die
as it appears.
It's easy.
But you aren't a man
who takes the easy path.
I see him before me...
My brother.
In the middle of the day.
In my cell.
He appears with his chopped head
and his bloody shirt and says:
'You have to wash my shirt, brother.
I can't marry in this shirt.'
But mom and dad don't come to me.
They'll never forgive me
for killing their son.
The bird won't help you
get rid of the nightmares.
It won't help you forget.
I don't want to forget, Bohemy.
I just want to feel human again.
You are human.
There are no humans in prison, Bohemy.
We are all animals.
Nobody cares about us
and we don't care about anybody.
But if we do something good we'll be
human again at least for a while.
Look at them.
I believe this is freedom.
What about you?
Do you have a bird you care about?
I do.
But I have never seen him.
I have a son.
- I write him letters.
- About what?
About who I am, where I am...
The reason I am here.
Shit like that.
But it doesn't mater
because I don't send the letters.
Write to your son
about what you did minutes ago.
I heard what Vekilski said to you.
So you want me to tell him
that he will never see his father?
- Because I helped you save a bird?
- No!
Tell him you acted like a human being.
The bird is here for a reason, Bohemy.
And it's not us saving it.
Be very careful!
The enemy had time to prepare.
They are expecting us.
We are talking about four armed,
well-organized and ruthless murderers.
They won't hesitate to use force.
Your task is to squash immediately
any attempt at aggression
on their part.
If in doubt - shoot!
There are guards in the workshop!
Neutralizing the rioters
will be your first priority.
You'll do it fast
and without any mistakes.
- Everything clear?
- Yes, Captain!
Take your positions.
We'll start with removing the door.
Yes, sir!
Hey, airheads! Give me the torch
before you blow yourselves up.
- What do you need it for?
- To cut the lathe, what else?
What's your angle?
You care about the little bird now?
No. But my whole body hurts.
You wasted half an hour already.
I'll cut it in five minutes
and we'll all go home.
I don't trust the scumbag.
Try it again.
I think we should untie him.
He suffered enough already.
What do we have to lose?
Don't be afraid!
Come on, girl!
Why doesn't she fly away?
- Maybe her wing is broken?
- No. She's afraid.
Come on! You are free.
Maybe she doesn't want to escape.
Her wings are dirty. We need water.
Yes! Give me the can, Krasi.
Take it easy, boss.
I'll open the door. The bird is free.
This bird?
All these years
I was trying to be tolerant.
But today you showed me
that all my efforts were in vain.
Thank you.
Boris Radulov, Serafim Georgiev,
Krasimir Grigorov, Nikola Gyuzelev...
Your death sentences are guaranteed.
On the floor!
- Kovachki...
- You don't need the weapon, Captain.
- We can open the door.
- Do as I say.
Keep an eye on them.
I'll open the door myself.
Cleaver...
Get on the floor.
- Do it! He'll kill you.
- Cleaver...
Get on the floor, man!
I just want the bird to fly away.
Everybody on the floor!
On the floor!
Final warning!
Nikola!
Get down!
Fire!
Bohemy! Bohemy!
Fire!
Fire!
Fire!
Everything is under control,
Comrade Captain.
Lower your weapon.
Nobody got a death sentence.
Kovachki testified that Cleaver lost it
and took everyone else hostage.
The dead Cleaver took all the blame
and we dodged the bullet.
I don't know why Junior helped us.
And I couldn't ask him.
I never saw him again.
I learned that he had quit his job.
Prison isn't for everybody.
Kolyo the Cleaver died
on August 6th 1978
in the 2nd Workshop
of the Kremikovtsi Steel Plant.
He was executed.
The official report stated
that he started a riot, took hostages
and then killed a guard.
Not a word about the bird.
Maybe they were right.
The bird was hard to explain.
I find it hard to explain
even after all those years.
You can find humanity
in the most unexpected places.
For those of us who were there
Cleaver never died.
He flew away with the bird.
And a small part of us
flew away with them.
At the end Cleaver was right.
It wasn't just a bird.
And we didn't save it.
It saved us.
We learned how to be human
and being human is not easy.
Neither in prison nor outside it.
My name is Boris Radulov,
but everybody calls me Bohemy.
And I am your father.
IN MEMORY OF BORIS RADULOV - BOHEMY
film by
Martin Makariev
Alexander Sano
Julian Vergov
Igor Angelov
Hristo Petkov
Bashar Rahal
Hristo Shopov
Ivaylo Hristov
Stoyan Doichev
Vladimir Zombori
written by
Borislav Zahariev
produced by
Alexander Penev
produced by
Martin Makariev
director of photography
Andrey Andreev
film editing by
Nikola Milenov
production designer
Samuil Ganev
music composer
Viktor Stoyanov
costume designer
Vesela Dineva
VFX producer
Jordan Markov