Gogol (2019) s01e05 Episode Script

1
TV 3
TV3 AND
SREDA PRODUCTION COMPANY PRESEN
Previously on GOGOL
This night, throughout Dikanka
and its surroundings,
will fall under a special curfew
due to the current circumstances.
After dark, keep all the girls in sight.
Four feast days, four murders.
9 more may die.
And the last victim will be
Lisa Danishevskaya.
- I love you.
- I love you too.
I haven't had breakfast yet,
and we have another body.
"The Dead Souls society
invites you to the next meeting."
Enjoy yourselves, gentlemen!
Enjoy!
What kind of entertainment?
We organize orgies there.
We'll arrest all of them at once!
One of the members is the horseman!
Oh, hey, Nikifor!
It's been a while.
How are things?
My life is a journey.
Look what Satan, that Serpent, did!
Got his hands on you.
- Yesterday I was in Dikanka.
- So, what happened there?
They say there's a murderer
who kills young girls almost every week!
- He's bumped off 5 so far.
- No way!
Why haven't you caught him?
Because that murderer is a black horseman.
Neither bullets nor knives
will harm this boogeyman.
Holy God!
Well, unharness the horse,
let's get some cabbage soup.
So, how many girls have
been killed by that beast?
Five, I'm telling you.
GOGOL
CHAPTER 5
WELL OF BLOOD
Devised by
ALEXANDER TSEKALO
Screenplay by NATALYA MERKULOVA,
ALEXEY CHUPOV
Directed by EGOR BARANOV
Director of photography
SERGEY TROFIMOV
Stop murdering innocent
souls, you damned beast!
Be gone, unholy boogeyman!
Glory to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
both now and ever,
and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Die by the orthodox sword!
Music by RYAN OTTER
Sound designer MIKHAIL ALEKSEENKOV
Executive producer ALEXANDRA REMIZOVA
TV3 Executive producers
OLGA KURENKOVA, IVAN GOLOMOVZYUK
What are you doing here?
Produced by VALERY FEDOROVICH et Al.
Who gave you permission to poke
your nose into my work?
Sir, when I was tidying up,
I came across your writing
and curiosity got the best of me.
- Get the hell out of here!
- Get out of here
Wait.
What do you want, sir?
So did you like
what you read?
YAN TSAPNIK
- I must go, sir.
- Wait.
EVGENY SYTYI
Take a seat.
SERGEY BADYUK
ARTEM TKACHENKO
Sir.
I'm not saying it in anger,
BASED ON THE WORKS OF NIKOLAI GOGOL
but I think you write
some nonsense, indeed.
Why nonsense?
You know, when you hear a fairy tale,
you are absolutely sure it's crap.
But you take it all in, gaping,
and it seems like it's all true.
But yours is different.
- What is mine then?
- Yours
Well Why
- Why does Vakula speak in such a way?
- Which way?
Well, too pompously, like a drunk bishop.
Vakula is of a taciturn disposition.
But in your book, Vakula seems to talk
like somebody hit him on the head,
so he talks nonsense.
Has Vakula ever seen the horseman?
He hasn't, but if they come face to face
with each other, he'll shit bricks
without uttering a word.
- It's artistic fiction.
- That's the point, fiction.
You live among people and
always fence yourself off them.
Do you know what they call you here?
- What?
- St. Petersburg snotnose.
That's because you can't accept
the local people open-heartedly.
They smell disrespect at 40 paces.
So what shall I do?
Nothing. It's simple, really.
Ask one how their little kids are,
say Godspeed to another.
Chat with them, and they'll tell you so
many tales that you'll write 10 books!
I must go, sir.
Don't burn this writing yet.
God forbid you start a fire.
Sir, there's a message
from Mr. Danishevsky.
Did something burn in here?
Yakim, go.
- Sir, you're acting like a baby.
- Go, go!
Lisa.
- I need to talk to you.
- Let's not.
Listen
It can't go on this way.
For me, it's unbearable to think
that you don't belong to me.
I don't belong to Alexey.
I told you there's been
nothing going on between us.
Then what makes you stay with this person?
Do you want me to talk to him?
Absolutely not.
He'll challenge you to a duel.
I'm ready for a duel.
You're so naive.
Alexey is the best shot here.
He'll kill you before you can blink.
How would I live with myself?
Let's leave it as it is.
I love you.
And I'm happy.
Nothing else matters.
Father, I have sinned.
I have sinned, and this is the root
of all my troubles.
Your sin is drawing idly.
The charitable deed is to paint churches.
And drawing for nothing is evil.
I grant you remission of sins, stand up.
Wait, Vakula.
During every confession,
you mention some "troubles."
I don't want to bother you
with my troubles, Father.
Come on, son, confide them to me.
Purify your soul.
No, Father.
Not today.
Another time.
Mr. Investigator!
Don't just stand there,
take everything you need.
And for me, too! And me!
Doctor, starting a new life?
Don't be smart, will you?
That's all! I've beaten
the green snake for good.
It's high time, Mr. Bomgart.
Mr. Gogol, it's my professional decision.
Helping the living, you know.
I'll bet 1 ruble that the doctor
won't stay sober for a day.
Why don't you believe in people?
I know them well enough.
They don't change.
And I do believe in the good doctor.
I bet he can do it.
Yakim!
Yakim, where are you? Yakim!
Sir, it's on your conscience
to yell so loudly!
Come here.
You leave me no privacy!
- Did you take papers from my room?
- God forbid, why do I need them?
Did anybody enter the room?
Damned if I know.
You know
I was a bit busy.
So, I'll call the police, and
you stand at the doorway
and don't let anyone out
until I'm back, got it?
Don't worry, sir.
Not even a fly will get past me!
Pull up your pants, "guard."
Anything valuable missing?
Hey!
No, all the things are there
except for important papers.
No big deal.
Or was it something compromising?
No, just some notes for the investigation.
It's so careless of you
to keep them there.
He won't let us out!
- Don't move!
- Shut up, everybody!
I didn't let anyone out as ordered!
Well done, Yakim, you held the fort well.
We'll search all the rooms.
The keys!
Of course
Search here for now.
It's the police!
These are my notes.
Mr. Binkh, are you OK?
Yes.
What a sly devil!
Where did you get that?
In the cellar.
Papa, can you draw me?
Don't even ask me.
But why?
It's all evil.
Remove your rag.
Was it apple vodka?
No, it was pear
I didn't drink, just washed the tooth.
OK, my good man, now take a deep breath
- OK.
- And hold it.
Hold your breath!
Would you open your mouth?
I can't work like this!
I'm all dizzy from your booze breath!
But I can't hold my breath for good.
Hell with you, breathe.
- You have no teeth.
- What?
None.
- Mr. Gogol.
- Vakula.
Do you think you can copy
the drawings from memory?
At least the portraits of the girls.
With all due respect to you,
don't take it amiss, but I won't draw.
- Why?
- It's a sin.
A sin? If you have talent,
you must serve with it.
And you definitely have talent!
It's a gift from God.
A gift from God?
First I met a demon,
and then I started to draw.
He left me this hobby
as a souvenir of him.
A demon?
You don't believe me either.
I'd better go.
Wait, Vakula, tell me about that.
I'd really like to know.
I will believe you.
Once, I was in love with the most
beautiful girl in the village.
So, I took heart and decided
to propose to Alena.
She blew me off at once.
"You're no match for me," she said.
"My dress is made of red silk.
And what about you?"
Then pride surged up
in me and I promised
to bring her such shoes that
no lady had ever worn.
And she said she wanted the shoes
of Her Majesty the Empress.
"If you bring them, I'll marry you."
I was desperate.
Not in a million years could I do it.
It all happened on Christmas Eve.
I met a demon.
- How?
- He was sitting on the fence.
He was so small
with his hoofs, horns, and
tail, which I caught him by.
I was holding him down and said:
"I'll make you lose your taste
for tempting orthodox souls into sin!"
So, he begged: "Vakula, don't
torture me with your scary cross.
I'll do anything for you."
So, the demon helped me to get the shoes.
I brought them to Alena, but
she waved them aside and said:
"Vakula, silly man,
I would've married you anyway."
We got married in the spring.
Since then, I've been drawing.
What a fascinating story.
First, our life was like a dream,
I couldn't believe it.
A year later, she gave birth to Vasilina.
And then she ran away.
Why?
Vasilina was born with a flaw.
And Alena couldn't stand it.
What kind of flaw?
She has a tail,
like a witch.
It's the recompense for my sins.
Perhaps, it has nothing
to do with evil forces.
Why don't you ask our Dr. Bomgart
to examine Vasilina?
I think he'll find a scientific
explanation for this.
He'll be able to help.
- Dr. Bomgart?
- Yes.
So, what happened?
I got something in my eye and
I can't seem to remove it.
Yeah, right.
Damn it!
Damn you, you poked me in my good eye!
Good afternoon, doctor.
I've brought you a message from Mr. Gogol.
I don't get it.
What tail?
Don't tickle me!
Well, doctor?
Vakula, it's not about devilry.
Really?
I, for one, am certain that all
our remote ancestors had tails.
Then they turned into tailbones.
But even now, people are born
with tails, though it happens rarely.
I saw with my own eyes a baby
with a tail in Kunstkamera in Europe.
God forbid, can you help Vasilina somehow?
Go play for a bit.
Look! Finders keepers!
Hey, give Marushka back!
- Stop! Give her back now!
- No!
Give her back! Give her to me!
- Give her to me!
- No, no, you won't get it!
Mikula, I'm out of here!
We don't need your doll.
Get out of here!
Since the tail is an
independent appendage
and not part of the spine,
it's possible to remove it.
- I'll find Vasilina!
- Vakula, sorry.
I've never conducted such surgeries.
And I can't experiment
in my current condition.
Mr. Gogol said you'd help.
Papa, there's a mean old Cossack
in the shed! He has your drawing.
What drawing?
A man with horns.
Where's the shed?
Chernozub!
When I was young, he was
the head of the village.
He maintained order.
Then he was said to have gone nuts.
So, he was taken to the asylum.
Thanks for the interesting story, Vakula.
You can go.
So, pops, was it so bad in the asylum
that you stole papers and
ran from the police?
It's the horseman.
Can't you see that he needs a doctor?
No
He needs a doctor!
Well, I shouldn't have agreed with you
to bring him back to the hotel.
The doctor could've
examined him at the precinct.
What if he escapes?
No.
He's a former official, Tesak's with him.
He's suspicious and, moreover,
he escaped from the asylum.
If the medical examination shows
that his health is satisfactory,
I'll put him in the ward.
By the way, the day's almost over,
and the doctor is still sober.
So, you owe me a ruble.
Oh, yes, of course.
Here you are.
But I still believe that
people don't change.
How is he, doctor?
Christina, vodka!
Your Chernozub's in rough shape.
It's consumption,
well aggravated by running.
Thanks.
I give him a week at most.
He must stay in bed,
I gave him some herbal tea.
Doctor, you're drinking!
It's my professional decision.
Otherwise, I can't treat people.
It's necessary.
Mr. Gogol, give me my ruble.
And you owe me another one.
Vakula.
I'll operate.
About 30 years ago, I would keep
a firm hand on all of them here.
There was no crime, murder, theft,
before that damned horseman popped up
to slaughter all the girls.
So, what did you do?
I asked Poltava for more troops.
I wrote a letter saying I was going
to catch that devilish horseman.
They considered me mad
and took me to the asylum.
Over all these years,
I was nurturing the idea
of catching that evil horseman.
Suddenly, I heard that he's back again.
Please, hold no grudge
against me, an old Cossack.
When I heard you were investigating,
I thought
your notes would help
me find the murderer.
You've kept us on the hop!
God forbid, you were going to catch
a dangerous criminal in your condition!
Tomorrow morning, you'll be
taken back to the asylum.
Relax, you served the state enough.
We'll catch the horseman ourselves.
- Mr. Gogol.
- Wait!
How do you always know when
another murder will take place?
I have visions.
A sort of theomancy.
They let me know some details.
I see.
I want to sleep.
Get some rest.
And will you remove Marushka's tail?
Dear, nobody's going to hurt your doll.
Well, now
Take a deep breath and repeat after me.
- One.
- One.
- Two.
- Two.
- Three.
- Three.
- Four.
- Four
- Five.
- Five
Six.
Vakula, do you have any vodka?
Yes.
Give it to me.
"Have mercy upon me, Vakula!" groaned
the demon in a lamentable voice,
"I'll grant you any wish you want!"
You're writing about a demon?
No, just some scribbles.
You won't hide your writing from Lisa!
And who's Oksana?
Just a miller's daughter.
You won't notice if you offend her.
Look what I wrote.
The beauty's name who Vakula
fell in love with was Alena.
And I called her Oksana in my story.
- Oh, really?
- Yes.
- You really named her that?
- Yes.
After me?
Don't do that.
I just can't help it.
And what's this?
- Where?
- Here.
I had a vision of a well.
I have no idea why.
Could it be the Well of Blood?
The Well of Blood?
What can you see?
- Mr. Gogol!
- What happened?
That damned old rascal called me, hissed
something like he was dying, I came closer
to his face to make out
what he was saying, and
he hit me on the head with the jar!
When I came round, neither my rifle
nor the old man was nearby.
Just a drawing.
What drawing?
The drawing
Stop!
What happened?
Nothing, don't worry.
It's fine.
My wife's disappeared, and you're
sitting here as if nothing happened!
Cossacks are searching the woods.
I just got back from there myself.
Mr. Danishevsky, calm down.
Calm down?! A girl is
slaughtered here every week!
And you haven't found the criminal yet!
Police? More like toy soldiers.
Mind your language, sir!
If something happens
to Lisa, rest assured,
I'll pull a few strings in St. Petersburg.
Where's the Well of Blood?
The Well of Blood
What's that?
- It's a long story.
- Another vision?
Yes.
When I was small, my Granny told
me about the Well of Blood.
- Where is it?
- God only knows.
Perhaps, it doesn't exist at all.
It's just Granny's stories.
Mr. Gogol!
Oksana!
Oksana!
Oksana!
Why are you here?
I need your help.
Ask Lisa for help.
Lisa's in danger!
I don't care.
Do you know where the Well of Blood is?
What are you possessed by again?
It's a dangerous place.
Tell me where it is!
The well is cursed.
People used to go there
to take their own life.
Don't go there, don't push your luck.
But Lisa is there! We must save her!
We?
Now I see that you spit upon my feelings!
Otherwise, you wouldn't
dare ask me about this.
Oksana, please, tell me
where I can find this well!
I can't believe you have no heart!
I have a heart.
But you spit upon it.
Fine.
I'll tell you but I won't help you.
- Well, doctor?
- It went well.
She'll live on without her tail.
- How much do I owe you?
- I won't take anything.
Vakula, can I take the vodka? Do you mind?
Thanks, doctor!
I'll pray for you, doctor!
Our witch isn't that simple,
she can live without her tail.
I knew you'd come here.
- Where is Lisa?
- Not too far. Look!
No sudden moves.
Lisa!
Mr. Gogol! You've come!
Don't worry, I'll save you!
Before you save her, I'll hit the girder,
the weight will fall,
tightening the noose,
and your girl will hang
with her neck broken.
Freeze! It has a silver bullet!
Why silver?
It's the only thing that
can hurt you, horseman!
What makes you think
that I'm the horseman?
Thank God I haven't gone nuts yet.
Your papers opened my eyes to many things.
You were so nervous when you lost them!
Murderer, confess
to killing the famous investigator
from St. Petersburg, Mr. Guro!
You killed him because he learned
the secret of your birth!
I didn't kill Mr. Guro!
Why would I want to?
How do you know when
the murders will take place?
Hold on.
I explained it to you.
Do you think I'm a fool?
You know what?
I don't believe in your visions one bit.
To be honest, I didn't
realize who you were right away.
Not right away.
You were pretending to be
an inexperienced investigator.
What a wonderful disguise
for the murderous horseman!
You can kill me,
but let Lisa go.
Why should I kill you?
I need you for something else.
You!
When I look at you, I don't have the
faintest idea why he likes you so much.
He wouldn't risk his life for me.
I feel that my death is at the doorstep,
getting her hands on me.
You need a doctor.
I've already found one.
Your magic's going to cure my consumption.
And then I'll let your lady out.
Well?
Will you cure me, limb of Satan?
OK.
Fine.
I am the horseman.
You're right.
But I don't need you, I need Lisa.
I can make you live forever.
Forever?
Yes, forever.
But I need something for this ritual.
What? Tell me what you need.
Nothing but a handful of this cursed soil.
Damn demon. Well, take as much
as you want and begin!
- What are you doing?
- Saving you, fool.
I'm doing it for him, not for you.
- Don't touch me!
- Don't be a fool!
Leave me alone!
You're such a fool!
I'll drag you underwater,
you'll come up in the river.
Lisa!
Well, horseman, take your silver bullet!
Did you lie to me, you son of a bitch?
That's right, come here!
GOGOL