Larisa Page #2

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To declare them is one thing.

But how can one live so each day?

Every day, every

second prompts us

to a practical necessity

to make a compromise,

to maneuver, keep silent sometimes,

make a concession,

in the hope of making up for it later.

It seems to be

what's called life flexibility.

It demands, it forces us.

It's not only us who do it, actually.

But it turns out

that if we think

we can be cunning just for 5 seconds

but make up for it later,

in art, it brings punishment,

a most cruel

and irreversible punishment.

You can't make a film

today just for money.

Well, I'll make

this passing movie,

I'll give in here,

I'll say what they want there,

I'll try to please them here

and avoid saying it there,

here I'll tell only a half-truth,

there I'll hush it up altogether,

but in my next film

I'll make up for it,

I'll tell everything I want,

in full measure,

as a creative person should,

as an artist, as a citizen,

I'll tell it all.

It's a lie.

It's impossible.

It's hopeless to deceive

yourself by this illusion.

If you stumbled once,

you'll never get back

on the path of truth,

you'll forget the way there.

You can't step twice

into the same river.

Larissa was born

just before the war

and, with her family, had gone through

all the hardships of the time -

air raids, hunger,

work unfit for a child.

Those impressions can never be

forgotten, they're burning you

and remain with you forever.

I think it was then

that an invisible bud sprouted,

the bud of the future work

that came many years later,

the ultimate achievement

of the director Larissa Shepitko,

her film "Ascent".

If your life had been enriched

with care for another person,

then you have already

justified your existence.

This is evidence

of the spiritual life of a person.

These riches belong not to you

personally, but to the public,

if you live by the life of other people.

There're things

that are sacred to all of us.

There're well-defined

notions of good and evil,

of our morals.

There're such everlasting qualities

as love for your homeland.

What is this?

What are we born

into this world for?

What will we contribute to this world?

How can we make life better?

In the final analysis,

my possibilities as a person.

Your possibilities.

You're watching the very last

shot made by Larissa.

An eternal tree,

the symbol of indestructibility

and dignity,

the symbol of faith

in the endless continuation

of what we call "life".

Working on the film:

E. Klimov

Yu. Skhirtladze

A. Rodionov

V. Petrov

A. Schnittke

E. Klass

B. Vengerovsky

et al.

Commenting on Larissa Shepitko:

film director

E. Klimov

author

V. Rasputin

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