There were five of us
Hello, my name is Petr Bajza. I start the 4th grade after the summer.
This is my brother Lado.
He is a teaching assistant in Teplice where he helps in a German class.
My best friends are: Antonin Bejval, Cenek Jirak,
Edo Kemlink and Pepek Zilvar from the workhouse.
We boys, as we walk together through life, experience all kinds of adventures.
Part One A good school report
It's the midday train. It's brought our shipment.
Oto, Oto.
How are you?
Silence! Silence!
This is not a zoo, but a school.
Hold it.
Show me your hands.
This is Mr Fajst, who's retired.
These nails need cutting.
He was the union treasurer.
Now he has nothing to do, but interfere.
Filthy. Don't you know how to wash?
- Don't you know how to salute? - "Pralojist".
Jacob!
- Let go. - You let go. - You let go.
Do you want to hear a story?
Giddy up! Giddy up!
Hello, Doctor.
No, my boy. It'll take just as long.
Evi! Jump on!
I can't.
- Women, they're useless. - You're the one know's useless.
Petr, has this really come all the way from Calcutta?
It's come from the colonies, not from somewhere inferior.
Top quality.
- Edo, be careful, don't fall! - Dad, I'm be home later for lunch.
- OK? - What? Yes.
We're bringing our oriental goods!
Dad, let me have a little, I'm as thirsty as an old soldier.
Yeah, yeah.
Ahhh!
It's nothing. It's just the doctor.
Exotic spices, exotic fruits, oranges, figs!
Mr Svoboda, vanilla, chocolate, cocoa. Nothing but the good stuff.
Petr, look where you're going.
Bananas!
Careful, boys.
Boys, be particularly careful.
Guys, don't lean on the crate. When it opens, it will knock your teeth out.
Wow.
What are the books?
That is something.
- Is it a picture of a lion on the back? - Or an African beast?
This is good.
A pretty lioness.
No, no, no, no, no.
Mummy, come and look.
- This is it, yes? - Yes.
Well, I never.
I'd have had coffee with that.
So much stuff. Is it spoiled?
- Spoiled? - It's all messed up. Who'll buy it?
- Everyone will buy. - Nobody buys oranges in the summer.
I know what I'm doing, Mummy.
The soup is excellent today.
You don't need pepper.
Just try it and you'll get one!
What will you do with the oranges? They won't last until Christmas.
Don't worry, the day after tomorrow, I'll sell them at the market in Myte.
Stop it, or you'll get spots.
When I married you, you had a neck full of spots.
It wasn't pepper,
but it was the reason I got married.
Well, then...
- No drinks for you. - It's very hot.
Christine!
- Here, have a snack. - Thank you, ma'am.
The young lord drinks? Go get some more water to replace what you drink.
From now on I'm calling you Rampepurda Rampepurdacka.
Dad, will you take me with you to Toll tomorrow?
It depends on your school report tomorrow.
After you go to school, we'll go to the market.
- Here, take this. - Thank you.
Get through the ice. If you don't get conditioned, you'll just fail.
- Where are you going? - To practice my violin.
Remember, no shenanigans.
If I hear anything, remember you're after a trip tomorrow.
What are you still threatening him for? What could he do?
I'm just making sure.
Good day.
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who are you? What do you want?
We're not beggars, but our village burned down.
Help us.
We're from Kysuce.
Have pity.
God be with you.
And we sign here.
Poor people, you had to give them 10 crowns.
I gave them 5 crowns.
- Where are you going? - I'm just...
Where abouts? To see her friend, right?
Thank you, ma'am.
Christine, be back for dinner.
What kind of friend? She shouldn't have to go out.
Good day.
- So this is what was in the shipment? - The best specialities.
The red glow of the fire... (Singing)
Allah be with you, Sahib.
Bless you, boys.
- What are you doing, boys? - We're going on a hunt in the jungle.
- Is that Ed's dog? - This is the tiger we'll be hunting.
Cenku, you didn't eat anything again.
- I'm no goose for fattening. - You're too skinny.
At least have some bread.
Boys, go out and hunt. I have a lot of work today.
Pajdo, stop it.
Just look at that dog.
Cut it out.
That dog's making me crazy.
Let go!
Excuse me, we're from Kysuce. Our whole village burned down.
We're looking for a new one.
- Have pity on us. - What? Why did you say that?
You forgot to say "have pity on us".
- Who told you about the smoke? - That we don't know.
- Don't you have a church? - Do you think I'm in the choir?
- I'm in the fire department. - Would you like some slejsky?
- And what is that? - This is it.
- You eat it all if you want. - Any that's left we'll fed the geese.
- I've just come up with an invention. - What?
Come and see.
- An incendiary device for the village. - That doesn't sound like a great idea.
Imagine a fire jumping from house to house.
The Slovaks crawl out of bed and say: "What's going on?"
They shove each other out the way to see the fire blazing.
- Won't it be reported? - There aren't always firefighters.
- That's precisely the problem. - This is a better game than hunting.
Arson wouldn't be a nice sin to have to confess to.
- Gentlemen. - What would we do for houses?
Gentlemen.
I'd like to find some houses, but no one would be allowed to squeal.
Are you accusing me? I don't care. I don't want to set fire to anything.
You'll be caught.
- What should I do, Tondo? - Just be careful, leave it to us.
Such a box would suit us. Do you think your uncle would give it to us?
- You can ask him. - I don't hold out much hope.
- He won't give them to us? - No.
- But we need it. - If he sees me, I'm not going to Toll.
Come on. Come!
Mano, go take charge of the store.
It's hard, you only gave me leftovers.
But you're both with me.
I have a name, but no one cares.
Hold my violin.
You don't give me enough to eat.
I won't be able to sleep tonight.
Damn that old man,
he is 200 years old,
and sneezes like an old soldier.
I threw out all the clothes. This is the last one.
You're a great guy, Petr.
- Where did you get these? - Don't touch them.
I told you not to walk with us.
Boys, what do you have there? Boys, what do you have there?
Where are you going?
To burn down the whole village.
- Even the school. - And the poorhouse? The workhouse?
- Every village should have a church. - And a fire department, of course.
- I'm sick of your stubborness. - I said it first, so shut up.
If it wasn't for confession, I'd break your nose.
And if fish didn't fuck, there wouldn't be ponds.
You know what? I'm like the mayor, and I order you to stop.
- Who's got the matches? - Who needs matches?
- What's that? - My invention.
This invention will bring me lots of money.
- And what do I do? - You're the municipal servant.
Me? A servant?
When it burns, shout out "Fire"!
But extinguish it before it gets out of hand.
Sure. Let's get started.
- Good day, Mr wholesaler. - Good day, Mr treasurer.
It's hot, isn't it?
- I ended up here somehow... - Sure, sure.
- You here for milk? - From the goat. That's the healthiest.
- Ah. - Oh.
- You also ended up here somehow... - I'm just here to...
- My compliments. - Thank you.
- Then to bed. - I'm going to call.
The clock strikes twelve, praise to the Father and Son.
Lord, not Son. Listen: The clock strikes twelve...
I think I'll strike you.
Fire! Fire!
Louder!
Fire! Fire! Fire!
Neighbours, wake up! My barn's on fire.
Where did you put the water?
- The neighbours call the fire service. - The army.
Mum, come on, fire! Pass me my trousers. Children, find my helmet.
- What are you doing? - What my dad does when there's an alarm.
The last barn caught fire... (Singing)
That kind of confession is not for the priest.
- Hey, the butcher's on fire. - Is it burning too quickly?
- Then put it out, right? - Remove those boxes.
It's burning a lot.
And it shouldn't smoke.
Get the water!
My trousers!
Get away from there!
Move away!
- Let's go! - They retreat to prepared positions.
They're leaving!
Come on!
Do you think they saw us?
From that distance they couldn't tell.
- What are you doing here? - Nothing.
Ow.
And hey, a sailor boy. Where's your guardian angel?
It's over there in the bushes.
I'm going home.
Watch me jump.
Don't be silly, you'll land on the roots.
Don't be a show off.
Watch out! On your marks! Get set!
Go!
Where is he?
Hey!
- Why did you make the sign of the cross? - So my guardian angel will protect me.
- That's a mortal sin. - Why?
It's arrogant to rely on the grace of God.
I didn't sin, because we haven't learnt about religion.
We learnt about it last Wednesday.
- You do have sins. - I don't, I was absent on Wednesday.
So I have sinned through ignorance.
That is a venial sin.
That's not true.
If it were they could make excuses for the Gentiles who don't believe.
But the Lord God will not spare them and He will send them to hell.
Hell sure would be crowded.
Very true.
Oto! Oto! Hello!
Where are you?
- Has anyone seen him? - No.
- Help, Honza! Honza! Oto... - What is it?
- Oto. - He can't swim?
Look for him more to the left.
Out of the way!
Holy Maria, give us a miracle.
Oto! Mon dieu!
Come and help me.
Oto, wake up.
- You nearly killed him. - Us? You were watching him.
- Make yourself useful, get a broom. - A broom?
Help!
Honza.
This is stupid.
He's probably still looking for him.
Honza! Honza!
He's waking up.
Buddy, can you hear me?
Honza, while you were talking with me, Oto nearly drowned.
So then? Hippo, what was it like?
Highly thrilling.
I crept cautiously towards the Front. I was camouflaged.
And suddenly, I was surprised by the backup Fajst.
If you keep talking like that, you'll be the laughing stock for the whole town.
I did it, not like that. I was inconspicuous.
You know, sometimes I think you'd rather not come back to me from the war alive.
A girl goes with God knows whom, and I'm ultimately the bad guy.
Milord returns home. Welcome back, sir.
Good day.
- Dinner's in the kitchen. - Thank you.
Be glad we have boys.
You don't understand a girl's soul.
But I do understand the male mind. I wouldn't let it go anywhere.
You can't keep an eye on everything.
The father is away, and the Lord God of Everything is not enough.
Her dad told me,
"Bajza, I trust you, otherwise I wouldn't let her go into the city."
I have a great responsibility. Great!
But as I then look in front of people.
Was your friend at home?
Good evening.
- Do you need anything else? - No, just take care of Petr.
Tomorrow we have a lot of laundry.
No I don't know, I poured something there, of what?
- Is there still anything there? - Something, anything. This is Shell.
- If only I knew what is expected. - Just don't spoil the oranges.
Don't worry, it will be my crowning glory as a businessman.
Hey, did you happen to go swimming?
Christine, can you keep a secret? Swear.
I swear.
- He's a jerk. - Who?
Otakarek. Cenek had to pray for a miracle otherwise he would have drowned.
Really?
His father can't find out or he'll accuse ours.
- And his nanny would be fired. - Governess, she's his governess.
It is possible. It's weird to talk about.
- She wasn't watching him? - She'd glanced away just for a second.
And Cenek prayed so hard that Honza Pivoda came out of the bushes.
- Honza? The soda maker from Habrove? - Yes.
What was he doing there?
I don't know. Maybe he nipped to the loo.
Yes, nipped. That's it.
And then he started to drown.
- No! - Don't worry, Pepek Zilvar saved him.
So.
What is it? Don't cry.
- But Pepek saved him. - I don't care.
Christine! It must remain a secret.
Keep still.
School report, school report. It's going to be a good day.
Just like that. When you flunk, there will be no trip.
You flunk, Rampepurda Rampepurdacka.
Christine, you're worse than the child.
- He started it. - Don't call me a child.
Go get your violin and give it a clean.
It's a fiddle!
Quickly, and don't make us late.
- And where's your fiddle? We have to go. - It doesn't like to bathe.
- It makes it squeak. - What?
- Squeak. - Petr.
Now you can represent the Bajza company.
Thank you.
When I got the boxes, I gave you the violin to watch.
Yes. I left it there.
Is everyone back again!
Such disrespect!
- What are you wearing? - Dad gave it to me.
It's a bit big.
Pepo, here's your hat.
- Mareno, say "R". - I won't say it.
Guys, the cops are coming.
- What? - The fire is still burning.
Hey.
Come on, act normal.
- I got 10 Hail Marys. - Quiet!
It was the first time the reverend had heard such sins in his whole life.
I confessed to being involved in a fire, which burned down 10 houses.
Let us pray.
This is St John, a powerful advocate.
What a betrayal.
What if the priest tells on us?
He can't, it would be a violation of the sanctity of confession.
- Praise be to Jesus Christ. - Forever.
I will pray immediately, parson. "Pralojist."
- Since when did you know Latin? - Do you mean "Pralojist"?
It's a short hand. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is one of you finally going to tell me the truth?
Please, we were just playing. Weren't we?
And who started the fire?
The hay caught from sparks from the locomotives.
- It's happened before. - Ask the firefighters.
- Is that so? - Yes.
- Then why did you run away? - Those people were threatening us.
And unjustly accusing us.
Sit down.
He believed us!
- Children, holidays are upon us. - Hooray!
That does not mean that you can behave like thugs.
Help your parents, chop wood and eat unripe fruit...
He's been talking for almost a minute.
Let's act like true sons of their homeland.
- It has 17 stones. - Then show me.
You can't.
Swap piece for piece.
Like this thief.
- Petr Bajza. - Here.
Is eligible to advance to the fourth grade.
Cenek Jirsak.
I only got two twos. And I improved a number.
I was glad that my father will be happy as it is simple arithmetic with him.
I'm looking forward to going to the market at Toll with him tomorrow.
Maybe even get long trousers, like Zilvar, who flunked again.
- Such a school report you got. - Whatever.
Bye.
Edo! Edo!
No! Dad! No!
And you too!
This is the last straw you reprobate.
You traitor Kostelnick.
But the priest cannot denounce us.
If you don't confess, you can't be denounced.
I'll have to talk to Cendou about death.
Bajza, Bejval, Zilvar and Jirsak, you'll grow up to be criminals.
Good day.
Hold this.
You can't see it.
- So you like that! - No, Dad!
Ow!
- I'll be good! - You scoundrel!
You'll be there until you're hungry!
- Good day. - Take it into the backyard.
Yeah, yeah.
With their arms around each other... (singing)
- You don't say hello? - God-speed.
Now we will see each other more often, I gave Mr Bajza a discount.
Because of the harm you've caused me.
Why were you not at the chapel yesterday?
Me? Like you were at French lessons?
But... If you think that...
That and more.
Do you believe everything the kid tells you?
Yes, the language is spoken and water flows.
What are you doing?
Good day.
- Were you successful? Did he fail you? - As it happens...
So you'll misbehave?
- Where is your violin? - Here.
Yes? Let's see.
So this is the violin?
- I hid it with you. - Yes?
That you robbed me, well. But what is this?
My shop! You burned my trade!
Whose idea was it? No? Who put you up to it?
- No one. - No one.
But I got a better number on my school report.
Put it away!
Put it away, that is an official document.
Give it to me, or it will be worse
No, ow! No, no! No!
That's for lying, for stealing, for raking over hell.
The rough sack has rough patches!
The more rye chips, the more grain is poured.
The branch must bend while it is young.
Vendeline!
Vendeline, cut it out!
He certainly wasn't thinking with his head.
Shame is the wound that fits next.
Knock, and you will be bruised!
What did you say?
Proverbs, from the Bible. It really suits you.
I'm giving it back.
It is also lagging behind.
Why do you think that?
He didn't want to tell you you're late?
You're a bully! Why did you have to beat him?
Go on, go on. Just defend him! Arsonist.
Good day.
I'd like a bottle of kerosene and a box of matches.
- Trumps. - This is mine. Here we go.
You're causing an obstruction.
Guests are tripping over you. Go home and sleep.
- Where? - Home.
On your feet! Forward march!
A box of matches, please.
You are a bad example to your son!
But here you're rolling like a pig!
With respect.
You're destined for the gallows.
Mr Fajst had a dog sausage, and then bought horse meat for his family.
I'm surprised you do it for a living. Not many can make enough money.
Now for a ride to the market.
Ow!
- What is it? - I stepped on something.
Hey, look!
What, don't you have mice in your barn?
Ugh, take it away!
So you haven't had enough?
No trip for you tomorrow!
And the end of your degenerate behaviour.
It is just unfair.
If I hadn't studied and had failed, it would have been just the same.
Subtitles: Quantum September 2014