Live and Remember

(http://www.irk.ru/afisha/news/20120315/vision/)
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We follow in our judgements a code set by the community. But, beyond any allegiances, each of us is a unique human being. Our life has a purpose of its own. Is it about community? No, it goes beyond, toward ourselves: finding our way, understanding our fate.

A peasant was taken to the war from the very beginning and he realized that the chances to remain alive were very small. He understood that this was his fate, and he fought together with his comrades against the enemy. After several years the war was coming to its end. Now the chances of survival were high, while the possibility to be killed remained real, either: after all, a bullet could have found its way even in the last minute of war. What had been just matter of normalcy for all those years, would  have been now just stupid bad luck.

The man got wounded and he was sent to the military hospital. It seemed that the medical commission would let him home. Surprisingly they decided in the last day to send him back to the front.

He went to the station to take the train to his military unit. What if taking the train home firstly, and then go back to the front? Probably two days more, they would probably not observe the delay. Or would they? He let the first train go, to the front, also the second train, home. He just remained on the platform, undecided. Hours passed, then a day, then more. As time was flowing, the liberty of choice was vanishing. After several days it was already too late: going back to his regiment meant facing the court martial. Eventually he took the train home: now he was a deserter and had to hide from the other villagers.

He let only his wife know about him. She took it as her fate. They shared everything: their life, their joys and sorrows, their guilt. She started to help him secretly, going during the nights to the island where he had his hide-out.

The wife got pregnant. For him it meant all this happened to follow a purpose. A kid would continue them. For her it was more complicated. First hand how to present the thing to the other villagers? She pretended she had cheated her man. Everybody blamed her, except for her father-in-law. He told her, I know you very well, you are not one of those cheating their husbands. You must tell me at least if he's alive! She denied of knowing anything. The old man cursed her, she remained mute, stubbornly.

Live and Remember (Живи и помни), the book of Valentin Rasputin: the title calls in mind the deep meaning of remembrance: time getting irrelevant, moment getting timeless. Dissolution of past, present and future, irrelevance of anything but life: live and take care on what you observe.

Published on 1974, the book was immediately hailed as a superb - if atypical - example of war literature... a masterly psychological portrait of two characters caught in a hopeless situation... a very Russian story (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/711258.Live_and_Remember).

I read the book in a Romanian translation, sometime at the beginning of the 1980's, and it produced a profound impression on me. And then, during the years that followed, it came to my mind many times: the tragic story of Andrei and Nastyona, and its subtle meaning. And the paradoxical way of putting the problem.

A movie was made based on this book, in 2008. Director Aleksandr Proshkin looked for slightly different accents. The man is a deserter and  lives hidden on an island nearby the village, this comes in the movie matter of factly, the whole chain of events leading to this is just assumed, and the subtle motivation discussed in the book is no more. Instead, the movie is interested in the man's decay down to wilderness, masterfully caught: the naturalness of the way images of lonely wolf and lonely man are juxtaposed is a superb example of using the Eisensteinian lesson on intellectual montage. Another great achievement of the movie is the way the woman is presented: simultaneously living in two contradictory worlds, participant at the village life while secretly helping her husband, perfectly credible in both hypostases. The movie has also a slightly different ending: after many years the husband (that somehow survived) comes again, to find his village vanished - only deserted homes in full decay. I think it is an accolade to the whole creation of Rasputin, so focused on the tragedy of traditional life destruction.

And over all this, the river, Angara, in all its greatness, as an image of Cosmos, supporting all these opposites, witnessing everything, understanding all, and giving an unexpected sense to all that happens. People and communities come and go, the same is with the good and with the bad, with times of happiness and tragedy - the river has always been there and will remain there for ever, frozen in winter, relinquishing its banks of ice during spring thaw, flowing with majesty in summer and autumn, and maybe telling us that none of our stories are that important.

Живи и помни (2008)
(video by gounderup)

(Valentin Rasputin)

(Russian and Soviet Cinema)

Valentin Rasputin

Valentin Rasputin
source: Александр Стручков
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD.jpg)
no copyright infringement intended

I met firstly with the books of Valentin Rasputin by the end of the 1970's. They made an extraordinary impression on me. It was my first contact with the Siberian writers, the village prose movement. I remained through the years an admirer of Rasputin's works. His heroes are Siberian peasants, facing complex ethical and spiritual challenges.

• Doua romane de Valentin Rasputin
• Live and Remember

(Жизнь в Kнигах)

Doua romane de Valentin Rasputin

Judecam oamenii si faptele lor dupa un cod stabilit de cetate. Civilizatia noastra este o civilizatie a cetatii, participam la istorie si ne integram in istorie, iar valorile noastre sunt valorile statornicite de istorie.

Este peste tot asa? S-a afirmat ca o deosebire esentiala intre catolicism si ortodoxie este viziunea asupra divinitatii - viziunea catolica este istorica,viziunea ortodoxa este cosmica.

Omul trebuie sa se raporteze la istorie, sau la cosmos? Daca se raporteaza la istorie, el este in primul rand membru al cetatii. Este participant la istorie. Dar daca se raporteaza la cosmos? Atunci incearca sa participe la ritmurile cosmosului. Poate ca atunci este in primul rand om.

Incorporat la inceputul razboiului, un taran a inteles ca sanse de a scapa cu viata sunt mici. A inteles ca asta era soarta lui, si ... a luptat. A fost si decorat de vreo doua ori. Si anii au trecut, iar razboiul se apropia de sfarsit. Omul a inceput sa se gandeasca la faptul ca acum sansele de a scapa cu viata au devenit aproape certitudine - daca la inceputul razboiului a scapa cu viata insemna un mare noroc - acum la sfarsit, a muri in lupta insemna un mare ghinion. Si desigur, putea muri de un glonte chiar in ultimul minut de razboi.

A fost ranit, a fost dus intr-un spital militar si se parea ca va fi trimis acasa. S-a linistit - de acum nu mai are cum sa moara - la urma urmelor, si-a facut datoria. Ei bine, in ultima zi de spital, comisia medicala a decis brusc altfel - ca omul era inca apt de lupta si l-a trimis inapoi pe front.

S-a dus la gara sa ia trenul spre unitate. Ar fi ajuns in doua zile. Dar daca se repezea cu alt tren pana acasa? Ar fi ajuns la unitate in vreo cinci zile, nici nu s-ar fi observat. Sau poate s-ar fi observat si ar fi fost pedepsit? Poate ar fi primit numai o dojana? Poate vreo doua zile de arest? Merita sa riste? Trenul spre unitate a trecut, nu a avut curaj sa ia nici urmatorul tren care mergea spre casa, sa dea o fuga.

A trecut o zi, si inca o zi, iar intarzierea la unitate se marea. Incepea sa riste tribunalul militar. Pana la urma a luat trenul spre casa - dar s-a ascuns imediat in padure. Era de acum dezertor.

I-a dat de stire sotiei. Ea l-a considerat vinovat. Dar era sotia lui - deci trebuia sa imparta vina cu el. Daca el era vinovat si ea era vinovata. Asta era de acum soarta lor.

A inceput sa mearga pe ascuns in pestera unde el se ascundea, sa ii duca mancare. A ramas gravida. Incurcata treaba! I-a spus lui, iar el a inceput sa o sarute fericit - si-a dat seama ca toate se intamplasera pentru ca datoria lor cea mare era sa aduca un suflet pe lume.

Burta ei a inceput sa ii creasca, soacrei i-a spus ca si-a inselat barbatul - soacra a inceput sa o blesteme. Dar socrul a venit seara la ea si i-a spus, mai fata, pe nevasta-mea poti sa o prostesti, dar eu te stiu bine, nu esti tu aia care sa iti inseli barbatul, spune-mi unde este baiatul meu? Macar spune-mi ca traieste!

Ea i-a raspuns ca nu stie. El a blestemat-o. Ea a tacut, incrancenata.

Traieste si ia aminte, asa se numeste cartea asta, a siberianului Valentin Rasputin. Живи и помни e titlul pe ruseste, Traieste si aminteste-ti, sau Traieste si pomeneste.

A pomeni, se foloseste mult in liturghia ortodoxa, iar parintele Schmemann, poate unul din cei mai profunzi teologi ortodocsi ai secolului XX, are un text admirabil despre sensul pomenirii. Inseamna intr-adevar sa iei aminte.

Asadar, traieste si ia aminte - ia aminte la cum traiesti, ia aminte la tine, ia aminte la dragoste, ia aminte la urmasii tai, ia aminte la locul unde traiesti, dar nu la cetate, ci la cosmos, priveste cu ochii deschisi, cu multa luare aminte, in sufletul tau, in sufletul locului, si traieste.

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Lacul de acumulare al unei hidrocentrale in constructie va acoperi locul pe care se afla un sat -taranii incep sa paraseasca satul ce va fi acoperit de ape. Cei mai tineri o fac cu inima mai usoara, satul era oricum cam izolat si cumva in afara tumultului vietii moderne, dislocarea poate fi pentru ei sansa unei vieti noi, intrarea lor in societatea de azi. Cei mai batrani au insa inima grea. Locul asta era al lor, intre ei si pamantul pe care acum trebuiau sa il paraseasca exista ceva, o legatura, un soi de Legamant, acum isi dadeau seama de trainicia legaturii - simteau trainicia cu durere - ei simteau ca pamantul asta nu trebuia distrus - simteau ca pamantul asta era de fapt o divinitate - ca legatura lor cu natura era de fapt o legatura intre om si divinitate - aici divinitatea stapana era acel Duh al locului - a parasi locul, a-l lasa prada apelor noului lac insemna a incalca Legamantul - a tulbura grav Duhul locului, poate chiar a-l omori - simteau ca razbunarea acelei divinitati poate fi ingrozitoare - sau poate simteau ca lacul de acumulare insemna moartea Duhului - si odata cu asta si moartea comunitatii lor - simteau ca bine nu va mai fi de acum incolo.

Este subiectul romanului Despartirea de Matiora (Прощание с Матёрой) al siberianului Valentin Rasputin.

Imi amintesc de discutiile avute la aparitia traducerii in romaneste - discutam cu cativa prieteni despre acel Duh al locului zugravit cu atata forta de Valentin Rasputin - un Duh care asigura o memorie colectiva, o matrice comuna, un subconstient al comunitatii - dar mai mult de atat - un Duh care asigura de fapt viata comunitatii - paduri, ape, animale, livezi, ogoare, toate guvernate de Duhul acela misterios, dupa legi de el stiute.

Iar ei, oamenii, cand mureau si erau ingropati, deveneau parte a pamantului, deveneau parte a acelui Duh.

De la inceputuri comunitatea respectase Legamantul - acum urma sa il incalce - si nimic nu mai putea fi bine de acum incolo.

Mi-am amintit de cartea lui Valentin Rasputin vazand filmul lui Kurosawa, Dreams. Si romanul acela, si filmul acesta, mi-au vorbit despre relatia om -univers, cum este, cum ar trebui sa fie.

(Valentin Rasputin)