Screenplay "Bumbarash" by Evgeny Mitko, summary

The work is based on Arkady Gaidar’s unfinished novella "Talisman" and the writer’s early short stories. The screenplay was written in 1971. The most remarkable detail of the text is the seamless unification of Gaidar’s disparate stories around the division named after the Storming of the Bastille by the Paris Communards. The book became the literary basis for a two-part feature film of the same name, directed by Nikolai Rasheyev and Abram Naroditsky. This adaptation received a special prize at the fifth All-Union Television Film Festival.

Returning home

In the fall of 1916, Russian Army private Bumbarash, on orders from his lieutenant, ascends in an observation balloon. Enemy fire cuts the winch cable, and the balloon drifts toward German positions. To avoid capture, the soldier jumps from the basket into a swamp. Bumbarash saves himself by clinging to a dry aspen tree. His fellow soldiers presume him dead.

After the war, the soldier returns to his home village. His home is met with devastation and betrayal. His older brother, Milaniy, has sold half the hut, the cart, and his clothes. He refuses to acknowledge Bumbarash’s life, citing a government-issued death notice. His childhood friend, Yashka Kurnakov, persuades the front-line soldier to join the Red Army. Bumbarash refuses. The soldier dreams of a quiet life with his beloved Varvara.

Meeting with Gavrila

Varvara is forced into marriage with Gavrila Poluvalov, the leader of a local gang. Bumbarash arrives at their lavishly furnished house, brimming with stolen goods. The owner invites him to join the self-defense squad. The veteran sings ditties, veiledly mocking the situation.

Later, Bumbarash secretly meets with Varvara near a haystack. She asks him to run away, but she fears reprisals against her mother and sisters. Gavrila spots the stranger, gives chase, and fires a revolver into the darkness.

The protagonist hides in his brother’s hayloft. His nephew, Irtysh, brings him food. Through a crack in the roof, the fugitive watches the street. Gavrila Polvalov is looking for a man with a black eye. Another gang passes through the village, in a landau with a gramophone. It is led by Sofya Nikolaevna Tulchinskaya, who claims to be Stepan Razin’s granddaughter.

That night, Yashka Kurnakov throws a bomb and kills the bandit Petka Kandybenko. Varvara brings a warm commissar’s coat to the hayloft and asks her beloved to flee the village.

Wanderings and captivity

Bumbarash goes into the steppe. He exchanges coats with the Red Army soldier Zaplatin. The Red Army commander has a short overcoat, while the fugitive has a long one. A terrible mistake is discovered. The item given to him by Varvara belonged to the murdered commissar, Zakhar Nazarovsky. Zaplatin arrests Bumbarash and hands him over to the sentry, Sovkov, for a court martial.

A prisoner tricks his guard, kicks him in the stomach, and escapes into the forest. There, he falls into the hands of the ataman’s wife, Sofia Nikolaevna, and Gavrila Poluvalov. Etoile shoots the fugitive with a Colt pistol, but he miraculously dodges the bullets and hides in the dense undergrowth.

Bumbarash comes to a windmill. The owner hides a Red Army soldier in a stone cellar. This soldier turns out to be Yashka Kurnakov. Sofia Tulchinskaya’s gang arrives. The miller hands Yashka over to the bandits. Gavrila Polvalov beats the prisoner for Kandybenko’s death. Tulchinskaya orders Yashka buried alive. The frontline soldier, hidden in the bushes, is powerless to help his comrade. He vows revenge on the murderers.

Revenge for a friend

In the forest, Bumbarash meets Levka Demchenko. They agree to lure the gang to the mill. Bumbarash takes refuge in the basement, and Levka brings the fourth company, commanded by Sergei Chubatov. The fugitive barricades himself inside.

The miller hangs out a signal — a white sack. Gavrila arrives with his detachment. A shootout ensues. Bumbarash unlocks the door from the inside and helps the Red Army soldiers rout the enemy. The mill owner falls dead of a heart attack. Levka Demchenko distributes the stolen goods to the poor peasants.

The fourth company engages in an unequal battle with the White Guards. Commander Chubatov tasks Bumbarash with delivering a package of special importance. Levka Demchenko remains at the small gun. He deceives the advancing Whites and blows himself up along with the gun.

Return to the village

Bumbarash makes his way through the forest. He seizes a rifle from a young White Guard soldier with a phenomenal memory. The soldier is carrying an important verbal report for Colonel Korsh. Bumbarash shoots the soldier to prevent the leak of classified information.

In the steppe, Bumbarash hides from a White Cavalry patrol in a well. He is rescued by Budyonny’s men, who arrive in time. Among them is Commander Zaplatin. Zaplatin wants to execute Bumbarash for his past crimes. A package from Chubatov saves the frontline soldier’s life. Zaplatin entrusts the prisoner to the sentry, Sovkov.

The Red Squad enters Bumbarash’s home village. Irtysh nails a red flag to the top of a smooth birch tree. Sofia Nikolaevna’s gang retreats, setting the houses on fire. Etoile orders a bandit nicknamed Khomyak to poison the wells. Zaplatin tricks Khomyak into drinking the water and discovers the truth.

A prisoner is locked in an abandoned church. He climbs onto the ledge of the bell tower. Varvara appears below with a frying pan of hot eggs. She is ready to protect her beloved from the guard.

At night, the Red Army soldiers set up machine guns behind the outer huts. The distance to the birch tree with the flag is predetermined. In the morning, the drunken gang attacks. Machine gun fire mows down the attackers. Sofia Nikolaevna is seriously wounded. Sovkov runs off to help his men, leaving the prisoner unguarded.

Bumbarash climbs down from the church wall. He sees Gavrila Polvalov fleeing. He tries to drag Varvara away on horseback. The soldier runs after him. The girl unbuckles her saddle. The saddle slips. The riders fall to the bottom of a deep, sandy ravine.

Bumbarash jumps down from above. Gavrila aims his revolver at him. Varvara bites Poluvalov’s leg. The bandit pushes her away with the barrel. An accidental shot rings out. The girl dies. Bumbarash picks up the dropped revolver and shoots the bandit leader. The Budyonny cavalrymen, who have arrived, silently stare at the two figures at the bottom of the old ravine.