Film Description: This 1985 Soviet drama was directed by Sergei Mikaelyan and is loosely based on the incidents during the defection of Alexander Godunov, a Russian ballet dancer. The film heroine is Irina Panina, a fictional world renown skater. Her husband, also a well-known sports figure, defects without telling her. Irina emphatically does not want to stay in the United States, but an international incident is caused when the Americans can’t believe that she doesn’t want to defect too. The Americans hold her plane in New York for several days attempting to force her to defect as well, but she, and the rest of Soviet passengers onboard, stay united and refuse to bow to this pressure.
In this scene the American authorities attempt to bribe all of the other Soviet citizens on the plane to get off it, leaving the skater alone.
Translation of Russian dialogue:
American official 1: “The flight is being held for an undetermined period of time. The airline Aeroflot is allowing you to leave the airport and stay in hotels.”
*Silence*
American official 1: “You don’t have to pay for the hotels…There will be supper waiting for you, free. And a Coca Cola, and beer.”
Passenger: “And can Irina leave?”
American official: “She is staying temporarily.”
Different passenger: “Then we are also staying temporarily.”
American official: “It might take a while…”
Another passenger: ” And so what, we are staying.”
American official: ” Comrades, listen. If you have children or feel bad, come to the hotel, relax…”
*Silence*
American official 2: “Where is the mother of the small boy, maybe you want (to come)?”
Child: “I don’t want to leave, I don’t want to leave!”
Mother of child: “We will sit for now.”