Playing Men (2017) Movie Script
So.
First, close one eye.
Look into every corner of yourself.
Check that there are no nails,
no thieves and no cuckoo's eggs.
Then, close the other eye.
Squat and jump. Jump high, high.
On top of yourself.
From there,
you'll fall with all your weight.
And keep falling for days,
falling deep, depending on your depth.
But to the bottom of your abyss.
If you don't break into pieces,
if you remain whole and get up whole,
then you can play.
My name is Emeka Udechukwu.
I am from Nigeria.
Since 2008,
I've lived my priestly vocation
in this village,
Novara di Sicilia.
What I'm presenting to you
is a cheese.
But it's not an ordinary cheese.
It's the famous Maiorchino.
The pride and joy
of the people of Navara.
Thank you for listening to us.
I will tell you
some bizarre anecdotes
about this famous, antique game
called The Throw of Maiorchino.
Among all the extraordinary things
that happened
while playing this game,
there is one that tops them all.
What happened?
The cheese rolled down the hill
with abnormal speed,
passing this corner here,
where it jumped up to this height,
the height of a man,
and at that very moment,
someone came around the corner!
The Maiorchino the old man.
They met.
The Maiorchino
smashed the old mans nose!
We quickly called an ambulance
and they fixed his nose,
but the biggest coincidence happened
at that very moment, the two met.
Another beautiful story
that happened years ago.
I was a child back then.
The cheese always came down
this hill, gaining speed here.
And it hit, you see,
that door but it remained intact!
It was slightly damaged,
but remained intact.
The lady who lived there
quickly, and rightly,
went to the marshal
of the Carabinieri and said:
"Marshal! Marshal!
The cheese broke my door!"
The marshal,
who couldnt do anything, said:
"But, maam,
why did you come to me?"
"If the door is broken,
you have to go to the carpenter!"
This is a highly intelligent game.
Why this and why that?
They say:
"You can shout whatever."
But no, you can't shout whatever.
You must know.
It's mathematics.
It happens in the brain,
in just a fraction of a second.
Do two and two make four?
Do three and three make six?
Do one and three make four?
Do five and five make ten?
Two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, all.
So, you hold out four fingers,
and I hold out five.
I call out nine, and you
call out five. I earn one point.
Or the other way round.
For example, you make the same call,
and I hold out one.
You were correct,
so it's your point.
This is a very, very difficult game.
Chess can't measure up to it.
Just can't.
This is a game of speed.
You can't stop and watch.
And take your time
to move your piece.
We get sweaty while playing
the game. We really get sweaty.
We wipe the sweat off
the table, naked to the waist.
If we play 40 games,
it can last 12-14 hours.
It's exhausting.
Only healthy people can play it.
It's not for cardiac patients.
Once a man died
during a tournament.
Marijan Banoli.
The only person who died
during a ijavica tournament.
He really died.
Holy Mother of God.
We all cried. I'm sorry for him.
He was a good player.
A fighter. He was a real fighter!
Football is nothing.
You can always have a rest.
Here, there's no rest.
There are different options
and ways, different styles of playing.
Some prefer a cold game,
and others prefer a lively game.
For example, I'm a bit temperamental,
and I personally prefer a lively game.
Instinct. Instinct is
a kind of feeling
when you must sense
what the other person will hold out.
It's like entering his mind.
But you achieve
this ability with experience.
It's possible for your opponent
to enter your mind.
It's like magic.
Somebody can manipulate
your thoughts and actions.
And influence what you hold out.
If you see that he's overpowering
you, that he's gaining points,
you must escape
from that vicious circle.
So, you must change your
entire number strategy and fight to...
It's a battle of minds.
That's how I'd describe it.
Some people think it's very physical.
I'd say it's an invisible power.
- Five, get lost!
- Eight!
Eight! Seven!
Go play elsewhere!
Nine, morra, six!
- Play again!
- Five! Five!
- Nine, nine, six!
- Seven, morra!
- Four, seven, eight, five, four!
- Morra, seven!
- Six, six, five!
- Five!
- Play again!
- Seven, enough!
Six, I'll eat you!
Get lost!
Calm down!
Wake up, man!
Beat it!
Too good for you!
Loser!
You're chicken!
Calm down!
I see through you!
Calm down, man!
Enough!
Enough!
Get lost!
Burn in hell!
Cool off!
You're weak!
I'll come back to you!
You're weak!
You're weak!
Cool off!
You're weak!
Good one.
Enough.
"Throwing a boulder from the shoulder"
was the name of the game.
It was played and played,
and then fell into oblivion.
"Throwing a boulder from the shoulder"
was the name of the game.
It was played and played,
and then fell into oblivion.
"Throwing a boulder from the shoulder"
was the name of the game.
It was played and played,
and then fell into oblivion.
Hey girl, it's so nice to come
to Radoi on St. John's Eve.
Hey girl, it's so nice to come.
At this point in making the film,
the director fell
into a deep creative crisis.
He didnt know how to continue,
so he stopped filming.
Joanna,
brought to life to give love,
to live forbidden dreams,
without any questions
for the morning.
Your look
stabbed me in the heart.
And I realized
for me there was no going back.
We are now in a room
which perfectly fits
the requirements of men.
We're in a room with a waterbed.
A waterbed is completely
different from a normal bed.
It keeps moving, which is what makes
the whole thing more interesting.
We always look forward to that,
men are like that.
They say a waterbed
heightens mens pleasures.
Now I'd like to show you this room.
As for sadomasochism,
it's strongly practiced by men.
There are different ways
to practice it, by men or by women.
There are a lot of different ways
to do it,
which one doesnt want
to describe further, of course.
After finishing,
one might want to cool down
and move
to a place with a jacuzzi.
What? Having a crisis?
You thought, "I have an idea."
And that's it.
Lifes not an idea.
I told you so,
but you didn't want to listen.
If you don't break into pieces,
if you remain whole and get up whole,
then you can play.
Do you remember? Chang?
In Roland Garros?
He made
an underhand serve to Lendl.
Lendl went crazy.
Chang won Roland Garros.
And ivojinovi...
One of ours,
played with McEnroe.
McEnroe argued with the referee,
and he went for a sandwich. Remember?
Those people had character.
Or Connors!
A miracle! He's at the net,
a high ball going over him...
He can't run back
or anything else.
He throws the racket in the air.
The racket hits the ball in the air.
A point for Connors.
Connors catches the racket
and, like a pistol, remember?
Yeah
And McEnroe, a pleasure to watch.
I enjoyed watching him the most.
What outbursts.
Do you remember when he said:
You can't be serious. Jerk!
Jerk!
Or Goran Ivanievi.
I'll never forget.
Do you remember Wimbledon in 2001?
Goran,
125th player in the world
I think he didnt play for a year,
then they invited him as a 'wild card'.
And he gets into the finals.
Oh, god The fifth set.
8:7 for Goran. Remember?
Goran prepares to serve.
Thank you.
Players are ready.
Quiet please.
First serve out.
He gets the second one,
goes to the net...
Rafter returns the ball,
Goran volley...
Out.
The commentator:
"The ball is out."
"0-15"
Let. Second service.
Second serve again.
Only Goran can do it,
nobody else.
Ace on the second serve
at 15-30.
Two points to win.
Only one more!
Goran's match ball for Wimbledon.
And what happens?
First serve out,
second serve out.
A hundred tons are now
on Gorans back.
Commentator: "Goran is brave."
"Unbelievably brave."
Match ball number two.
This should be it!
Thank you.
Thank you.
Double fault.
Totally understandable.
And then, the fourth match point,
do you remember?
The camera shows the stands.
You can see his father Srdjan.
And Niki Pili was there.
And Niki Pili went like this.
And the commentator says:
"Calmly, calmly, bravo, calmly."
"As calmly as possible."
Well, and Goran, he serves.
First serve, out; second serve...
What will he do?
Second serve.
Goran on the ground.
Cvitanovi, the commentator:
"People! Watch it, enjoy it, cry."
"Goran did this also for us."
Do you remember?
Don't be ashamed to cry.
Don't be ashamed to cry.
Do you remember?
Then we welcomed him.
In Split.
Goran, tell me.
In the car, you kept repeating
only one thing: crazy, crazy, crazy.
Now it's crazy, like you wanted.
I don't know what to say.
I have another wish.
My whole life I've wanted to jump
in the sea here, from the street.
But I can't just go and jump in.
People would think I was crazy.
But now that I've won Wimbledon,
I think I can go and do it. Fuck it!
Let's make way
so he can go and take a swim.
Let's make way for Goran
to take a swim today.
First, close one eye.
Look into every corner of yourself.
Check that there are no nails,
no thieves and no cuckoo's eggs.
Then, close the other eye.
Squat and jump. Jump high, high.
On top of yourself.
From there,
you'll fall with all your weight.
And keep falling for days,
falling deep, depending on your depth.
But to the bottom of your abyss.
If you don't break into pieces,
if you remain whole and get up whole,
then you can play.
My name is Emeka Udechukwu.
I am from Nigeria.
Since 2008,
I've lived my priestly vocation
in this village,
Novara di Sicilia.
What I'm presenting to you
is a cheese.
But it's not an ordinary cheese.
It's the famous Maiorchino.
The pride and joy
of the people of Navara.
Thank you for listening to us.
I will tell you
some bizarre anecdotes
about this famous, antique game
called The Throw of Maiorchino.
Among all the extraordinary things
that happened
while playing this game,
there is one that tops them all.
What happened?
The cheese rolled down the hill
with abnormal speed,
passing this corner here,
where it jumped up to this height,
the height of a man,
and at that very moment,
someone came around the corner!
The Maiorchino the old man.
They met.
The Maiorchino
smashed the old mans nose!
We quickly called an ambulance
and they fixed his nose,
but the biggest coincidence happened
at that very moment, the two met.
Another beautiful story
that happened years ago.
I was a child back then.
The cheese always came down
this hill, gaining speed here.
And it hit, you see,
that door but it remained intact!
It was slightly damaged,
but remained intact.
The lady who lived there
quickly, and rightly,
went to the marshal
of the Carabinieri and said:
"Marshal! Marshal!
The cheese broke my door!"
The marshal,
who couldnt do anything, said:
"But, maam,
why did you come to me?"
"If the door is broken,
you have to go to the carpenter!"
This is a highly intelligent game.
Why this and why that?
They say:
"You can shout whatever."
But no, you can't shout whatever.
You must know.
It's mathematics.
It happens in the brain,
in just a fraction of a second.
Do two and two make four?
Do three and three make six?
Do one and three make four?
Do five and five make ten?
Two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, all.
So, you hold out four fingers,
and I hold out five.
I call out nine, and you
call out five. I earn one point.
Or the other way round.
For example, you make the same call,
and I hold out one.
You were correct,
so it's your point.
This is a very, very difficult game.
Chess can't measure up to it.
Just can't.
This is a game of speed.
You can't stop and watch.
And take your time
to move your piece.
We get sweaty while playing
the game. We really get sweaty.
We wipe the sweat off
the table, naked to the waist.
If we play 40 games,
it can last 12-14 hours.
It's exhausting.
Only healthy people can play it.
It's not for cardiac patients.
Once a man died
during a tournament.
Marijan Banoli.
The only person who died
during a ijavica tournament.
He really died.
Holy Mother of God.
We all cried. I'm sorry for him.
He was a good player.
A fighter. He was a real fighter!
Football is nothing.
You can always have a rest.
Here, there's no rest.
There are different options
and ways, different styles of playing.
Some prefer a cold game,
and others prefer a lively game.
For example, I'm a bit temperamental,
and I personally prefer a lively game.
Instinct. Instinct is
a kind of feeling
when you must sense
what the other person will hold out.
It's like entering his mind.
But you achieve
this ability with experience.
It's possible for your opponent
to enter your mind.
It's like magic.
Somebody can manipulate
your thoughts and actions.
And influence what you hold out.
If you see that he's overpowering
you, that he's gaining points,
you must escape
from that vicious circle.
So, you must change your
entire number strategy and fight to...
It's a battle of minds.
That's how I'd describe it.
Some people think it's very physical.
I'd say it's an invisible power.
- Five, get lost!
- Eight!
Eight! Seven!
Go play elsewhere!
Nine, morra, six!
- Play again!
- Five! Five!
- Nine, nine, six!
- Seven, morra!
- Four, seven, eight, five, four!
- Morra, seven!
- Six, six, five!
- Five!
- Play again!
- Seven, enough!
Six, I'll eat you!
Get lost!
Calm down!
Wake up, man!
Beat it!
Too good for you!
Loser!
You're chicken!
Calm down!
I see through you!
Calm down, man!
Enough!
Enough!
Get lost!
Burn in hell!
Cool off!
You're weak!
I'll come back to you!
You're weak!
You're weak!
Cool off!
You're weak!
Good one.
Enough.
"Throwing a boulder from the shoulder"
was the name of the game.
It was played and played,
and then fell into oblivion.
"Throwing a boulder from the shoulder"
was the name of the game.
It was played and played,
and then fell into oblivion.
"Throwing a boulder from the shoulder"
was the name of the game.
It was played and played,
and then fell into oblivion.
Hey girl, it's so nice to come
to Radoi on St. John's Eve.
Hey girl, it's so nice to come.
At this point in making the film,
the director fell
into a deep creative crisis.
He didnt know how to continue,
so he stopped filming.
Joanna,
brought to life to give love,
to live forbidden dreams,
without any questions
for the morning.
Your look
stabbed me in the heart.
And I realized
for me there was no going back.
We are now in a room
which perfectly fits
the requirements of men.
We're in a room with a waterbed.
A waterbed is completely
different from a normal bed.
It keeps moving, which is what makes
the whole thing more interesting.
We always look forward to that,
men are like that.
They say a waterbed
heightens mens pleasures.
Now I'd like to show you this room.
As for sadomasochism,
it's strongly practiced by men.
There are different ways
to practice it, by men or by women.
There are a lot of different ways
to do it,
which one doesnt want
to describe further, of course.
After finishing,
one might want to cool down
and move
to a place with a jacuzzi.
What? Having a crisis?
You thought, "I have an idea."
And that's it.
Lifes not an idea.
I told you so,
but you didn't want to listen.
If you don't break into pieces,
if you remain whole and get up whole,
then you can play.
Do you remember? Chang?
In Roland Garros?
He made
an underhand serve to Lendl.
Lendl went crazy.
Chang won Roland Garros.
And ivojinovi...
One of ours,
played with McEnroe.
McEnroe argued with the referee,
and he went for a sandwich. Remember?
Those people had character.
Or Connors!
A miracle! He's at the net,
a high ball going over him...
He can't run back
or anything else.
He throws the racket in the air.
The racket hits the ball in the air.
A point for Connors.
Connors catches the racket
and, like a pistol, remember?
Yeah
And McEnroe, a pleasure to watch.
I enjoyed watching him the most.
What outbursts.
Do you remember when he said:
You can't be serious. Jerk!
Jerk!
Or Goran Ivanievi.
I'll never forget.
Do you remember Wimbledon in 2001?
Goran,
125th player in the world
I think he didnt play for a year,
then they invited him as a 'wild card'.
And he gets into the finals.
Oh, god The fifth set.
8:7 for Goran. Remember?
Goran prepares to serve.
Thank you.
Players are ready.
Quiet please.
First serve out.
He gets the second one,
goes to the net...
Rafter returns the ball,
Goran volley...
Out.
The commentator:
"The ball is out."
"0-15"
Let. Second service.
Second serve again.
Only Goran can do it,
nobody else.
Ace on the second serve
at 15-30.
Two points to win.
Only one more!
Goran's match ball for Wimbledon.
And what happens?
First serve out,
second serve out.
A hundred tons are now
on Gorans back.
Commentator: "Goran is brave."
"Unbelievably brave."
Match ball number two.
This should be it!
Thank you.
Thank you.
Double fault.
Totally understandable.
And then, the fourth match point,
do you remember?
The camera shows the stands.
You can see his father Srdjan.
And Niki Pili was there.
And Niki Pili went like this.
And the commentator says:
"Calmly, calmly, bravo, calmly."
"As calmly as possible."
Well, and Goran, he serves.
First serve, out; second serve...
What will he do?
Second serve.
Goran on the ground.
Cvitanovi, the commentator:
"People! Watch it, enjoy it, cry."
"Goran did this also for us."
Do you remember?
Don't be ashamed to cry.
Don't be ashamed to cry.
Do you remember?
Then we welcomed him.
In Split.
Goran, tell me.
In the car, you kept repeating
only one thing: crazy, crazy, crazy.
Now it's crazy, like you wanted.
I don't know what to say.
I have another wish.
My whole life I've wanted to jump
in the sea here, from the street.
But I can't just go and jump in.
People would think I was crazy.
But now that I've won Wimbledon,
I think I can go and do it. Fuck it!
Let's make way
so he can go and take a swim.
Let's make way for Goran
to take a swim today.