Playoff (2011) Movie Script
"West Germany, Sep. 15, 1982"
Ladies & Gentlemen,
A European Champion...
Max Stoller.
Mr. Stoller, how does it feel to be back
in Germany after so many years?
English, please.
Don't you speak German?
Do you have a problem
with coming back here?
Should I have?
Why would a European Champion
at the peak of his career
choose to coach here, of all places?
I'm sure you had better offers than
to coach the worst team in Europe.
Because of the pastries.
I understand that you have
the best pastries in Europe here.
Why hasn't your family come with you?
I think they've had enough of me.
Now, come on, people. Basketball.
Any questions about basketball?
I've got a feeling that you don't know
that much about it.
So allow me to explain.
On one hand there's a ball
weighing 650 grams
with a circumference of 45 cms.
On the other there's a basket
with a circumference of 78 cms.
And all you've got to do
is put the ball in the basket.
It sounds simple,
but it's not that easy.
"They've had enough of me."
That was great. Very funny.
It would've made me laugh
if it wasn't true.
I'm sorry, I didn't know.
Ah, it's ok...
Where are the players' interviews?
Do you really need them?
Statistics don't win games.
Players do.
Right.
We don't have enough geniuses
so we start importing them...
Maybe we should import
some players too.
This is the National team!
Precisely my point!
Loosen your wrist
as you complete the throw.
That's him?
He doesn't speak German?
- Of course not...
Let's see what you've got.
But, sir...
We do not have...
I mean, we cannot...
Improvise.
Shoes off! Jackets off!
- Ah, good morning Doctor.
Jackets off! Lets go!
- Dr. Kosslick, Max Stoller. - Franz.
My name is Max Stoller.
I was born in Frankfurt,
not too far from here.
For many years I coached
Macabbi Tel Aviv,
two-time European Champions.
I'm here to take you on a long,
exciting road
all the way to the 1984 Olympics
in Los Angeles.
America.
I know, I know.
We only have 2.5 months
before the qualifiers
and that our first game is against
one of the best teams in the world.
But if you listen to me,
work with me,
we can do it.
We can do it.
"Shock in Israel after assassination
of Lebanese president"
"Poll: Most Israelis say
Max Stoller is a traitor!"
You have reached
the Stoller family.
Please leave a message,
and we'll get back to you.
I'm here.
Regards to the girls...
We won the Eurovision with this song.
First time we win!
English, please.
Sorry, I don't speak English.
A bit of peace,
A bit ofjoy
A bit of warmth
I do wish for myself...
Do you know who
came in second? You!
61 points behind us.
A bit of peace,
A bit ofjoy
A bit of warmth
I do wish for myself...
Your style is the technique
and discipline of the team-player.
But I want your talent,
I want your individuality.
I have a simple motto:
There's always a framework,
but there are no rules in it.
That, by the way, is what brought
the European Championship twice
to Macabbi Tel Aviv.
That and a few Americans...
Did you say something?
No.
Tell me, captain, which way is east?
There.
Well, here we're in the west.
Here you can say whatever you want.
Skins and shirts.
Skins and shirts.
Max?
- Yes?
They want to do an item on TV news
about you.
Suddenly there's interest
in basketball.
Tell them to come to tomorrow's
training session.
That's not what interests them.
They want the personal aspect
of why you came and all that.
What's interesting about that?
Do you want me to dance naked
in the street and tell them
that I heard voices from outer space
telling me to come to Germany?
Anything that can put basketball
before football is good.
One on one!
No zone defense.
Mr. Stoller,
have you got anything to say
to the people in Israel
who call you a traitor
for choosing to work in Germany?
Can we stick to questions
about basketball?
Do you know where we are?
Recognize something?
- No, nothing,
it's all changed.
Childhood memories?
Nothing in particular.
I used to live here.
It was a childhood
just like any other.
Just like any other kid.
I have to cut...
Girl, move out of my frame,
please.
What?
- Get out of my frame!
What does this guy want from me?
Running?
- Running!
But after all, it wasn't
just like any other kid.
Because of the war you and your mother
had to escape from Germany.
As did millions of others.
It was a normal childhood at the time.
Aren't you angry? Bitter?
- Angry?
The only anger I have
is with this waste of time.
Time that I do not have.
The next time you want
to promote basketball,
will you make sure
that there's a basket and a ball?
And now to our report about the new
National basketball coach...
Mr. Stoller, how do you see the future
of German basketball?
I believe that in a few years,
not many,
basketball in Germany will be second
to football in every respect -
interest, fans, money,
and that's why you should be
more interested in the game itself
instead of all this nonsense.
Born in Frankfurt in 1931, these
streets were once Stoller's home.
Childhood memories?
Nothing in particular.
I used to live here.
It was a childhood
just like any other kid.
Sema! Come back here!
Does he expect us to jump like that?
We can't play like that...
To fly like that
you have to truly believe
that everything you think you know
doesn't exist.
There's no gravity,
no physical limits.
The apple did not fall from the tree.
It's all here,
in the most important muscle of all.
Use it.
I want you to reach for the stars.
I didn't come here to lose,
I came here to win.
Do you want to win?
Sorry... Max? Max...
- Yes?
So, how are we doing?
Isn't this too fast for them?
I've got the feeling that we are...
going backwards a bit. Am I wrong?
Sometimes you have to go backwards
to go forwards.
You want to aim high, right?
- As high as possible.
These boys need a strong foundations.
Markus, Ulrich, Dieter, Thomas,
Special interviews after the showers.
Super training...
See you, Thomas
- Take care.
Good night, Ulrich.
It was good talking to you.
Good night, Mr. Stoller.
Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach.
Boston Celtics.
8 consecutive NBA titles.
A Jew from Brooklyn.
Who would believe it, huh?
So?
Jews and sports?
It took us 40 years
to get from Egypt to Israel.
It's a 3 hour walk.
What have these personal interviews
got to do with basketball?
Thomas, in your opinion, is it the
team or the coach that wins the game?
Yes... I don't know either.
But what I do know is that everything
that happens in your personal life
comes out on the court.
From the moment that you face the
hoop and have to make a decision
that can change the game.
Nothing's happening in my life.
I hope that won't affect my decisions.
You're my captain, Thomas.
- I'm not. I'm the team captain.
Like I said, you're my captain.
Thomas, are you not happy
with my being here
or are you just not happy in general?
If it's any help, I can tell you
that I'm not happy
with the way this talk is going.
Thomas, I know it wasn't easy
losing your father.
With all due respect, Mr. Stoller...
- Max. Call me Max.
With all due respect, Mr. Stoller,
we're not friends, and my life
is none of your business.
This generation's mixed up.
They're ashamed of the past
and scared of the future.
They feel threatened by everything.
Growing up these times
is evidently not easy.
Growing up any time isn't easy.
What happened to Thomas's father?
I only know, it's not talked about,
that he drank himself to death.
We were all at his funeral.
His father was some kind of war hero.
In the east, on the eastern front,
I mean.
What angers Thomas is that nobody
remembers war heroes anymore.
It's not nice to admit it,
but neither do I.
Thank you.
Are you sure you don't
want me to wait for you?
It could be difficult
to get a taxi here.
You don't know
your way around.
As you wish, boss.
He's a policeman...
What do you want?
Are your parents in?
Nobody here.
Just a moment...
My mother not home.
At work.
Sema? Who is it?
May I come in?
Leave it open, please.
Here are all the papers.
Wait, please, wait.
I bring them...
We have the work-visa.
I'm Deniz Uner.
Everything is signed...
- Mama, he doesn't speak German.
Who is he?
Why did you let him in?
He's the one they were filming
here yesterday.
I told him you weren't home.
Ask him what he wants.
In what language?
Tell your mother that I just want
to see the apartment, that's all.
I speak English. A little.
In Turkey I worked in hotel.
So I give you landlord address,
you must talk with him.
No, no, lady, you can relax,
I just want to see the apartment.
I used to live here a long time ago.
Lucky man,
got out of here...
Sema, quiet!
Sorry... I'm sorry.
It was so much bigger.
Apartment was cut.
My husband...
He disappeared.
We come here to look for him.
"Stoller Furniture"
Is clean.
How long since you was here?
39 years.
39 years...
She told you he disappear
and you believe her?
It's a lie.
What's the truth?
He doesn't love us.
Me especially.
He never loved me...
Like everybody...
Can we go, boss?
You have reached
the Stoller family.
Please leave a message
and we'll get back to you.
Hi, call me...
Good morning.
- Good morning...
Good morning Mr. Stoller,
sorry we're late...
You smoke too much, my friend.
Not good for the blood pressure.
- Thank you.
Doctor, may I talk to you?
As a friend.
- Please.
Good morning...
Do you know where I can hire
an investigator?
An investigator?
- Yes.
Are you in trouble?
- No, no, it's...
for somebody I would like to help.
I want to talk to you.
Who owns that konditorei?
- Who?
I don't understand.
- I want to help you.
Help? How?
I want to hire an investigator.
- Why?
To find your husband.
But why you want to help us?
You shouldn't look a gift horse
in the mouth.
What do you want in return?
Want?
There's nothing here that I want
or that I need.
Forget that I was here.
This was a mistake.
Goodbye.
OK... I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Please, come in.
But I don't have to look
in your mouth, right?
And then, without warning,
the letters stopped coming.
We never heard from him anymore.
Everyone I tried to talk to
did not know where he was.
You like it sweet?
- Yes.
I had to come here,
look for him.
That was more than
one years ago.
I went to police,
I talked to his friends,
at his work...
Nothing.
Thank you.
- Nothing...
Your daughter is convinced
that your husband ran away.
Her imagination works overtime.
Children don't imagine things
like that without a good reason.
She's not easy child.
She never was.
I wasn't an easy child either.
I'm sorry, but I don't really
understand connection.
This is delicious.
What is it about the coffee
in this country
that it doesn't taste like coffee?
It's like black water.
- Yes.
"Where there is no good coffee
"nothing's good."
I'm only here
for one years and a half
but I miss Istanbul very much.
Well...
If only for this,
it was worth helping you.
I'll stay in touch.
Berta.
You wanted to know the name
of konditorei owner,
is Berta.
Yes. Thank you.
Do you want me to check
anything else?
I would be happy to help you.
Really.
Why? Does it look like I need help?
Yes.
Tell me, what do you do for a living?
I clean toilets in restaurant.
For a moment I thought you were
a psychologist or something.
I'm sorry, that was out of line.
It's not working
because you insist on zone defense.
I'm talking
about individual balls here.
One on one, man to man.
How many times do I have to tell you?
Shit, what does he want?
If you've got something to say,
then just say it.
I don't think the problem is
with the way we play.
So what in your opinion, captain,
is the problem?
I think you're trying to force
a style onto us
that's maybe suitable someplace else.
Boys, basketball
is a universal language.
It is a creative and instinctual game.
You've got that.
But you're scared.
When you stop being scared
you'll understand it.
Got it? Get it?
Hanns!
But... but how do we?
"But"...but what?
Afraid of the dark?
You should be able to play,
even in the dark.
Feel and listen.
Listen to the rhythm of the ball.
Feel it. Feel yourself.
Feel your enemy.
Feel him, smell him.
Touch him.
Respect and suspect.
Always respect and suspect him.
Ready, boys?
Move aside. Come on.
Watch out, idiot!
Thomas, I'll give you a ride home.
Come on, Thomas, you'll catch a cold.
Come on.
Over my career I've seen
hundreds of players
and only a handful
had your talent.
Man man man...
We made him (Beckenbauer) a Kaiser
and he goes to America.
People don't care about where
they come from anymore,
only about where they're going.
Would you turn it down, please?
Beckenbauer refused to comment...
You can fight with me, Thomas,
you can fight with me.
But let me be that point that you
can lean on so that you can fly.
I promise you, you'll be
in a completely new place.
What if I don't want
to be in a new place?
What if I'm happy just where I am?
Why are you so intent
on screwing up your career?
Why are you so intent on changing us?
Why are you here at all?
Stop here.
Stop.
I'm sure your father would have wanted
to see you succeed, Thomas.
My father didn't want to see anything.
Why do you say that?
If they had given him 1%,
just 1% of what Germany is spending
on apologizing to the whole world,
he still would be here.
- Crimes must be paid for, Thomas.
He was no criminal.
He was a soldier, a simple soldier
who fought and bled for this country
that forgot him
but remembered you.
Let's go.
Yes, sir.
Cheers!
Is that a 1926 Harwood automatic?
I never met anyone
who could identify it.
I've never met anyone wearing it.
Not since my father.
He used to collect old watches.
It was an addiction.
The Harwood automatic
was one of his favorites.
He was probably forced
to sell it, at the time.
But I collect new ones.
Have you seen the new digital Seiko?
It just came out.
All you have to do
is press one button,
and voila! It tells you the time
all over the world!
Has the gentleman made up his mind?
I'll take both.
Excellent choice.
If you come across
a Harwood automatic,
you can reach me here.
Fist!
Do it again.
Fist!
Do it again.
Dieter, switch with Thomas.
Thomas.
What are you waiting for?
Fist...
What's wrong with you?
- Why don't you pass better?
Do it again.
Fist.
Thomas is taking it hard.
If Dieter can do it, so can Thomas.
He just doesn't want to.
We can't afford to lose him.
Fist.
Good work, Dieter.
Fist.
You've reached the Stoller family.
Please leave a message
and we'll get back to you.
Blessed are you, Lord our God,
King of the universe
who has sanctified us with His
commandments and commanded us
to light the candles of Rosh Hashana.
Happy New Year!
A very happy
Jewish New Year!
Cheers!!!
Happy New Year!
What's wrong with you?
You're on top of the world and
you have a sour face. - Thanks.
Give him a drink.
Come on, Max.
Listen, I've been here
almost 15 years.
Quite a few Israelis
have passed here in my club.
There are several ways
of living here.
One: Hate them
for what they did to us
and never stop seeking revenge.
Never forget!
And there is my way.
Having a good time
is my revenge.
Enjoy!
Have fun.
Yom Kippur is coming soon,
so you can repent then.
Shimi said you were sad.
Did he?
Hey, maybe some other time.
Can't sleep, huh?
If you can't sleep then maybe
you're in the wrong place.
Maybe you should go home.
I've got to turn
you and your boys into a team.
You said that already.
There's nothing like a captain
who believes in himself and his team.
If that's what brought you here, you
shouldn't have replaced me as playmaker.
It was a professional decision.
No. It was personal.
You're in my way.
You know what you are?
You're just another apology.
Just another attempt
to erase everything.
They send us a Holocaust survivor
in order to forget the past.
Can you see the paradox?
Your father killed himself, Thomas.
That was his choice, his story.
- Take that back.
It's not your fault.
If you weren't older than me...
- What? What would you do?
Hit me?
It's not as easy as it looks.
But I'll make you a better offer.
If you can pass me,
I'll be on the next plane home.
But if you don't,
you'll do everything I tell you.
I'm warning you.
I'm the best there is.
Now, you can use me
to become a star
at international level,
but you're afraid.
You're afraid that if you make it,
you'll forget.
That's the paradox.
These are the last postcards
I have from my husband...
Yes... and these?
And these are photos...
from Turkey... - Yes...
And that's all I have.
I think I have everything I need,
thank you.
Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
He gave me
a few possible addresses.
He said he will have more,
later this week.
I'm sure he'll do a good job.
He comes highly recommended.
You know, people I know from home,
my family and my husband's family,
they don't help me.
If only I could pay you...
If there's anything I can do.
Yes, there is.
Find him.
Sema needs her father.
I know you don't need anything,
but I must do something.
Something small.
Cup of coffee?
It will not take long, I promise.
Better be good coffee.
It's right here, around corner.
I'm running late.
Maybe some other time.
Oh, no. Is here.
They serve very famous cake here.
You must try.
Today I pay.
It feels like a cemetery
in here. I must go.
But why?
- Please, let's go.
Maximilian?
Is that you?
I saw you on television.
I knew it was you!
I can't believe you are really here.
It's like a fairy tale!
Even as a child,
you were such a...
A wild little boy.
You remember your German.
No, Berta...
You were always an athlete.
Always running around.
I remember
how your father worried.
Poor man...
Sport was not so respected
back then.
He was afraid
you would turn bad.
Shame he didn't live to see it.
He saw other things I did.
Don't talk nonsense!
Did other kids steal cakes?
Cakes?
One slice!
I disappointed him.
He was a sensitive man.
A sensitive man?
A sensitive man.
I don't remember him like that.
It doesn't matter anymore. Let's go.
Taxi! Taxi!
Taxi!
What's wrong?
You steal a cake...
I was thinking it was much worse.
- Why don't you mind your own business?
I can ask you same question.
- No, you can't!
I'm only trying to help you.
You whore!
Everybody is gossiping about you!
What did you say?
Hey! What did you say?
What did he say?
That I cannot sit alone
in cafe with you.
It's okay.
I don't care. Let's go.
Go back, come on,
move it, move it.
Defense! One on one!
Is he blind?
Doesn't he see how bad we are?
Something bad is happening to him.
If we lose to these 2nd league amateurs
the executives will not be happy...
Indeed... not happy at all...
Switch positions.
Switch positions with Dieter.
Come on!
Fist!
Fist!
Well done!
Good, Thomas.
Go, Thomas, go!
Good! Good!
Did someone bring Christmas forward?
Strange, because I don't see any snow.
30% of the points we gave them
were gifts.
Gifts that the Italians
will take full advantage of.
Boys, we won the battle.
But we didn't win the war.
Dismissed. Thomas, good work.
Mr. Stoller, do you think
Prime Minister Begin should resign?
What's his post?
How many baskets did he score?
How does it feel to win
with the German national team?
Israeli television.
I know who you are.
Well, you know, there's room
for improvement, our defense is...
I meant, how does winning with
the German national team feel
as a Holocaust survivor?
Instead of asking me questions about the
game that just finished 5 minutes ago,
why do you persist on talking to me
about events that happened 39 years ago?
I'm a basketball coach.
That's what I do, that's why I'm here.
You want to hear
that I'm here for revenge?
Is that what you want to hear?
Let him go, let him go...
Do you think I'm here for revenge, Axel?
- Max... please...
400,000 Israelis demonstrated against
PM Begin and Defense Minister Sharon...
You've reached the Stoller family.
Please leave a message and we'll get...
... Calling for their resignation
following the tragic massacre
at the Sabra and Shatila
refugee camps in South Lebanon.
Good morning, Mr. Stoller.
"Max Stoller: 'I want revenge!"'
You wanted media interest,
you got media interest.
Like vultures scenting a corpse.
They've been after me ever since
I got here and you know that.
And they found you.
Do you have any idea of the risk
I took to bring you here?
We don't need this. - You brought me
here because I'm the best there is.
They warned me, they told me
I was making a mistake,
that it wouldn't work.
- What the hell are you talking about?
Something has happened to you
here in Germany.
You're not the same man that came
here... - I'm trying to explain that to you.
Don't explain to me,
explain it to the players.
I'll try to deal with this.
We have exactly 6 weeks
before our game against Italy
and our defense is far from something
that we can work with.
Alright. Cards on the table.
It didn't happen.
My words were taken out of context.
It was an inaccurate interpretation.
In brief, it was a sham.
We're here to play ball, not politics.
- We know why we are here.
Now we know why you came here.
Go get changed.
And all that after your lessons
about forgetting the past.
You almost had us fooled.
Are you hard of hearing?
Get off the court.
Don't worry,
I won't be the one
to ruin your revenge.
Don't bother coming back.
- Yeah, yeah.
You're finished here!
Dieter,
you're the new captain.
"Whore!"
"Shame on you! Beware!"
What are you doing here?
I was thinking I never see you again.
Any news about your husband?
I have a few more address.
- Good.
But thank you... - Careful.
The neighbors might see us.
Yes, there is no more room
on the door...
It's dangerous, you should move.
Where to?
German neighborhood? Downtown?
I'll pay.
- No, no, no.
I cook dinner. You eat with us.
It's alright.
I don't care what they say
about me anymore.
But please...
No, I must go.
Thank you.
We sinned, we committed crimes,
we betrayed,
Please forgive us God almighty...
Want a hot dog?
They're good.
"Stoller Furniture"
My father.
- Oh, your father.
Rudolph Stoller.
Let me...
What's your problem?
Come back here!
Come back!
Let me, let me!
What's your story?!?
I want to take you both
out for dinner.
Don't move.
- To an expensive restaurant.
Fine food, music,
candle light, champagne.
Maximilian, I don't drink alcohol.
Why don't you drink alcohol?
I'm Muslim, remember?
I'm a Jew, remember?
Press it against your nose
till it stops bleeding.
It doesn't stop bleeding.
All things come to end.
Nothing lasts forever.
But if you don't deal with it,
it will continue to bleed.
And then there is usually infection.
Chronicle infection.
Is that why you're still looking
for your husband?
No, it is why
you are suffering so much.
You are not dealing with it.
I don't know much
about your Holocaust, but...
How do you carry on living
after some catastrophe like that?
I killed him.
What you say?
I killed my father.
I was a boy. Sema's age.
My father always came home
at exactly the same time.
First he'd stop off at Berta's
to get a loaf of bread.
It was like clockwork.
But this night he came home late.
I heard him
and I peaked
through my bedroom door
and I saw his face.
I saw his disappointment.
And I knew that Berta told him
that I had stolen the cake.
No.
- So I...
I ran to my bed because I was afraid
that he was going to give me the belt.
But he didn't come.
At first I was relieved,
but then I realized
that he was ashamed
and that he hated me.
I heard my parents argue
for the first time.
They were whispering
so that I could not hear.
I think my mother defended me.
The next morning I was...
I was standing right there.
I...
I watched my father
as he crossed the street
and he seemed so...
He seemed so small.
Some Jews hid,
some fled.
Others were...
shot right in the middle
of the street.
Our upstairs neighbor
was thrown out the window,
and all my father could think of
was that his son had stolen a cake.
A stupid cake.
So he went to apologize.
And I never saw him again.
Good morning.
All the national executives are
waiting for more than one hour.
I'm sorry.
What happened to you?
- I walked into a wall.
Good morning, boys.
It's the first time
in my entire career
that I haven't arrived half an hour
before the other players.
So what does that mean?
- Means that I'm human.
Human?
- Yes...
You know what might be
very human? - What?
To admit that you made a mistake
by dropping Thomas.
The whole squad signed it.
If you carry on, they are leaving.
Max,
you've got to accept that it's over
and move on.
I've sacrificed far too much
to get to where I am today.
And where is that?
- Champion of Europe.
So...
why don't you behave like one?
Sort it out.
I have no intention of destroying
everything I've got because of your crap.
Our crap?!
I brought you here
because I thought you were like me
a new future, but...
you're just like
the rest of them here.
I gambled everything I had on you.
I took such a risk.
Do you know
what they're calling me in Israel?
They're calling me a traitor.
From being a national hero
I've become a traitor.
My mother won't speak to me, my wife
doesn't want to see me anymore,
my daughters don't want to go
to school because they're ashamed.
And you dare talk to me about risks?
All I've got
is a chance to save my name.
That's why I'm suggesting
that you leave now.
I'm not going anywhere.
It's not going to happen to me
a second time here.
Not here.
You've reached
the Stoller family.
Please leave a message...
Hello?
Thomas?
Welcome, Mr. Stoller.
There's one thing I admire
in you Israelis.
You know how to take care of those
that have fought for you.
Who gave their all.
That's good.
You haven't learned
anything from me.
Of course I have.
I've learned that you mustn't forget,
no matter what the price.
You gave up everything
because of that.
I've only given up things
for basketball.
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices
for the things that you love.
And I know that you love this game.
Thomas,
what would your father have said
if he saw you like this?
Before or after he went
to the local bar?
I didn't thought about it before,
but you and he are almost the same.
He drank to forget
and you're in basketball
for exactly the same reason.
You don't really love it,
you're just hiding behind it.
When my mother and I
reached Israel after the war
we were foreigners.
Penniless.
All we had was a suitcase
full of memories.
The next day I woke up and I said,
Max,
what are you going to do
with your life?
So I went for a walk along the port
and I threw the suitcase into the sea.
I turned away and I didn't look back.
I was lost.
When I look at you, Thomas,
I see that you are lost.
I only hope you realize it
before it's too late.
In any event,
you're not coming back until
you've apologized to the whole team.
Udo, I need the car
for the weekend.
No, not you, just the car.
You're both crazy. I'm not going.
I have important things to do.
Oh, yeah? Like what?
Prepare for my birthday,
look at the wall,
jump out of the window,
you choose.
Sema, come down at once!
I'm not going.
This child is impossible.
Have you got the addresses?
- Yes, here, I have them.
It's my birthday next week. - Oh really?
And how old are you going to be?
5 years to the day
when I can do whatever I want.
Her music was driving me
out of my mind.
You look pretty when you smile.
You should smile more often.
Are you afraid of what you might find?
Yes.
But it's better than living
without knowing, like you.
I know what happened.
No, you don't.
- Yes, I do.
You are a stubborn one.
When you are sad,
look in your heart
and you will see
that what you are weeping for
was once your delight.
That's beautiful.
Yes, I like it.
Jubran Halil Jubran.
What's that music?
Did somebody die?
Good morning, Sema.
Morning.
What are you doing?
I'm taking a shortcut.
We are going wrong way.
- So what?
We don't stand chance
of getting to all addresses.
Mama! The water's freezing!
- Quiet!
You must understand her.
She not see the sea for 2 years.
- Really?
It's hard.
She always live near water.
Why don't you take a dip with me?
Go on,
go have fun with your mother.
Join me, join me.
What's wrong?
I was brought up...
and until not long ago
I also believed that
without man,
without obeying man,
I didn't have right to live.
You are...
You are a good man, Max Stoller.
I'm not a good man.
Your mother is a brave woman.
It takes a lot of strength
to do what she's doing.
You should be proud of her.
Is that why she's shaming herself,
knocking on doors of people,
looking for her husband?
I will never do that.
I want to be like you.
Like me?
Anyway,
in the end...
she only has a broken heart.
Let's go.
What are you doing?
She's sleeping.
I checked.
I thought this is what you wanted.
No.
No, I don't want this.
Toilet cleaners
don't attract you?
Deniz...
you've come too close now.
You don't want to give up.
And that comes from someone who's
even afraid to cross the street
to ask a few questions.
I think now I understand
why you are helping us,
even though
you are trying to deny it.
You've got this need
to know what happened
but you don't have the stomach
to see it through,
so you are doing it through us.
Why didn't I see it earlier?
You did.
Maybe.
Anyway, search is over.
I mean, my search.
I finish.
That means you are free.
You can go and not come back.
It's over.
Do you know what it means
when a man drinks alone?
That he's alone.
So how are you?
Like you.
Oh, I almost forgot.
A Harwood?
Wear it in good health.
How much do I owe you?
It's a gift.
We owe you.
What do you think
you'll find there?
Is this you?
Everyone's got
a safe like this, Max.
Is this you
in these photographs?
What difference would it make?
It makes all the difference.
I tried to explain to her that...
no matter what she does,
what she wears,
what music she listens to,
she will never be one of them.
Where is she?
I don't know.
I'll see if I can find her.
I'm happy you came.
Happy birthday.
Happy for who?
Aren't you going to open it?
Get up.
Did the music you listen to
damage your hearing? Get up.
There's only one thing to do.
Make everybody love me?
- Hey.
I don't want to hear you
talking like that.
Nobody make you stay.
Let's go.
Where we go?
- Aha...
Max and his father loved
my Black Forest cherry cake.
So did my mother.
Don't you want a slice too?
No, thank you.
It's been a long time
since you had some.
Since I left.
Hello.
What may I get you?
Coffee, as usual,
and the Richelieu cake.
Aren't you going to taste it?
Sema, when I grew up
I was very much like you.
I had no father,
I was in a new country.
The kids used to mimic my accent.
But the more they laughed at me
the more they pushed me
to succeed.
I don't really care about them.
It's my birthday.
I thought he'd come
or send a letter.
I disappoint him so much
and I can't do nothing.
Then prove him wrong.
If I succeeded, so can you.
Sema, you're far more talented
and almost as good looking.
Thank you.
Open your present.
A paint box?
Max, I'm 13, you forget.
I'm not a little girl.
This is for me?
Really?
It's like yours.
I have something in my eye.
Sema, your mother
must be worried sick.
You should go home now.
Maximillian?
What's wrong with him?
Careful, it's hot.
Thank you, Berta.
You came every Sunday morning.
Your father was a striking man.
Always wore a suit.
I can still see you sitting
on his lap, eating cake.
How you two used to laugh!
Laugh?
You don't remember,
of course.
You were so little...
And that was a time
anyone would want to forget.
He loved you.
I should have known he'd come
down to pay for the cake.
If I hadn't stolen it, the Gestapo
wouldn't have caught him.
He would have left with us.
I never told him
what you did.
But he came here a month later
and paid for the cake.
I remember it very well,
because you had already left
and I was sure
he'd left with you.
Well then where did he go?
If he wasn't captured that day,
where did he go?
Where did he go?
I thought you knew
the answer to that.
No...
I asked him,
but he wouldn't talk about it.
He only cared that you
managed to get away.
But...
you should ask Gunther.
Gunther?
- Yes!
Gunther is dead.
No, Gunther isn't dead.
Wait... I must have
his address somewhere.
He can't be alive
Who is Gunther?
She's crazy, she's senile.
But who is he?
- He was a family friend.
It was he who saved us.
Goodbye Berta...
If you don't believe her,
call your mother and ask her.
My mother...
my mother's worse than Berta.
Don't you want to know
what really happened?
I know what happened. He's dead.
But you are alive.
This is it.
I come with you?
No.
She should have told me.
No, she was right not to tell you.
How can you say that?
A child
who has just lost his father
is forced to escape
from his home to new country,
and now, many years after,
has to face the fact that his mother
loved another man.
And because of that,
his father left him.
She lied to me.
She lied to me.
All those years she lied to me.
No, Max.
Your mother did right thing.
To protect you she protect her love.
Is that what you
would have done?
I found him.
Ibrahim, my husband.
The day we went out together,
at last address.
Why didn't you say anything?
What could I say?
That he's married to German woman
and they have baby?
So what now?
I've got a game to win.
Hi, Max.
- Hi.
How many tickets did we sell?
Only 300.
- Only 300?
Next year it will be 3,000.
I promise.
So... Thomas didn't come, huh?
No, no word from him.
Okay.
Let's beat the Italians.
- Yeah.
Defense! One on one!!!
Tonight the German
National Basketball will play in the quarter finals
of the Los Angeles Olympic games,
against the team that is
one of the favorites to win.
Our correspondent in Los Angeles
is with coach Max Stoller...
In two hours our team plays
against the Americans
Michael Jordan, Chris Mullin
and Patrick Ewing,
so far the strongest team
in the tournament.
Coach Stoller,
how do you like our chances?
I believe
that our chances are good.
We're playing against a great team
and truly,
all we have to fear is fear itself.
But I have a great captain
who's not scared.
So let's ask the captain himself.
What do you think
our chances are in this game?
Well, we're fit and well prepared.
And being present
is everything, right?
Lets go!
Go for the gold!
Ladies & Gentlemen,
A European Champion...
Max Stoller.
Mr. Stoller, how does it feel to be back
in Germany after so many years?
English, please.
Don't you speak German?
Do you have a problem
with coming back here?
Should I have?
Why would a European Champion
at the peak of his career
choose to coach here, of all places?
I'm sure you had better offers than
to coach the worst team in Europe.
Because of the pastries.
I understand that you have
the best pastries in Europe here.
Why hasn't your family come with you?
I think they've had enough of me.
Now, come on, people. Basketball.
Any questions about basketball?
I've got a feeling that you don't know
that much about it.
So allow me to explain.
On one hand there's a ball
weighing 650 grams
with a circumference of 45 cms.
On the other there's a basket
with a circumference of 78 cms.
And all you've got to do
is put the ball in the basket.
It sounds simple,
but it's not that easy.
"They've had enough of me."
That was great. Very funny.
It would've made me laugh
if it wasn't true.
I'm sorry, I didn't know.
Ah, it's ok...
Where are the players' interviews?
Do you really need them?
Statistics don't win games.
Players do.
Right.
We don't have enough geniuses
so we start importing them...
Maybe we should import
some players too.
This is the National team!
Precisely my point!
Loosen your wrist
as you complete the throw.
That's him?
He doesn't speak German?
- Of course not...
Let's see what you've got.
But, sir...
We do not have...
I mean, we cannot...
Improvise.
Shoes off! Jackets off!
- Ah, good morning Doctor.
Jackets off! Lets go!
- Dr. Kosslick, Max Stoller. - Franz.
My name is Max Stoller.
I was born in Frankfurt,
not too far from here.
For many years I coached
Macabbi Tel Aviv,
two-time European Champions.
I'm here to take you on a long,
exciting road
all the way to the 1984 Olympics
in Los Angeles.
America.
I know, I know.
We only have 2.5 months
before the qualifiers
and that our first game is against
one of the best teams in the world.
But if you listen to me,
work with me,
we can do it.
We can do it.
"Shock in Israel after assassination
of Lebanese president"
"Poll: Most Israelis say
Max Stoller is a traitor!"
You have reached
the Stoller family.
Please leave a message,
and we'll get back to you.
I'm here.
Regards to the girls...
We won the Eurovision with this song.
First time we win!
English, please.
Sorry, I don't speak English.
A bit of peace,
A bit ofjoy
A bit of warmth
I do wish for myself...
Do you know who
came in second? You!
61 points behind us.
A bit of peace,
A bit ofjoy
A bit of warmth
I do wish for myself...
Your style is the technique
and discipline of the team-player.
But I want your talent,
I want your individuality.
I have a simple motto:
There's always a framework,
but there are no rules in it.
That, by the way, is what brought
the European Championship twice
to Macabbi Tel Aviv.
That and a few Americans...
Did you say something?
No.
Tell me, captain, which way is east?
There.
Well, here we're in the west.
Here you can say whatever you want.
Skins and shirts.
Skins and shirts.
Max?
- Yes?
They want to do an item on TV news
about you.
Suddenly there's interest
in basketball.
Tell them to come to tomorrow's
training session.
That's not what interests them.
They want the personal aspect
of why you came and all that.
What's interesting about that?
Do you want me to dance naked
in the street and tell them
that I heard voices from outer space
telling me to come to Germany?
Anything that can put basketball
before football is good.
One on one!
No zone defense.
Mr. Stoller,
have you got anything to say
to the people in Israel
who call you a traitor
for choosing to work in Germany?
Can we stick to questions
about basketball?
Do you know where we are?
Recognize something?
- No, nothing,
it's all changed.
Childhood memories?
Nothing in particular.
I used to live here.
It was a childhood
just like any other.
Just like any other kid.
I have to cut...
Girl, move out of my frame,
please.
What?
- Get out of my frame!
What does this guy want from me?
Running?
- Running!
But after all, it wasn't
just like any other kid.
Because of the war you and your mother
had to escape from Germany.
As did millions of others.
It was a normal childhood at the time.
Aren't you angry? Bitter?
- Angry?
The only anger I have
is with this waste of time.
Time that I do not have.
The next time you want
to promote basketball,
will you make sure
that there's a basket and a ball?
And now to our report about the new
National basketball coach...
Mr. Stoller, how do you see the future
of German basketball?
I believe that in a few years,
not many,
basketball in Germany will be second
to football in every respect -
interest, fans, money,
and that's why you should be
more interested in the game itself
instead of all this nonsense.
Born in Frankfurt in 1931, these
streets were once Stoller's home.
Childhood memories?
Nothing in particular.
I used to live here.
It was a childhood
just like any other kid.
Sema! Come back here!
Does he expect us to jump like that?
We can't play like that...
To fly like that
you have to truly believe
that everything you think you know
doesn't exist.
There's no gravity,
no physical limits.
The apple did not fall from the tree.
It's all here,
in the most important muscle of all.
Use it.
I want you to reach for the stars.
I didn't come here to lose,
I came here to win.
Do you want to win?
Sorry... Max? Max...
- Yes?
So, how are we doing?
Isn't this too fast for them?
I've got the feeling that we are...
going backwards a bit. Am I wrong?
Sometimes you have to go backwards
to go forwards.
You want to aim high, right?
- As high as possible.
These boys need a strong foundations.
Markus, Ulrich, Dieter, Thomas,
Special interviews after the showers.
Super training...
See you, Thomas
- Take care.
Good night, Ulrich.
It was good talking to you.
Good night, Mr. Stoller.
Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach.
Boston Celtics.
8 consecutive NBA titles.
A Jew from Brooklyn.
Who would believe it, huh?
So?
Jews and sports?
It took us 40 years
to get from Egypt to Israel.
It's a 3 hour walk.
What have these personal interviews
got to do with basketball?
Thomas, in your opinion, is it the
team or the coach that wins the game?
Yes... I don't know either.
But what I do know is that everything
that happens in your personal life
comes out on the court.
From the moment that you face the
hoop and have to make a decision
that can change the game.
Nothing's happening in my life.
I hope that won't affect my decisions.
You're my captain, Thomas.
- I'm not. I'm the team captain.
Like I said, you're my captain.
Thomas, are you not happy
with my being here
or are you just not happy in general?
If it's any help, I can tell you
that I'm not happy
with the way this talk is going.
Thomas, I know it wasn't easy
losing your father.
With all due respect, Mr. Stoller...
- Max. Call me Max.
With all due respect, Mr. Stoller,
we're not friends, and my life
is none of your business.
This generation's mixed up.
They're ashamed of the past
and scared of the future.
They feel threatened by everything.
Growing up these times
is evidently not easy.
Growing up any time isn't easy.
What happened to Thomas's father?
I only know, it's not talked about,
that he drank himself to death.
We were all at his funeral.
His father was some kind of war hero.
In the east, on the eastern front,
I mean.
What angers Thomas is that nobody
remembers war heroes anymore.
It's not nice to admit it,
but neither do I.
Thank you.
Are you sure you don't
want me to wait for you?
It could be difficult
to get a taxi here.
You don't know
your way around.
As you wish, boss.
He's a policeman...
What do you want?
Are your parents in?
Nobody here.
Just a moment...
My mother not home.
At work.
Sema? Who is it?
May I come in?
Leave it open, please.
Here are all the papers.
Wait, please, wait.
I bring them...
We have the work-visa.
I'm Deniz Uner.
Everything is signed...
- Mama, he doesn't speak German.
Who is he?
Why did you let him in?
He's the one they were filming
here yesterday.
I told him you weren't home.
Ask him what he wants.
In what language?
Tell your mother that I just want
to see the apartment, that's all.
I speak English. A little.
In Turkey I worked in hotel.
So I give you landlord address,
you must talk with him.
No, no, lady, you can relax,
I just want to see the apartment.
I used to live here a long time ago.
Lucky man,
got out of here...
Sema, quiet!
Sorry... I'm sorry.
It was so much bigger.
Apartment was cut.
My husband...
He disappeared.
We come here to look for him.
"Stoller Furniture"
Is clean.
How long since you was here?
39 years.
39 years...
She told you he disappear
and you believe her?
It's a lie.
What's the truth?
He doesn't love us.
Me especially.
He never loved me...
Like everybody...
Can we go, boss?
You have reached
the Stoller family.
Please leave a message
and we'll get back to you.
Hi, call me...
Good morning.
- Good morning...
Good morning Mr. Stoller,
sorry we're late...
You smoke too much, my friend.
Not good for the blood pressure.
- Thank you.
Doctor, may I talk to you?
As a friend.
- Please.
Good morning...
Do you know where I can hire
an investigator?
An investigator?
- Yes.
Are you in trouble?
- No, no, it's...
for somebody I would like to help.
I want to talk to you.
Who owns that konditorei?
- Who?
I don't understand.
- I want to help you.
Help? How?
I want to hire an investigator.
- Why?
To find your husband.
But why you want to help us?
You shouldn't look a gift horse
in the mouth.
What do you want in return?
Want?
There's nothing here that I want
or that I need.
Forget that I was here.
This was a mistake.
Goodbye.
OK... I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Please, come in.
But I don't have to look
in your mouth, right?
And then, without warning,
the letters stopped coming.
We never heard from him anymore.
Everyone I tried to talk to
did not know where he was.
You like it sweet?
- Yes.
I had to come here,
look for him.
That was more than
one years ago.
I went to police,
I talked to his friends,
at his work...
Nothing.
Thank you.
- Nothing...
Your daughter is convinced
that your husband ran away.
Her imagination works overtime.
Children don't imagine things
like that without a good reason.
She's not easy child.
She never was.
I wasn't an easy child either.
I'm sorry, but I don't really
understand connection.
This is delicious.
What is it about the coffee
in this country
that it doesn't taste like coffee?
It's like black water.
- Yes.
"Where there is no good coffee
"nothing's good."
I'm only here
for one years and a half
but I miss Istanbul very much.
Well...
If only for this,
it was worth helping you.
I'll stay in touch.
Berta.
You wanted to know the name
of konditorei owner,
is Berta.
Yes. Thank you.
Do you want me to check
anything else?
I would be happy to help you.
Really.
Why? Does it look like I need help?
Yes.
Tell me, what do you do for a living?
I clean toilets in restaurant.
For a moment I thought you were
a psychologist or something.
I'm sorry, that was out of line.
It's not working
because you insist on zone defense.
I'm talking
about individual balls here.
One on one, man to man.
How many times do I have to tell you?
Shit, what does he want?
If you've got something to say,
then just say it.
I don't think the problem is
with the way we play.
So what in your opinion, captain,
is the problem?
I think you're trying to force
a style onto us
that's maybe suitable someplace else.
Boys, basketball
is a universal language.
It is a creative and instinctual game.
You've got that.
But you're scared.
When you stop being scared
you'll understand it.
Got it? Get it?
Hanns!
But... but how do we?
"But"...but what?
Afraid of the dark?
You should be able to play,
even in the dark.
Feel and listen.
Listen to the rhythm of the ball.
Feel it. Feel yourself.
Feel your enemy.
Feel him, smell him.
Touch him.
Respect and suspect.
Always respect and suspect him.
Ready, boys?
Move aside. Come on.
Watch out, idiot!
Thomas, I'll give you a ride home.
Come on, Thomas, you'll catch a cold.
Come on.
Over my career I've seen
hundreds of players
and only a handful
had your talent.
Man man man...
We made him (Beckenbauer) a Kaiser
and he goes to America.
People don't care about where
they come from anymore,
only about where they're going.
Would you turn it down, please?
Beckenbauer refused to comment...
You can fight with me, Thomas,
you can fight with me.
But let me be that point that you
can lean on so that you can fly.
I promise you, you'll be
in a completely new place.
What if I don't want
to be in a new place?
What if I'm happy just where I am?
Why are you so intent
on screwing up your career?
Why are you so intent on changing us?
Why are you here at all?
Stop here.
Stop.
I'm sure your father would have wanted
to see you succeed, Thomas.
My father didn't want to see anything.
Why do you say that?
If they had given him 1%,
just 1% of what Germany is spending
on apologizing to the whole world,
he still would be here.
- Crimes must be paid for, Thomas.
He was no criminal.
He was a soldier, a simple soldier
who fought and bled for this country
that forgot him
but remembered you.
Let's go.
Yes, sir.
Cheers!
Is that a 1926 Harwood automatic?
I never met anyone
who could identify it.
I've never met anyone wearing it.
Not since my father.
He used to collect old watches.
It was an addiction.
The Harwood automatic
was one of his favorites.
He was probably forced
to sell it, at the time.
But I collect new ones.
Have you seen the new digital Seiko?
It just came out.
All you have to do
is press one button,
and voila! It tells you the time
all over the world!
Has the gentleman made up his mind?
I'll take both.
Excellent choice.
If you come across
a Harwood automatic,
you can reach me here.
Fist!
Do it again.
Fist!
Do it again.
Dieter, switch with Thomas.
Thomas.
What are you waiting for?
Fist...
What's wrong with you?
- Why don't you pass better?
Do it again.
Fist.
Thomas is taking it hard.
If Dieter can do it, so can Thomas.
He just doesn't want to.
We can't afford to lose him.
Fist.
Good work, Dieter.
Fist.
You've reached the Stoller family.
Please leave a message
and we'll get back to you.
Blessed are you, Lord our God,
King of the universe
who has sanctified us with His
commandments and commanded us
to light the candles of Rosh Hashana.
Happy New Year!
A very happy
Jewish New Year!
Cheers!!!
Happy New Year!
What's wrong with you?
You're on top of the world and
you have a sour face. - Thanks.
Give him a drink.
Come on, Max.
Listen, I've been here
almost 15 years.
Quite a few Israelis
have passed here in my club.
There are several ways
of living here.
One: Hate them
for what they did to us
and never stop seeking revenge.
Never forget!
And there is my way.
Having a good time
is my revenge.
Enjoy!
Have fun.
Yom Kippur is coming soon,
so you can repent then.
Shimi said you were sad.
Did he?
Hey, maybe some other time.
Can't sleep, huh?
If you can't sleep then maybe
you're in the wrong place.
Maybe you should go home.
I've got to turn
you and your boys into a team.
You said that already.
There's nothing like a captain
who believes in himself and his team.
If that's what brought you here, you
shouldn't have replaced me as playmaker.
It was a professional decision.
No. It was personal.
You're in my way.
You know what you are?
You're just another apology.
Just another attempt
to erase everything.
They send us a Holocaust survivor
in order to forget the past.
Can you see the paradox?
Your father killed himself, Thomas.
That was his choice, his story.
- Take that back.
It's not your fault.
If you weren't older than me...
- What? What would you do?
Hit me?
It's not as easy as it looks.
But I'll make you a better offer.
If you can pass me,
I'll be on the next plane home.
But if you don't,
you'll do everything I tell you.
I'm warning you.
I'm the best there is.
Now, you can use me
to become a star
at international level,
but you're afraid.
You're afraid that if you make it,
you'll forget.
That's the paradox.
These are the last postcards
I have from my husband...
Yes... and these?
And these are photos...
from Turkey... - Yes...
And that's all I have.
I think I have everything I need,
thank you.
Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
He gave me
a few possible addresses.
He said he will have more,
later this week.
I'm sure he'll do a good job.
He comes highly recommended.
You know, people I know from home,
my family and my husband's family,
they don't help me.
If only I could pay you...
If there's anything I can do.
Yes, there is.
Find him.
Sema needs her father.
I know you don't need anything,
but I must do something.
Something small.
Cup of coffee?
It will not take long, I promise.
Better be good coffee.
It's right here, around corner.
I'm running late.
Maybe some other time.
Oh, no. Is here.
They serve very famous cake here.
You must try.
Today I pay.
It feels like a cemetery
in here. I must go.
But why?
- Please, let's go.
Maximilian?
Is that you?
I saw you on television.
I knew it was you!
I can't believe you are really here.
It's like a fairy tale!
Even as a child,
you were such a...
A wild little boy.
You remember your German.
No, Berta...
You were always an athlete.
Always running around.
I remember
how your father worried.
Poor man...
Sport was not so respected
back then.
He was afraid
you would turn bad.
Shame he didn't live to see it.
He saw other things I did.
Don't talk nonsense!
Did other kids steal cakes?
Cakes?
One slice!
I disappointed him.
He was a sensitive man.
A sensitive man?
A sensitive man.
I don't remember him like that.
It doesn't matter anymore. Let's go.
Taxi! Taxi!
Taxi!
What's wrong?
You steal a cake...
I was thinking it was much worse.
- Why don't you mind your own business?
I can ask you same question.
- No, you can't!
I'm only trying to help you.
You whore!
Everybody is gossiping about you!
What did you say?
Hey! What did you say?
What did he say?
That I cannot sit alone
in cafe with you.
It's okay.
I don't care. Let's go.
Go back, come on,
move it, move it.
Defense! One on one!
Is he blind?
Doesn't he see how bad we are?
Something bad is happening to him.
If we lose to these 2nd league amateurs
the executives will not be happy...
Indeed... not happy at all...
Switch positions.
Switch positions with Dieter.
Come on!
Fist!
Fist!
Well done!
Good, Thomas.
Go, Thomas, go!
Good! Good!
Did someone bring Christmas forward?
Strange, because I don't see any snow.
30% of the points we gave them
were gifts.
Gifts that the Italians
will take full advantage of.
Boys, we won the battle.
But we didn't win the war.
Dismissed. Thomas, good work.
Mr. Stoller, do you think
Prime Minister Begin should resign?
What's his post?
How many baskets did he score?
How does it feel to win
with the German national team?
Israeli television.
I know who you are.
Well, you know, there's room
for improvement, our defense is...
I meant, how does winning with
the German national team feel
as a Holocaust survivor?
Instead of asking me questions about the
game that just finished 5 minutes ago,
why do you persist on talking to me
about events that happened 39 years ago?
I'm a basketball coach.
That's what I do, that's why I'm here.
You want to hear
that I'm here for revenge?
Is that what you want to hear?
Let him go, let him go...
Do you think I'm here for revenge, Axel?
- Max... please...
400,000 Israelis demonstrated against
PM Begin and Defense Minister Sharon...
You've reached the Stoller family.
Please leave a message and we'll get...
... Calling for their resignation
following the tragic massacre
at the Sabra and Shatila
refugee camps in South Lebanon.
Good morning, Mr. Stoller.
"Max Stoller: 'I want revenge!"'
You wanted media interest,
you got media interest.
Like vultures scenting a corpse.
They've been after me ever since
I got here and you know that.
And they found you.
Do you have any idea of the risk
I took to bring you here?
We don't need this. - You brought me
here because I'm the best there is.
They warned me, they told me
I was making a mistake,
that it wouldn't work.
- What the hell are you talking about?
Something has happened to you
here in Germany.
You're not the same man that came
here... - I'm trying to explain that to you.
Don't explain to me,
explain it to the players.
I'll try to deal with this.
We have exactly 6 weeks
before our game against Italy
and our defense is far from something
that we can work with.
Alright. Cards on the table.
It didn't happen.
My words were taken out of context.
It was an inaccurate interpretation.
In brief, it was a sham.
We're here to play ball, not politics.
- We know why we are here.
Now we know why you came here.
Go get changed.
And all that after your lessons
about forgetting the past.
You almost had us fooled.
Are you hard of hearing?
Get off the court.
Don't worry,
I won't be the one
to ruin your revenge.
Don't bother coming back.
- Yeah, yeah.
You're finished here!
Dieter,
you're the new captain.
"Whore!"
"Shame on you! Beware!"
What are you doing here?
I was thinking I never see you again.
Any news about your husband?
I have a few more address.
- Good.
But thank you... - Careful.
The neighbors might see us.
Yes, there is no more room
on the door...
It's dangerous, you should move.
Where to?
German neighborhood? Downtown?
I'll pay.
- No, no, no.
I cook dinner. You eat with us.
It's alright.
I don't care what they say
about me anymore.
But please...
No, I must go.
Thank you.
We sinned, we committed crimes,
we betrayed,
Please forgive us God almighty...
Want a hot dog?
They're good.
"Stoller Furniture"
My father.
- Oh, your father.
Rudolph Stoller.
Let me...
What's your problem?
Come back here!
Come back!
Let me, let me!
What's your story?!?
I want to take you both
out for dinner.
Don't move.
- To an expensive restaurant.
Fine food, music,
candle light, champagne.
Maximilian, I don't drink alcohol.
Why don't you drink alcohol?
I'm Muslim, remember?
I'm a Jew, remember?
Press it against your nose
till it stops bleeding.
It doesn't stop bleeding.
All things come to end.
Nothing lasts forever.
But if you don't deal with it,
it will continue to bleed.
And then there is usually infection.
Chronicle infection.
Is that why you're still looking
for your husband?
No, it is why
you are suffering so much.
You are not dealing with it.
I don't know much
about your Holocaust, but...
How do you carry on living
after some catastrophe like that?
I killed him.
What you say?
I killed my father.
I was a boy. Sema's age.
My father always came home
at exactly the same time.
First he'd stop off at Berta's
to get a loaf of bread.
It was like clockwork.
But this night he came home late.
I heard him
and I peaked
through my bedroom door
and I saw his face.
I saw his disappointment.
And I knew that Berta told him
that I had stolen the cake.
No.
- So I...
I ran to my bed because I was afraid
that he was going to give me the belt.
But he didn't come.
At first I was relieved,
but then I realized
that he was ashamed
and that he hated me.
I heard my parents argue
for the first time.
They were whispering
so that I could not hear.
I think my mother defended me.
The next morning I was...
I was standing right there.
I...
I watched my father
as he crossed the street
and he seemed so...
He seemed so small.
Some Jews hid,
some fled.
Others were...
shot right in the middle
of the street.
Our upstairs neighbor
was thrown out the window,
and all my father could think of
was that his son had stolen a cake.
A stupid cake.
So he went to apologize.
And I never saw him again.
Good morning.
All the national executives are
waiting for more than one hour.
I'm sorry.
What happened to you?
- I walked into a wall.
Good morning, boys.
It's the first time
in my entire career
that I haven't arrived half an hour
before the other players.
So what does that mean?
- Means that I'm human.
Human?
- Yes...
You know what might be
very human? - What?
To admit that you made a mistake
by dropping Thomas.
The whole squad signed it.
If you carry on, they are leaving.
Max,
you've got to accept that it's over
and move on.
I've sacrificed far too much
to get to where I am today.
And where is that?
- Champion of Europe.
So...
why don't you behave like one?
Sort it out.
I have no intention of destroying
everything I've got because of your crap.
Our crap?!
I brought you here
because I thought you were like me
a new future, but...
you're just like
the rest of them here.
I gambled everything I had on you.
I took such a risk.
Do you know
what they're calling me in Israel?
They're calling me a traitor.
From being a national hero
I've become a traitor.
My mother won't speak to me, my wife
doesn't want to see me anymore,
my daughters don't want to go
to school because they're ashamed.
And you dare talk to me about risks?
All I've got
is a chance to save my name.
That's why I'm suggesting
that you leave now.
I'm not going anywhere.
It's not going to happen to me
a second time here.
Not here.
You've reached
the Stoller family.
Please leave a message...
Hello?
Thomas?
Welcome, Mr. Stoller.
There's one thing I admire
in you Israelis.
You know how to take care of those
that have fought for you.
Who gave their all.
That's good.
You haven't learned
anything from me.
Of course I have.
I've learned that you mustn't forget,
no matter what the price.
You gave up everything
because of that.
I've only given up things
for basketball.
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices
for the things that you love.
And I know that you love this game.
Thomas,
what would your father have said
if he saw you like this?
Before or after he went
to the local bar?
I didn't thought about it before,
but you and he are almost the same.
He drank to forget
and you're in basketball
for exactly the same reason.
You don't really love it,
you're just hiding behind it.
When my mother and I
reached Israel after the war
we were foreigners.
Penniless.
All we had was a suitcase
full of memories.
The next day I woke up and I said,
Max,
what are you going to do
with your life?
So I went for a walk along the port
and I threw the suitcase into the sea.
I turned away and I didn't look back.
I was lost.
When I look at you, Thomas,
I see that you are lost.
I only hope you realize it
before it's too late.
In any event,
you're not coming back until
you've apologized to the whole team.
Udo, I need the car
for the weekend.
No, not you, just the car.
You're both crazy. I'm not going.
I have important things to do.
Oh, yeah? Like what?
Prepare for my birthday,
look at the wall,
jump out of the window,
you choose.
Sema, come down at once!
I'm not going.
This child is impossible.
Have you got the addresses?
- Yes, here, I have them.
It's my birthday next week. - Oh really?
And how old are you going to be?
5 years to the day
when I can do whatever I want.
Her music was driving me
out of my mind.
You look pretty when you smile.
You should smile more often.
Are you afraid of what you might find?
Yes.
But it's better than living
without knowing, like you.
I know what happened.
No, you don't.
- Yes, I do.
You are a stubborn one.
When you are sad,
look in your heart
and you will see
that what you are weeping for
was once your delight.
That's beautiful.
Yes, I like it.
Jubran Halil Jubran.
What's that music?
Did somebody die?
Good morning, Sema.
Morning.
What are you doing?
I'm taking a shortcut.
We are going wrong way.
- So what?
We don't stand chance
of getting to all addresses.
Mama! The water's freezing!
- Quiet!
You must understand her.
She not see the sea for 2 years.
- Really?
It's hard.
She always live near water.
Why don't you take a dip with me?
Go on,
go have fun with your mother.
Join me, join me.
What's wrong?
I was brought up...
and until not long ago
I also believed that
without man,
without obeying man,
I didn't have right to live.
You are...
You are a good man, Max Stoller.
I'm not a good man.
Your mother is a brave woman.
It takes a lot of strength
to do what she's doing.
You should be proud of her.
Is that why she's shaming herself,
knocking on doors of people,
looking for her husband?
I will never do that.
I want to be like you.
Like me?
Anyway,
in the end...
she only has a broken heart.
Let's go.
What are you doing?
She's sleeping.
I checked.
I thought this is what you wanted.
No.
No, I don't want this.
Toilet cleaners
don't attract you?
Deniz...
you've come too close now.
You don't want to give up.
And that comes from someone who's
even afraid to cross the street
to ask a few questions.
I think now I understand
why you are helping us,
even though
you are trying to deny it.
You've got this need
to know what happened
but you don't have the stomach
to see it through,
so you are doing it through us.
Why didn't I see it earlier?
You did.
Maybe.
Anyway, search is over.
I mean, my search.
I finish.
That means you are free.
You can go and not come back.
It's over.
Do you know what it means
when a man drinks alone?
That he's alone.
So how are you?
Like you.
Oh, I almost forgot.
A Harwood?
Wear it in good health.
How much do I owe you?
It's a gift.
We owe you.
What do you think
you'll find there?
Is this you?
Everyone's got
a safe like this, Max.
Is this you
in these photographs?
What difference would it make?
It makes all the difference.
I tried to explain to her that...
no matter what she does,
what she wears,
what music she listens to,
she will never be one of them.
Where is she?
I don't know.
I'll see if I can find her.
I'm happy you came.
Happy birthday.
Happy for who?
Aren't you going to open it?
Get up.
Did the music you listen to
damage your hearing? Get up.
There's only one thing to do.
Make everybody love me?
- Hey.
I don't want to hear you
talking like that.
Nobody make you stay.
Let's go.
Where we go?
- Aha...
Max and his father loved
my Black Forest cherry cake.
So did my mother.
Don't you want a slice too?
No, thank you.
It's been a long time
since you had some.
Since I left.
Hello.
What may I get you?
Coffee, as usual,
and the Richelieu cake.
Aren't you going to taste it?
Sema, when I grew up
I was very much like you.
I had no father,
I was in a new country.
The kids used to mimic my accent.
But the more they laughed at me
the more they pushed me
to succeed.
I don't really care about them.
It's my birthday.
I thought he'd come
or send a letter.
I disappoint him so much
and I can't do nothing.
Then prove him wrong.
If I succeeded, so can you.
Sema, you're far more talented
and almost as good looking.
Thank you.
Open your present.
A paint box?
Max, I'm 13, you forget.
I'm not a little girl.
This is for me?
Really?
It's like yours.
I have something in my eye.
Sema, your mother
must be worried sick.
You should go home now.
Maximillian?
What's wrong with him?
Careful, it's hot.
Thank you, Berta.
You came every Sunday morning.
Your father was a striking man.
Always wore a suit.
I can still see you sitting
on his lap, eating cake.
How you two used to laugh!
Laugh?
You don't remember,
of course.
You were so little...
And that was a time
anyone would want to forget.
He loved you.
I should have known he'd come
down to pay for the cake.
If I hadn't stolen it, the Gestapo
wouldn't have caught him.
He would have left with us.
I never told him
what you did.
But he came here a month later
and paid for the cake.
I remember it very well,
because you had already left
and I was sure
he'd left with you.
Well then where did he go?
If he wasn't captured that day,
where did he go?
Where did he go?
I thought you knew
the answer to that.
No...
I asked him,
but he wouldn't talk about it.
He only cared that you
managed to get away.
But...
you should ask Gunther.
Gunther?
- Yes!
Gunther is dead.
No, Gunther isn't dead.
Wait... I must have
his address somewhere.
He can't be alive
Who is Gunther?
She's crazy, she's senile.
But who is he?
- He was a family friend.
It was he who saved us.
Goodbye Berta...
If you don't believe her,
call your mother and ask her.
My mother...
my mother's worse than Berta.
Don't you want to know
what really happened?
I know what happened. He's dead.
But you are alive.
This is it.
I come with you?
No.
She should have told me.
No, she was right not to tell you.
How can you say that?
A child
who has just lost his father
is forced to escape
from his home to new country,
and now, many years after,
has to face the fact that his mother
loved another man.
And because of that,
his father left him.
She lied to me.
She lied to me.
All those years she lied to me.
No, Max.
Your mother did right thing.
To protect you she protect her love.
Is that what you
would have done?
I found him.
Ibrahim, my husband.
The day we went out together,
at last address.
Why didn't you say anything?
What could I say?
That he's married to German woman
and they have baby?
So what now?
I've got a game to win.
Hi, Max.
- Hi.
How many tickets did we sell?
Only 300.
- Only 300?
Next year it will be 3,000.
I promise.
So... Thomas didn't come, huh?
No, no word from him.
Okay.
Let's beat the Italians.
- Yeah.
Defense! One on one!!!
Tonight the German
National Basketball will play in the quarter finals
of the Los Angeles Olympic games,
against the team that is
one of the favorites to win.
Our correspondent in Los Angeles
is with coach Max Stoller...
In two hours our team plays
against the Americans
Michael Jordan, Chris Mullin
and Patrick Ewing,
so far the strongest team
in the tournament.
Coach Stoller,
how do you like our chances?
I believe
that our chances are good.
We're playing against a great team
and truly,
all we have to fear is fear itself.
But I have a great captain
who's not scared.
So let's ask the captain himself.
What do you think
our chances are in this game?
Well, we're fit and well prepared.
And being present
is everything, right?
Lets go!
Go for the gold!