The Champion (2020) Movie Script
1
[upbeat music playing]
[punches thudding]
[dog barking]
[boy] Daddy!
[chuckles]
[dramatic music playing]
[Kropp] Name and profession?
[Zurawski]
Captain Zurawski Marian.
[Kropp] Name, profession?
[Piecyk]
Piecyk Zdzislaw, carpenter.
[Kropp] Name, profession?
[Teddy]
Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, athlete.
[Kropp in German] Attention!
Take off your hats!
Heil Hitler! Come.
[Gerhard] You are the first
in the German
concentration camp.
From tomorrow,
you will repair the barracks.
The boys are led
to our carpentry shop.
If there are Jews among you,
they cannot live
for longer than two weeks.
[Gerhard]
Priests, one month.
The rest, three months.
For enemies of the Third Reich,
such as yourselves,
there will be no favors
and no mercy.
From here on in there's no exit
other than through
the chimney of the crematorium.
Forget about your wives,
your children, or your families.
To us, you are not human beings.
Julek!
Julek?
Julek?
-[indistinct chatter]
-Julek!
[dramatic music playing]
[prisoners coughing]
-[rocks clattering]
-[indistinct chatter]
[dogs barking]
[man speaking German]
[Block] Work!
You there.
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
[train horn blaring]
[soft music playing]
[man 2 speaking German]
[Rotmistrz] At night,
there are only half as many.
We will steal
civilian clothes from the depot.
Then we'll dismantle the fence.
I ran from
the Bolsheviks three times.
These Krauts
shouldn't be difficult.
First, we'll come--
[soldiers laughing]
[Bruno] Back to work!
[somber music playing]
[Block] Wake up!
Get up!
Get to work!
Out, dogs!
[wood clattering]
I know you.
From Legia Warsaw.
They called you "Teddy,"
like the boxer from America.
I've seen you fight
for the Polish championship.
Yes? What else have you seen?
By points, the victory
should have been yours.
On points?
I didn't lose because of points.
You were the best in Warsaw.
Look around.
There's no Legia,
no Warsaw here.
There's no "best."
Keep an eye on your food.
You can't survive without it.
[Ana] We will convert the room
on the upper floor
into a tailor's room.
Find two gifted girls.
Rudi,
sweetheart.
[sighs] My dear,
to live and to die here.
Put that there.
And don't get
anything filthy, you Pole.
Rudi.
Rudi. [chuckles]
[clock chiming]
[footsteps approaching]
Number 77 reporting, sir.
[Gerhard] Albrecht Durer.
Angel with a Key to the Abyss.
[wood clattering]
[indistinct chatter]
You still don't understand?
It was for you.
Here, eat.
[Kapo 1] Attention!
Did you think
that I would allow for theft?
-Arrest them.
-Yes, sir!
-Forward. Come on.
-Faster!
[gunshot fires]
[Kapo 1] Clean up!
[Gerhard] Next!
Faster!
Apple on your head.
[gunshot fires]
[Gerhard] Apple.
"He's not afraid of
the mountains
in which he has grown.
Should last a year
outside our cabin door."
William Tell , Schiller.
Where did you learn that?
We read it at home.
Lashes. Twenty-five each.
So they can feel
the power of German poetry.
Then to the penal company.
[Kropp] But, Rapportfuhrer,
I've already filled out five
death certificates, not four.
[speaking German]
You!
Yes, you.
Your cap.
Bring it here.
Help him.
Did you get their numbers?
Yes.
Five bodies, five marks each.
Makes a total of 25 reichsmarks.
Write it down.
Escape attempt.
In total,
that makes 55 reichsmarks.
[Kropp] Yes, sir!
-[soft music playing]
-[Kapo 1] Count.
-[Janek groans]
-[in German] One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
Seventeen
[dramatic music playing]
[Kropp in English] Undress!
Put your clothes
down next to you.
[indistinct chatter]
[Kropp] You'll get them back
after a shower.
After, you will get a warm meal.
Move.
Where are we going?
-[dramatic music playing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[prisoners screaming]
[Kropp] Drown out the noise.
-[prisoners screaming]
-[truck engine revving]
[rocks clattering]
[coughs]
[Bruno whistles]
-[groans]
-[groans]
[indistinct chatter]
[Ernst] Get to work!
Hold the wheelbarrow.
[Ernst] Get up!
[Bruno] Punch him
as hard as you can.
If he hits the ground,
the sausage is yours.
Now it's your turn.
-[grunts]
-Oh, bravo.
[soldiers laughing]
Not so fast.
That was just the first round.
-[soldiers laughing]
-Who's going next?
This one.
Come here.
Hit him.
What the hell?
[grunts]
Wait!
Let me try.
You got fat.
-You thief!
-[Walter] One second.
If he loses, he's yours.
If he wins, he gets some bread.
-All right?
-Agreed.
Until first blood.
-[chuckles]
-[Ernst] Here.
Fight here.
[Bruno] Fucking work!
Fight him now.
-[rocks clattering]
-[indistinct chatter]
[dramatic music playing]
[Ernst] No!
Give him bread.
Finally, someone who can fight.
Where did you box?
Warsaw.
Hamburg.
Champion in '38.
[indistinct chatter]
A punch, punch, and then
a dodge, dodge,
then a punch, punch.
It was terrible.
-I thought it was over.
-[door opens]
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
Eat.
[coughs]
[indistinct chatter]
[dog barking]
Walter, I need more food.
And medicine.
You're going to have to earn it.
[indistinct clamoring]
[soft music playing]
[door closes]
Number 77 awaiting--
Awaiting your command.
Did you see that?
Just like I told you.
He's like the wind.
We'll fatten him up,
and he'll fight the best boxers.
The men will be thrilled.
[Gerhard] Mm-hmm.
"Nickname, Teddy."
"Also known as
the gentleman boxer."
"The dodge king of Warsaw."
"Totaling almost 100 fights
in bantam and featherweight
as well as competing twice
for the title
in the Polish championship."
"The first fight
was cancelled."
"The second fight he lost."
You don't exactly
look like a champion.
[Lagerfuhrer] He looks
more like
a small rooster plucked of its
feathers than a champion.
He won't last
a few minutes in the ring.
Maybe we can take bets on
how long he'll last.
[doctor] Gentlemen,
it isn't exactly a secret
that last Sunday, six soldiers
partied and got drunk
and started a brawl in
a neighboring village for fun.
Maybe we should offer them
a little entertainment
instead of waiting for them
to get completely drunk
until they pass out.
Let's try it.
Find someone who will not
prolong his torment excessively.
[Bumbo] Gentlemen,
Kapo Max or Prisoner 77?
-Place your bets!
-[indistinct chatter]
Yes, come on.
Gentlemen! Round one, ring free!
-[Walter] Are you ready?
-Yes.
Ready?
-Fight!
-[bell ringing]
[indistinct chatter]
[bell ringing]
[Walter] Stop!
-Into your corners.
-[soft music playing]
-Fight!
-[bell ringing]
[indistinct chatter]
You're going to work here now.
The work is easy
and you will get food.
And medicine?
Go to the SS infirmary.
I'll tell them to expect you.
They'll get you on your feet.
[horse snorts]
[horse neighing]
[Maria] Don't move.
If I don't fix it,
there'll be problems.
This is Helcia.
Helcia, bow to Mr. Boxer.
Her father and mother are dead.
She helps me keep order here.
When you beat that Kapo,
the whole camp heard.
Finished.
Thank you.
I need medicine
for pneumonia.
[soft music playing]
[tools clattering]
This should help.
But you will help too.
Pass this on to
Mordechai from the hospital.
It will be more useful to him.
[German guard] Hey there, boxer!
[Mordechai in German]
Go your way until the end comes
and you will rest and rise to
your destiny
at the end of the days.
[in English]
And if he was a Catholic?
Our Rabbi said,
"If you can, go pray
in the fields and meadows."
"Because we are all like blades
of grass,
born from the same soil."
They don't look like
they are going anywhere.
[Klimpo] Because they can't.
Congratulations.
We only have aspirin here
and some bandages.
You could help out.
[Teddy] I'm to carry medicine
for you?
I can't risk it right now.
The boy will last a week,
maybe two.
We can transfer him
to Sister Maria
at the SS infirmary.
She can keep
an eye on him there.
Papa?
Papa!
-Yes.
-May I show you something?
[Gerhard] Hmm?
Why did Uhlan von Rhine
lose to the Black American?
It's very simple.
-His coach was a Jew.
-[Ana] Gerhard
[Rudi] He looks like
he doesn't want to win.
That was a conspiracy.
You have to understand that.
Boxing is a sport for peasants.
Next week,
you have riding lessons.
I've read that boxing
is like playing chess,
-only a hundred times faster.
-Rudi, off to bed.
[Bruno] What are you doing here?
You don't look sick.
Maybe you want to help yourself
move on to the afterlife, huh?
[chuckles]
I know people like you.
You cling to life by any means.
They may think
you want to fight,
that you want to win
the war with your fists,
but you're not deceiving me.
You want to live.
Live.
[shovel thudding]
[thunder rumbling]
[Teddy] Take it.
You didn't have to.
[Teddy] I wanted to make sure
you didn't lose this fight
in the first round.
And the other fights?
How will I win them?
You always have to recognize
your opponent's weak spots.
Then, fight for a place
in the middle of the ring.
And most importantly,
to keep your strength
for a really tough moment.
What if he doesn't fight fair?
[rain pattering]
Once upon a time
in ancient Olympia,
on the third full moon
after the summer solstice,
Zeus set up the Olympics.
All participants had to take
an oath in front of his statue
that they would sleep
on the beaten ground,
they only covered themselves
with animal skins,
and bathe in
the cold waters of the stream.
But the most important thing
was to fight
according to the principle
of equal opportunities.
Respect your opponent.
Respect yourself.
Only then can you win for real.
[piano playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[soft music playing]
[soldiers cheering]
[bell ringing]
[hay rustling]
[Lagerfuhrer] Here you are.
Fulfi.
English thoroughbred.
We already have a nice phrase
above the gate into the camp.
That's why you will also
make an inscription
above the entrance
to the stables.
"On the horseback rests
the paradise of this Earth."
I see
that you have put on weight.
You have become quite prominent.
Eat, eat.
After all,
you are
our Sunday entertainment.
But when the Sunday gets boring,
you will show us how beautifully
a true Pole loses.
You are the best at that.
Aren't you?
-[engine turns off]
-[indistinct chatter]
Heil Hitler.
-All right.
-Thank you.
[Kropp] Move.
[grunts]
[soldier speaking German]
-[in English] Fight!
-[indistinct chatter]
[in German] One, two, three,
four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, ten.
[crowd cheering]
-[indistinct chatter]
-[soft music playing]
[prisoners chanting in English]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
[Rudi thudding]
Rudi?
Rudi!
Rudi.
Rudi?
Rudi.
Rudi.
Ana!
I'm afraid
I don't have good news.
Typhus.
That's impossible.
He never...
He hardly ever left the house.
I beg your pardon,
but
did the boy have contact
with the prisoners
or with things from the camp?
No
doctor.
Can we do something?
Anything?
[doctor] We have
no other choice
other than to start treatment
and observation.
-[horse neighing]
-[soft music playing]
[snoring]
[Teddy] What are you doing?
[soldier 2 speaking German]
[in English] My dad used to say
that before we are born,
we are all angels,
and then we fall down to Earth.
Only the best of us
will go back there.
And where is your dad?
Do you see that star?
I think your dad is
looking at you, and he's proud.
[soft music playing]
I feel like
I shouldn't fight anymore.
It's not a sport here.
[Janek] These are no longer
your fights.
You fight for us.
For all of us.
Eat slowly.
There is enough for everyone.
[ambulance door opening]
[ambulance engine revving]
[somber music playing]
-[dog barking]
-[indistinct chatter]
[baby crying]
[Kropp] Take off your clothes!
Put your clothes
down next to you.
You will get them
back after a shower.
After, you will get a warm meal.
Move!
[indistinct chatter]
[somber music playing]
[Kapo 2] Officer!
She tried to smuggle food
for the Poles.
[drunk SS-man]
Take off your clothes!
Or I will shoot you like a dog!
Take them off!
Faster!
-We haven't got all night!
-[gun cocks]
[soldiers laughing]
[crowd gasping]
-[gunshot firing]
-[crowd screaming]
[somber music playing]
[sobs]
They killed her.
They killed Helcia.
They killed Helcia.
[bell dinging]
They didn't kill her.
No one will kill her
if you remember her.
She lives here and here.
[sobs]
Run to work before
they know you're gone.
[door closes]
-Nurse?
-Yes?
Shouldn't I get a tetanus shot?
Against tetanus? Yes, of course.
[Gerhard] I see that you have
a young assistant.
A lover of German poetry.
Come here.
Come!
Hello, little nurse.
Please give the syringe
to your helper.
You have to inject it
at the right angle.
Here.
Not in the vein
or you could kill me.
What's your name?
Janek.
[Gerhard] You want to kill me,
don't you?
Do you believe in God?
I've killed a lot of people.
If He existed,
would He have allowed it?
I could have died today.
Yet, I'm still here.
Maybe that's
exactly what it's all about.
Is it His plan?
He takes away the most
valuable things
and orders you to live on.
You don't have to.
[Gerhard] What?
You don't have to do that.
[indistinct chatter]
That's a former German champion.
They call him the Hammerschlag.
One punch and that's it.
[soldiers exclaiming]
It's not mine
nor your weight class.
Come, around the block again.
[indistinct chatter]
[Lagerfuhrer chuckles]
Did I get that right?
You want to fight
with a German champion?
With our Hammerschlag?
A German
should not get his hands dirty.
I have to win.
And I will.
And only you know that.
In return,
you want me to release the boy?
And if I were to refuse?
No more fights.
Why do you think that this idea
is even possible?
You can do anything, Commandant.
[Lagerfuhrer chuckles]
So be it.
Take the prisoner.
[door closes]
Yes,
you were right.
Our men like to watch him fight.
But each of his victories
motivates the prisoners.
Builds up their resistance.
Maybe he should be hanged
before today's roll call?
It is not necessary
to make a martyr out of him.
Please find a boxer
who will replace the Pole
starting with our guest
visiting from Neuengamme.
And 77,
he will get what he wants.
The fight will take place today.
Out in the open.
Every prisoner should see it.
[Gerhard] Are you sure?
The Pole hasn't lost
a single fight.
Did you know
that back in the day,
snowflakes
were created with
crushed human bones?
Please make sure that
the pure-bred stallion wins.
-[indistinct chatter]
-[Bumbo] Attention! Attention!
Ladies and gentlemen! Today,
you're in for a real sensation!
A fight for the championship
of Auschwitz camp.
The undefeated Number 77
will face
the invincible Hammerschlag.
-[Teddy] Have you seen Janek?
-No.
[indistinct chatter]
[dramatic music playing]
This should be a clean fight.
May the best man win.
Are you ready?
Ready?
Fight!
[crowd cheering]
[Walter] Get back! Get back!
Into your corners!
Pick up the ring.
Everything good?
Fight!
[indistinct chatter]
[prisoners chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
[dramatic music playing]
It's going well.
[prisoners chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
Come here.
[prisoner] Here, drink.
-[indistinct chatter]
-[dramatic music playing]
Round two!
-Fight!
-[indistinct chatter]
What's wrong?
Line them up! Faster!
Faster!
[dog barking]
[Walter] Please stop,
he's had enough.
[Bruno] Line up!
I want to fight.
I can fight.
I can fight.
Fight.
No.
Not him.
I won't touch him.
Then he will shoot him first,
and then you.
No, not him.
[Lagerfuhrer] Shoot him.
[Teddy] Hit me, Janek.
Hit me.
Hit me.
Hit me, don't act like a shit!
Shoot!
Janek!
[gunshot firing]
You're going to have
a beautiful view here.
-Here.
-Yeah. Here. Yeah.
-[Ernst grunts]
-[Bruno grunts]
And the winner is...
[chuckles]
[somber music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[prisoners screaming]
Shit.
Get moving.
Back to work.
[somber music playing]
[gunshots firing]
Dearest officers and
dearest guests from Neuengamme!
Especially for you, the unbeaten
champion, Hammerschlag
against Prisoner 934.
Round one, ring free!
[indistinct chatter]
Fight!
I give him two minutes.
Two minutes.
[in German]
One, two, three, four
-[officers cheering, applauding]
-[door opens, closes]
[soft music playing]
[in English] I know him!
That is Teddy!
I was a referee
in his fight before the war.
This will be
an interesting battle.
Gentlemen,
place your bets.
Everything on Teddy.
[indistinct chatter]
Come on, Teddy! Come on!
[Walter] Fight!
[indistinct chatter]
Wonderful!
[crowd chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
[in German] One, two
[upbeat music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
Introducing the world champion
of all weight classes
from Auschwitz
concentration camp,
Number 77!
[crowd chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
[soft music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
Transfer him to us.
Please.
Lately, the same dream
haunts me almost every night.
I'm in an empty, dark house.
Dozens of portraits
of faces hang on its walls,
full of fear and hatred.
I try to take them down,
but it turns out that these
are not pictures, but windows.
Hmm.
Tell me, boxer.
How does it feel
to be a champion?
I'm not a champion.
Not yet.
Our guest,
the commander
of Neuengamme camp,
asked us to transfer you.
You will fight for him now.
You are leaving Auschwitz.
[Gerhard]
This is from someone
who understood your sport
far better than I could.
Someday
when this is all over,
[Gerhard] where will you go?
I will find a new home.
[Gerhard] And when you have
found your new home,
do you already know
who you are going to be?
I don't know
who I am going to be.
But I know for sure
I always knew
who I want to be.
[soft music playing]
[soft music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
[punches thudding]
[dog barking]
[boy] Daddy!
[chuckles]
[dramatic music playing]
[Kropp] Name and profession?
[Zurawski]
Captain Zurawski Marian.
[Kropp] Name, profession?
[Piecyk]
Piecyk Zdzislaw, carpenter.
[Kropp] Name, profession?
[Teddy]
Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, athlete.
[Kropp in German] Attention!
Take off your hats!
Heil Hitler! Come.
[Gerhard] You are the first
in the German
concentration camp.
From tomorrow,
you will repair the barracks.
The boys are led
to our carpentry shop.
If there are Jews among you,
they cannot live
for longer than two weeks.
[Gerhard]
Priests, one month.
The rest, three months.
For enemies of the Third Reich,
such as yourselves,
there will be no favors
and no mercy.
From here on in there's no exit
other than through
the chimney of the crematorium.
Forget about your wives,
your children, or your families.
To us, you are not human beings.
Julek!
Julek?
Julek?
-[indistinct chatter]
-Julek!
[dramatic music playing]
[prisoners coughing]
-[rocks clattering]
-[indistinct chatter]
[dogs barking]
[man speaking German]
[Block] Work!
You there.
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
[train horn blaring]
[soft music playing]
[man 2 speaking German]
[Rotmistrz] At night,
there are only half as many.
We will steal
civilian clothes from the depot.
Then we'll dismantle the fence.
I ran from
the Bolsheviks three times.
These Krauts
shouldn't be difficult.
First, we'll come--
[soldiers laughing]
[Bruno] Back to work!
[somber music playing]
[Block] Wake up!
Get up!
Get to work!
Out, dogs!
[wood clattering]
I know you.
From Legia Warsaw.
They called you "Teddy,"
like the boxer from America.
I've seen you fight
for the Polish championship.
Yes? What else have you seen?
By points, the victory
should have been yours.
On points?
I didn't lose because of points.
You were the best in Warsaw.
Look around.
There's no Legia,
no Warsaw here.
There's no "best."
Keep an eye on your food.
You can't survive without it.
[Ana] We will convert the room
on the upper floor
into a tailor's room.
Find two gifted girls.
Rudi,
sweetheart.
[sighs] My dear,
to live and to die here.
Put that there.
And don't get
anything filthy, you Pole.
Rudi.
Rudi. [chuckles]
[clock chiming]
[footsteps approaching]
Number 77 reporting, sir.
[Gerhard] Albrecht Durer.
Angel with a Key to the Abyss.
[wood clattering]
[indistinct chatter]
You still don't understand?
It was for you.
Here, eat.
[Kapo 1] Attention!
Did you think
that I would allow for theft?
-Arrest them.
-Yes, sir!
-Forward. Come on.
-Faster!
[gunshot fires]
[Kapo 1] Clean up!
[Gerhard] Next!
Faster!
Apple on your head.
[gunshot fires]
[Gerhard] Apple.
"He's not afraid of
the mountains
in which he has grown.
Should last a year
outside our cabin door."
William Tell , Schiller.
Where did you learn that?
We read it at home.
Lashes. Twenty-five each.
So they can feel
the power of German poetry.
Then to the penal company.
[Kropp] But, Rapportfuhrer,
I've already filled out five
death certificates, not four.
[speaking German]
You!
Yes, you.
Your cap.
Bring it here.
Help him.
Did you get their numbers?
Yes.
Five bodies, five marks each.
Makes a total of 25 reichsmarks.
Write it down.
Escape attempt.
In total,
that makes 55 reichsmarks.
[Kropp] Yes, sir!
-[soft music playing]
-[Kapo 1] Count.
-[Janek groans]
-[in German] One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
Seventeen
[dramatic music playing]
[Kropp in English] Undress!
Put your clothes
down next to you.
[indistinct chatter]
[Kropp] You'll get them back
after a shower.
After, you will get a warm meal.
Move.
Where are we going?
-[dramatic music playing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[prisoners screaming]
[Kropp] Drown out the noise.
-[prisoners screaming]
-[truck engine revving]
[rocks clattering]
[coughs]
[Bruno whistles]
-[groans]
-[groans]
[indistinct chatter]
[Ernst] Get to work!
Hold the wheelbarrow.
[Ernst] Get up!
[Bruno] Punch him
as hard as you can.
If he hits the ground,
the sausage is yours.
Now it's your turn.
-[grunts]
-Oh, bravo.
[soldiers laughing]
Not so fast.
That was just the first round.
-[soldiers laughing]
-Who's going next?
This one.
Come here.
Hit him.
What the hell?
[grunts]
Wait!
Let me try.
You got fat.
-You thief!
-[Walter] One second.
If he loses, he's yours.
If he wins, he gets some bread.
-All right?
-Agreed.
Until first blood.
-[chuckles]
-[Ernst] Here.
Fight here.
[Bruno] Fucking work!
Fight him now.
-[rocks clattering]
-[indistinct chatter]
[dramatic music playing]
[Ernst] No!
Give him bread.
Finally, someone who can fight.
Where did you box?
Warsaw.
Hamburg.
Champion in '38.
[indistinct chatter]
A punch, punch, and then
a dodge, dodge,
then a punch, punch.
It was terrible.
-I thought it was over.
-[door opens]
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
Eat.
[coughs]
[indistinct chatter]
[dog barking]
Walter, I need more food.
And medicine.
You're going to have to earn it.
[indistinct clamoring]
[soft music playing]
[door closes]
Number 77 awaiting--
Awaiting your command.
Did you see that?
Just like I told you.
He's like the wind.
We'll fatten him up,
and he'll fight the best boxers.
The men will be thrilled.
[Gerhard] Mm-hmm.
"Nickname, Teddy."
"Also known as
the gentleman boxer."
"The dodge king of Warsaw."
"Totaling almost 100 fights
in bantam and featherweight
as well as competing twice
for the title
in the Polish championship."
"The first fight
was cancelled."
"The second fight he lost."
You don't exactly
look like a champion.
[Lagerfuhrer] He looks
more like
a small rooster plucked of its
feathers than a champion.
He won't last
a few minutes in the ring.
Maybe we can take bets on
how long he'll last.
[doctor] Gentlemen,
it isn't exactly a secret
that last Sunday, six soldiers
partied and got drunk
and started a brawl in
a neighboring village for fun.
Maybe we should offer them
a little entertainment
instead of waiting for them
to get completely drunk
until they pass out.
Let's try it.
Find someone who will not
prolong his torment excessively.
[Bumbo] Gentlemen,
Kapo Max or Prisoner 77?
-Place your bets!
-[indistinct chatter]
Yes, come on.
Gentlemen! Round one, ring free!
-[Walter] Are you ready?
-Yes.
Ready?
-Fight!
-[bell ringing]
[indistinct chatter]
[bell ringing]
[Walter] Stop!
-Into your corners.
-[soft music playing]
-Fight!
-[bell ringing]
[indistinct chatter]
You're going to work here now.
The work is easy
and you will get food.
And medicine?
Go to the SS infirmary.
I'll tell them to expect you.
They'll get you on your feet.
[horse snorts]
[horse neighing]
[Maria] Don't move.
If I don't fix it,
there'll be problems.
This is Helcia.
Helcia, bow to Mr. Boxer.
Her father and mother are dead.
She helps me keep order here.
When you beat that Kapo,
the whole camp heard.
Finished.
Thank you.
I need medicine
for pneumonia.
[soft music playing]
[tools clattering]
This should help.
But you will help too.
Pass this on to
Mordechai from the hospital.
It will be more useful to him.
[German guard] Hey there, boxer!
[Mordechai in German]
Go your way until the end comes
and you will rest and rise to
your destiny
at the end of the days.
[in English]
And if he was a Catholic?
Our Rabbi said,
"If you can, go pray
in the fields and meadows."
"Because we are all like blades
of grass,
born from the same soil."
They don't look like
they are going anywhere.
[Klimpo] Because they can't.
Congratulations.
We only have aspirin here
and some bandages.
You could help out.
[Teddy] I'm to carry medicine
for you?
I can't risk it right now.
The boy will last a week,
maybe two.
We can transfer him
to Sister Maria
at the SS infirmary.
She can keep
an eye on him there.
Papa?
Papa!
-Yes.
-May I show you something?
[Gerhard] Hmm?
Why did Uhlan von Rhine
lose to the Black American?
It's very simple.
-His coach was a Jew.
-[Ana] Gerhard
[Rudi] He looks like
he doesn't want to win.
That was a conspiracy.
You have to understand that.
Boxing is a sport for peasants.
Next week,
you have riding lessons.
I've read that boxing
is like playing chess,
-only a hundred times faster.
-Rudi, off to bed.
[Bruno] What are you doing here?
You don't look sick.
Maybe you want to help yourself
move on to the afterlife, huh?
[chuckles]
I know people like you.
You cling to life by any means.
They may think
you want to fight,
that you want to win
the war with your fists,
but you're not deceiving me.
You want to live.
Live.
[shovel thudding]
[thunder rumbling]
[Teddy] Take it.
You didn't have to.
[Teddy] I wanted to make sure
you didn't lose this fight
in the first round.
And the other fights?
How will I win them?
You always have to recognize
your opponent's weak spots.
Then, fight for a place
in the middle of the ring.
And most importantly,
to keep your strength
for a really tough moment.
What if he doesn't fight fair?
[rain pattering]
Once upon a time
in ancient Olympia,
on the third full moon
after the summer solstice,
Zeus set up the Olympics.
All participants had to take
an oath in front of his statue
that they would sleep
on the beaten ground,
they only covered themselves
with animal skins,
and bathe in
the cold waters of the stream.
But the most important thing
was to fight
according to the principle
of equal opportunities.
Respect your opponent.
Respect yourself.
Only then can you win for real.
[piano playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[soft music playing]
[soldiers cheering]
[bell ringing]
[hay rustling]
[Lagerfuhrer] Here you are.
Fulfi.
English thoroughbred.
We already have a nice phrase
above the gate into the camp.
That's why you will also
make an inscription
above the entrance
to the stables.
"On the horseback rests
the paradise of this Earth."
I see
that you have put on weight.
You have become quite prominent.
Eat, eat.
After all,
you are
our Sunday entertainment.
But when the Sunday gets boring,
you will show us how beautifully
a true Pole loses.
You are the best at that.
Aren't you?
-[engine turns off]
-[indistinct chatter]
Heil Hitler.
-All right.
-Thank you.
[Kropp] Move.
[grunts]
[soldier speaking German]
-[in English] Fight!
-[indistinct chatter]
[in German] One, two, three,
four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, ten.
[crowd cheering]
-[indistinct chatter]
-[soft music playing]
[prisoners chanting in English]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
[Rudi thudding]
Rudi?
Rudi!
Rudi.
Rudi?
Rudi.
Rudi.
Ana!
I'm afraid
I don't have good news.
Typhus.
That's impossible.
He never...
He hardly ever left the house.
I beg your pardon,
but
did the boy have contact
with the prisoners
or with things from the camp?
No
doctor.
Can we do something?
Anything?
[doctor] We have
no other choice
other than to start treatment
and observation.
-[horse neighing]
-[soft music playing]
[snoring]
[Teddy] What are you doing?
[soldier 2 speaking German]
[in English] My dad used to say
that before we are born,
we are all angels,
and then we fall down to Earth.
Only the best of us
will go back there.
And where is your dad?
Do you see that star?
I think your dad is
looking at you, and he's proud.
[soft music playing]
I feel like
I shouldn't fight anymore.
It's not a sport here.
[Janek] These are no longer
your fights.
You fight for us.
For all of us.
Eat slowly.
There is enough for everyone.
[ambulance door opening]
[ambulance engine revving]
[somber music playing]
-[dog barking]
-[indistinct chatter]
[baby crying]
[Kropp] Take off your clothes!
Put your clothes
down next to you.
You will get them
back after a shower.
After, you will get a warm meal.
Move!
[indistinct chatter]
[somber music playing]
[Kapo 2] Officer!
She tried to smuggle food
for the Poles.
[drunk SS-man]
Take off your clothes!
Or I will shoot you like a dog!
Take them off!
Faster!
-We haven't got all night!
-[gun cocks]
[soldiers laughing]
[crowd gasping]
-[gunshot firing]
-[crowd screaming]
[somber music playing]
[sobs]
They killed her.
They killed Helcia.
They killed Helcia.
[bell dinging]
They didn't kill her.
No one will kill her
if you remember her.
She lives here and here.
[sobs]
Run to work before
they know you're gone.
[door closes]
-Nurse?
-Yes?
Shouldn't I get a tetanus shot?
Against tetanus? Yes, of course.
[Gerhard] I see that you have
a young assistant.
A lover of German poetry.
Come here.
Come!
Hello, little nurse.
Please give the syringe
to your helper.
You have to inject it
at the right angle.
Here.
Not in the vein
or you could kill me.
What's your name?
Janek.
[Gerhard] You want to kill me,
don't you?
Do you believe in God?
I've killed a lot of people.
If He existed,
would He have allowed it?
I could have died today.
Yet, I'm still here.
Maybe that's
exactly what it's all about.
Is it His plan?
He takes away the most
valuable things
and orders you to live on.
You don't have to.
[Gerhard] What?
You don't have to do that.
[indistinct chatter]
That's a former German champion.
They call him the Hammerschlag.
One punch and that's it.
[soldiers exclaiming]
It's not mine
nor your weight class.
Come, around the block again.
[indistinct chatter]
[Lagerfuhrer chuckles]
Did I get that right?
You want to fight
with a German champion?
With our Hammerschlag?
A German
should not get his hands dirty.
I have to win.
And I will.
And only you know that.
In return,
you want me to release the boy?
And if I were to refuse?
No more fights.
Why do you think that this idea
is even possible?
You can do anything, Commandant.
[Lagerfuhrer chuckles]
So be it.
Take the prisoner.
[door closes]
Yes,
you were right.
Our men like to watch him fight.
But each of his victories
motivates the prisoners.
Builds up their resistance.
Maybe he should be hanged
before today's roll call?
It is not necessary
to make a martyr out of him.
Please find a boxer
who will replace the Pole
starting with our guest
visiting from Neuengamme.
And 77,
he will get what he wants.
The fight will take place today.
Out in the open.
Every prisoner should see it.
[Gerhard] Are you sure?
The Pole hasn't lost
a single fight.
Did you know
that back in the day,
snowflakes
were created with
crushed human bones?
Please make sure that
the pure-bred stallion wins.
-[indistinct chatter]
-[Bumbo] Attention! Attention!
Ladies and gentlemen! Today,
you're in for a real sensation!
A fight for the championship
of Auschwitz camp.
The undefeated Number 77
will face
the invincible Hammerschlag.
-[Teddy] Have you seen Janek?
-No.
[indistinct chatter]
[dramatic music playing]
This should be a clean fight.
May the best man win.
Are you ready?
Ready?
Fight!
[crowd cheering]
[Walter] Get back! Get back!
Into your corners!
Pick up the ring.
Everything good?
Fight!
[indistinct chatter]
[prisoners chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
[dramatic music playing]
It's going well.
[prisoners chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
Come here.
[prisoner] Here, drink.
-[indistinct chatter]
-[dramatic music playing]
Round two!
-Fight!
-[indistinct chatter]
What's wrong?
Line them up! Faster!
Faster!
[dog barking]
[Walter] Please stop,
he's had enough.
[Bruno] Line up!
I want to fight.
I can fight.
I can fight.
Fight.
No.
Not him.
I won't touch him.
Then he will shoot him first,
and then you.
No, not him.
[Lagerfuhrer] Shoot him.
[Teddy] Hit me, Janek.
Hit me.
Hit me.
Hit me, don't act like a shit!
Shoot!
Janek!
[gunshot firing]
You're going to have
a beautiful view here.
-Here.
-Yeah. Here. Yeah.
-[Ernst grunts]
-[Bruno grunts]
And the winner is...
[chuckles]
[somber music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[prisoners screaming]
Shit.
Get moving.
Back to work.
[somber music playing]
[gunshots firing]
Dearest officers and
dearest guests from Neuengamme!
Especially for you, the unbeaten
champion, Hammerschlag
against Prisoner 934.
Round one, ring free!
[indistinct chatter]
Fight!
I give him two minutes.
Two minutes.
[in German]
One, two, three, four
-[officers cheering, applauding]
-[door opens, closes]
[soft music playing]
[in English] I know him!
That is Teddy!
I was a referee
in his fight before the war.
This will be
an interesting battle.
Gentlemen,
place your bets.
Everything on Teddy.
[indistinct chatter]
Come on, Teddy! Come on!
[Walter] Fight!
[indistinct chatter]
Wonderful!
[crowd chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
[in German] One, two
[upbeat music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
Introducing the world champion
of all weight classes
from Auschwitz
concentration camp,
Number 77!
[crowd chanting]
Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!
[soft music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
Transfer him to us.
Please.
Lately, the same dream
haunts me almost every night.
I'm in an empty, dark house.
Dozens of portraits
of faces hang on its walls,
full of fear and hatred.
I try to take them down,
but it turns out that these
are not pictures, but windows.
Hmm.
Tell me, boxer.
How does it feel
to be a champion?
I'm not a champion.
Not yet.
Our guest,
the commander
of Neuengamme camp,
asked us to transfer you.
You will fight for him now.
You are leaving Auschwitz.
[Gerhard]
This is from someone
who understood your sport
far better than I could.
Someday
when this is all over,
[Gerhard] where will you go?
I will find a new home.
[Gerhard] And when you have
found your new home,
do you already know
who you are going to be?
I don't know
who I am going to be.
But I know for sure
I always knew
who I want to be.
[soft music playing]
[soft music playing]