Greece, 1965
Jacques, come quick!
- It's shining! - Quick, Jacques! It's shining in the harbour!
Quick!
There! You see it, Jacques?
It's a coin.
- It's mine! I saw it first! - No, you liar!
- Liar! Liar! - We'll see who's lying!
OK, I'll get it, but no fighting. All right?
- We'll split it. - You can't split a coin. It's stupid.
- It's mine! I saw it! - He's right! You're stupid!
Then we'll buy something and split that.
- Can you stop pointing? I've seen it. - I've seen it, too.
Well, if it isn't the little Frenchman! How is the little Frenchman?
Fine.
You don't mind if I go instead, do you?
If you did mind, you'd tell me, no?
Yes.
Good.
Count!
Whose is it now?
You saw it, but I dove for it.
- Roberto, how long? - Six!
I throw it back into the water.
You dive, and if you do less than six,
it's yours.
Enzo, I saw the coin first. We'll split it?
We can't split a coin, stupid!
Is it... a coin shining there?
It is. It's a coin.
I'll get it for you, Father.
It will be for the poor.
Father!
Time to get up, Jacques.
Shit.
You shouldn't dive every day, Papa.
Then you shouldn't eat every day, Jacques.
Don't worry. When I am tired,
the mermaids help me out.
Hey, have you ever seen a mermaid?
I've seen them.
Don't you want to know where?
Why don't you ask me?
- What? - Where I saw mermaids.
Why don't you ever ask any questions? I always ask the questions.
Here we are, like two stones, and now I'm talking to myself.
Ask me something, goddamn it!
Why did my mother leave?
Pump.
Your mother didn't leave. She went back to America, that's all.
It's her home.
Women are like that.
Unpredictable.
Like the sea.
Jacques! The water! Water!
Help! I can't breathe!
No!
Daddy? Daddy!
Wait! Stay here, Jacques!
Yes! How did it happen?
Well...the company asked me to extract everything I could from the wreck.
And so the... the divers were trying to get at the engine...
and the boat just turned over in the current!
Look, I... I fucked up!
Look!
Can you help?
How many are down there?
There's just one. We're feeding him lots of air but... he's not breathing properly.
You've gotta get him outta there, fast!
Ten thousand.
Lire?
Dollars.
Hey, wait a minute!
You guys aren't gonna try to hold me up at a time like this?!
OK, you tell me.
How much would you say a man's life is worth?
In my village we have a saying.
How does it go again?
I don't remember.
- What's that supposed to mean? - Forget it.
Enzo!
Forza!
Since we have a little time, you write that cheque?
How much longer can he do that?
My brother...
is a world champion.
Sign.
Bravo!
Bravo! Bravo!
Thanks! Bravo!
Hey!
Wait! Wait a minute!
Wait a minute! Wait! Hey!
Hey, thanks, you guys.
Really. I mean it.
You're welcome.
Ten thousand dollars, Roberto!
What are you gonna do with the money?
Have the car painted.
But Giuseppe will do that for 25 dollars.
Then tell him to wax it, too.
- What are you really gonna get? - A rosary for Mamma...
...a dress for Angelica...
...and a suit that fits you.
But most important...
Yes?
Find me the Frenchman.
Find me Jacques Mayol.
Are you Dr Laurence?
No. I'm the assistant.
Welcome to Peru.
A drink to warm up?
Yes, please.
- Tea or whiskey? - Both.
Did... Did I just see a man in a red suit and goggles?
Right.
The insurance person is here.
It's about time.
Johana Baker.
Nice trip?
It's three weeks since the accident. We're getting a little anxious.
Franck, get out there. He's ready to go in.
Right.
First dive, two minutes.
Who...
Who is that?
Mayol. Jacques Mayol.
So those are your experiments?
Dumping a guy in a frozen lake?
The truck fell into a very deep crevasse.
We weren't able to rescue the equipment.
I'll have to talk to the driver.
In the spring, when he melts.
You really send him under the ice?
He isn't a slave or a convict or anything, is he?
My dear, science is a cruel mistress.
- How is he gonna breathe? - He isn't.
Listen.
That's the sound of his heart.
Can you hear the speed at which it's slowing down?
It's incredible!
He's in the fluoroscope now.
Listen to his heartbeat!
I can't believe that!
All the blood is concentrated in his brain.
It doesn't even feed his limbs any more.
That's a phenomenon that's only been observed in whales and dolphins.
Until now.
Why is he doing this?
I don't know.
Shouldn't someone take him a blanket or something?
- I know you. - We just met, a few minutes ago.
- In the lake? - No... In the hut.
Then it must have been someone who looked a lot like you.
It's a present.
Aren't you gonna open it?
Are you here for a long time?
Where do you live?
In New York.
It's been nice meeting you.
Nice... meeting you, too.
I'll only be five minutes.
Clown.
It's a llama.
Darjeeling.
I missed you rascals.
Jacques, my friend.
How are you?
Enzo?
I leave you swimming and 20 years later you're still in the water.
What the hell are you doing? Training?
Yeah.
Good.
Check out the suit.
Looking good, no?
- You know I'm the world champion? - Yeah, I know.
The world championship starts in ten days in Taormina.
Be my guest.
Your ticket.
Why?
Because I'm sure you're dying to beat me.
You're the best, Enzo.
See you there.
I... I can't hear you!
I said the snowmobile papers are in the glove compartment.
Get the customs office to send me a copy.
We can't get you new equipment until our file is complete.
All right. You'll have them by the end of the week.
Great. You've made me a very happy insurance person. Thank you.
- All right. Goodbye. - Dr. Laurence?
Yes?
You don't happen to know how I can get in touch with that diver of yours?
Jacques Mayol?
The last I heard he was in Taormina, at the World Diving Championships.
In Sicily.
Mayol... Mayol... No reservation.
- Are you sure? - Positive, sir.
This is the Hotel San-Domenico?
Yes, it has been so for 127 years.
Be careful of that car. It's a new paint job. OK?
So, you finally decided to join us.
You did the right thing.
Paolo, the key.
You remember my little brother Roberto?
- Hi. - Hi, Roberto.
- What room have you got? - I haven't got one.
You don't have a room? Paolo!
What did I just hear? I call you to reserve a room for my friend Jacques Mayol...
and you treat him like a stranger!
- It's OK, Enzo. I'll go somewhere else. - Not only is he a very special friend.
But he is one of the best divers in the world. And you sling him out!
Are you crazy or what?
Drop it, Enzo. I'll find something.
Take mine. I'll take the Countess's suite.
She told me she was leaving for the cemetery.
She'll be more comfortable there! Ha!
I'm glad you're here.
So, after all these years, you must have lots of questions to ask me. Am I right?
Yeah, sure, lots of questions.
Well, what are they?
I don't know how to ask the questions.
Are you married?
Me neither. Because of my mother.
She's a curse, my mother. Tornado.
Stubborn as a mule.
I was engaged for a week.
After, Mamma was so mad, the pasta was bouncing off the walls!
So, not married.
Good for you.
You play the field, like me. A girl in every port?
- After all, we're men! - Damn right!
That's what I tell them when people say you've turned into a fish.
People say that?
Forget it! I was joking!
I'll bet you my watch that she's in my bed tonight.
- You know each other? - Yes!
- Enzo Molinari. This is a great pleasure. - Johana Baker. Nice to meet you.
This is... a coincidence! It's unbelievable!
Would you like to sit down?
- I'm not interrupting anything, am I? - No, not at all.
- You staying at the hotel? - It's full. But they recommended a pensione.
- All of Taormina is full. - It's the Free Diving World Championship.
I am, by the way, world champion.
- What are you doing in Sicily? - I was doing an insurance claim in Palermo...
and decided to take a few days off, see the island.
There is no place in the world more beautiful than Sicily.
Spaghetti del mare for the super-dedicated insurance agent.
As I was saying earlier, I am the world champion free diver.
Some people say it's the most virile sport in the world.
One has to admit that seeing those men...
diving headfirst in that deep blue sea, all muscles contracted...
- Enzo... - What?!
- Mamma? - Where?
Wait.
She'll kill me if she catches me eating pasta in a restaurant.
Eat up, quickly.
You think I can carry these two bags by myself?
Mamma... Roberto and an elevator. Isn't that enough?
- What have you had today? - Just a small coffee.
I am diving tomorrow. remember little Jacques? Jacques Mayol?
And his friend, Johana.
She is beautiful, no?
Spaghetti del mare!
I'm so hungry!
Welcome!
This is it.
So, you're gonna be really busy these days?
I don't know.
Why?
I... Because I...
I don't know. I just thought...
You have the competition, interviews.
A competition like this requires a great deal of concentration... Doesn't it?
You can put down the bags now.
We have to get ready for the ceremony. The Tahitian is the new world champion.
I'm tired. I don't feel like it.
Roberto, the jacket.
- This one? - Yes.
Very good.
What about the shoes?
Very chic.
- You don't have anything else, do you? - No.
Then it's very chic. Let's go.
Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please.
Andre Bonnet, president of the International Diving Championship Committee...
this trophy to the new world champion.
This afternoon, our new champion descended to the remarkable depth...
of 310 feet.
A one-day hero.
Mr President, if you please...
A new world record. That's great.
It gives me something to beat tomorrow.
Have you ever been to Tahiti?
I'll take you there. We'll live in the sun. You'll cook fresh fish...
and we'll make love under the coconut trees.
Hey, wait. How about you do the cooking?
And you forgot the hula.
Excuse me.
He looks strange, doesn't he? Like a baby who just learned to walk.
- Have you known him long? - For ever.
We used to live on the same island in Greece, when we were kids.
- What was he like when he was little? - Little.
Very little.
That is, compared to me.
- I get it, Enzo. You were a superior child. - Exactly.
What is it, Johana?
You are so crazy about him, you don't see the truth?
Don't think of Jacques as a human being. He is from another world.
And just what world are you from, Enzo?
Italia!
And now, my friends,
you are all invited for a drink around the swim pool.
Today, at lunch, you asked me if I had any questions.
You finally want to know about women!
- Are they what's most important? - No.
It depends.
Sometime they are.
What exactly do you want to know?
Everything.
Everything about what?
About everything.
So, between Mamma, Roberto and Alfredo,
we yell and scream all day long.
Except with Angelica. She just cries.
And then, finally, we all end up kissing.
Can you explain that to me?
Because that's what love is all about.
It's a pain in the ass,
but it keeps us together.
A large...
and beautiful...
family.
We've gotta quit this competition.
Why?
Cos... if we don't,
I'm gonna beat you.
Do you hear that?
- What? - He looks me in the eye...
like some fucking goldfish...
and says... "I'm gonna beat you."
That's what you guys are here for.
Ha! Listen to her!
That's what he's here for!
He's here to lose! That's what he's here for.
First of all, I am unbeatable.
Second...
- How old are you? - Two years younger than you.
As I said,
second of all, you're too skinny.
You've got tiny lungs. I still don't understand how you can dive without getting sick.
The size of the lungs has nothing to do with it.
How long can you hold your breath?
Longer than you.
Hey! Take it easy! Jesus!
Are you mad?
Come on, let me help you with this.
- Who won? - What? The Asshole Award?
Let me tell you, it was a tie.
Acting like a pair of two-year-olds.
You could've died in that pool.
Stop moving. You're rocking the boat.
Luckily, I was there to save you.
My wallet.
- It's here. - No, no. I wanna show you.
Give it to me.
Sit down.
That's my family.
What kind of man...
has such a family?
It's OK.
It's all right.
All the medics are looking for you, Enzo.
I am meditating! Can't you see?
Jacques does two hours of yoga before going down!
I can have a five-minute nap!
Mr Molinari, I am sorry,
but you cannot dive in this state of exhaustion.
What do you know about the sea? Nothing!
So you just take your tubes and your tin cans away.
The sea is mine.
I know when she is ready for me and when she isn't.
And today she is ready.
You dive at your own risk.
One minute!
Your trousers are too big for me.
Where are they?
- Where is everybody? - They're gone.
Something's wrong.
You can't do that.
What's the matter?
I don't understand.
I've tried for two days. They won't eat.
They won't perform.
Since we got a new one.
It's finished for today.
She's a new one.
How can you tell it's a female?
It's the way she moves.
Don't be sad. I only took back what was mine.
Here. A present.
Tonight we're having a little party among ourselves. Eight o'clock in my suite.
Mr Roberto, tell your brother to be reasonable.
Everybody's waiting for him upstairs.
He can't! He's indisposed!
Shall we call a doctor?
No, no! La Mamma, she is trying something!
Mr Mayol, help us.
He refuses to receive his medal, and everybody's waiting for him.
- I'll do my best. - That's very kind of you.
It's Jacques!
My friend! Come on in!
Mr Molinari, allow me to impress upon you...
the importance of your attending the award ceremony...
for the press.
I think my brother told you I was indisposed. That should do it, no?
I am allowed to be indisposed, right?
So you just go tell the press that the big Enzo Molinari,
overwhelmed by his inspiring descent of 324 feet,
will not be able to receive his trinket...
because he is...
he is...
Indisposed!
Jacques, my friend!
- Why don't you pick up your medal? - Because pasta should be eaten al dente!
Let me know how you find it.
My office in New York. It's really busy back there.
I have so much work to do.
- Do you want some? - Oh, no.
What's the matter?
I have to ask you a favour.
Hey, we're not stealing a dolphin?
No. I told you, we're just helping one out.
Trying to help one out?
Good.
Taormina by night! Lucky dolphin?
Yeah! Stairs!
You can stop that now. She has all the water she needs.
All right, we did it! Let's go back to the party.
Five minutes, that's all! OK?
Night.
- Good night, Jacques. - Good night.
You don't need a stretcher to take her with you.
- You know that? - What?
Dolphins aren't the only ones who don't feel very good sometimes.
Jacques! Can I watch you dive tomorrow?
You really do have a few things to learn about women.
What do those guys do?
They are paramedics.
They wait at 200 feet.
And him?
That is the diver who goes below 300 feet.
He dives with a helium-oxygen mixture. Compressed air is too dangerous.
Three minutes!
He went down to 360 feet!
Congratulations, Jacques. It's wonderful. I'm happy for you.
Here.
- What is it? - Little presents. Nothing much.
I knew it. I just knew it.
Do you still collect them?
You don't have that one, do you?
It's beautiful. Thank you.
It's nothing.
I knew it. I told Roberto.
He's very good, that little Frenchman. Very good.
Is this a poem?
No, it's a recipe for spaghetti frutti del mare.
I was right in getting you out here. You're a world champion, my friend.
It's a measuring tape.
You see? This is your record.
Three feet more than mine.
Looking at it from here, it doesn't look like much, does it?
Keep your little measuring tape, my friend.
It will be a nice souvenir when I beat you next.
Did you have a nice night?
Yeah.
I was with the dolphin.
All night?
Yeah.
- With the dolphin? - Yeah.
I gotta get back to New York.
Because I have my job, I have my work and my... life.
Will you take me to the train station?
If you're ever in New York, give me a call, OK?
- Can I come in? - No problem. I enjoy talking in my sleep.
Wake me up at 11.
Why are you always talkin'? Nobody's interested in what you're talkin' about.
So just stop talkin'! Other people have things to say! Understand?
Stop talkin'! It's bullshit!
- She's gone? - Yes, she's gone!
Hey, I'm gonna take care of you.
I've got a job, on an oil rig.
No sweat.
I'm taking you along. OK?
Come on, get your bags packed. You're coming with me.
You stupid bastard.
We'll make a great team, the two of us.
You'll see.
OK?
100 feet.
You're still thinking about her.
Don't think about her any more.
There are so many women in the world.
Plenty of women everywhere. Right?
Smoking is absolutely forbidden.
It isn't lit yet.
You shouldn't even carry cigarettes on board.
Listen, we're not supposed to piss, either.
But that doesn't stop you from carrying it on board.
The rules are the rules.
What's your name again?
Noireuter.
And where did you say you were from?
Brussels.
200
I was 17.
I loved her so much, I tried to die for her.
Two years later,
I couldn't even remember her name.
Let me tell you, time erases everything.
I don't want to erase anything.
450 feet. End of descent.
We'll be left here for 50 minutes.
What's with the voice?
It's nothing. Maybe the helium is up too high.
- Does the voice come back? - For others, yes.
For you... Who knows?
Try speaking to me.
I don't find this funny. We were having a serious conversation!
It's OK for the helium.
Here, give me your finger.
Is that alcohol? That's really forbidden!
Hey, do you have any other complaints?
Make a list and we'll stick it on the porthole. OK?
- Suck your finger. - Stop kidding around. It's...
It's dangerous at this pressure - alcohol.
Enzo, it's very deep down here.
Come on, suck your finger.
You'll be seeing mermaids everywhere.
A thousand commanders and we get the Belgian from Alcoholics Anonymous!
Are we clear?
Can you hear me?
It's Johana.
How are you?
I got fired.
I got this job with Enzo.
We got fired, too.
Really?
It's strange.
Talk to me some more.
It's hard. I don't know what else to say. You're so far away.
Tell me a story.
A story?
Do you know how it is...
Do you know what you're supposed to do to meet a mermaid?
You go down to the bottom of the sea...
where the water isn't even blue any more...
and the sky is only a memory...
and you float there, in the silence,
and you stay there...
and you decide... that you'll die for them.
Only then do they start comin' out.
They come, and they greet you, and they judge the love you have for them.
If it's sincere,
if it's pure,
they'll be with you...
and take you away for ever.
I like that story.
What is it?
I think I love you.
You live here?
Yeah. Sometimes.
- Who's that? - That's my Uncle Louis.
I can't get him out of the bathtub.
Assassin!
Uncle Louis! This is my friend Johana!
Johana is visiting me!
He's a bit deaf. He's 75.
It's very nice to meet you, Uncle Louis!
So, where are you from, Henrietta?
Johana! New York!
New York? What kind of name is that?
- No, I'm from New York. - Oh, yeah!
The best legs are from New York!
Uncle Louis...
Johana is my friend.
She's come to... stay with me...
for a while.
Good. That way I'll see more of you.
Where are you gonna stay?
- Here. - Here? In my apartment?
It's my apartment.
Liar! Cheat! Torturer!
Uncle Louis, go back to your bathtub.
I'm going to put a lock on the telephone.
Have some more wine, Uncle Louis.
Thank you, Henrietta.
I'll change my name.
This is, er...
my room.
Enzo phoned. He's coming over next week for another competition.
Are you gonna compete, too?
Yeah.
Are you sure you'll be all right here?
It's not like him to be late.
Of course, sometimes he doesn't show up at all.
Two dollars?!
You didn't even need to catch the fish!
It died of cancer!
- Where did you get that? - That? This is not a "that".
This is Bonita Mariposa, the famous Spanish actress,
who is going to be very careful with the varnish...
...and who is spending a few days with us.
- Where is Mamma? - You have 8 hours before she gets here.
He's really going totally deaf.
I'm not as deaf as you are blind!
You take care of your eyes, and I'll take care of my ears!
I'm sorry, Uncle Louis.
Come on, drink up, my boy!
Hey, tell me, what century are you in?
Second.
What's going on here?
We're listening to some music. With Enzo.
This is Dr Laurence.
So, you must be the famous Enzo Molinari.
In the flesh! I have that honour.
God... I'm getting wrinkles.
And I'm getting pimples.
So, are you gonna live here permanently?
I don't know. Things have happened so fast.
We haven't even talked about it.
You're very much in love. I can tell.
You have that look.
The look of a woman who wants a baby.
I haven't even thought of having a baby.
God, we're just... starting to get to know each other. It'd be really...
Do I really?
Well, maybe he's not quite ready, but...
he's a nice guy, sensitive.
Well, I can't have a baby by myself.
Why not? I have a baby.
I loved his father.
We're not together any more but...
I have his baby.
At the end, you do it alone anyway.
Enzo Molinari for classification.
What was his last time?
I don't know, but it was really long.
Hey, that's not bad.
Very good, Enzo. Very good.
So what? Anybody can have a bad day.
Well, I've had many, when the sea doesn't want you.
It's never the sea. It's Mamma, Roberto, that stupid actress!
Don't break my balls.
Did you have a nice day?
Enzo had a bad day.
Did you dive?
No, it didn't feel right.
It's a cute baby? I love that baby.
Let them try.
Is he OK?
What are they doing?
I don't know.
Great time!
How was it?
It was dangerous.
380 feet,
four minutes and 50 seconds underwater.
Great.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
My son, bravo!
Now...
I am sure you heard some people suggest it is too dangerous for us to continue.
Dangerous because we don't know how to measure...
the physiological consequences of this type of dive.
And also because the scuba divers are not used to going down below 300 feet.
- But... - What's he saying?
...we asked the free divers,
and they all insist...
that the competition continue.
Good luck to you all. Good luck.
One minute!
You can't stay here!
Do you see him?
Hey! Do you see him?
Jacques!
400 feet.
400 feet!
You all right?
I'll be right there!
Hi! Come on in.
- No. I wanted to say goodbye. - You're leaving?
Yes. Could you please give this to Enzo?
It's no use.
Just tell him I said goodbye, and give him a kiss for me. OK?
- Promise? - Promise.
Maybe you shouldn't give up so easily.
Here's a present for you.
It's your baby.
Believe me, it will change your life,
only for the better.
You take care of yourself, Johana.
You, too.
Welcome to Greece, Jacques! How are you?
Welcome, Johana. Have a good trip?
OK, let me give you all the information. Come with me.
This is making me sick.
Why?
Would you give me a glass of water?
Nervous about the competition?
What's it feel like when you dive?
It's a feeling of slipping without falling.
The hardest thing is when you hit the bottom.
Why?
Because you have to find a good reason to come back up.
And I have a hard time finding one.
Well, we have the same problem.
Why?
Because I have a hard time finding a good reason to stay.
I found one.
Is he here?
Yeah.
Good.
It scares me when you look at the sea like that.
I used to dive here when I was a boy.
I have something I want to talk to you about.
Not here.
Can we talk here?
Let's talk about my world.
My world is you.
I love you.
I wanna live with you.
I wanna have a baby with you.
I wanna have a house with you.
A car with you. A dog with you.
You know?
Jacques, I think I might be pregnant!
Did you hear me?
Tomorrow is going to be a big day.
When I analysed the data from Mayol's last dive, it became apparent.
At the depths these men are diving, it is a physiological impossibility...
that they could retain enough oxygen to make it to the surface.
The pressure is so strong, it stops the oxygen from circulating through the body.
To attempt to break Mayol's record now...
is simple suicide.
Do you understand?
Yes, I understand.
Today is just training.
- Molinari is a 17-time world champion. - Three minutes!
Do you want to tell him he can't dive?
Cancel the competition.
Two minutes!
Get Mayol in here.
One minute!
They wanna cancel the competition.
For a while.
Why?
It's not safe, they say.
The doctors say...
we can't go deeper and survive.
You say that because you have the title.
I would never cheat you.
That's very nice of you.
Oh, Jesus! I told you to tell him not to go!
It's not my fault! I told him!
- No, no, no! - And then they die!
It's the first time I've organised a competition!
Wonderful!
Get away!
Will you get away?!
Goddamn it!
Get away!
- Give him some time! Leave him alone! - Out!
Clear off!
You were right.
About what?
It's much better down there.
It's a better place.
Push me back in the water.
No, I can't.
Take me back down.
Please.
Hey, look!
- Up with the arms... Over the top... - Come on, Jacques.
Let's get a heartbeat.
Come on, breathe!
Come on, Jacques. Come on, Jacques!
Come back, Jacques!
Jacques! Stay with us!
Good. Good.
Good boy.
Very good.
Here.
Get some sleep.
We'll talk later.
You sleep now.
I love you.
Doctor Laurence... This just arrived for you.
I wasn't on the boat.
The only time in 20 years,
and I wasn't on the boat.
I must go now, tell Mamma.
I know this isn't a good time for this, but...
I have the results of your test here.
Yes, you're pregnant.
Are you happy?
- Yes. - Good.
I'm happy.
I'm scared,
but I'm happy.
So...
no more ouzo.
No more cigarettes.
- You take care. - Thank you.
What is it? Talk to me!
OK. Wait a minute.
Let's talk to Laurence.
What are you doing?
Please, please don't do this.
Look, don't do this!
Why are you doing this?
Jacques... Just talk to me!
I've got to go and see.
See what?
There's nothing to see, Jacques!
It's dark down there! It's cold!
You'll be alone!
And I'm here! I'm real! I exist!
I'm pregnant.
Didn't you hear me?