Rose Island Page #4

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Who's bringing

all these people who sh*t here?

That's what I do, bring people to clubs.

That's what you pay me for.

No, I pay you because I'm a benefactor.

If you don't like it,

why don't you open your own beach club?

You know why. They only give permits

to Italian citizens.

Open one in Germany then.

I'm not a German citizen either.

So, buddy, off you go then.

Did you hear they're building

an island off Rimini?

They're building an island?

Yeah, some crazy guy from Bologna.

It's absurd.

What do they plan to do with it?

It's outside territorial waters,

you can do what you want, apparently.

I tell you what,

we can party big time there.

A round of applause to the best promoter

on our Riviera, Rudy Neumann!

-I mean, you built all this by yourselves?

-Yes, we did.

Why the hell did you do that?

For the same reason

a dog licks his own balls.

I don't get it.

Because he can.

What do you mean?

A dog licks his own balls because he can.

We are engineers,

we wanted to build an island,

we could do it, so we did it.

I don't get the balls thing,

you lick your own balls--

No, we don't lick our balls.

It was a way of saying

we wanted to create our own world

where we'd feel really free,

and we did it. We built it.

Is that a naked man shaving?

Yes, his name is Pietro. He lives here.

On the island?

Yes, he's a castaway.

He's not much of a talker but…

I can only count three things here though.

A semi-deserted island,

water that's almost fresh,

and a half-naked castaway.

Not much of a free, new world.

Wait a minute,

I can count three things too.

A German deserter,

a promoter that nobody knows, and--

I can't even think of a third one.

This guy comes in criticizing--

You don't do that.

We don't have to welcome everyone.

These are the people

we should be welcoming.

Castaways, deserters…

Here no one really cares

who you are or where you're from.

He says this now,

but he did all this for a girl.

-No, I didn't.

-Yes, you did.

Does this place have a name?

BOAT TRIP TO THE NEW STEEL ISLAND

DEPARTS 10:
30 EVERY MORNING

RETURNS 17:
45

With Rudy Neumann, everything changed.

It was an incredible and instant success.

Rumors about a free, independent state

spread like wildfire.

First along the Romagna Riviera,

then all across Italy.

In the end,

people were arriving from all over Europe,

to see for themselves

what sounded like a miracle.

And it also happened at the perfect time.

That was a year that made history.

And that everyone recalls

just by the last two numbers,

six and eight.

We didn't know much

about the French riots of that May.

Except that they took to the streets

and set Paris on fire,

calling for a better world.

As for us, we actually built

that "better world" ourselves.

Today, May 1st, 1968,

five hundred meters

outside territorial waters,

free from everything,

we're making history!

Here, you are truly free!

Welcome to Rose Island!

We need a language.

What do you mean?

People come from all over Europe.

We need an official language

that's not Italian

and not from another country.

A free international language.

I don't think it exists, unfortunately.

I believe it does.

ROSE ISLAND:

THE MYSTERY OF THE ISLAND

REVEALED IN RIMINI

THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IS ESPERANTO

For the press, we were

more important than national politics,

than student riots,

and even the Vietnam War.

ROSE ISLAND:

RUDY NEUMANN TO BE THE NEW PROMOTER

Sh*t.

Are you leaving?

Yes. I'm pregnant.

Pregnant?

What do you mean "pregnant"?

Oh my God, how do I tell my mother?

It's not yours, idiot.

We only met last night.

Here.

-Pietro, did you only get Cynar?

-People love Cynar.

Okay, no doubt about that,

but they might want something else too.

Can you hurry up?

I heard from the pier,

they're expecting it to be packed today.

-How's it going with the bar?

-He only got Cynar.

-I think people really love Cynar.

-Maurizio?

Weren't you meant

to go shopping with him?

I'm only marginally involved

in this project.

Please, don't start again

with the name story.

Yes, I will.

Because it was a beautiful

and elegant name.

"Maurizio and Giorgio's island"

wasn't beautiful nor elegant.

Yes, it was.

There's a girl staring at you.

Oh, God.

One of you must go and talk to her.

-Tell her I died in Vietnam.

-Hi.

Hi! Nice to see you. What a surprise!

I'm pregnant.

I have a certificate of sterility

issued during the war certifying that--

Look, I'm not sure it's yours.

What do you mean?

Well, there are several options.

That's not nice.

A girl shouldn't really go around saying--

I've heard this place is amazing

but the bar sucks.

I need a job. And it looks like

you need a bar attendant.

-Get up.

-What?

Come on, get up!

It's getting worse by the minute here.

The German's getting people to sign up

for an end-of-summer water-ski race.

Do you think that's normal?

Was this the great idea we had?

Because if you're talking of a free world,

I have a different view.

And what's that?

A big poker tournament.

-A gambling house?

-No!

We'll play for shots. Shots of grappa.

If you lose, you drink,

if you win, you drink,

and if anyone wants to play with money,

we can't say no.

But that's not the point,

just as long as we both agree.

I'll stop him

before he collects money off people.

Let's talk about it later. Maurizio!

Hey!

That's the thing they do most often.

They throw their clothes away,

shirts, ties, everything.

Not sure why, but many of them do that.

Is that your girlfriend?

Who?

That one there, the bar attendant.

Come on! She's pregnant.

Is it yours?

What? No!

She doesn't know whose baby it is.

She doesn't care.

She said there were a few options.

She symbolizes this place,

a young, free-spirited, pregnant girl.

She wouldn't have found

a job on the mainland, but here…

You know, I'm happy to see you.

I knew you'd come sooner or later.

-Everyone's talking about it in Rimini.

-You should see this place at night.

You'd love it.

Are you staying tonight?

I'm getting married soon, Giorgio.

Married?

Come on!

You don't want to get married.

You belong in this world

more than anyone else.

I'm not sure this qualifies

as a world, Giorgio.

It's more like a disco, a beach club.

It's not a disco.

It's an independent state.

Free.

We even have drinking water.

-We have an official language.

-Sure.

But I see people dancing, drinking,

a cute girl bartender,

and it looks like a disco. That's all.

With the name in Esperanto.

It looks like that to you.

Right. Giorgio, I'm sorry but…

I have to go.

Take care.

Do you know how hard it is

to bring all these people out here?

No, and you know why?

Because it isn't hard

to bring people here!

The hard part was building this island!

And while we were building it,

you were cleaning toilets.

I was the promoter there,

and I quit because two kids

built a house on stilts in the sea

and didn't know what to do with it.

I turned it into a dream place!

It was our dream, not yours!

Don't forget that.

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