Samson and Delilah Page #2

Ira...

... you are the elder of our village.

- I need your counsel.

- It's freely given...

... and often wrong.

What's Samson done now?

Nothing. And more nothing.

He leads an empty life.

It's as if he believed

the world owed him something.

Moses, too, was raised as a prince.

My sons are just the same.

And without Samson's special gifts.

"Samson caught us in the net.

Samson caught us in the... "

Tell me. Has Samson ever cried?

For one hour after he was born.

It's as if he feared the pain

that life had in store for him.

- Since then, never.

- Truly, he is remarkable.

His temperament is kind,

his wit is quick.

And his strength...

He has all the gifts but one:

Purpose. It is the fuel of life.

Come on.

Come on.

Pull.

- Naomi.

- What?

Maybe we should go.

They come by every day

at about this time.

No. It's your turn, Yoram.

Go on. It's your turn.

- Come on. Philistines. Let's go.

- No.

Go. Fetch Samson, quickly.

Hey!

I've never seen goats riding on goats.

Why don't you get off

and milk them, huh?

Go.

Does the smell come from the beasts

or from the masters, huh?

Samson!

Samson, come quick!

The Philistines, they have Naomi.

Samson, please hurry.

Move away. Move.

Come on. Come on, quickly!

Come on, let's go.

Pig!

Your mother was a donkey.

And yours, a mule.

Hold her.

I have two swords here.

Impaling you with either

will give me great satisfaction.

Best be the iron one.

Save the other for your mother.

Israelite whore.

- Naomi, stay there. I'll help him.

- No, no.

Stay here.

Samson!

Get out!

Go!

Go!

You broke them!

Without a weapon, Samson broke them.

You have been chosen.

How can you doubt it?

Samson!

Without a weapon, Samson broke them.

Please, Manoah. Let us in.

At least talk to these people.

You know us all. There's nothing

that we don't give to this house.

I'm not letting any of you in here.

Go now.

- You hear me? I said, now.

- This is important.

Mara, you must speak to him.

We need him. A leader.

- Someone our people will stand with.

- I need him too.

- Mara, these are the...

- I know who they are.

- Carpenters, shepherds, plowmen.

- The leaders of our rebellion.

Rebellion. How many weapons

do you have? How many made of iron?

Mara, God's will brought us your son

to destroy the enemies of our people.

Manoah, you must speak to Samson.

- With his father's urging, he might...

- What am I to urge?

That he die before his time?

The son Mara and I prayed for

all our life.

- Manoah, listen to us.

- I've heard you.

Our son is the Lord's instrument.

And in the Lord's time, he will obey.

In God's good time. Not in yours.

You should have insisted.

- Why wouldn't he listen?

- I don't know, you were there.

You saw how...

Oh, Lord, tell me what to do.

Enslave him, Father.

Burn his village before the Israelites

rally to a new hero.

There is nothing to be gained

by burning an Israelite village.

- In a week, it will be old news.

- Legends grow, Father.

Ask your courtiers

what they have heard.

Single-handed, two patrols.

Some say 10.

Only an empty head

can be full of these tales.

And what do you think,

Commander Tariq?

I think all people need their heroes.

If they don't exist,

they must create them.

- You know what it means?

- What?

- His name, Samson.

- Tell me.

- "Son of the sun. "

- The son of the sun.

And your name.

Mine?

"Delilah, " it's an ancient word.

It means "desire. "

And do you think that appropriate,

commander?

In every way.

But the son of the sun.

I'd like to see this Samson for myself.

You're a loose woman, Delilah.

And if I weren't...

... I'd find that remark offensive,

general.

His hair is long.

He wears it in seven braids.

Some kind of religious significance.

Is there anything you don't know?

I'll never know how

to please a loose woman.

Our requests of a man

are very modest.

That is the principal part

of our charm.

Only by very modest request...

... could any man

meet your expectations.

Except perhaps this Israelite hero.

Men like him are either

quickly forgotten...

... or never forgotten.

- Nothing certain, eh?

Nothing but death.

Is that it? It seems very little.

And encompasses everything.

No!

Strong, yes,

but with a sweet modesty.

Did you see how he ran?

Like a gazelle.

A woman would die for a man like that.

Out of the way, fool.

A gazelle is so much more graceful

than a baboon, is it not?

General?

If the future of our people

is to be secured...

... perhaps the time has come

to think of different stratagems.

Such as?

The greatest victory

any general can achieve.

Peace.

I knew something had happened.

You haven't been fighting

over a woman, have you?

All the single girls are in love with you.

Some of the married ones too.

- It wasn't a fight over Naomi, was it?

- No.

- Who then?

- No one.

- I saw...

- Saw what?

A woman...

... like no other.

- No woman gave you these wounds.

Samson, be careful.

Father.

- Father...

- Now, wait.

- General, continue.

- Well, it would take time.

But once they saw how a lasting treaty

would benefit them...

... we could focus

our attention elsewhere.

- A treaty? With who? What is this?

- This is something kings must learn...

... and princes must practice.

- It's called listening.

- No one in this royal house should listen...

... to any proposal for a treaty

with the tribes of Israel.

Their subjugation is their treaty.

It's only by listening that one hears.

The general's proposals have merit.

- Continue.

- Lf we might consider...

... making official peace with them,

turning them into independent allies...

Allies? The Israelites?

Better to plunge your hand

into a basket of vipers.

The art of making a decision

is firstly to know what your choices are.

General.

What would we achieve by having

a vassal state on our eastern borders?

Nothing but a breeding ground

for rebellion, draining my manpower...

... and your treasury.

- Our treasury.

You always know

where I'm vulnerable, eh?

But we would allow them access

to the sea and allow them to trade.

My experience of life,

beginning with my own family...

... is that by giving some

of what is wanted...

... only whets the appetite for more.

- We would continue...

... to maintain complete control, Majesty.

The illusion of independence.

It would take a magician

mightier than any I've met.

And their religion? No, no, general.

Beliefs are more dangerous

than a hundred armies.

Our gods have the tail of fish...

... because our ancestors

were seafaring people.

What does it matter if a handful of our

people decide to believe in a single deity?

- It's poor exchange.

- Perhaps so.

But I sometimes feel that a single sun

in the sky is better than two or three...

... that would burn us all alive.

But if we control

the Israelites by a treaty...

No, commander. This is treason.

You do not accommodate an enemy.

You eliminate him.

At what sacrifice?

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