Playoff ( he, פלייאוף) is a 2011

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

, written and directed by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i director, Eran Riklis. The film is inspired by the life of

Ralph Klein Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...

, Israel's most famous basketball coach.

Plot

The film tells the story of legendary Israeli basketball coach Max Stoller. He became a national hero, when he made Maccabi Tel Aviv into European Champions in the late Seventies, one of Israel's first great international sporting successes. But Max became a national traitor equally fast, when he then accepted the against-all-odds job of turning the totally hopeless West-German basketball team into European winners. Max always maintains that Germany - where he was born before the war - means nothing to him, and that training their national team is just another job on his path to NBA glory. But things aren't as simple as he refuses to speak German to the young players. The only person he seems to be able to relate to is a Turkish immigrant woman Deniz, and her cheeky teenage daughter Sema. Max just about falls in love with Deniz - and does succeed in reinventing the Germans as European champions. When he discovers what happened to his own family in the 1940s - it is not what he had expected. And he will realize that one cannot run away forever from one's own past and demons.

Cast

Danny Huston Daniel Sallis Huston (born May 14, 1962) is an Italian-born American actor and film director. A member of the Huston family of filmmakers, he is the son of director John Huston and the half-brother of actress Anjelica Huston. He is known for h ...

(Max Stoller) *

Amira Casar Amira Casar is a British-born actress who grew up in England, Ireland, and France. Early life Amira is the daughter of a Kurds, Kurdish father and a Russian mother. She was born in London and was subsequently raised in England, Ireland, and Fran ...

as Deniz * Mark Waschke as Axel *

Max Riemelt Max Riemelt (born 7 January 1984) is a German actor, known internationally for playing Wolfgang Bogdanow in the Netflix series ''Sense8''. In Germany, he is known for many years of television and cinema both acting and directing. Career Rieme ...

as Thomas * Hanns Zischler as Franz * Selen Savas as Sema * Smadi Wolfman as Ronit (Smadar Wolfman) *Andreas Eufinger as Ulrich *Mathias von Heydebrand as Dieter * Irm Hermann as Bertha *Yehuda Almagor as Shimi *Volker Metzker - Reporter Taxi *Verena Wüstkamp as Reporter - VIP Room *Oliver Klös - Cameraman *Steffen Müller - Reporter VIP *Peter Steitz - Border Police Man *Arne Habeck - Policeman *Michael Benthin as Chestnutseller *Thomas Lehmann - Policeman *Janine Bernstein - Woman Night Club *Momo (Peter W.) Schmitz as Clerk *Susanne Tischler - Saleswoman Watchstore *Andreas Dobberkau - Driver *Karl Jürgen Sihler - Reporter VIP

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, playoff_2011 2011 films 2010s biographical films French biographical films German biographical films Israeli biographical films English-language French films English-language German films English-language Israeli films Films directed by Eran Riklis Films set in West Germany Films set in the 1980s Basketball films 2010s English-language films 2010s French films 2010s German films Films produced by Olivier Delbosc Films produced by Marc Missonnier