Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

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Este aici și Iulian, cel cu „maniere elegante și cu o față plăcută când zâmbea”. Și Emil, pe atunci George Harrison în trupa „The Flying Postmen”. Și Leonid, ziaristul sportiv care „părea să posede cunoștințe enciclopedice despre fotbalul din Moldova”.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Rotten Tomatoes Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Rotten Tomatoes

It’s a fun and an entertaining little read, as Hawks often is, although I don’t think it’s one that I’ll find myself thinking about too deeply in the months and years to come. With that said, reading him writing about Moldova, which was also occupied by the Soviet Union, reminded me of my trip to Latvia. As a die-harder on CIS traveling, I do my best in ready every travelouge written on the former Soviet republics - some works, some do not work and some are great. Tony Hawks book is - against all odds - in the 2nd category. Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author, famous for his Quizotic travel accounts undertaking bizarre wagers with friends. Hawks performs stand-up comedy, and is a regular on TV and radio panel games in the UK, including I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Just a Minute, The Unbelievable Truth and Have I Got News for You, although he first came to prominence as one of two resident performers — the other was Jo Brand — on semi-successful BBC monologue show The Brain Drain. Key details Genre Film Released 2012 Stars Tony Hawks, Anatol Durbala, Stephen Frost, Igor Babiac, Ana Chirita, Silvia Luca, Viorel Cornescu, Ina Surdu and more Writer Tony Hawks Directors Tony Hawks and Mikolaj Jaroszewicz Producers Mikolaj Jaroszewicz and Tony Hawks Company Cu siguranță că acum nu este așa „faptul că un actor de comedie din Anglia a venit în Moldova ca să încerce să-i bată la tenis pe fotbaliștii din echipa națională a Moldovei nu este o știre de presă”.It is fascinating to see glimpses of life in Moldova and it is the local cast who are the true stars of the film, in particular the outstanding Anatol Durbala who plays Iulian the translator.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis | movie | 2012 | Official Playing the Moldovans at Tennis | movie | 2012 | Official

Dar e bine că măcar ceva s-a schimbat. „Mi se părea că întunericul era mai întunecat aici, în Moldova”. Sau nu?Tony is an OK actor - he's never likely to win an Oscar - but his tennis skills and the fact that we know he actually did everything in the film make it very believable. Tony Hawks, un actor de comedie din Anglia şi un bărbat excentric ce adoră provocările neobişnuite, e legat de Moldova printr-un pariu. Misiunea sa bizară e să găsească membrii echipei naționale de fotbal şi să-i convingă să joace tenis cu el. pentru contribuția ta din Moldova la faptul că „oamenii cu orice fel de dizabilitate trebuie să fie respectați de către societatea în mijlocul căreia trăiesc și să aibă dreptul la o viață pe cât e posibil normală și satisfăcătoare”. Still riding the wave of books on guerilla tourism and gonzo journalism, Hawks was ahead of the curve with his Round Ireland with a Fridge from 2000 as well as this book which was published shortly after, in 2001, though set, mostly, in 1998. As the story unfolds, Tony's desire not to let the family down, particularly ten year old Elena, becomes more important than winning the bet itself.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Macmillan Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Macmillan

Even if you hate tennis and couldn't find Moldova on the map, you'll be charmed. Utterly recommended FHMPlaying the Moldovans at Tennis by Tony Hawks is the story of Hawks' attempt to a win a bet. A bet, which, to any sane person, would sound utterly ridiculous: that he could beat all of the players that were on the field for the Moldovan national soccer team, in tennis (one on one). Why this bet, of all things? As he and his buddy were watching the game on TV, they decided to debate if athletic ability wins out over skill and knowledge of a game. As Mr. Hawks used to play tennis at a very low competitive level, he was adamant that he could beat athletic individuals, like these soccer players, at his game. So adamant that he was willing to agree to stripping naked and singing the Moldovan national anthem if he wasn't able to beat all 11 players. Pretty daring, but somewhat expected - Mr. Hawks wrote one book previously, Round Ireland with a Fridge, where apparently he walked around Ireland while carrying a fridge, also on a bet. A good part of the humour of the book is based on the clash of culture between an over-optimistic Englishman and a local population who seem to be a bit reserved and not particularly surprised about Tony's plan. In a country where almost everyone is focused on surviving the next day, that is probably not surprising. (The book was published in 2000, but things have not changed a lot and Moldova is still the poorest country in Europe.)

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Tony Hawks - Google Books Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Tony Hawks - Google Books

Tony Hawks is a funny guy. After all, he is a comedian, and comedians tend to have to be funny. But in recent years, he’s progressed from being “funny ha-ha” to being possibly a little bit strange. It’s not his fault, I guess. He just can’t resist a challenge. So when he got drunk one night and was bet that he couldn’t hitch hike around Ireland with a fridge in tow, he did, and then promptly wrote a book, the hilarious, if not terribly imaginatively titled “Round Ireland With a Fridge” Wonderful reading! I am Moldovan, and at times it actually hurt to read some things, and sometimes I wanted to scream "That's not true!", but as a matter of fact - a lot of things in this book ARE true... Though it was written some time in the end of 90's as I undersand, and things are much better here now (at least we have lights in the streets now!), but a lot of things about mentality of Moldovans never changed...Since I am right now living and working in the Republic of Moldova, it will come probably not as a surprise to you, dear readers, when I am trying to get my hands on any books written by Moldovan authors that are translated in a language that I am able to read. There are indeed a few quite interesting authors whose translated books I will feature here in the future. Even if you hate tennis and couldn't find Moldova on the map, you'll be charmed. Utterly recommended" ( FHM) Excellent concept: a few drinks, watching the soccer, you’re good at tennis, could you beat the Moldovan soccer team at your own sport? If not, you have to strip naked to their anthem. Perhaps thankfully so, the genre recently seems to have abated in popularity, perhaps because the world is now so interconnected, there is less and less tourism possible to be guerilla about.