The Philanthropist s01e02 Episode Script
Myanmar
Then, let's take Nigeria.
Teddy spends all this time over there.
A country with immense deposits of oil, shale and silver.
And what did the stockholders get out of it? Nothing.
Teddy was doing humanitarian work.
Was there a stripper in need of CPR? (ALL LAUGHlNG) There was a hurricane.
Where is he now? Myanmar.
Myanmar? Also known as Burma.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) What's he saying? (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) (ALL SHOUTlNG) Drive! Drive! And what is Teddy doing in Myanmar? He's on a goodwill tour.
(SHOUTlNG) (GROANS) Why? Ladies and gentlemen, order, please.
Please.
DeWlTT: I now own 15% of Maidstone-Rist stock.
Doesn't it seem odd that the co-CEO of this company can't be bothered to attend a board of directors meeting? Teddy intended to be here.
He's been waylaid.
Blonde or brunette? The situation is a lot more complicated than that.
With Teddy, it always is.
But I see one man's excesses destroying a vibrant company.
(ALL MUTTERlNG) I move that Teddy Rist be forced to resign, effective immediately.
(MURMURlNG) Please.
Please.
Chairman, I ask for a second.
I second the motion.
Thank you.
I call a vote.
No.
First, we debate.
Then, we'll vote.
All right.
I think it's obvious to everyone PHlLlP: DeWitt? DeWitt? around this table that we have You don't have the floor now.
I do.
Sit down.
(PEOPLE CLEARlNG THROAT) Certainly, Philip.
Have your say.
Teddy Rist has been my partner in this company for eight years.
He's been my best friend for even longer.
The last 12 months have been extremely difficult for him.
For all of us.
Financial troubles aside, DeWitt.
You didn't struggle through a very public, very messy divorce and the death of a son.
Since then, Teddy has been going through a A sort of metamorphosis.
But he also Well, take Burma.
As you all know, we took a pummeling in the press for our associations there.
Teddy was at this big gala.
He was receiving the Man of the Year award.
(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG) He went into the press room expecting to field a couple of softball questions.
Mr.
Rist.
Tomorrow, a British NGO, the Burma Campaign, are going to add your company to the dirty list.
Dirty list? Are you flirting with me? (ALL LAUGHlNG) The dirty list exposes corporations who do business with the oppressive military regime in Burma.
Mmm.
No, I think you must be mistaken.
We We don't do business in Burma.
Maidstone-Rist recently signed a multimillion dollar partnership with the Chiang Company in China.
They are also involved in oil and gas exploration in Burma.
These sites use forced labor.
How do you respond? I'm going to have to get back to you on that one.
Just make sure you leave your number, yeah? Wait a minute, Rist.
Are you saying you don't know anything about this? Yeah, Teddy.
Answer the woman.
Look, um, guys.
I (REPORTERS CLAMORlNG) Sorry.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
You haven't answered my question.
CROWD: (CHANTlNG) Free, free, free Burma.
Free, free, free Burma.
Morning, Teddy.
There's a very angry mob of villagers with pitchforks at the door.
I know.
Philip's waiting in your office.
This is everything l could get since last night when you called.
Late last night, while I was on a date.
This meeting is now.
I need headlines.
Myanmar.
Government.
There was a military coup in the '60s.
Mmm-hmm.
The junta has ruled ever since.
It's turned out to be more George Orwell 1984 than My Little Pony.
There was a government in My Little Pony? No.
Maybe.
I don't know.
They did have democratic elections in 1990.
But the woman who won A woman won? Yes.
Daw May Lin Wai.
She won the election, but she's been held under house arrest for the past 20 years.
Well, that's not very My Little Pony, is it? Well, the Burmese consider her a national hero.
Kind of like Gandhi under lock and key.
Myanmar or Burma? Which is proper? Uh, depends on who you ask.
Olivia, whichever one doesn't piss her off.
The military regime renamed the country Myanmar, so Burma.
Good.
Easier to say.
Why didn't I know about this deal? What? Do you ever read anything I put on your desk? I was in Nigeria.
Teddy, I need to know.
Are you still in Nigeria, or are you back at work full time? Nice press conference.
TEDDY: I thought I gave some very interesting answers.
I, uh I, uh I, uh (CHUCKLlNG) I'm drawing up a statement.
Something along the lines of "Maidstone-Rist is in full support of human rights "and would never knowingly partner with a company that does business" Uh I knew.
Philip, I thought the three of us agreed we wouldn't put profit over Our contract with the Chiang Company has nothing to do with their presence in Myanmar.
Myanmar? Otherwise known as Burma.
A land of forced labor camps, child exploitation, and mass rape by the military.
People there are poor and dying.
And when they speak out, they're thrown in jail and tortured.
Babe, I could see that.
But I could also see that their economy is circling the toilet.
So, wouldn't providing jobs help the Burmese? No.
I think we should sever our ties with the Chiang Company.
We have an ironclad contract with the Chiang Company.
Besides, this venture provides anticorrosive chemicals to Detroit.
We need this deal to happen.
America needs this deal to happen.
Oh, I feel a salute coming on.
Teddy, you saw in Nigeria how an oppressive government can destroy the people.
Will you talk to him and convince him? He's as much your husband as he is mine.
No, I would, except that l agree with him.
Sanctions don't work.
The United States forbids American companies to do business directly in Burma.
I really, really would like to believe that's not the only reason Maidstone-Rist doesn't have an office there.
Well, you married her.
CROWD: (CHANTlNG) Free, free, free Burma.
Free, free, free Burma.
Free, free, free Burma.
May Lin Wai.
How much do you know about her? Just that she's amazing.
What, '96 Chicago Bulls amazing, or sex on a white water raft amazing? Her husband was visiting France, hoping to gain European support for their cause.
The Myanmar secret police shot him.
He was on his death bed.
You know what she did? She stayed in Burma.
And never saw him again, the love of her life.
May Lin Wai knew that the government wouldn't let her go home if she left.
And she cares more about a free Burma than she does herself.
I should try and meet with her.
What? Clearly, we've got a global PR nightmare on our hands.
The company's credibility is lower than last week's Dow Jones.
Perhaps Lin Wai is the one to turn this around.
If we can get her blessing.
You wouldn't be able to see her.
She's locked in her house, surrounded by soldiers.
But you would agree, huh? That we should go along with whatever Lin Wai recommends? (LAUGHS) Teddy, don't do this for me.
Don't worry.
I'm not.
On to Yangon.
Rangoon.
(PEOPLE CHATTERlNG) The Strand Hotel? Uh-huh.
SAW MAUNG: Very, very nice.
Yeah, we'll go there.
As soon as you take us over to May Lin Wai's house.
May Lin Wai? TEDDY: Uh-huh.
May Lin Wai.
Oh, did I say it wrong or something? No one sees May Lin Wai.
Even the road is closed off.
Get us as close as you can, then.
Cost extra.
Two hundred kyats? Fine.
Just give me a receipt, huh? This This is too far already.
Lin Wai's house is I'm gonna need you as a translator.
What? No, no, no.
I'll pay you.
Hmm? Two hundred more.
(SlGHS) No, no, no.
Fine.
He's crazy, yes? Clinically insane.
What? Sorry? (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) You speak English, my friend? Huh? (YELLlNG lN NATlVE LANGUAGE) (BLOWlNG WHlSTLE) Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Lizard.
He took our luggage.
He won't get far.
I'll call the taxi company.
PHILIP: What the guards didn't know, couldn't know, was that they had set off a chemical reaction in Teddy.
Adrenaline, hormones, dopamine.
(SHOUTS) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) PHILIP: Every sinew in Teddy's body was focused on saving the Chiang deal.
And helping the Burmese people.
And seeing Lin Wai.
The guards had told Teddy he couldn't do something.
Nobody tells Teddy Rist what he can and cannot do.
Yeah? It's about time you showed up.
You got me fired.
DAX: Fired? Oh, so, I suppose you're going to tell me the sob story about your wife and seven kids, huh? No wife.
No kids.
I live with my sisters.
Hey, you like young girls? 16 year old? Twelve? Huh? Are you pimping your sisters? Not yet.
But I need money.
Yeah? A tip? Uh-huh.
Man, you're joking, right? You got me fired.
Eh? You're lucky that's all we did.
Who do we know at the Myanmar Ruling Counsel? I want to set up a meeting.
Thank you for taking the time to see me, General Win.
Not many would recognize Teddy Rist in Myanmar.
But I have access to censored material.
The good, the bad, or the obscene? (CHUCKLlNG) I've read volumes about you.
Would you like to have a look? Yes.
Please.
Thank you.
All of this is censored here? Clip, clip, clip.
My favorite.
Oh, dear.
(SlGHlNG) Yes.
This was one that I censored in my office, too.
I have many treasures.
Well, you are a man of considerable power.
And since you have access to so much information, I clearly don't have to tell you about Maidstone-Rist.
Beyond our partnership with the Chiang Company, we're very interested in laying the ground work for further investment in your beautiful country.
I mean, these sanctions, they can't go on forever, can they? Mmm.
No.
I'm I'm even thinking of, of buying a property here.
You know, a home away from home.
Ah, very nice.
Yes.
I hear the Lake lnya area is very pleasant.
(STAMMERlNG) There is one road in particular that's very quiet and peaceful.
It's, um It's College Street? I was hoping to get permission to go there.
Mr.
Rist, College Street is off limits.
Oh.
I mean, l Out of respect to my friends at the Chiang Company, Iet me know if there's anything else I may help you with.
Thank you.
PHILIP: Teddy's next stop was the International Red Cross.
Since one of your doctors gives Lin Wai a complete physical twice a year, I was kind of hoping you might be able to schedule the next one for this week.
I could tag along as an orderly or something? We did do a medical exam.
But after the trouble last year, the junta revoked all our privileges.
Thank you.
Mya, what are you doing here? TEDDY: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Can you help me? Yes, of course.
PHILIP: As you all know, a child in distress awakens emotions in Teddy.
Emotions he can't ignore.
What's wrong with her? Her kidneys have been failing for weeks.
She needs a kidney transplant.
Today or tomorrow, at the very latest.
What's holding you up? We need a fully equipped hospital.
Not my little clinic.
And does this girl really look like her family could afford a bed at the Yangon hospital? Well, how much do kidney transplants cost these days? That will do it, right? Or do you need my kidney, too? We paid for this child's kidney transplant? No.
Teddy paid.
Out of his own pocket.
For the transplant, the hotel suite, even the honor bar.
PHILIP: Teddy was still determined to see May Lin Wai.
And he sent Dax to investigate the guard situation.
Yeah? Can I come in? Okay.
Yeah.
So, I just came back from casing College Street.
Fantastic.
Just tell me everything you saw.
Quickly.
(LAUGHS) Well, thankfully, there's a lot of people in the street for some, uh, water festival.
Okay.
So, those guards, they got to multitask.
But to get over that blockade, we're going to have to create a diversion.
I love diversions.
(PEOPLE CHATTERlNG) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) We need a new plan.
Yeah.
Our diversion needs a diversion.
Excuse me.
Hey.
Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Hey! (GROANlNG) DeWITT: Teddy broke the law.
PHILIP: Technically, yes.
And put the life of a Maidstone-Rist employee in jeopardy.
Jeopardy is in Dax's job description.
(SCREAMlNG) DeWITT: Okay.
But Teddy put himself in jeopardy.
Is that in his job description? (WOMAN LAUGHlNG) You are? Teddy Rist.
And you are May Lin Wai.
Has the water festival started yet? I don't know what that is.
It's our celebration of the new year.
As a child, I looked forward to the festivities more than I did my own birthday.
How long have you been imprisoned in this house? I don't count the days.
But more than a decade, right? LlN WAl: We moved in right after we were married.
We were happy.
We raised our children here.
When did you last see them? Like I said, I don't count the days.
(LAUGHlNG) I do.
You've lost someone? I don't like to use the word "lost.
" As if I misplaced the car keys or something.
(GUARD CHATTERING ON RADIO) Hide there, now.
(DOOR OPENS) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) LlN WAl: You are wondering why I still stay here, my every movement monitored, when I can just leave the country.
Mmm-hmm.
My desire is for a humane and democratic Burma.
At present, it's not necessary for that to happen.
But I do want to be present the day freedom comes.
So, as to your question, who does the embargo and sanctions hurt? The junta, or the people? Oh, thank you.
Yes, should my company be aligned with a company that does business here? Being locked up hasn't granted me great moral knowledge.
Sugar? But I am a Buddhist.
I believe in a world of loving kindness and compassion.
The dictator is also a Buddhist.
But he mistakes what is in his head for what is real.
Lemon or milk? Lemon, please.
"Moha, " we call it.
The inability to differentiate different states of consciousness.
Like you, perhaps.
Me? From what you've said, I sense you are suffering through a deep tragedy.
But you don't know what you feel.
You act, but you don't know why.
You are in a way like me.
A prisoner in your own house.
No disrespect, ma'am, but l I didn't come here to be psychoanalyzed.
I just came for a simple answer to a simple question.
What should my company do? I must walk my own path.
Not yours.
I will not tell you what to do.
You must find your own morals and follow them.
(DOOR OPENS) And run.
(YELLlNG lN NATlVE LANGUAGE) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) PHILIP: Teddy was lucky to lose the guards because the water festival had started.
Hey, uh, the little girl, Mya.
Did she get a bed at Yangon Hospital? She did, but, um, the donor, her father, has not shown up yet.
If he has not arrived by tomorrow Where is he? Thaung, he works in the Ho ruby mine up near Mogok.
There's a lot of checkpoints along that way and I'm worried that perhaps he might have been detained at one of them, or maybe has not even been released yet from the mine.
I'll speak to General Win.
Oh, General Win sent some troops around here earlier looking for you.
He wanted to let you know your friend has been arrested.
(GATES CLOSlNG) Hey.
What have they done to you? Nothing that wouldn't happen in a precinct in the South Bronx.
I'm going to go see General Win.
Get you sprung.
I ain't got no problem with that.
I'll be back.
Hey.
You see Lin Wai? Yeah.
I saw her.
Your friend punched a duly authorized soldier.
TEDDY: Dax doesn't speak the language.
He didn't understand that they were simply trying to help.
So, did you have an enjoyable chat with May Lin Wai? Tell me when Dax's troubles go away, huh? Do you know Kate Winslet? That's all I have with me.
So, do we have a deal? He can go.
Oh.
There is something else.
I met a little girl that needs a kidney transplant.
Her father is the donor, but he works in a ruby mine up in Mogok.
We're concerned that he may have been detained.
And frankly, she is running out of time.
I could arrange a pass for you to go through the checkpoints to see whether he's still there.
No, I wasn't thinking of going up there myself.
I was hoping you might make a phone call.
The phone lines are down.
I'll give you a pass.
That would be great.
But then, I couldn't release your friend.
And why is that? Because you need more money? More money is good.
But I'm a practical man.
I'm a general in a country stuffed with generals.
(LAUGHlNG) We keep one eye on the people and one eye on each other.
A single favor goes unnoticed.
But two A general with more stars gets suspicious.
You must choose.
The donor or your friend.
PHILIP: Teddy Rist has many talents.
But his greatest gift is with people.
And he has an uncanny ability to pick the right person for the right job at the right time.
That's true, yes.
Sometimes, the choices aren't always so obvious.
(WOMAN CRYlNG) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Hitting your sister isn't nice.
Lousy American.
Half American.
Lousy half Brit.
What do you want? I'm here to offer you a job.
PHILIP: Teddy knew he had headed into a moral abyss.
And he knew he had to take someone with him with no morals.
Like any good CEO, Teddy always has long-term plans and a backup strategy.
If neither pans out, he knows how to roll with it.
Hey, come on.
I need you to translate.
No.
Yes.
We're going to pick up Mya's father, and you're going to drive the both of us to Yangon Hospital.
I want money to drive back.
We had a deal.
Too bad.
Somehow, I knew you would say that.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Pay now, pay now.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) English.
Do you speak English? English? (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) I've come to see a Mr.
Thaung.
Thaung? I've come to see Mr.
Thaung.
Mr.
Thaung? Uh Mr.
Thaung? Thaung? Mr Who are you? Oh.
I'm Teddy Rist.
I come for a Mr.
Thaung.
He's due in Yangon for his daughter's surgery.
Are you with the doctors? Uh, no, no.
I am with General Win.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Thaung asked for permission to go.
I refused.
If he doesn't get there immediately, his daughter will die.
The State Peace and Development Council has placed me in charge of this mining operation.
We are a business.
We cannot lose a worker any time he chooses to take a trip.
Are you listening to me? She will die.
My hearing is excellent, Mr.
Rist.
I'm a businessman, too, actually.
I I run a company that deals in resources.
Everything from uranium to niobium.
I know the value of a good worker.
I know that when it comes to mining, the younger, the better.
So How would you like to make a trade? (GROANlNG) (MAN YELLlNG) (SOLDlER SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Thaung.
Mr.
Thaung? (SHOUTS) I'm going to take you to your daughter, to Mya.
Mya? To Mya.
Hey, hey.
(YELLlNG lN NATlVE LANGUAGE) Hey, hey, easy.
All right! All right! It's okay.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Oh, no, no.
She's coming with me.
No.
Yeah.
She's part of the deal.
She's coming with me.
(GROANS) Only one.
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
(ENGlNE STARTlNG) "'By Jupiter,' said Gizmo.
(CELL PHONE RlNGlNG) "'It's a gigantic spider's web.
"' Teddy? Can I call you back in 10 minutes? I'm just finishing a story with Terry.
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
What's wrong? No, I, uh Teddy, I can hear that something's wrong.
The junta.
They They run these ruby mines.
Yeah.
They're known as pigeon's blood rubies.
Well, the people working there The conditions, they're brutal.
Teddy? I want to break the contract with Chiang.
I want no part of this hell hole.
Enough.
(ALL MURMURlNG) We've all heard enough.
Teddy chooses, randomly, to dump a multimillion dollar contract, inviting lawsuits and the wrath of the Chinese government? I say we vote.
(lNDlSTlNCT CHATTER) No.
No.
First, we recess.
DeWitt? My office, please? I've known from the moment you started accumulating stock in Maidstone-Rist what you were up to.
You want to be CEO.
Philip, I always thought Teddy was the only one at the company with balls.
But you, well Teddy gets all the press, while you do all the work.
Flattery.
It's always a nice tactic.
Not a tactic.
Fact.
I never implied any mismanagement on your part.
But I am critical of excess.
Teddy's excess.
So, what is this? Divide and conquer? No.
I intend to run this company with or without you.
But I'd prefer you stayed.
I pass.
And you should be worried about whether you stay.
Well, by my count, I'm one vote short of a majority.
Hey As chairman, I have the right to table the vote.
Put it in committee.
Bury it for six months.
But I don't want to look at your face any longer than I have to.
Here's my best and final offer.
You let me finish telling them about Burma.
Then, we can vote.
All right.
Okay.
Don't worry.
I have access all areas.
Huh? You know, "Access all areas"? Huh? Backstage at a rock concert? No? Forget it.
Oh, yeah.
General Win? Hey, what are you doing? What are you do What What's he doing? Ask him what he's doing.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) What's he saying? General Win arrested.
Pass no good.
What do you mean, General Win arrested? (ARGUlNG lN NATlVE LANGUAGE) Hey, hey, take it easy, take it easy.
We're nearly there.
I can't have you arrested or, worse, hurt.
(SHOUTlNG) Drive! Drive! (SHOUTlNG) (GROANlNG) We picked the father up not far past the checkpoint.
He is in the prison with your friend.
You make a lot of noise, Mr.
Rist.
Yeah, it's a condition I've had since childhood.
So, what's it going to take to move the party along, huh? I've got cash.
I am not General Win.
Selfish and self-satisfied.
A few hundred kyats do not matter to me.
I want what is best for Myanmar.
Well, I've got a few suggestions.
I am told that you are severing your partnership with the Chiang Company.
They are very angry.
And, in turn, we are very angry.
And when we are very angry, we have no time to think of an American in prison for punching a soldier.
Or a dying girl waiting for her father who will never appear.
Severing our partnership with the Chiang Company.
No, no.
No, something must have gotten lost in translation there.
We're increasing our end.
By half a million.
How reasonable you are, Teddy.
(KEYS CLlNKlNG) (GATE UNLOCKlNG) Dax.
You went to go get him before bailing me out? Well, I knew you could survive this place.
You're like walking Kevlar.
Had you gotten me released, Teddy, I could have helped you.
But see, you don't think about that.
All right.
I guess, at the end of the day, I get paid to protect you, right? I mean, you don't get paid to protect me.
Given what was at stake here, what did you expect me to do, huh? Come on, let's get out of here.
Rist.
Help me.
(MONlTOR BEEPlNG) PHILIP: Teddy did the right thing.
The moral thing.
The financially responsible thing.
He may not have done it in the standard way.
But that's what makes him good at his job.
That's what makes this company so successful.
Theodore Rist and Philip Maidstone are a team.
And we're not going to let you hurt what we've built or the folks that work for us, who depend on us.
So Let's vote.
(THUNDER RUMBLlNG) All those in favor of the motion set forth? (KNOCKlNG AT DOOR) Hey.
I hear you've still got a job.
(LAUGHS) Well, for now.
Thanks to Phil.
Who, by the way, is delighted that I strengthened the contract with the Chiang Company.
You want to know what Lin Wai said to me? What? She said that I should make the decision based on my own morals.
How is that for irony, huh? The trouble was, of course, that I was facing two moral dilemmas at exactly the same time.
And I chose the life of one little girl.
So, why do I feel so terrible, huh? Lin Wai also said that I was living a life of illusion.
Like a dog chasing a stick.
And that every time the stick is thrown, I just run after it.
Rather than turning around to face whoever tossed it.
Is she right? Am I living a life of illusion? Because Because I think I see the world exactly as it is.
I think there is only one reality.
I miss my little boy.
Teddy spends all this time over there.
A country with immense deposits of oil, shale and silver.
And what did the stockholders get out of it? Nothing.
Teddy was doing humanitarian work.
Was there a stripper in need of CPR? (ALL LAUGHlNG) There was a hurricane.
Where is he now? Myanmar.
Myanmar? Also known as Burma.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) What's he saying? (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) (ALL SHOUTlNG) Drive! Drive! And what is Teddy doing in Myanmar? He's on a goodwill tour.
(SHOUTlNG) (GROANS) Why? Ladies and gentlemen, order, please.
Please.
DeWlTT: I now own 15% of Maidstone-Rist stock.
Doesn't it seem odd that the co-CEO of this company can't be bothered to attend a board of directors meeting? Teddy intended to be here.
He's been waylaid.
Blonde or brunette? The situation is a lot more complicated than that.
With Teddy, it always is.
But I see one man's excesses destroying a vibrant company.
(ALL MUTTERlNG) I move that Teddy Rist be forced to resign, effective immediately.
(MURMURlNG) Please.
Please.
Chairman, I ask for a second.
I second the motion.
Thank you.
I call a vote.
No.
First, we debate.
Then, we'll vote.
All right.
I think it's obvious to everyone PHlLlP: DeWitt? DeWitt? around this table that we have You don't have the floor now.
I do.
Sit down.
(PEOPLE CLEARlNG THROAT) Certainly, Philip.
Have your say.
Teddy Rist has been my partner in this company for eight years.
He's been my best friend for even longer.
The last 12 months have been extremely difficult for him.
For all of us.
Financial troubles aside, DeWitt.
You didn't struggle through a very public, very messy divorce and the death of a son.
Since then, Teddy has been going through a A sort of metamorphosis.
But he also Well, take Burma.
As you all know, we took a pummeling in the press for our associations there.
Teddy was at this big gala.
He was receiving the Man of the Year award.
(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG) He went into the press room expecting to field a couple of softball questions.
Mr.
Rist.
Tomorrow, a British NGO, the Burma Campaign, are going to add your company to the dirty list.
Dirty list? Are you flirting with me? (ALL LAUGHlNG) The dirty list exposes corporations who do business with the oppressive military regime in Burma.
Mmm.
No, I think you must be mistaken.
We We don't do business in Burma.
Maidstone-Rist recently signed a multimillion dollar partnership with the Chiang Company in China.
They are also involved in oil and gas exploration in Burma.
These sites use forced labor.
How do you respond? I'm going to have to get back to you on that one.
Just make sure you leave your number, yeah? Wait a minute, Rist.
Are you saying you don't know anything about this? Yeah, Teddy.
Answer the woman.
Look, um, guys.
I (REPORTERS CLAMORlNG) Sorry.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
You haven't answered my question.
CROWD: (CHANTlNG) Free, free, free Burma.
Free, free, free Burma.
Morning, Teddy.
There's a very angry mob of villagers with pitchforks at the door.
I know.
Philip's waiting in your office.
This is everything l could get since last night when you called.
Late last night, while I was on a date.
This meeting is now.
I need headlines.
Myanmar.
Government.
There was a military coup in the '60s.
Mmm-hmm.
The junta has ruled ever since.
It's turned out to be more George Orwell 1984 than My Little Pony.
There was a government in My Little Pony? No.
Maybe.
I don't know.
They did have democratic elections in 1990.
But the woman who won A woman won? Yes.
Daw May Lin Wai.
She won the election, but she's been held under house arrest for the past 20 years.
Well, that's not very My Little Pony, is it? Well, the Burmese consider her a national hero.
Kind of like Gandhi under lock and key.
Myanmar or Burma? Which is proper? Uh, depends on who you ask.
Olivia, whichever one doesn't piss her off.
The military regime renamed the country Myanmar, so Burma.
Good.
Easier to say.
Why didn't I know about this deal? What? Do you ever read anything I put on your desk? I was in Nigeria.
Teddy, I need to know.
Are you still in Nigeria, or are you back at work full time? Nice press conference.
TEDDY: I thought I gave some very interesting answers.
I, uh I, uh I, uh (CHUCKLlNG) I'm drawing up a statement.
Something along the lines of "Maidstone-Rist is in full support of human rights "and would never knowingly partner with a company that does business" Uh I knew.
Philip, I thought the three of us agreed we wouldn't put profit over Our contract with the Chiang Company has nothing to do with their presence in Myanmar.
Myanmar? Otherwise known as Burma.
A land of forced labor camps, child exploitation, and mass rape by the military.
People there are poor and dying.
And when they speak out, they're thrown in jail and tortured.
Babe, I could see that.
But I could also see that their economy is circling the toilet.
So, wouldn't providing jobs help the Burmese? No.
I think we should sever our ties with the Chiang Company.
We have an ironclad contract with the Chiang Company.
Besides, this venture provides anticorrosive chemicals to Detroit.
We need this deal to happen.
America needs this deal to happen.
Oh, I feel a salute coming on.
Teddy, you saw in Nigeria how an oppressive government can destroy the people.
Will you talk to him and convince him? He's as much your husband as he is mine.
No, I would, except that l agree with him.
Sanctions don't work.
The United States forbids American companies to do business directly in Burma.
I really, really would like to believe that's not the only reason Maidstone-Rist doesn't have an office there.
Well, you married her.
CROWD: (CHANTlNG) Free, free, free Burma.
Free, free, free Burma.
Free, free, free Burma.
May Lin Wai.
How much do you know about her? Just that she's amazing.
What, '96 Chicago Bulls amazing, or sex on a white water raft amazing? Her husband was visiting France, hoping to gain European support for their cause.
The Myanmar secret police shot him.
He was on his death bed.
You know what she did? She stayed in Burma.
And never saw him again, the love of her life.
May Lin Wai knew that the government wouldn't let her go home if she left.
And she cares more about a free Burma than she does herself.
I should try and meet with her.
What? Clearly, we've got a global PR nightmare on our hands.
The company's credibility is lower than last week's Dow Jones.
Perhaps Lin Wai is the one to turn this around.
If we can get her blessing.
You wouldn't be able to see her.
She's locked in her house, surrounded by soldiers.
But you would agree, huh? That we should go along with whatever Lin Wai recommends? (LAUGHS) Teddy, don't do this for me.
Don't worry.
I'm not.
On to Yangon.
Rangoon.
(PEOPLE CHATTERlNG) The Strand Hotel? Uh-huh.
SAW MAUNG: Very, very nice.
Yeah, we'll go there.
As soon as you take us over to May Lin Wai's house.
May Lin Wai? TEDDY: Uh-huh.
May Lin Wai.
Oh, did I say it wrong or something? No one sees May Lin Wai.
Even the road is closed off.
Get us as close as you can, then.
Cost extra.
Two hundred kyats? Fine.
Just give me a receipt, huh? This This is too far already.
Lin Wai's house is I'm gonna need you as a translator.
What? No, no, no.
I'll pay you.
Hmm? Two hundred more.
(SlGHS) No, no, no.
Fine.
He's crazy, yes? Clinically insane.
What? Sorry? (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) You speak English, my friend? Huh? (YELLlNG lN NATlVE LANGUAGE) (BLOWlNG WHlSTLE) Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Lizard.
He took our luggage.
He won't get far.
I'll call the taxi company.
PHILIP: What the guards didn't know, couldn't know, was that they had set off a chemical reaction in Teddy.
Adrenaline, hormones, dopamine.
(SHOUTS) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) PHILIP: Every sinew in Teddy's body was focused on saving the Chiang deal.
And helping the Burmese people.
And seeing Lin Wai.
The guards had told Teddy he couldn't do something.
Nobody tells Teddy Rist what he can and cannot do.
Yeah? It's about time you showed up.
You got me fired.
DAX: Fired? Oh, so, I suppose you're going to tell me the sob story about your wife and seven kids, huh? No wife.
No kids.
I live with my sisters.
Hey, you like young girls? 16 year old? Twelve? Huh? Are you pimping your sisters? Not yet.
But I need money.
Yeah? A tip? Uh-huh.
Man, you're joking, right? You got me fired.
Eh? You're lucky that's all we did.
Who do we know at the Myanmar Ruling Counsel? I want to set up a meeting.
Thank you for taking the time to see me, General Win.
Not many would recognize Teddy Rist in Myanmar.
But I have access to censored material.
The good, the bad, or the obscene? (CHUCKLlNG) I've read volumes about you.
Would you like to have a look? Yes.
Please.
Thank you.
All of this is censored here? Clip, clip, clip.
My favorite.
Oh, dear.
(SlGHlNG) Yes.
This was one that I censored in my office, too.
I have many treasures.
Well, you are a man of considerable power.
And since you have access to so much information, I clearly don't have to tell you about Maidstone-Rist.
Beyond our partnership with the Chiang Company, we're very interested in laying the ground work for further investment in your beautiful country.
I mean, these sanctions, they can't go on forever, can they? Mmm.
No.
I'm I'm even thinking of, of buying a property here.
You know, a home away from home.
Ah, very nice.
Yes.
I hear the Lake lnya area is very pleasant.
(STAMMERlNG) There is one road in particular that's very quiet and peaceful.
It's, um It's College Street? I was hoping to get permission to go there.
Mr.
Rist, College Street is off limits.
Oh.
I mean, l Out of respect to my friends at the Chiang Company, Iet me know if there's anything else I may help you with.
Thank you.
PHILIP: Teddy's next stop was the International Red Cross.
Since one of your doctors gives Lin Wai a complete physical twice a year, I was kind of hoping you might be able to schedule the next one for this week.
I could tag along as an orderly or something? We did do a medical exam.
But after the trouble last year, the junta revoked all our privileges.
Thank you.
Mya, what are you doing here? TEDDY: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Can you help me? Yes, of course.
PHILIP: As you all know, a child in distress awakens emotions in Teddy.
Emotions he can't ignore.
What's wrong with her? Her kidneys have been failing for weeks.
She needs a kidney transplant.
Today or tomorrow, at the very latest.
What's holding you up? We need a fully equipped hospital.
Not my little clinic.
And does this girl really look like her family could afford a bed at the Yangon hospital? Well, how much do kidney transplants cost these days? That will do it, right? Or do you need my kidney, too? We paid for this child's kidney transplant? No.
Teddy paid.
Out of his own pocket.
For the transplant, the hotel suite, even the honor bar.
PHILIP: Teddy was still determined to see May Lin Wai.
And he sent Dax to investigate the guard situation.
Yeah? Can I come in? Okay.
Yeah.
So, I just came back from casing College Street.
Fantastic.
Just tell me everything you saw.
Quickly.
(LAUGHS) Well, thankfully, there's a lot of people in the street for some, uh, water festival.
Okay.
So, those guards, they got to multitask.
But to get over that blockade, we're going to have to create a diversion.
I love diversions.
(PEOPLE CHATTERlNG) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) We need a new plan.
Yeah.
Our diversion needs a diversion.
Excuse me.
Hey.
Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Hey! (GROANlNG) DeWITT: Teddy broke the law.
PHILIP: Technically, yes.
And put the life of a Maidstone-Rist employee in jeopardy.
Jeopardy is in Dax's job description.
(SCREAMlNG) DeWITT: Okay.
But Teddy put himself in jeopardy.
Is that in his job description? (WOMAN LAUGHlNG) You are? Teddy Rist.
And you are May Lin Wai.
Has the water festival started yet? I don't know what that is.
It's our celebration of the new year.
As a child, I looked forward to the festivities more than I did my own birthday.
How long have you been imprisoned in this house? I don't count the days.
But more than a decade, right? LlN WAl: We moved in right after we were married.
We were happy.
We raised our children here.
When did you last see them? Like I said, I don't count the days.
(LAUGHlNG) I do.
You've lost someone? I don't like to use the word "lost.
" As if I misplaced the car keys or something.
(GUARD CHATTERING ON RADIO) Hide there, now.
(DOOR OPENS) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) LlN WAl: You are wondering why I still stay here, my every movement monitored, when I can just leave the country.
Mmm-hmm.
My desire is for a humane and democratic Burma.
At present, it's not necessary for that to happen.
But I do want to be present the day freedom comes.
So, as to your question, who does the embargo and sanctions hurt? The junta, or the people? Oh, thank you.
Yes, should my company be aligned with a company that does business here? Being locked up hasn't granted me great moral knowledge.
Sugar? But I am a Buddhist.
I believe in a world of loving kindness and compassion.
The dictator is also a Buddhist.
But he mistakes what is in his head for what is real.
Lemon or milk? Lemon, please.
"Moha, " we call it.
The inability to differentiate different states of consciousness.
Like you, perhaps.
Me? From what you've said, I sense you are suffering through a deep tragedy.
But you don't know what you feel.
You act, but you don't know why.
You are in a way like me.
A prisoner in your own house.
No disrespect, ma'am, but l I didn't come here to be psychoanalyzed.
I just came for a simple answer to a simple question.
What should my company do? I must walk my own path.
Not yours.
I will not tell you what to do.
You must find your own morals and follow them.
(DOOR OPENS) And run.
(YELLlNG lN NATlVE LANGUAGE) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) PHILIP: Teddy was lucky to lose the guards because the water festival had started.
Hey, uh, the little girl, Mya.
Did she get a bed at Yangon Hospital? She did, but, um, the donor, her father, has not shown up yet.
If he has not arrived by tomorrow Where is he? Thaung, he works in the Ho ruby mine up near Mogok.
There's a lot of checkpoints along that way and I'm worried that perhaps he might have been detained at one of them, or maybe has not even been released yet from the mine.
I'll speak to General Win.
Oh, General Win sent some troops around here earlier looking for you.
He wanted to let you know your friend has been arrested.
(GATES CLOSlNG) Hey.
What have they done to you? Nothing that wouldn't happen in a precinct in the South Bronx.
I'm going to go see General Win.
Get you sprung.
I ain't got no problem with that.
I'll be back.
Hey.
You see Lin Wai? Yeah.
I saw her.
Your friend punched a duly authorized soldier.
TEDDY: Dax doesn't speak the language.
He didn't understand that they were simply trying to help.
So, did you have an enjoyable chat with May Lin Wai? Tell me when Dax's troubles go away, huh? Do you know Kate Winslet? That's all I have with me.
So, do we have a deal? He can go.
Oh.
There is something else.
I met a little girl that needs a kidney transplant.
Her father is the donor, but he works in a ruby mine up in Mogok.
We're concerned that he may have been detained.
And frankly, she is running out of time.
I could arrange a pass for you to go through the checkpoints to see whether he's still there.
No, I wasn't thinking of going up there myself.
I was hoping you might make a phone call.
The phone lines are down.
I'll give you a pass.
That would be great.
But then, I couldn't release your friend.
And why is that? Because you need more money? More money is good.
But I'm a practical man.
I'm a general in a country stuffed with generals.
(LAUGHlNG) We keep one eye on the people and one eye on each other.
A single favor goes unnoticed.
But two A general with more stars gets suspicious.
You must choose.
The donor or your friend.
PHILIP: Teddy Rist has many talents.
But his greatest gift is with people.
And he has an uncanny ability to pick the right person for the right job at the right time.
That's true, yes.
Sometimes, the choices aren't always so obvious.
(WOMAN CRYlNG) (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Hitting your sister isn't nice.
Lousy American.
Half American.
Lousy half Brit.
What do you want? I'm here to offer you a job.
PHILIP: Teddy knew he had headed into a moral abyss.
And he knew he had to take someone with him with no morals.
Like any good CEO, Teddy always has long-term plans and a backup strategy.
If neither pans out, he knows how to roll with it.
Hey, come on.
I need you to translate.
No.
Yes.
We're going to pick up Mya's father, and you're going to drive the both of us to Yangon Hospital.
I want money to drive back.
We had a deal.
Too bad.
Somehow, I knew you would say that.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Pay now, pay now.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) English.
Do you speak English? English? (SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) I've come to see a Mr.
Thaung.
Thaung? I've come to see Mr.
Thaung.
Mr.
Thaung? Uh Mr.
Thaung? Thaung? Mr Who are you? Oh.
I'm Teddy Rist.
I come for a Mr.
Thaung.
He's due in Yangon for his daughter's surgery.
Are you with the doctors? Uh, no, no.
I am with General Win.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Thaung asked for permission to go.
I refused.
If he doesn't get there immediately, his daughter will die.
The State Peace and Development Council has placed me in charge of this mining operation.
We are a business.
We cannot lose a worker any time he chooses to take a trip.
Are you listening to me? She will die.
My hearing is excellent, Mr.
Rist.
I'm a businessman, too, actually.
I I run a company that deals in resources.
Everything from uranium to niobium.
I know the value of a good worker.
I know that when it comes to mining, the younger, the better.
So How would you like to make a trade? (GROANlNG) (MAN YELLlNG) (SOLDlER SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Thaung.
Mr.
Thaung? (SHOUTS) I'm going to take you to your daughter, to Mya.
Mya? To Mya.
Hey, hey.
(YELLlNG lN NATlVE LANGUAGE) Hey, hey, easy.
All right! All right! It's okay.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) Oh, no, no.
She's coming with me.
No.
Yeah.
She's part of the deal.
She's coming with me.
(GROANS) Only one.
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
(ENGlNE STARTlNG) "'By Jupiter,' said Gizmo.
(CELL PHONE RlNGlNG) "'It's a gigantic spider's web.
"' Teddy? Can I call you back in 10 minutes? I'm just finishing a story with Terry.
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
What's wrong? No, I, uh Teddy, I can hear that something's wrong.
The junta.
They They run these ruby mines.
Yeah.
They're known as pigeon's blood rubies.
Well, the people working there The conditions, they're brutal.
Teddy? I want to break the contract with Chiang.
I want no part of this hell hole.
Enough.
(ALL MURMURlNG) We've all heard enough.
Teddy chooses, randomly, to dump a multimillion dollar contract, inviting lawsuits and the wrath of the Chinese government? I say we vote.
(lNDlSTlNCT CHATTER) No.
No.
First, we recess.
DeWitt? My office, please? I've known from the moment you started accumulating stock in Maidstone-Rist what you were up to.
You want to be CEO.
Philip, I always thought Teddy was the only one at the company with balls.
But you, well Teddy gets all the press, while you do all the work.
Flattery.
It's always a nice tactic.
Not a tactic.
Fact.
I never implied any mismanagement on your part.
But I am critical of excess.
Teddy's excess.
So, what is this? Divide and conquer? No.
I intend to run this company with or without you.
But I'd prefer you stayed.
I pass.
And you should be worried about whether you stay.
Well, by my count, I'm one vote short of a majority.
Hey As chairman, I have the right to table the vote.
Put it in committee.
Bury it for six months.
But I don't want to look at your face any longer than I have to.
Here's my best and final offer.
You let me finish telling them about Burma.
Then, we can vote.
All right.
Okay.
Don't worry.
I have access all areas.
Huh? You know, "Access all areas"? Huh? Backstage at a rock concert? No? Forget it.
Oh, yeah.
General Win? Hey, what are you doing? What are you do What What's he doing? Ask him what he's doing.
(SPEAKlNG NATlVE LANGUAGE) What's he saying? General Win arrested.
Pass no good.
What do you mean, General Win arrested? (ARGUlNG lN NATlVE LANGUAGE) Hey, hey, take it easy, take it easy.
We're nearly there.
I can't have you arrested or, worse, hurt.
(SHOUTlNG) Drive! Drive! (SHOUTlNG) (GROANlNG) We picked the father up not far past the checkpoint.
He is in the prison with your friend.
You make a lot of noise, Mr.
Rist.
Yeah, it's a condition I've had since childhood.
So, what's it going to take to move the party along, huh? I've got cash.
I am not General Win.
Selfish and self-satisfied.
A few hundred kyats do not matter to me.
I want what is best for Myanmar.
Well, I've got a few suggestions.
I am told that you are severing your partnership with the Chiang Company.
They are very angry.
And, in turn, we are very angry.
And when we are very angry, we have no time to think of an American in prison for punching a soldier.
Or a dying girl waiting for her father who will never appear.
Severing our partnership with the Chiang Company.
No, no.
No, something must have gotten lost in translation there.
We're increasing our end.
By half a million.
How reasonable you are, Teddy.
(KEYS CLlNKlNG) (GATE UNLOCKlNG) Dax.
You went to go get him before bailing me out? Well, I knew you could survive this place.
You're like walking Kevlar.
Had you gotten me released, Teddy, I could have helped you.
But see, you don't think about that.
All right.
I guess, at the end of the day, I get paid to protect you, right? I mean, you don't get paid to protect me.
Given what was at stake here, what did you expect me to do, huh? Come on, let's get out of here.
Rist.
Help me.
(MONlTOR BEEPlNG) PHILIP: Teddy did the right thing.
The moral thing.
The financially responsible thing.
He may not have done it in the standard way.
But that's what makes him good at his job.
That's what makes this company so successful.
Theodore Rist and Philip Maidstone are a team.
And we're not going to let you hurt what we've built or the folks that work for us, who depend on us.
So Let's vote.
(THUNDER RUMBLlNG) All those in favor of the motion set forth? (KNOCKlNG AT DOOR) Hey.
I hear you've still got a job.
(LAUGHS) Well, for now.
Thanks to Phil.
Who, by the way, is delighted that I strengthened the contract with the Chiang Company.
You want to know what Lin Wai said to me? What? She said that I should make the decision based on my own morals.
How is that for irony, huh? The trouble was, of course, that I was facing two moral dilemmas at exactly the same time.
And I chose the life of one little girl.
So, why do I feel so terrible, huh? Lin Wai also said that I was living a life of illusion.
Like a dog chasing a stick.
And that every time the stick is thrown, I just run after it.
Rather than turning around to face whoever tossed it.
Is she right? Am I living a life of illusion? Because Because I think I see the world exactly as it is.
I think there is only one reality.
I miss my little boy.