Sometimes a great short film comes to us from an unexpected place—like “The Gentleman’s Wager II,” starring Jude Law, Giancarlo Giannini, and Zhao Wei, presented by Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Replete with beautiful scenery and clever cameos, we can’t stop watching this project.
The film starts with a game of bocce ball between Law’s and Giannini’s characters at a lovely Italian villa, but quickly escalates when a bet is placed between the two players: that Law can’t make it to Monaco in Giannini’s rundown vintage racecar (his most cherished possession) by noon the next day. The prize? The winner keeps both the car and the villa. The catch? This car hasn’t been driven in 40 years, and it’s up to Law to get it back into racing shape before he can even leave the garage.
Even after he gets the car up and running, Law runs into plenty of obstacles on his way to the finish line. A herd of sheep blocking his way? Check. Engine troubles? Check. But he doesn’t let these setbacks get him down. Instead, he accepts the help of others and, in return, thanks them for their acts of kindness (whether that’s by giving up his sunglasses to a helpful shepherd or passing on a bottle of Johnnie Walker to the man whose fresh paint he just smudged).
Throughout the drive, it’s clear that whether he wins or loses, Law is happy just to spend time with this one-of-a-kind machine. And for us, that’s the takeaway: it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it with love and share that passion with others. The blenders at Johnnie Walker exemplify this attitude—they take their craft seriously, not out of responsibility but out of joy. And we see in the film that this approach works; the acts of gratitude to (and from) the people he meets make Law victorious no matter what. And winning the car and villa? Well, that doesn’t hurt either.
This post is sponsored by Johnnie Walker Blue Label.