The real-life story of Robert Wladyslaw Parzelski, a London-based car electrician, got off to a more mundane start.

Parzelski reportedly arrived in São Paulo on 17 June onboard British Airways flight 247. The tourist slipped easily through customs, but without a return flight, a word of Portuguese or a penny to his name, Parzelski decided not to venture outside.

Instead, he set up camp on a concrete bench inside São Paulo's Guarulhos airport and waited, supposedly for a friend who had agreed to meet him there, but never came.

Alone and unable to communicate with others – "I'm Poland," he reportedly told those who inquired about his wellbeing – Parzelski did his best to make himself comfortable.

Concerned airport cleaners began caring for "the German", bringing him daily servings of water, yoghurt and cigarettes. Two empty bottles of vodka and an improvised toilet were located on airport property. Once clean-shaved, Parzelski's beard began to grow.

Several days into his stay, Parzelski's case was drawn to the attention of the Folha de São Paulo newspaper. Their reporters began investigating.

With airport police and officials seemingly uninterested in their Polish guest, the newspaper called on a 70-year-old Polish doctor from São Paulo to get to the bottom of Parzelski's bizarre story.

After a quick chat with the doctor on 30 June – Parzelski's first conversation in more than 10 days – his story began to emerge. Parzelski was a father of five from Krakow who had moved to London with his family seeking work as a builder. When he lost his job during the economic crisis, a Polish friend in London proposed a trip to Brazil. He accepted. Parzelski was handed a one-way ticket to São Paulo and a mission: to return to London with two telephone sets.

Sounds like a good idea for a movie.

Sounds like a good idea for a movie.