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The Miracle of Bern (German title: Das Wunder von Bern) is a 2003 film by Sönke Wortmann, which tells the story of the unexpected West German victory in the 1954 World Cup Final in Bern, Switzerland, on July 4, 1954, and the story of a young boy and his depressed father who are brought together by the German success.
The film can be regarded as a portrait of post-war Germany. With over 6,000,000 cinema visitors, it is one of Germany's best-selling films. Among those attending the premiere were: Gerhard Schröder the Chancellor, Peer Steinbrück the Minister-President of North-Rhine Westphalia, and Otto Schily the Federal Minister of the Interior.
Tagline: Every child needs a father. Every man needs a dream. Every nation needs a legend.
Story
While Richard, a miner from Essen, was a Soviet prisoner of war, his wife, two sons and one daughter have maintained a comfortable standard of living without him. When he is unexpectedly repatriated in 1954, he has severe problems in reintegrating himself with his family. His elder son believes in communism instead of his ideals from the Nazi time, his daughter flirts with American GIs and his 11-year-old son Matthias, whom Richard has never known, admires a local football hero, Helmut Rahn of Rot-Weiß Essen.
While Richard is initially very stern about Matthias' love for football, he gradually softens such that, on the night before the final, father and son drive to Bern to see the match.
An additional plot of the movie is the personal triumph of Helmut Rahn, for whom Matthias becomes a lucky mascot. Rahn, nicknamed "The Boss," has a successful record at club level, though is rarely chosen to play at national level in trainer Sepp Herberger's team.
There are several miraculous events in the movie. For Richard, it is the sudden joy of scoring a goal with an abandoned football. For Rahn, it is seeing Matthias on the touchline that spurs him into scoring the winning goal. For Sepp Herberger, however, the miracles are more mundane: the sudden rain that slows down the Hungarians, coupled with Adi Dassler's revolutionary screw-in football studs.
Awards
- Prix du Public UBS, Locarno International Film Festival 2003
- Deutscher Filmpreis 2004 for Best Picture (Silver), German Film of the Year, German Actor of the Year (Peter Lohmeyer)
- Bavarian Film Award 2004 to Sönke Wortmann as Best Director and to Johanna Gastdorf as Best Supporting Actress
The real miracle
The 1954 West German team, captained by Fritz Walter and coached by Sepp Herberger, won the World Cup in a remarkable final against the mighty Hungarians, undefeated for four years (Hungary had cruised through the preliminary stages, and had thrashed West Germany 8-3 in the group stages). A determined West Germany came back from an early two goal deficit to win 3-2, with Helmut Rahn scoring the winning goal six minutes from the end of full time. This was a euphoric event for a Germany that was spiritually and economically shattered. Winning the Jules Rimet Trophy by beating the World's strongest team gave the country new pride and is seen as the herald of Germany's economic recovery.
External links
- Review of the film in English
- "Mourning the Miracle of Bern" from Deutsche Welle, 2003 article
- "The legendary radio annotator from Herbert Zimmermann (Real Media)"
"The Miracle of Bern"