The Miracle of Bern

A wonderful little film, "Das Wunder von Bern" succeeds to capture the atmosphere of Germany in the mid-Fifties. The film is not so much about the football world championship of 1954 itself, but about how important this victory became for the Germans themselves. A nation torn apart and devastated by war, disoriented and sad, found new strength and something in which to believe in.

I first feared that I wouldn't like the movie so much as I am a Hungarian myself (the nation West Germany beat in the finals of the 1954 world championship in Bern), but in fact I was rather enchanted by the story. The excellent script brings the characters (above all little Mathias) to life. You start to care about them, to like them, to follow their ups and downs with interest. I especially liked the sensitive approach to the problems a family had to face when the father came back after years as a POW. As many other men in a similar situation, Richard Lubanski first wants to show strength and authority by being cold, arrogant and even violent towards his children - but later discovers that he also has to show his weaknesses and talk about his terrible experiences in war in order to get closer to his family again.

The parallel storyline of newlywed journalist Ackermann and his pretty and snobbish wife Anette was not very closely related to the main story, but I still liked it as the film showed through their lifestyle the beginning prosperity of the "Wirtschaftswunder" (economy miracle) years in contrast to the still bleak world of the industrial and mining town the Lubanski family lives in. And they also added some lighthearted comic relief to the film.

I would very much like people from other countries/cultures to see this film and understand better what Germany went through in these years.I am quite sure that they would not have big problems understanding "Das Wunder von Bern", as its main themes (family, war, traumatic experiences, failure and success) are quite universal.

I just watched "Das Wunder von Bern" and I must admit it is really a good film, not only for football fans (for you Americans: we Europeans say football for soccer). The film is not just a sports drama but deals more with the atmosphere in post war Germany and with the problems and aspirations the people had during that period and what the winning of the world championship by the German national football team meant for the regular people.

Actually this atmosphere is covered excellently. The film shows that the people were still recovering from WW2. There are heaps of debris in the streets from houses destroyed during air raids and many men are still kept as POWs so that the women have to take care for the family. The children play football with a makeshift ball, and most people don't seem to have much money. Everything is shown in subdued colors which really contribute to this mood. Although the story is set in Essen, a city in the main industrial and mining region of Germany, it could have happened everywhere in Germany.

The colors only change during the scenes in Switzerland, where the world championship took place. In fact those scenes are shot in bright and friendly colors. And also the settings are quite different from those in Essen: whereas the location in Essen consists of small apartment buildings, narrow streets and those aforementioned subdued colors, everything in Switzerland seems to be posh and spacious.

Even though the actors are not exactly great names in German cinema, they are quite good. As far as I know the actors who play the members of the German national football team were cast not only for their acting skills but also for their ability to play football. Thanks to that aspect the football scenes are quite convincing (although the spectators in the football stadium in Bern look really fake).

What I really liked though was the fact that the filmmakers used the original radio commentary from reporter Herbert Zimmermann, which is legendary. Every German football fan knows the important parts of his commentary by heart.

All in all a good and entertaining film, although I didn't really like the ending.

As a football fan, this movie appeals to me indeed. It is true-to-history, honestly depicted, filled with genuine and sophisticated acting performances and based on a historical background. The entire plot centers around the boy, Matthias, and tells the story of the 1954 World Cup through his eyes mainly. He makes this movie special and revives the era of the 50s in Germany, a time when this nation was just recovering from the devastation and the scars of WWII. The story is solid and very sincere. The acting is wonderful and the depiction of the contemporary setting is superbly staged. I can just recommend this movie to all football fans and anyone who enjoys pervasive stories that provide first class entertainment.

I had initially expected to find mainly German comments and felt positively surprised that a lot people commented positively also on the things around culminating in positive reviews about Worldcup in Germany 2006. Why do i like the movie ? Whenever you ask older people about what defined "West Germany" after the lost war, there are basically three things mentioned: The Currency Reform to "Deutschmark", the Return of the 10.000 POW from Russia and the Miracle of Bern as the leading one. And the movie, as good as i can imagine it, captured it very well if you hear comments from the same people watching. Yes, there are no mountains between Essen and Bern and quite sure no Car Transport Trains between Suisse and Germany in 54, but who cares ? But they did poke some fun about women's equal (baby naming) rights and the real copyrights for the German National Coaches high quality punch lines and they had the final about right. I can always enjoy it !

Even though or rather because it has more of a family drama than of a thrilling sports movie, it achieves to entertain as well as touch the spectators for two solid hours. Actually, the family story is perfectly integrated in the circumstances of 1954's football world-cup and shows in a very sensitive way the changes that this game, especially the finals with their victory over Hungary, have on the focused family in special and on whole Germany - which is still depressed by the misery caused by the second world war - in general. Becoming - for the very first time - football's world champion gives the country back its hopes for the future and people's joy in life. Matthis' father, and with him the whole family finally finds back to themselves. This movie perfectly holds the balance between sad and joyful scenes which, together with a decent sense of humor, never lets the story drift to one side. The spectators can truly feel with the well played characters of the family members and their progress throughout the events. Finally, the movie leads into a satisfying end without getting trashy.