O Milagre de Berna

German director Sönke Wortmann manages to recreate an atmosphere that kept the young German nation after WW2: Depression, fear, no perspectives for many people that are still suffering from the mayhem of the war. But he also shows that society is developing under the influence of the allied forces. It is perfectly chosen to follow the main plot on the side of young Matthias Lubanski (Louis Klamroth delivers an overwhelming performance! As the rest of the cast as well!). He only knows about the aftermath of the war, not all the evil that it brought before, and he has to deal with all what is surrounding him. He needs to have something to believe in, and when his father returns after 12 years of russian captivity his world turns upside down, but not for the better. During the movie both, he and his father, have to learn hard lessons of life, but for each its a necessary development to find its place in life. So when father and son travel to Switzerland, the colours of the movie change from the dark and grey Ruhrpott to the green and blue of the Alps. The second plot is woven into this one: The progress of the German National-Soccer-Team at the World Cup in Switzerland. Different players from different teams have to become one team, each fighting for each other. One for all and all for one. This is transferable to the German nation itself, on the verge to a new democratic future where at the beginning everything is linked to each other.

The movie is heart-warming and shows, by the way, how fantastic soccer (or any other team-sport) can be. How it can carry away the audience.

When the German team beat the former unbeatable (for almost 4 years!) Hungarian team 3-2 - something nobody every dared dreaming of - the whole German nation felt as one and knew that there is a new future!

Just one thing that felt rather negatively. Why was it not possible to create a more exciting and realistic atmoshpere in the stadium of Bern? The spectators, all too apparently created via blue-screen, looked too artificial. There was no depth. You never felt really appealed by that audience, because it looked not real. I think Wortmann should have been more perfect with that. Regarding the fact that so many special effects professionals from Germany work in Hollywood (e.g. for Roland Emmerich) the result could have been much, much better!

But nevertheless, this is one of the best German movies in a decade!

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.

It's easy to appreciate how much of a morale boost to a country sporting victories are in international competition, particularly when that sport is almost the national religion as soccer is throughout Europe. But you don't need to be a soccer fan or a German to appreciate this wonderful film, where the pathos of a bittersweet family reunion when the father comes home from a Soviet work camp after 11 years is as much the centerpiece as the quiet optimism leading to the football win and the joy following it. Obviously Germany in 1954 was a country still rebuilding from its recently shattered past and that feeling is conveyed superbly. The end is charming, in fact the nicest closing scene I can remember.

This movie is clearly en par with "Die Feuerzangenbowle" or "Der blaue Engel"

In the background it describes the post war Germany, the desperation, the aggression, the losses, the private and public devastation. Fantastic the scene when the train arrives in Essen and all the women anxiously hope that their husband or son will be on that train (many many of them were actually disappointed). Amazing how Soenke shows the game against Austria where he lets children play the actual game scenes on some muddy grass pitch, with the original radio comment running.

In the foreground it tells the story about those 90 minutes which many consider as the turning point for Germany in the 20th century. I was not existent yet but my mother and many others that I know of her generation can still tell what they did during these 90 minutes in 1954. The movie is brilliantly made, with real soccer players as actors (that shows at times, see "The school of rock"). The goals in the final actually happened the way they are shown in the movie. The American movie goers may not understand many of the little details (all the Herberger Phrases are there, Helmut Rahn actually had a severe alcohol problem later in life). They also may not realize the importance of soccer in all the rest of the world ;) which cannot be overestimated.

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.