The Miracle of Bern (2003)

I did not like this movie because the story of this film is boring. The action-scenes is not very good and the music is boring. Don't waste your time watching this movie.

I did not know until reading the comments at the IMDb site that winning the FIFA World Cup in 1954 meant so much to a Germany that was building a new, humanitarian society.I want to add two remarks to what has been said so well by the others.First of all, I think that "Miracle at Berlin" should be released worldwide with English sub-titles because it has such a good story to tell. It only had Thai sub-titles (not English) here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, but I was lucky to understand enough of the German dialog. The theatre manager later told me the Thai sub-titles helped many natives here to enjoy and appreciate this, so he ran it an extra week.Secondly, it is pleasant to see the Germans in the film express their patriotic pride in such a positive way. For example, it was fun to watch the young woman who agreed to delay her honeymoon so that her sportswriter husband could cover the World Cup in Switzerland. She had cared little about the tournament but in the final match came out in front of the German fans to lead cheers for their struggling team.Since then it was also a pleasure to see and read how Germany hosted such a successful World Cup tournament in July, 2006, with their theme for visitors from around the world, "A Time to Make Friends." I'm reminded how Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court Earl Warren said he would first read the sports pages for news of human accomplishments before having to turn to the front pages to learn about the failures. Now that so much of the Middle East is once again in flames, we need stories like "Miracle at Berlin" to remind us that sometimes there are still happy endings.

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.