A Movie a Day: Das Wunder von Bern

Thursday 31 December - DAS WUNDER VON BERN (2003)
Das Wunder von Bern ('the miracle of Bern') is a German phrase referring to their national football team's famous 1954 World Cup triumph. I watched a German film that is, of course, based on this story, while following the family life of Matthias, a lonely boy whose best friends are his rabbits and German winger Helmut 'the Boss' Rahn. The film also deals with the recovery of family life in post-war Germany as Matthias' father returns from being held prisoner in Russia since before Matthias' birth.

I accidentally found this film on SBS while channel-surfing late one night. The film kept my interest for two reasons: it was about football and it had a historical setting. I only watched the first twenty minutes because it got late, so I acquired it later and now finally watched the rest. I think it counts for this movie-a-day thing because almost all of it is fresh to me.

I enjoyed this but not as much as I remember from the TV; I suppose because when I watched the whole thing on New Year's Eve it was dreadfully hot and I was getting ready to go out--having said that I did enjoy it as a pleasant (but unspectacular) movie. I liked the believable 1950s setting and the imagery itself had a warm tone, but the story was a little thin and there were some funny, inconsistent special effects. It felt more like a telemovie than a feature, although it was one of the most popular German cinema releases in Germany ever. I think my enjoyment was hampered the fact I watched the first part a few months before the rest (I didn't have enough time to watch it in full). It was an amiable film that did justice to one of Germany's proudest sporting moments, an event that united and helped rebuild a damaged nation. 6/10