The Miracle Of Bern

Film Info

Germany 2003 | 117 min. Director: Sönke Wortmann

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The Miracle Of Bern

Synopsis

Summer 1954. In a small housing estate in Essen, 11-year-old Matthias Lubanski, along with his mother and siblings, anxiously awaits the return of his father, a prisoner of war.
However, football-loving Matthias has long since found a surrogate father in the national-league player Helmut Rahn. The boy also earns a bit of money as his "boss's" bag carrier. Rahn has even convinced Matthias that he can only win as long as the boy attends the games as his mascot. Matthias is only too willing to believe him...
In the meantime, preparations are underway in Switzerland for the encounter of the world's best football teams. As the German team travels to the world championship, in Essen the Lubanskis face a major ordeal. Ever since his return, Richard - Matthias's father - has been sullen and aggressive. When the German team unexpectedly makes it to the finals, Matthias insists on traveling to Bern so that he can bring luck to his idol Rahn. But Richard Lubanski has no sympathy for his son's dreams. On 4 July 1954 everything must be decided...

Cast & Crew

Director

Sönke Wortmann
Producer

Tom Spiess, Sönke Wortmann, Hanno Huth
Screenwriter

Rochus Hahn, Sönke Wortmann
Director of photography

Tom Fährmann
Main Cast

Peter Lohmeyer (Richard Lubanski), Louis Klamroth ( Matthias Lubanski ), Johanna Gastdorf (Christa Lubanski ), Peter Franke (Sepp Herberger ), Lucas Gregorowicz (Paul Ackermann ), Katharina Wackernagel (Annette Ackermann ), Mirko Lang (Bruno Lubanski ), Birthe Wolter (Ingrid Lubanski )
Editor (Cut)

Ueli Christen
Sound Design

Dirk Jacob
Original Score

Marcel Barsotti
Production Design

Uli Hanisch
Costume Design

Ursula Welter
Makeup

Gerhard Zeiss

Director's comment

There are two events in German post-war history for which people still exactly remember where they were on this day: the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and Germany's surprising victory at the football World Cup on 4 July 1954, better known as THE MIRACLE OF BERN. This victory on a Sunday afternoon has become a myth, its makers have become legends: Sepp Herberger, Fritz Walter, Helmut Rahn, Toni Turek...
3 : 2 — Germany was the world champion, an entire nation jubilated. But what characterized this historical hour was not simply the joy in the victory of a football team, but a kind of collective bliss, an encouraging corrective to the dark years of the Third Reich.
The small joys and rebellions of the time are mirrored in the story of the Lubanski family of Essen-Katernberg. Counterbalancing the ordeal of the father returning from Soviet captivity are the first signs of the German economic miracle that was about to burst forth.
At first, it was difficult to find an access to this subject, especially concerning how to approach an event that is so deeply anchored in the collective memory of the Germans. But it turned out to be an exciting and very appealing task, precisely because its scope is so much broader than football alone.

Cast & Crew

Sönke Wortmann
Tom Spiess, Sönke Wortmann, Hanno Huth
Rochus Hahn, Sönke Wortmann
Tom Fährmann
Peter Lohmeyer (Richard Lubanski), Louis Klamroth ( Matthias Lubanski ), Johanna Gastdorf (Christa Lubanski ), Peter Franke (Sepp Herberger ), Lucas Gregorowicz (Paul Ackermann ), Katharina Wackernagel (Annette Ackermann ), Mirko Lang (Bruno Lubanski ), Birthe Wolter (Ingrid Lubanski )
Ueli Christen
Dirk Jacob
Marcel Barsotti
Uli Hanisch
Ursula Welter
Gerhard Zeiss

Film Info