The Miracle Of Bern (Das Wunder von Bern) 10+
Sat 3 July 2pm & Wed 7 July 12.30pm
Live Action/Feature/Drama
German with English subtitles
Dir: Soenke Wortmann
Germany 2003
118 mins colour
Print courtesy of Soda Pictures www.sodapictures.com
A heart-warming story of a boy's fight to help his team win the World Cup.
Summer, 1954. The Soviet Union is sending POWs back to Germany. Among them is the father of Matthias, a football mad 11 year-old who lives with his mother, sister and brother in a West-German mining town. The return of Matthias's father Richard casts a shadow over the once-happy family: broken by his years in captivity, Richard has trouble adapting to life in post-war Germany and alienates his family through his severity. For him, football is pointless and so is the World Cup that's about to be held in Bern in Switzerland. Matthias, however, longs to be there with the German team. Matthias needs some miraculous intervention: can he soften his Dad's heart and can he get to Bern to help West Germany win the World Cup? Prix du Public UBS Locarno 2003
If you like this film, you might want to read:
Wicked World Cup
by Michael Coleman
World War II :True Stories
by Clive Gifford