It is largely misleading to think of "Das Wunder von Bern" as a film about football history. Although the film is set in 1954, during the World Cup in Switzerland, there is essentially no World Cup football shown until the last half an hour, which features the final game of the tournament. The film is really about life in Germany in the early 1950s and the resurrection of the country from the ashes of the Second World War. The world title of the German team, totally unexpected for the World Cup first-timers before the championship, serves as a metaphor for this resurrection, and the fact is that it did spurt a resurgence of national pride and determination. Yet most of the football in the film is played by kids with rag balls, in the muddy back streets of the Ruhr region. A middle class German family living in this area is the encapsulation of German joys, trials and tribulations from the period working day and night to make ends meet, welcoming back the surviving prisoners of war, struggling to readjust them in society, the clashes between former Nazi soldier fathers and their "new-born" communist sons, the East-West Germany divide, the advent of television, rock'n'roll dancing balls (or was that just a few months ahead of time?), and of course football as the game of the working and middle classes. In my view, all this is introduced naturally and in good taste, without unneeded pathos, exaggerated martyrdom or heroism one thing that sets it apart from the typical Hollywood production. The acting is anything but flashy, but so was life there and then. I would say that the cast manages to hit just the right tone and the performances of Louis Klamroth and Peter Lohmeyer as father and son Lubanski are remarkable.
Another difference between this film and a major studio blockbuster is that when it does come to football, the realism is uncompromising. The casting team spent some time on choosing actors who resemble the actual players as nearly as possible (the similarity in appearance and manner between Péter Franke and coach Sepp Herberger is almost uncanny). Moreover, these people know how to pass the ball, so that the need for special effects and stand-ins is minimal (also the exact opposite of Hollywood standards). The recreation of the final game itself is pedantic to the smallest detail, with not only the goals, but even trivial situations in midfield and radio commentary being reproduced with startling faithfulness. OK, the filmmakers forget to mention that Hungary had a goal disallowed for offside in the last minute, but apparently this decision was never in doubt. In the final scene of the film the hyped-up statements about how this sporting exploit launched a whole nation in the orbit of greatness that we have come to expect from Hollywood, are nowhere to be seen; they are replaced by a matter-of-fact reminder of the ephemeral nature of sporting successes. But don't get me wrong, this is a good (and not just a "feel-good") film on its own merits, not just because it's a Hollywood antidote.
Another difference between this film and a major studio blockbuster is that when it does come to football, the realism is uncompromising. The casting team spent some time on choosing actors who resemble the actual players as nearly as possible (the similarity in appearance and manner between Péter Franke and coach Sepp Herberger is almost uncanny). Moreover, these people know how to pass the ball, so that the need for special effects and stand-ins is minimal (also the exact opposite of Hollywood standards). The recreation of the final game itself is pedantic to the smallest detail, with not only the goals, but even trivial situations in midfield and radio commentary being reproduced with startling faithfulness. OK, the filmmakers forget to mention that Hungary had a goal disallowed for offside in the last minute, but apparently this decision was never in doubt. In the final scene of the film the hyped-up statements about how this sporting exploit launched a whole nation in the orbit of greatness that we have come to expect from Hollywood, are nowhere to be seen; they are replaced by a matter-of-fact reminder of the ephemeral nature of sporting successes. But don't get me wrong, this is a good (and not just a "feel-good") film on its own merits, not just because it's a Hollywood antidote.