Moving towards a "New Patriotism"?
An analysis of Sönke Wortmann`s 'The Miracle of Bern' (Germany, 2003) based on the prototype of the American Sports Film of the 1980s
©2007
Bachelorarbeit
62 Seiten
Zusammenfassung
Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:
The 4th of July 1954 marks a crucial event in German history. With a 3:2 victory over a Hungarian team that had not been beaten for four whole years West Germany had won the F.I.F.A. World Cup for the first time. Helmut Rahns winning goal instantly revived the spirit of an entire country that not even a decade before had experienced huge devastation in the Second World War. A general sentiment that we are somebody again began to overlie the whole population and furthermore helped rebuild a confidence that had been tainted by the twelve years under the Nazi regime. Since the final took place at Wankdorf Stadium in the capital of Switzerland, this triumph went on to be remembered in peoples minds as the Miracle of Bern. Only one year later the West German Wirtschaftswunder (engl: economic miracle) began and even nowadays Germanys Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder counts this success towards the most important post-war events in the countrys history.
In 2003 then, German director Sönke Wortmann, in collaboration with the German Football Association (D.F.B.), was the first to attempt a full reconstruction of this event in the extent of a feature film. His movie, conveniently called The Miracle of Bern, tells the story of eleven-year old Matthias (Mattes) Lubanski (Louis Klamroth) and his by the war emotionally devastated father Richard (Peter Lohmeyer), who are brought together by West Germanys unexpected World Cup victory.
While there had been a certain fear that Wortmann might destroy what had already become a myth in the minds of many Germans, he himself believed that the film was necessary in order to keep the legend alive for a younger generation, who had no direct connection to or never even heard of this renowned event. In the end, Wortmanns film became a huge success in Germany drawing more than three million people to the box office and thus making it one of the most successful films of the year over the whole of Europe. One has to say, however, that some critical voices emerged as well. In his review, Helmke, for example, claims The Miracle of Bern to be the most American German film of all time. He also states that in contrast to other German films about football such as Fußball ist unser Leben and Nordkurve, which primarily intend to depict the milieu and life of the teams supporters, Wortmanns predominant concern is to enhance the sporting triumph of the West German national team into a myth. […]
The 4th of July 1954 marks a crucial event in German history. With a 3:2 victory over a Hungarian team that had not been beaten for four whole years West Germany had won the F.I.F.A. World Cup for the first time. Helmut Rahns winning goal instantly revived the spirit of an entire country that not even a decade before had experienced huge devastation in the Second World War. A general sentiment that we are somebody again began to overlie the whole population and furthermore helped rebuild a confidence that had been tainted by the twelve years under the Nazi regime. Since the final took place at Wankdorf Stadium in the capital of Switzerland, this triumph went on to be remembered in peoples minds as the Miracle of Bern. Only one year later the West German Wirtschaftswunder (engl: economic miracle) began and even nowadays Germanys Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder counts this success towards the most important post-war events in the countrys history.
In 2003 then, German director Sönke Wortmann, in collaboration with the German Football Association (D.F.B.), was the first to attempt a full reconstruction of this event in the extent of a feature film. His movie, conveniently called The Miracle of Bern, tells the story of eleven-year old Matthias (Mattes) Lubanski (Louis Klamroth) and his by the war emotionally devastated father Richard (Peter Lohmeyer), who are brought together by West Germanys unexpected World Cup victory.
While there had been a certain fear that Wortmann might destroy what had already become a myth in the minds of many Germans, he himself believed that the film was necessary in order to keep the legend alive for a younger generation, who had no direct connection to or never even heard of this renowned event. In the end, Wortmanns film became a huge success in Germany drawing more than three million people to the box office and thus making it one of the most successful films of the year over the whole of Europe. One has to say, however, that some critical voices emerged as well. In his review, Helmke, for example, claims The Miracle of Bern to be the most American German film of all time. He also states that in contrast to other German films about football such as Fußball ist unser Leben and Nordkurve, which primarily intend to depict the milieu and life of the teams supporters, Wortmanns predominant concern is to enhance the sporting triumph of the West German national team into a myth. […]
Leseprobe
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Philipp Scherzer
Moving towards a "New Patriotism"?
An analysis of Sönke Wortmann`s 'The Miracle of Bern' (Germany, 2003) based on the
prototype of the American Sports Film of the 1980s
ISBN: 978-3-8366-1256-2
Druck Diplomica® Verlag GmbH, Hamburg, 2008
Zugl. Bucks New University, Buckinghamshire, Großbritannien, Bachelorarbeit, 2007
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© Diplomica Verlag GmbH
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Printed in Germany
Philipp Scherzer
ID: 20429141
i
Contents
List of Illustrations
ii.
Acknowledgements
iii.
Introduction
1
1.
The `Miracle' in The Miracle Of Bern: The Success of the
4
Underdog and the Element of Destiny
2.
The Focus on the Star Player: Case Study Helmut Rahn
12
3.
The Heimkehrerproblem (engl.: `Problem of the Returning
19
Soldier') and the Father/Son-Redemptive Plot
4.
The `Exclusion of the Feminine' and the Role of the
29
Supportive Woman
5.
The 'Football Myth' and the Issue of National Identity
38
Conclusion: `Every Boy Needs a Father. Every Man Needs a Dream.
46
Every Country Needs a Legend.'
End Notes
48
Bibliography
52
Filmography
54
Philipp Scherzer
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Illustrations
Chapter 1
1.1 David Neidorf, Kent Poole and Wade Schenck in Hoosiers
1.2 Knut Hartwig in The Miracle of Bern
1.3 The Miracle of Bern
1.4 The Miracle of Bern
Chapter 2
2.1 Maris Valainis in Hoosiers
2.2 Sascha Göpel in The Miracle of Bern
2.3 Sascha Göpel in The Miracle of Bern
Chapter 3
3.1
George Wilkosz and Robert Redford in The Natural
3.2 Peter Lohmeyer in The Miracle of Bern
3.3 Peter Lohmeyer and Birte Wolter in The Miracle of Bern
3.4 Peter Lohmeyer in The Miracle of Bern
3.5 Louis Klamroth and Peter Lohmeyer in The Miracle of Bern
Chapter 4
4.1 Glenn Close in The Natural
4.2 Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffmann and Dwier Brown in
Field of Dreams
4.3 Barbara Hershey in Hoosiers
4.4 Peter Lohmeyer and Johanna Gastdorf in The Miracle of Bern
4.5
Hans-Georg Gregor, Lukas Gregorowicz and Katharina Wackernagel
in The Miracle of Bern
4.6
Katharina Wackernagel and Lukas Gregorowicz in The Miracle of Bern
Chapter 5
5.1 Robert Redford in The Natural
5.2 Hoosiers
5.3 Holger Dexne and Sascha Göpel in The Miracle of Bern
5.4 The Miracle of Bern
5.5 Mirko Lang in The Miracle of Bern
Philipp Scherzer
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Acknowledgements
I would like to give my thanks to the following people for their support
throughout this enormous, and at times overwhelming, research project:
Above all, I would like to express my gratitude to my dissertation tutor Dr. Iris
Luppa who has been a great help in every meeting that we have had. I would
also like to thank my World Cinema tutor Dr. Martin Patrick who has always
had confidence in me and helped me maintain my spirit during this difficult
final university year, and especially I would like to say thanks to my girlfriend
Jennifer, who even though we have spent only little time together gave me
the energy to keep going with every phone call and in every email or text
message that she wrote me.
Philipp Scherzer
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Introduction
The 4
th
of July 1954 marks a crucial event in German history. With a 3:2
victory over a Hungarian team that had not been beaten for four whole years
West Germany had won the F.I.F.A. World Cup for the first time. Helmut
Rahn's winning goal instantly revived the spirit of an entire country that not
even a decade before had experienced huge devastation in the Second World
War. A general sentiment that `we are somebody again'
1
began to overlie the
whole population and furthermore helped rebuild a confidence that had been
tainted by the twelve years under the Nazi regime. Since the final took place
at Wankdorf Stadium in the capital of Switzerland, this triumph went on to be
remembered in people's minds as the `Miracle of Bern'. Only one year later
the West German Wirtschaftswunder (engl: `economic miracle')
2
began and
even nowadays Germany's Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder counts this
success towards the most important post-war events in the country's history
(Seitz, 2004).
3
In 2003 then, German director Sönke Wortmann, in collaboration with
the German Football Association (D.F.B.), was the first to attempt a full
reconstruction of this event in the extent of a feature film. His movie,
conveniently called The Miracle of Bern, tells the story of eleven-year old
Matthias (`Mattes') Lubanski (Louis Klamroth) and his by the war emotionally
devastated father Richard (Peter Lohmeyer), who are brought together by
West Germany's unexpected World Cup victory.
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While there had been a certain fear that Wortmann might destroy what
had already become a myth in the minds of many Germans, he himself
believed that the film was necessary in order to keep the legend alive for a
younger generation, who had no direct connection to or never even heard of
this renowned event (Wortmann, 2006, pp.18/19).
4
In the end, Wortmann's
film became a huge success in Germany drawing more than three million
people to the box office and thus making it one of the most successful films of
the year over the whole of Europe.
5
One has to say, however, that some
critical voices emerged as well. In his review, Helmke (2003), for example,
claims The Miracle of Bern to be the `most American German film of all time'.
He also states that in contrast to other German films about football such as
Fußball ist unser Leben (Wigand, Germany, 2000) and Nordkurve
(Winkelmann, Germany, 1993), which primarily intend to depict the milieu and
life of the teams' supporters, Wortmann's predominant concern is to enhance
the sporting triumph of the West German national team into a myth. According
to Helmke, this has never been attempted before in German cinema, but of
which there are plenty examples in the United States.
6
As Briley (2005b, p.18)
explains:
While objective class, racial, and gender (...) divisions were growing in
America during the 1980s, [nostalgic sports films] emphasized a
longing for a mythical past usually in the 1950s in which Americans
were united in a consensus based upon sustained economic growth
and whose security was threatened by the evil Soviet Union.
Still, whilst Helmke remains rather vague with regard to his comparison
of The Miracle of Bern to what might be called the `classic' American sports
film, I would like to provide a closer analysis of the subject matter.
7
The aim of
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this dissertation is to critically examine Wortmann's film in comparison to three
successful U.S. sports films of the 1980s namely Field of Dreams
(Robinson, USA, 1989), The Natural (Levinson, USA, 1984) and Hoosiers
(Anspaugh, USA, 1986). I have chosen these films, as they contain many of
the traits characteristic of this `hybrid sub-genre' (Dirks, 1996-2007). Due to
the restrictions of this paper, I would like to cast my focus on the following
major topics:
1. The Success of the Underdog
2. The Focus on the Star Player
3. The Father/Son-Redemptive Plot
4. The Role of the Supportive Woman
5. The Issue of National Identity
The chapters of this dissertation are structured according to these five
contextual points. In compliance with my research, I would furthermore like to
suggest possible reasons why Wortmann might have orientated himself on a
particularly American model in order to approach a subject that could not be
more German.
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1
The `Miracle' in The Miracle of Bern: The Success of the Underdog and
the Element of Destiny
If we cast a glance at the vast amount of sports films that Hollywood has
released in the history of film, we can clearly see that the classic David and
Goliath story is a reoccurring theme, the most prominent example of which
most probably being the Rocky series.
8
As Briley (2005b, p.12) states, the
Western notion that anyone can succeed as long as they try hard enough, in
other words the achievement of the American Dream, `resonated well with
[U.S.] audiences during the 1980s as President Ronald Reagan attempted to
return America to a mythical patriarchal 1950s in which divisions of race,
gender, and class did not exist for a homogeneous middle class nation.'
This concept already becomes apparent in Levinson's The Natural, in
which Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) joins the baseball team of the New York
Knights and leads them into the World Series. Although it does not seem to
be the primary concern of the film as, for example, in Major League (Ward,
USA, 1989), the fact that the Knights start off the season as a `last-place,
dead-to-the-neck-up ball club' (Pop Fisher in The Natural, 1984) clearly
underpins the notion of the underdog's success. The triumph of the underdog
team, however, especially comes to the fore in Hoosiers, in which the
basketball team of the Hickory Huskers manages to overcome unfair referees
and seemingly invincible opponents in order to become Indiana state high
school champion. According to Briley (2005b, p.12), `Hoosiers attempts to
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reconstruct the so-called "Milan Miracle" of 1954 in which the Milan Indians, a
school of only 161 students, defeated Muncie Central, with an enrolment of
over 2,000 students, for the one-class Indiana boys' state basketball
championship.' In Anspaugh's film, the character of Preacher Purl (Michael
Sassone) underlines this concept even further when, just before the team is
about to face their supreme adversary in the state final, he quotes the David
and Goliath story from the Bible and incorporates it into his prayer for the
Huskers.
Here, I have to say that Helmke (2003) is certainly right when he
argues that there are not many sporting events in German history that fit this
pattern, but the Miracle of Bern is without a doubt one of them.
9
Similar to
Hoosiers and The Natural, Wortmann's film clearly shows the unlikely success
of the West German team over the unbeatable Hungarians in the F.I.F.A.
Word Cup final of 1954. From the outset, their underdog status is made clear.
We can see this, for example, in the scene when newspaper reporter Paul
Ackermann (Lukas Gregorowicz) rushes home and gets to know from the
janitor, who is listening to the radio, that Kaiserslautern, the team of which
represents the backbone of the West German national squad, suffers a high
loss against Hannover in the final of the West German championship.
Furthermore, at the World Cup in Switzerland, Sepp Herberger's (Peter
Franke) team devastatingly loses the group match against Hungary 3:8. This
result not only forces the team to go through the tortures of a relegation match
against Turkey, but most importantly shows the overpowering strength of the
Hungarian side. Also, when West Germany then manages to surprise by
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reaching the World Cup final, not only does Paul Ackermann hope that the
team does not `get thrashed' again, but also radio reporter Herbert
Zimmermann (Andreas Obering) highlights the fact that it can already be
regarded as a `football miracle' that West Germany has come this far and thus
indicates that the team and the nation could already be content with what they
have achieved. Zimmermann's interpretation here also bears a great
resemblance to a radio commentary in Hoosiers when a reporter refers to the
story of the Hickory Huskers reaching the Indiana state final as `Hoosierland's
version of the Cinderella story'.
10
What is particularly striking, however, is the
fact that most of the players do not even believe in the possibility of winning
the tournament themselves. We can see this, for instance, in their last training
before the match, when during a jog the team discusses the best way to lose
against Hungary. One of them, for example, says that it would be good not to
suffer another eight goals as in the match before, while another one would be
happy with a 3:4 loss or losing in extra time.
Let us take a look at the actual final match now. What happens here in
The Miracle of Bern is, we might say, characteristic of many underdog sports
stories. Within the matter of minutes the West German team suffers two goals
and is far behind in the game. What follows, is an incredible comeback and
finally the victorious goal to a 3:2 win. If we compare this sequence of events
to Hoosiers and The Natural, we can clearly see that there is a reoccurring
structure here. In The Natural, Roy Hobbs manages to hit a home run with the
last ball he is thrown and thus turns the score from a 0:2 into a 3:2 victory, the
same outcome that we can discover for the Cleveland Indians at the end of
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Major League. Similarly in Anspaugh's film, the Hickory Huskers are down
against Southbend Central for almost the entire duration of the game.
Eventually, however, they manage to miraculously score eight points in a row
in the last minute and thus secure the state championship with a narrow 42:40
victory.
As we can see, there are a lot similar patterns of the classic David and
Goliath story of American sports films transpiring in Wortmann's film. Still, I
would also like to point out that there is a crucial difference if we have a look
at the foundation of the underdog team's sensational achievement. Baker
(2003, p.7), for example, writes that Hoosiers utilizes `the climactic contest
conventional to sports films to reestablish a moral order that rewards the hard
work and determination of underdog protagonists.' As in most U.S. sports
films, the emphasis in Anspaugh's film clearly lies on the team's effort and
willpower in order to achieve success. Even though the team heads off on a
shaky start, Norman Dale is proud of his players when they have played their
guts out after the first game. Moreover, one player's comment during the first
practice session that Dale's methods are so strenuous that it feels like being
in the army add force to the hard work that the players have to put into their
training in order to thrive. What is more, the effort that the players make in
order to succeed is often shown in a variety of close-up shots that highlight
their sweaty and exhausted faces (see Plate 1.1), and we can further hear the
players' efforts in their hard breathing during various slow-motion sequences
within their games.
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Plate 1.1
Contrary to Hoosiers and many other American sports films now, The
Miracle of Bern, as the title already suggests, casts its focus more on West
Germany's victory being some sort of destiny, in other words a `miracle'. If we
have a look at the training sequence near the beginning of the film, we can
see, for example, that it rather appears to function as a funny and uplifting
counterpart to the tragic events that happen within the Lubanski family. Plus,
the fact that most members of the team struggle in making their push-ups
further underlines their lack of fitness, which is pointed out by coach
Herberger. Furthermore, in a television report the team members are shown
relaxing on the pitch and showing off their football skills instead of practicing
hard for a successful tournament, which makes their following triumph in the
World Cup itself even more surprising (see Plate 1.2). The notion of West
Germany's victory being destined may also be underpinned by the fact that in
contrast to Hoosiers, in which almost every game of the Hickory Huskers is
shown, we do not see a single match of football apart from the final in The
Miracle of Bern. Wortmann, instead, chooses to present the results of the
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West German team's achievements in various forms of media, such as
newspapers, TV and radio (see Plate 1.3).
Plate 1.2
Plate 1.3
Still, what seems to stand out most in this regard is the fact that the
team's triumph over Hungary in the final appears to be the outcome of a
series of coincidental and fateful events rather than the result of constant hard
Details
- Seiten
- Erscheinungsform
- Originalausgabe
- Jahr
- 2007
- ISBN (eBook)
- 9783836612562
- DOI
- 10.3239/9783836612562
- Dateigröße
- 1.2 MB
- Sprache
- Englisch
- Institution / Hochschule
- Buckinghamshire New University – Creativity and Culture, Arts and Media
- Erscheinungsdatum
- 2008 (April)
- Note
- 2,1
- Schlagworte
- wunder bern fußball sönke wortmann deutscher film
