Why you can trust GamesRadar+
Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
For those not up to scratch on their World Cup history, `the miracle of Bern' saw the unexpected triumph of West Germany against the `magic Magyars' of Hungary in the 1954 finals. It was more than just a game, the against-the-odds victory enabling the German nation to regain some self-confidence and international respectability in the post-war world.
Director Sönke Wortmann here dramatises the exploits of the team - and their shrewd coach - throughout the competition, while also finding time to include sub-plots about a sports journo and a family in a Ruhr mining town.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder treated this very same moment of international sporting success with savage irony in The Marriage Of Maria Braun. Wortmann instead opts for sentimental male bonding, patriotic myth-making and overly artful design (even the rubble looks pretty). The real own goal, though, is allowing actors to play footballers. Will filmmakers never learn?
Article continues below
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.
