The Miracle of Bern (2003)

If you had told me up front that I might like this German soccer drama set in 1954 when a defeated nation began its turn-around by winning the World Cup (no spoiler here, as this is fact), you probably would have heard me muttering something about flying pigs.  And although I managed not to watch a single game during this year's Cup, I was totally involved with this film.  That's probably because it was less about the mechanics of the game and more about the relationship between one of the players and his "good-luck charm" 11-year old mascot.  The youngster in question has never met his father who has been held in a Russian POW camp since before he was born.  When the father is finally released and returns to the family that has coped without him, his hardline disciplinarian approach alienates them all.  As he gradually manages to shake off the traumas of his years away, he begins to bond with his son and borrows a car to drive him to the final Germany-Hungary match in Bern.  Michael got pretty chokey by the end of this movie and although I managed to keep the lumps out of my throat, I can understand why.