The miracle of Lengede (2003)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The miracle of Lengede |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2003 |
| length | 182 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Kaspar Heidelbach |
| script | Benedikt Röskau |
| production |
David Groenewold Martin Zimmermann |
| music | Arno Steffen |
| camera | Daniel Koppelkamm |
| cut | Hedy Altschiller |
| occupation | |
| |
The miracle of Lengede is a German two-part television film from 2003. The film is based on the events surrounding the Lengede mine disaster in 1963.
action
The film tells the story of the dramatic rescue operation of 11 miners who see the light of day again after a mine accident and 14 days of complete darkness.
The action begins on the eve of the disaster. Longwall leader Franz Wolbert and his friend and squad member Bruno Reger spend a lively evening with their wives at a dance event. The next day, the colleagues meet again in the Kaue (changing room of the mine), where an argument breaks out with two other colleagues, which is however settled by the Steiger Pit Spieker. One drives in.
On the board of directors, mining engineer Harald Hansen tells his boss, Dr. Dietz, opposite doubts whether the tunnel is keeping enough distance to a very large groundwater bubble. However, the latter wipes away any doubts that Hansen must think about profitability.
In longwall be sent just to blast occurs as is feared: is a wall, the water makes its way and flooding the passages in 60 m depth and below. When the power went out, the troop made their way back, but the masses of water cut them off. The only way to escape appears is the old man , a long-abandoned section that has been closed because of the high risk of collapse . More buddies join in, including the Steiger, who, however, loses his footing and is swept away by the masses of water. Shortly before the group reached the saving section, a heavy support pillar, propelling with force, broke both of Bruno Reger's legs.
In the old man, the group climbs up with mutual help until the water no longer rises, however, as a result, chunks of the ceiling come off again and again, rush towards them and injure numerous friends.
Over the course of the day, family members flock to the mine gate, while the dead found during the rescue operations are laid out inside. When you can't find anyone anymore, director Dr. Dietz exploratory drillings in the area of the active mine , which remain unsuccessful. The days pass. When all hope was already waning, engineer Hansen expressed the suspicion that the old man might still have buddies saved. An exploratory borehole set up for this reason actually encounters a cavity at the calculated depth.
The tenth day has dawned below. Hope was almost given up and there had already been several suicide attempts, some of which were successful, when a drill head appeared after another landslide . Almost apathetic, the buddies can hardly believe their luck. Over the course of the day, everything is quiet while the drill team leader Jürgen Grabowski listens for knocking signals on the rods. Meanwhile, the buddies downstairs notice that they need a hard object to make themselves audible upstairs. So you can't hear anything upstairs, and Dr. Dietz orders the abortion of all rescue measures. The linkage is withdrawn and, to the greatest desperation, the buddy disappears again. However, the leader of the drill team makes a second attempt at the same point, the rod reappears - this time without the drill head - and finally the desperate knocking signals are heard.
A piece of paper with the names of the eleven remaining buried people is pulled up on a rope and the mourning congregation gathered in the church is notified, which causes great joy among the relatives. Renate Reger can hardly believe her luck either, so that company paramedic Dr. Schleip barely gets through to her: Both her husband's legs are seriously injured and the forced immobility puts his life in danger if he is not quickly recovered.
Also on the board of directors - especially with Dr. Dietz - the joy of the find is limited when you realize that you have no means to save your buddies under these conditions. A well with a large diameter suitable for a rescue requires flushing water whose 50 m high column, when the breakthrough finally occurs, would trigger a catastrophic wave of pressure and mud in the unstable old man. Only a process that has not yet been tested under these conditions, compressed air purging, could bring the rescue, but success is uncertain and the necessary material is only available abroad.
Nonetheless, the drilling begins conventionally at first, while the situation below rapidly deteriorates, especially for Bruno Reger. Provided with the bare essentials through the thin exploratory bore, the buddies can communicate with their relatives via an improvised intercom. During a conversation with his wife, Franz Wolbert is hit by a heavy chunk, but survives.
The material finally arrives from Belgium and the recovery drilling can be completed quickly, which Bruno Reger no longer experiences. The large drill head breaks through with a roar. Once again, anxious seconds pass before you find the language again below and the rescuers above are relieved to find out that the fragile refuge below has not finally collapsed.
Man for man, the miners squeeze into the tight Dahlbuschbombe escape pod and are pulled up through the shaft one by one. Overjoyed, Helga Wolbert and the other relatives can hug their husbands again.
Television broadcast
The two-parter was broadcast on Sat.1 in November 2003 . Over 11 million people watched the film at the time. The market share was 36.2%. Lower Saxony had the largest market share with 56%.
On January 2, 2005, Sat.1 broadcast the short version “The Miracle of Lengede - Director's Cut” (125 min.). This was repeated on January 1, 2009.
criticism
“Dramatic television film based on an authentic incident [...]. In spite of theatrical condensation, he strives for authenticity and bundles the events into the best entertainment at the highest level with sustained tension, well-drawn characters and brilliant actors. With love, hope and fear, death and despair, pretty much the whole range of emotions is offered. "
Awards
- Bambi 2003 for TV Event of the Year
- Golden Camera 2004 (Best German TV Film)
- Adolf Grimme Prize 2004 (category fiction and entertainment) to Kaspar Heidelbach (directors), Jan Josef Liefers and Heino Ferch (on behalf of the cast), Michael Souvignier (production)
- Bavarian TV Prize 2004
literature
- Manfred Meier: The miracle of Lengede. 1st edition, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2003, ISBN 3-596-16141-X
Web links
- Light in Dark Places in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Website for the film
Individual evidence
- ↑ The miracle of Lengede. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Prize Winners 2004 ( Memento of the original from June 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 15, 2011
