Lessons of a Dream

Lessons of a Dream (German: Der ganz große Traum) is a German drama film directed by Sebastian Grobler, loosely based on the life of late-19th-century football pioneer Konrad Koch. In the film, Koch is one of the first English teachers in the German Empire, in Braunschweig. He introduces his students to the new sport of soccer, completely unknown outside of England at the time, to get them interested in English culture and language. In the film, Koch's liberal teaching methods upset his conservative colleagues, the students' parents, and local dignitaries.[2]

Lessons of a Dream
GermanDer ganz große Traum
Directed bySebastian Grobler
Screenplay byPhilipp Roth
Produced by
  • Anatol Nitschke
  • Raoul B. Reinert
Starring
CinematographyMartin Langer
Edited byDirk Grau
Music byIngo Frenzel
Distributed bySenator Film Verleih
Release date
  • 24 February 2011 (2011-02-24) (Germany)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguageGerman
Budget€5.5 million[1]

Plot

In 1874, fresh Oxford graduate Konrad Koch is hired by headmaster Prof. Gustav Merfeld to teach English at the strictly run German boys school of Braunschweig. Everything the boys know about England and its culture are common prejudices handed down from their teachers and parents. The boys, led by class prefect Felix, habitually bully the diminutive Joost, whose mother is a proletarian, a social class deemed unfit for secondary education.

During an evening event, the chairman of the school board and Felix's father, Richard Hartung, chides Konrad for not raising children using strict Prussian discipline. In order to stir up enthusiasm for English, a subject resented by the students, Konrad, an adherent of Thomas Arnold's educational methods, decides to introduce the boys to football.

All the students except Felix embrace the new sport, and Konrad broadens the boys' vocabulary by incorporating football strategy into his teaching. Camaraderie between the students grows, and a sense of teamwork emerges for the first time, to the dismay of Felix, who is jealous of Joost's newfound recognition. The school board find out about Konrad's unorthodox educational strategy and bans it. Instead, Konrad initiates after-school and weekend practices, so that the boys can continue to play a game they have become fond of.

After they are informed of Konrad's initiative by Felix, the school board takes serious action. Konrad voluntarily resigns, and the students are placed in solitary confinement as punishment. Felix, feeling guilty about his deviousness, launches a plan with his classmates to escalate the matter to a visiting imperial delegation, with the help of the school secretary. The delegation lifts the ban and approves football's inclusion in the school curriculum. The students resume their practices under Konrad's guidance, despite continued opposition from the school board. A match is held between Konrad's students and a young English football team, and the German boys come out victorious, to the cheers of the delegation, teachers, parents, and the public.

Cast

Historical background

The real-life Konrad Koch was a teacher of German, Ancient Greek, and Latin in Braunschweig. He wrote the first German version of the rules of football and organized the arguably first-ever soccer match in Germany in 1874, between pupils of his school, the Martino-Katharineum.[3][4] However, unlike in the film, Koch's original version of the rules of football, published in 1875, still closely resembled those of rugby football. In addition, Koch was actually a conservative himself and did not get into trouble with the authorities.[5]

References

  1. "Der ganz große Traum" (in German). kino.de. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  2. "Lessons of a Dream". glasgowfilm.org. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  3. "Die Wiege des Fußballs stand in Braunschweig" (PDF) (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  4. "Der Mann, der die "englische Krankheit" einschleppte" (in German). einestages.spiegel.de. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  5. "Erwachen aus dem "großen Traum"" (in German). Deutsche Akademie für Fußballkultur. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
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