THE KEEPER

World War II, a Romeo & Juliet love story, and soccer - it's a story that practically writes itself. But, wait, what's this!? A twist? The soccer player is a Nazi and the girl he's in love with is English. And he's a PoW. Whoa. Just... whoa. You wouldn't believe it if it wasn't true. Except, is it? My Googling capabilities have yielded me absolutely no confirmation nor denial that the love story portion of the film 'The Keeper' is based on a true story. I'm gonna guess there were some major artistic liberties taken here, but the war (for the most part) and the soccer stuff certainly is true, and it's remarkable. Come for the soccer, stay for the romance.

It's early 1945 when Nazi paratrooper Bernhard "Bert" Trautmann (David Kross, 'The Reader') is captured by the English and sent to a PoW camp in Lancashire. He's despised by head of the camp, Sergeant Smythe (Harry Melling, 'The Lost City of Z'), and spends his days on latrine duty as a result. When local businessman Jack Friar (John Henshaw, 'Stan & Ollie') witnesses Bert's impressive goalkeeping skills at the camp, he recruits him to the local club he manages and puts him to work at his shop alongside his eldest daughter Margaret (Freya Mavor, 'The Sense of an Ending'). I think we can all see where this is going: despite some pushback from players and townspeople, Bert comes to be accepted, even earning himself a place playing for Manchester City, where they're not as welcoming. The war is now over, but many are finding it hard to forgive and forget, failing to judge a man on his merits and instead focusing on his actions during a time of war where no one's hands were clean. Going on to play for Manchester for 545 games, and even winning them the 1956 FA Cup Final with a broken neck, Trautmann became a legend, and a hero on both sides as a conduit for peace, harmony and reconciliation between these once waring nations.