Today’s Cinema Scene will be presented in German, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Halo and welcome to this week’s Cinema Scene. Today’s program features three heartwarming films from Germany: “The Crocodiles,” “The Miracle of Bern” and “Faraway, So Close!”

Our first feature is the 2009 family film entitled “The Crocodiles.” It is directed by Christian Ditter who also co-wrote the script with Martin Ritzenhoff based on the eponymous novel written by Max von der Grün. The award-winning movie follows the adventures of a group of children who call themselves “The Crocodiles.”

The excitement begins right at the opening of the film, in which 10-year-old Hannes, played by Nick Romeo Reimann, is trying to join the coolest group of friends in town, the Crocodiles, which includes: Olli, played by Manuel Steitz; his sister Maria, played by Leonie Tepe; Frank, played by David Hürten; Jorgo the Albanian, played by Javidan Imani; the easily frightened Peter, played by Robin Walter; and the music-loving Elvis, played by Nicolas Schinseck.

In order to be accepted, Hannes must climb up a worn, deserted, brick factory and retrieve the crocodile chain that has been placed on its roof. But the initiation goes awry and Hannes is left dangling from the top of the building with only the crocodile chain holding him there.

Fortunately, firefighters arrive just in time to catch him. They had been summoned by the neighbor boy, Kai, played by Fabian Halbig, who had witnessed the mishap using his telescope. For completing the task, Hannes is now officially a Crocodile!

At home, Hannes lives with his young, single mother, played by Nora Tschirner. He cooks and takes care of household chores, encouraging his mother to study hard so that she may pass her graduation exam and find a good-paying job.

Meanwhile, Kai spends most of his time in his wheelchair, being paralyzed from the waist down. His mom wants to send him to a special school where she says he would fit in well. However, Kai does not want to, so they make a deal: In order to remain at his regular school, Kai must make friends by the end of the summer holiday.

Right then, Hannes visits Kai to express his gratitude for saving his life. The two quickly become friends, and upon learning of the Crocodiles, Kai is eager to join in. But the other members disapprove of him because of his physical disability. One night, Kai witnesses through his telescope a break-in by three men on motorbikes.

Soon after, the criminals rob the store run by Hannes’ mother. Hannes asks Kai’s assistance in catching them so that he may receive the cash reward and help his mother make ends meet. In return, Hannes promises to make Kai a member of the Crocodiles.

But the Crocodiles are facing problems of their own. Frank’s intimidating older brother Dennis, played by Jacob Matschenz, and his friends Kevin and Achmed, played by Axel Stein and Oktay Özdemir, have burned down the Crocodiles’ treehouse in the forest, and they need to find a new headquarters.

They go to an old brick house which seems ready to collapse any moment. Surprisingly while there, they discover the stolen goods of the burglars and decide to further investigate the crime together. Will the friends find out who is behind the burglaries? And will Kai ever be made an official Crocodile? Filled with exciting action and humor, “The Crocodiles” is a fun film about courage, acceptance, and the meaning of true friendship.

Let us now look at “The Miracle of Bern.” Directed and co-written by Sönke Wortmann, this award-winning 2003 production is based on the true event of the German team’s surprise win at the 1954 World Cup that united the nation.

The victory is told mainly through the story of 11-year-old Matthias, played by Louis Klamroth. The soccer-loving boy lives in a mining town in West Germany with his mother Christa, played by Johanna Gastdorf; older brother Bruno, played by Mirko Lang; and older sister Ingrid, played by Birthe Wolter.

Matthias has never known his father, a prisoner of war in Russia who is not even aware of his son’s existence. Instead, Matthias looks up to the local soccer hero, Helmut Rahn, nicknamed “The Boss,” played by Sascha Göpel, as a paternal figure. The Boss, who is on the Rot-Weiß Essen team, has lovingly recruited Matthias as his lucky mascot.

Things change suddenly when Richard, Matthias’ father is released and returns home. Haunted by more than a decade of detainment, Richard, played by Peter Lohmeyer, is not finding it easy to reintegrate into his new life and alienates himself from his loved ones. He cannot understand his youngest son’s as well as the whole town’s deep interest in soccer and the upcoming World Cup in Bern, Switzerland.

Matthias is particularly excited and longs to attend the international event to cheer on The Boss, who has been chosen to play in the competition as part of the German team. Despite the public’s enthusiasm and support for their national soccer team, the athletes do not have high prospects for actually doing well in the games. Still, Matthias maintains his optimistic faith in his idol, and his passion gradually helps rekindle the warmth in his father’s heart.

“The Miracle of Bern” is an uplifting film that tells the moving story of how a soccer game helped heal a family and revive the spirit and hope of an entire nation.

Our final feature for the day is the 1993 production “Faraway, So Close!” Directed and co-written by Wim Wenders, the movie is the sequel to his acclaimed movie “Wings of Desire.” “Faraway, So Close!” starts off in black and white as angels Cassiel, played by Otto Sander, and Raphaela, played by Nastassja Kinski observe, survey humankind as messengers of light.

Cassiel has specific individuals to whom he is responsible for watching over. Listening to their inner monologues, the celestial being observes how the world weighs heavily upon the shoulders of the people, all of whom seem burdened by time. Feeling deep compassion for them, the celestial being begins to wish he could do more to help them.

One day, one of his beloved human charges, the young Raissa, played by Aline Krajewski, falls from a high balcony. In order to save her, Cassiel crosses over into human form and catches her. As he makes his transformation, the movie also turns into a colored picture. For Cassiel, who is left without his divine powers, everything is suddenly no longer clear and definite.

As artfully reflected through the cinematography, Cassiel is fascinated by the colorful vividness of everything around him. Yet, deciphering people’s thoughts behind their speech and actions is no longer spelled out for him in black and white. As he tries to comprehend what has happened, Cassiel visits his old friend Damiel, played by Bruno Ganz. Once an angel himself, Damiel had become a human in order to be with trapeze artist Marion, played by Solveig Dommartin.

Now a happy father and owner of a pizza parlor, he is pleasantly surprised to see Cassiel. Cassiel is also glad and looks forward to being able to do good for the world.

But Cassiel soon encounters the mysterious entity Emit Flesti, played by Willem Dafoe, who begins to follow him around. He quickly falls into the clutches of darkness, finding himself in jail, becoming an alcoholic and homeless, and essentially experiencing firsthand the loneliness and sorrow that he could not empathize with as an angel.

He is offered a way out of his desperate situation by the enigmatic Tony Baker, played by Horst Buchholz. Cassiel finds himself in a difficult situation when he discovers that Mr. Baker’s wealth is not earned honestly. As the former angel struggles to understand the situation and do what is right, viewers are offered a meditative look into the whirlpool of modern life that leaves little room for any higher ideal other than mundane matters.

Through its gentle, fluid storytelling, “Faraway, So Close” reminds audiences that, in fact, guardian angels are always watching over us, helping to lead us towards noble ideals in life. The film won numerous awards, including the Grand Prix du Jury at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and was also nominated for the 1994 Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

“The Crocodiles,” “The Miracle of Bern,” and “Faraway, So Close!” are excellent films from Germany that offer not only engaging entertainment but also valuable insights into life and humanity.

Thank you for your cherished presence for today’s Cinema Scene. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television for Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, coming up next after Noteworthy News. May all hearts be awakened to the Divine blessings within.