The Keeper- film about the brave German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann.

The Keeper- a film about the brave German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann.

We all know about those movies where the hero or heroine wins the day, rags become riches and  triumph in the face of adversity remains the most heartwarming end to any Hollywood blockbuster. But the Keeper had nothing to do with Hollywood and what's more nobody seemed to bother anyway. We were in tear jerking territory here but those essential emotions were very much in evidence and the story of the Keeper was just as powerful and moving as we thought it might be.

The Keeper is all about the remarkable career of Manchester City's German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann, the man who heroically thwarted Birmingham City in the 1956 FA Cup Final. But this was no ordinary act of heroism because Trautmann broke his neck while not only jeopardising his own health and welfare but defying the aggressive boo boys who tried to drive him out of City. But undaunted, Trautmann carried on selflessly and although clutching his neck, picked up his FA Cup winners medal- all in the line of duty.

The opening scene though, quite apart from its chilling undercurrents of war and murder, still held the attention reminding us once again that the Second World War was a horrendous and life changing time for the entire planet. The savagery and man's inhumanity to man, woman and child has now been visited so many times by Hollywood directors over the years that perhaps we've been hardened to the ghastliness of it all.

Running through bullet ridden forests we are shudderingly shocked by all of those harshly familiar  wartime realities. German and English soldiers are shot, killed, blown to pieces and eventually end up hating each other. Dodging and ducking the bullets and bombs they sacrifice everything before falling to their inevitable death in action.

After all the nastiness and brutality of war had subsided, we are then introduced to the labour camps which housed those who survived the conflict as well as the central characters of the film. This is an uplifting wartime film where everything ended up happily ever after but not without its sobering tragedy and a large element of sadness along the way.

The Keeper follows the bittersweet career of a German prisoner of war named Bert Trautmann. Trautmann emerges from the unbearably chaotic mayhem of the Second World War with both the physical and psychological scars that seemed destined to ruin him. Initially Trautmann is put to the rigorous demands of hard labour before finding salvation in football.

Trautmann, played brilliantly by David Kross, wanders into St Helens, a Northern England town more famous for its rugby league than the round game of football. In a leisurely kick about Trautmann volunteers his services in goal and leaves the English soldiers, who have now developed a deep seated loathing of the German soldier, shivering with naked fear.  But Trautmann, now flinging himself across a makeshift goal with astonishing agility, can only muddle his way bravely through the minefield of humiliation and vile comments, smiling awkwardly and then just getting on with it.

Driven to the local St Helens Town football club by the wonderfully down to earth and pragmatic John Henshaw aka the manager Jack Friar, Henshaw delivers some painfully hard truths, ramming them firmly down Trautmann's throat. Jack Friar is a ruthless, shouty, hard disciplinarian manager who wants blood, sweat and tears, barking out orders with consistent outspokenness and constantly warning his team about the ever present threat of relegation.

Then a German soldier with no airs and graces presents himself to the Friar family and then- guess what - falls helplessly in love with the daughter Margaret. After another bout of world weary scepticism and  the most personal of grudges, Trautmann throws off  his army uniform, grabs hold of one of those hard as a rock leather footballs, throws the ball against the wall and flies through the air to catch the ball with amazing accuracy.

Soon Trautmann would become a permanent fixture in the St Helens first team, single handedly ensuring that St Helens would win games they would normally have expected to lose without a goalkeeper of Trautmann's calibre. The big, amiable German now wins the hearts of not only the fans but Margaret who slowly falls for the charms of a man who had now become the unwitting victim of circumstances.

Of course Trautmann woos Margaret and they get married because romantic lovebirds usually walk down the aisle when they're in love. Married life seemed to suit both Bert and Margaret despite the ongoing hostility and bad blood in St Helens. By now Jock Thompson, played by Gary Lewis, is an eagle eyed Manchester City scout keeping his eyes open for potential signings at City. Thompson snaps up Trautmann immediately and City sign a giant of a goalkeeper with the biggest of hearts.

When things appeared to be going smoothly and happily in  Trautmann's cosy domestic life, their first son is horrifically killed after running out into the road for an ice cream. Both Bert and Margaret, naturally heartbroken, are now traumatised. They blame each other angrily because both believe they were responsible for not being there. Self recrimination is then forgotten and Bert and Margaret would later have two sons they would never forget.

And then Trautmann would carve out his most memorable achievement. Picked for Manchester City in the 1956 FA Cup Final Trautmann would produce one of those valiant performances that almost resulted in disaster before it had had a chance to blossom. Crashing into Birmingham's Peter Murphy, Trautmann falls to the ground in agony clasping his neck in excruciating pain. He now winces in obvious discomfort but battled on to the bitter end.

But the story doesn't end there. During the war Trautmann would find himself on the wrong end of some viciously vitriolic tongue lashing from Sergeant Smythe played by the outstanding Harry Melling. In one of the most touching scenes of the film, both Smythe, in civvies and Trautmann looked as though they've resolved their differences as Trautmann puts flowers on his son's grave. The two though, far from reconciled, brawl with each other before just allowing bygones to be bygones.

The Keeper then is one of those feelgood, beautifully crafted films with a proper and coherent story line featuring one man who stubbornly refuses to give in to those who see him as the evil villain of the piece. Throughout the illustrious history of film making we have always been subjected to those sensitive themes that none of us are keen to discuss and try to shy away from.

The blunt truth is of course that the grotesque images that were left behind in the Second World War will never fade for so many millions around the world. Perhaps though, one man showed with the most magnificent defiance what can be done if you pull on a thick goalkeeper's jersey, break your neck in your team's FA Cup Final and still laugh  when all the odds are fiercely stacked against you. Good old Bert Trautmann. What excellent judges of talent Manchester City are.