Das Wunder von Kapstadt is a German historical drama which premiered at the Hamburg Film Festival in October 2022.
In December 2022, it was shown on Austrian television (ORF) and German television (ARD).
The miracle mentioned in the title refers to the first successful transplant of a human heart which took place at a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, in December 1967.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Director: Franziska Buch
** Writer: Christoph Silber
** Producer: Christian Popp
** Language: (mostly) German
** Subtitles: German
** Available on the ARD website
** Run time: 105 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Sonja Gerhardt as Dr Lisa Scheel
** Alexander Scheer as Dr Christiaan Barnard (1922-2001)
** Fritz Karl as Professor Dr Kohlfeld
** Loyiso MacDonald as Hamilton Naki (1926-2005) – gardener and secret assistant of Dr Barnard
** Clara Wolfram as Dr McCarthy – Barnard’s assistant
** Vikash Mathura as Vijay
** Arnd Klawitter as De Groen
** Thimo Meitner as Dr Rupert von Aigner
** Raphael Keric as Niekerk
** Marlen Ulonska as Ann Washkansky – wife of Louis Washkansky (1912-1967), the recipient of the first human-to-human heart transplant
** Michaela Winterstein as Karin Scheel - Lisa’s mother
I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone, but I have to reveal some basic facts about this drama in order to explain and justify my rating.
Christiaan Barnard is the South African surgeon who conducted the first successful transplant of a human heart. As stated above, the operation took place at a hospital in Cape Town in December 1967.
Dr Barnard was born on 8 November 1922. This drama premiered at the Hamburg Film Festival in October 2022 in order to mark and celebrate the 100-year anniversary of his birthday.
This drama is based on a true story. But not everything which happens in this drama is true. Perhaps it is better to say that it is inspired by a true story.
The purpose of the drama is to celebrate Dr Christiaan Barnard and his pioneer work in the field of medicine, specifically the first successful transplant of a human heart.
This is the main story.
Or rather it should be.
But it is not.
Since this is a German production, the movie-makers decided to give the story a German angle. They added some fictional German characters and expanded the scope of the drama by focusing on two additional themes.
The fictional German characters are:
** Lisa Scheel
** Lisa’s mother Karin Scheel
** Professor Dr Kohlfeld (who is, in fact, Lisa’s biological father, but he is not aware of this fact)
** Rupert von Aigen
The two additional themes are:
# 1. The conflict between men and women in the world of medicine, more specifically in the world of surgeons.
# 2. The conflict between blacks and whites in South Africa. In other words: the apartheid system which was the official policy of this country for more than four decades (1948-1994).
This means the main story is placed in the background, while the drama focuses on two topics which are not relevant for the main story.
Professor Kohlfeld is a surgeon. Lisa wants to be a member of his team, but the professor does not want a woman. He picks a man – Rupert von Aigner – even though it is obvious to the viewers that he is not as qualified as Lisa.
Since Lisa cannot get what she wants in Germany, she goes for plan B: she contacts Dr Christiaan Barnard in South Africa, because she has read an article about him in an American magazine.
This detail is one of several moments where this drama becomes totally unrealistic. How can Lisa contact Dr Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town? And not only that. How can she be invited to visit his hospital and join his team? This is an incredible accomplishment!
But it seems, in the world of fiction, anything is possible.
In the next scene, Lisa is on an airplane on the way to Cape Town. And when she arrives, she enters the hospital where she is expected and welcomed.
This is 1967. South Africa is ruled by apartheid. But apparently, Lisa is not aware of this fact. And when she is told, she does not understand that she cannot change this fact just because she feels it is wrong.
She is a good person. She means well. She wants to help. But she fails to understand that she is putting herself as well as the people she wants to help in grave danger.
When the successful transplant of the human heart is completed, Lisa returns to Germany where she will continue her career in the world of medicine.
What do reviewers say about this drama?
On IMDb it has a rating of 64 percent which corresponds to a rating of 3.2 stars on Amazon.
Martina Kalweit reviews the drama for tittelbach.tv, where she offers 4.5 of 6 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 75 percent.
Martina says the dialogue often focuses on conflicts which are not relevant for the story and that the character of Dr Christiaan Barnard is not really developed.
Oliver Armknecht reviews the drama for filmrezensionen.de, where he offers 4 of 10 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 40 percent.
Oliver says the combination of the medical story and the conditions of apartheid and the conflict between men and women does not work well.
In my opinion, the first two ratings are too high, while the rating of Armknecht is more appropriate.
I understand his critical remarks and I agree with them.
In addition, I will mention an issue which he does not raise: the language which is spoken in the drama.
The first and the last scenes are set in Germany where it is obvious that the language is German. But most scenes are set in South Africa where many people speak English and Afrikaans. German is not the first language here.
But this is a German production, and this means that the reality of South Africa must yield to the demands of the German producers.
On arrival, Lisa speaks a few words in English, but then she switches to German, and what happens?
Everybody is fluent in German!
It is a miracle!
There is a brief scene where someone speaks Afrikaans, but this is an exception.
A drama produced by Germans must be in German. No matter what the topic is. No matter which language is spoken in the country which is covered. This is a basic rule that is almost never broken.
Most of the dialogue in this drama is in German. This fact is a serious violation of historical accuracy.
The story of Dr Christian Barnard and the first successful transplant of a human heart is an important story which deserves to be told. But it seems the movie-makers are not really interested in the world of medicine.
They want to focus on the conflict between men and women:
Why are there no female surgeons?
They want to focus on the conflict between blacks and
whites in South Africa:
Why is Hamilton Naki not allowed to become a doctor and work as a doctor?
The main story is moved to the background, while the drama is dominated by two other themes.
I understand the rating offered by Oliver Armknecht and I agree with him.
This drama is neither great nor good. It is not even average. It is fatally flawed. This is why it deserves a rating of two stars (40 percent).
PS. The following items about Hamilton Naki are available online:
Alistair Leithead,
“Gardener behind Africa’s heart pioneer,”
BBC News,
9 May 2003
Elsabe Brits,
“HISTORY-CHECK: Was Hamilton Naki directly involved with the first heart transplant?”
Africa Check,
24 March 2017
REFERENCES
# 1. Autobiographies by Christiaan Barnard
One Life
(1969)
The Second Life
(1993)
# 2. Other books by Christiaan Barnard
The Donor
Your Healthy Heart
In the Night Season
The Best Medicine
Arthritis Handbook: How to Live With Arthritis
Good Life Good Death: A Doctor’s Case for Euthanasia and Suicide
South Africa: Sharp Dissection
50 Ways to a Healthy Heart
Body Machine
# 3. Books about Christiaan Barnard and the first transplant of a human heart
Celebrity Surgeon:
Christian Barnard – A Life
By Chris Logan
(2003)
Every Second Counts:
The Race to Transplant the First Human Heart
By Donald McRae
(Hardcover 2006)
(Paperback 2014)
Christiaan Barnard –
The Surgeon Who Dared:
The story of the first human-to-human heart transplant
By David Cooper
(2017)
Heartbreaker:
Christiaan Barnard and the first heart transplant
By James-Brent Styan
(2017)
*****
Dr Christian Barnard
1922-2001
*****
Hamilton Naki
(1926-2005)
*****
Louis Washkansky
(1912-1967)
Recipient of the first transplant of a human heart
He lived for 18 days after the operation
He was able to speak to his wife and reporters
*****
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