January 3 marks the 49th birthday of one of the greatest racing drivers in history, a seven-time world champion in the Formula 1 class. The name of the legendary athlete has become a household name, he was heard even by those who do not understand a bit about motorsport. And drivers who love fast driving are sometimes called "Schumachers" even now.
Unfortunately, the Red Baron will not be able to sit down at the festive table with his family on this day or accept congratulations from millions of fans from all over the world. For more than four years he has been leading the main race of his life. And sadly, it seems that Michael is losing this race, in which his opponent is death.
SEVEN SEALS
It seems - because it is difficult to say something definite about the state of Schumacher in the last couple of years. Immediately after the tragic incident in 2013, his family, led by his wife Corinna, decided not to inform the public in detail about the course of the athlete’s treatment and recovery. And keeps this vow until now, despite the criticism.
Michael's health is not a public matter, the German's manager Sabina Kem recently confirmed once again. “And we will continue our policy of not commenting on his condition. You need to protect his privacy. The family has every right to this, including from a legal point of view.
Be that as it may, but information about the health of Schumacher in the last four years is indeed extremely fragmentary and far from complete. And sometimes it is completely doubtful.
WAITING FOR A MIRACLE
What is known for certain? At the end of 2013, Schumacher spent the Christmas holidays with family and friends in the resort of Meribel in the French Alps. On December 29, the athlete went skiing with his son. Going down an unsafe slope between two equipped slopes, Michael fell, flew downhill for about 30 meters and hit the rocks with such force that his ski helmet cracked. But doctors agree that it was the helmet that saved the life of the rider.
However, Schumacher still received a severe head injury and was sent by helicopter straight from the mountain to the Grenoble hospital, where he underwent two neurosurgical operations. After them, due to brain damage, he was immersed in an artificial coma. Jean-Francois Payen, who was Schumacher's doctor for the first nine months after the incident, predicted that his patient would make a full recovery in about three years. But these forecasts turned out to be too optimistic. Although in the first months, doctors and relatives said more than once that they "feel progress" in the athlete's condition.
In June 2014, Michael was brought out of a coma and transferred from intensive care to rehabilitation. He began to take it in Switzerland - Schumacher was transferred to the hospital at the University of Lausanne. And in September of the same year, the family moved the rider home - to an estate on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Given the damage he received, he managed to achieve some success, the official statement said. But there is still a long and difficult road ahead.
And after that, information about Schumacher's condition almost ceased to arrive. At least it's reliable. The media in 2014 reported that the rider was "paralyzed, moves in a wheelchair and has memory problems", in 2016 - that he "can take a few steps", but this information was refuted in court in 2017 - that they "plan to transport him for treatment to an American clinic in Texas." According to the press, Michael has been in a coma for the past few months, due to which his weight has decreased to 45 kg, and his height has decreased by 12 cm, and only a miracle can save the legendary racer, although the Schumacher family spent more than 20 million on medical expenses over four years. Euro.
PLUS 200 MILLION
At the same time, the Red Baron continues to be one of the most popular personalities in the world of motorsport. His official social media pages are regularly updated and have a huge number of followers - on Facebook there are one and a half million, various Schumacher merchandise still sells well, and his 2001 champion car was sold at a well-known auction for $ 7.5 million. Michael's family founded the KeepFighting movement, which has now grown into a full-fledged charitable foundation. And if in 2010 Schumacher's personal fortune was about 600 million euros, then according to the latest data from Forbes magazine, now it has increased to almost 800 million.
Things are going well for his children. Schumacher's son Mick, who was on the ski slope with his father on that ill-fated day in 2013, has already celebrated his 18th birthday and dreams of repeating Schumacher Sr.'s racing career. He started karting as a child, and now he is a very promising pilot of the European Formula 3. It is possible that in a couple of years we will see him in the Royal race.
Shumi's 20-year-old daughter Gina-Maria also cannot live without horsepower, although she has chosen a different path - she is engaged in horseback riding in the so-called Western style. It was affected by the fact that the Schumacher family owns a large ranch in Texas. The girl has achieved notable success in the rapidly gaining popularity discipline "reining" - she has two gold medals in the junior world championship held in August, in individual and team events.
This German ace received the nickname of the Red Baron for the original coloring of the fuselage of his fighter. With a bright, red-hot to a scorchingly bloody hue, Manfred von Richthofen's Albatros D.V dived on an enemy squadron - this German nobleman single-handedly shot down more than 80 English aircraft, with courage and skill securing a place in the annals of history for his name.
Manfred was passionate about hunting and was very fond of horseback riding. The future ace began to dream about airplanes only after a chance meeting with the legendary fighter pilot Oswald Boelke. A short conversation was a revelation for Manfred: he focused on flying and after some time got into the Jasta 2 squadron, commanded by the same Boelke.
Collector
On September 17, 1916, the baron shot down his first opponent. In honor of this achievement, a fellow jeweler presented the hero with a silver goblet, engraved with the date and type of the destroyed aircraft. Even before the start of serious financial problems in besieged Germany, Richthofen had 60 more exactly the same cups.
Birth of a legend
The eleventh victory was not easy for Manfred. His opponent was the British ace Leno Hawker, nicknamed the "English Belke". After the battle, Richthofen decided to change his Albatros D.II fighter to a more maneuverable model. The picky pilot went through for a very long time and only in 1917 he settled on the Fokker Dr.I triplane. The plane, painted blood red, became the baron's symbol.
air circus
In February 1917, Manfred received his squadron. He personally selected the pilots and managed to turn the Jasta 11 into a single, deadly mechanism for the enemy. All aircraft of the unit were painted in different colors: so the pilots could easily recognize their own in the sky. For this feature, Manfred's unit received the nickname "Air Circus".
Bloody April
A few months later, the German aviation flywheel reached industrial speed. April 1917 was nicknamed "Bloody April" by English pilots, since Manfred alone managed to shoot down 22 British airplanes in three weeks. At the beginning of the summer, the ace was seriously wounded and was forced to leave the front line for some time. The German command marked the return of Richthofen with another promotion - this time the baron was entrusted with a whole regiment of fighters.
On guard of the name
Surprisingly, the successes of Manfred put the German command in an awkward position. At headquarters, it was not without reason that they feared that the death of such a illustrious hero would be an irreparable blow to the morale of the entire army. Richthofen himself indignantly rejected the offer of an honorable resignation and continued combat sorties as usual.
End of the Red Baron
The Red Baron was not destined to meet death in an air duel. He was shot down from an anti-aircraft machine gun in the Somme, moreover, quite by accident. Historians believe that the English sergeant Cedric Popkins can be considered the killer of the great ace, since he was the only operator of an anti-aircraft machine gun in the area and fired at the baron's plane.
bloody record
For a long time it was believed that German historians seriously overestimate the number of planes shot down by Richthofen. It would be really logical: the creation of the image of the hero is for the benefit of the entire army. But already in the 1990s, serious researchers (the group was led by an Englishman, Cambridge professor Norman Franks) found documentary evidence of all the air acts of Manfred: the Bloody Baron, in fact, personally shot down as many as 84 aircraft.
The film is a crumpled mishmash of fragments of life and fantasies on the topic We are being dragged through a life that is far from being the longest Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, the best pilot of the First World War, Red Baron, whose name has become a household name a long time ago and remains on the lips until now but what are they showing us? The film in places is damningly reminiscent of " Squadron "Lafayette"". So much so that it turns the soul up This does not mean that I have a bad opinion about creation Tonny Bill no, Squadron is a good film for an amateur, but worthy, however, and « Red Baron"also a very worthy movie, if you forget that we are talking about about the legendary pilot!
Seriously, the sea of military dramas has been filmed and I can’t imagine why it was necessary to shoot another story about a simple person and how war changes him No, it’s clear that it would be impossible to get around this aspect, but why focus on it so much ignoring the main component Pilot's unique skills. Tell me, would you be interested in watching a film about, say, a great boxer, where boxing would hardly be given directly 1/10 screen time? Or, let's say about some great racer, where there would be no racing?
But it is the theme of high-class flights in the picture that is not disclosed. Seriously speaking, I counted three scenes, the most intense of which was at the beginning, weaker in the middle and dull in the final, when two aces brothers play peepers against the background of smoky strokes in the sky to music designed to catch up with suspense. Well, then the final memorial service, where everything is together ( including the baron himself ) escort the not yet downed Richthofen on the last journey to mournful music Horror.
But, okay, let's say I was expecting one thing, and the director wanted to show another. In the end, these are my problems, so let's talk about what worried Nikolay Mullershon.
The theme of military drama and tragic life stories against the backdrop of global confrontations is not new. Offhand, I can hardly remember at least a dozen films about the war, where the authors would not touch on this, but would show exactly the war. Usually the focus point is still on one hero and his evolution in extremely extreme conditions.
What does the "Red Baron" paint for us?
Firstly , certainly not a hackneyed theme of the First World War and a separate caste of pilots that was just being formed at that time. The topic is interesting and fruitful. But the implementation, to put it mildly, did not please ( more on that later).
Secondly , the story of the growing up of a very young baron, who is maturing just before our eyes.
Third , a rather mediocre love story.
And now back to the implementation.
I don’t know about anyone, but personally I was very annoyed by the jump of authors by date and some kind of randomly indistinct fragmentation of the narrative Honestly, I saw many examples when, in 100 minutes, the authors managed to clearly tell much longer stories and they didn’t have to arrange a leapfrog on dates, there is simply no difference between them.
By God, I absolutely do not understand why the breakdown is the way it is done in the film. In these, relatively speaking, chapters there is no serious meaning and no really significant events. It seems that the director simply took a book with a biography of the Baron and, flipping through it, randomly selected several pieces from which he later composed the story.
From time to time, it becomes boring to watch what is happening and only the adequate play of the actors and the generally pleasant implementation of the technical part saves. Yes, there is something to praise this film for the actors did an excellent job with their roles, although the pilots did not get enough in terms of legendary superstition, but otherwise they are quite themselves The large-scale part does not lag behind, although computer graphics are still distinguishable, but these are trifles.
They were not able to maintain a love line in these throwing about the war. I don't understand why Kate Lena Headey) over and over again finds itself in close proximity to Manfred ( Matthias Schwighefer) and how at least some feeling appears between them. The scene is all the more simulated when the downed Baron, waking up in the hospital, finds at his bed exactly the nurse that he would like to see there By the way, if you really understand, I still don’t understand where Kate worked She then picks at the wounded on the line front, then works in a front-line tent hospital, then suddenly finds himself in a normal military hospital Of course, I understand that the war does not favor settled life, but still it’s somehow strange.
Again, according to Wikipedia information, then Red Baron did not fly away for a single flight without receiving a kiss from his beloved for good luck ( it's about superstition ), but for some reason this moment was not even touched upon in the film.
Is this movie worth watching? If you like dramas and even, in a sense, tragedies, films about the war, historical films, it’s definitely worth it, if only because of the topic and the time frame, but it’s clearly not worth waiting for some kind of revelation.
Michael Schumacher- (born January 3, 1969 in Hürth-Hermulheim, Germany) - German Formula 1 race car driver. Seven-time world champion, two-time world vice-champion and three-time bronze medalist. Holder of multiple Formula 1 records: wins (91), podium finishes (155), single-season wins (13), fastest laps (77), and consecutive championship titles (5). In the press, he is often referred to as the "Red Baron" or "Shumi". During the First World War, the "Red Baron" was the name of the best ace of the war - Baron Manfred von Richthofen, who flew a red airplane. Schumacher, on the other hand, was nicknamed the "Red Baron" because of his national resemblance, red Ferrari car, red sports uniform and his invincibility.
His career began at the age of four with a kart built by his father, his father was the manager of a local kart track. At the age of five, he was already competing. There were attempts to find himself in judo, but in the end, little Shumi decided to focus on karting.
At the age of 14, Schumacher receives a driver's license and begins to compete in official competitions. In 1984-1987 he won several European and German karting championships, including the Formula König series. In 1990, he already wins the German Formula 3, having won 5 victories during the season. Participates in the World Championship in endurance racing (as a member of the youth program Mercedes Junior) with Carl Wendlinger, winning the 1990 stage in Mexico, and in 1991 in Japan.
Debut and first victories of Schumacher in Formula 1
In 1999, at the British Grand Prix, he gets into an accident (as a result of an attack on his partner) in which he breaks his leg, as a result of which he misses 6 races and loses his chances for another title, but returning at the end of the season helps the team win the constructors' championship - for the first time since 1983 of the year.
Five-year era begins next year Michael Schumacher, in the period from to the year he wins 5 titles in a row, having won 48 victories in this period and becoming the most titled driver in the history of Formula 1. In 2000, he won the first title for Ferrari in 21 years, beating in the most number of titles won.
A few races before the end of the 2012 season, Michael Schumacher announced his retirement at the end of the championship. At that conference, Michael said that losing can teach more than winning, and that he did not realize this in the first more successful part of his career. "Just driving around the track is not my ambition, I want to fight for victories and enjoy piloting." But still, Michael was satisfied with his work and thanked his partners, team and family!
Accident
On December 29, 2013, Schumacher with his son and his friends went to the French Alps to the ski slopes of the Meribel resort. Michael left the track on an unprepared slope and drove about 20 m until he stumbled on a stone invisible under the snow, he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock ledge, and when falling, one of the skis did not come unfastened. From the impact, the helmet, which was the former racer - who risked his life hundreds of times in the race, split.
Schematic of Michael's fall at a ski resort at the end of 2013
Michael was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Moutiers, after which he was transported to a clinic in Grenoble. At first he was conscious. However, already during transportation, the helicopter collapsed and had to make an emergency landing in order to connect Schumacher to a ventilator. He underwent two neurosurgical operations, he was put into an artificial coma. The athlete's condition was assessed as critical.
The place where Michael fell. 1 - stumbled on a snow-covered rock, 2 - hit two stones, 3 - turned over and hit his head on a rock, 4 - blood at the site of the fall.
At the time of the accident, Michael was wearing a protective helmet with the camera turned on. This was confirmed by Albertville prosecutor Patrick Kensey at a press conference. An investigation began, investigators talked with Schumacher's son and his friend, who were eyewitnesses to the tragedy, in order to clarify the details of the incident. As a result, the investigation did not reveal any violations on the ski slope, nor did they find any malfunctions in Michael's inventory.
At the end of January 2014, doctors began a gradual withdrawal of Schumacher from an artificial coma, gradually decreasing the dosage of sedatives. In June, Schumacher's manager (Sabina Kem) announced that Michael was no longer in a coma and had left the hospital in Grenoble to continue his rehabilitation course, which would take place in a hospital whose location was not disclosed. She asked journalists to treat the current situation with understanding and said that the rehabilitation would take place away from the public. In September 2014, Sabine Kem announced that Schumacher had returned home and would undergo rehabilitation at home.
According to the former Formula 1 driver, as of November 2014, Michael was confined to a chair, could not speak, he had memory problems. However, the manager Sabine Kem denied this information, saying that Streiff is not a family friend and received information about his state of health from an unknown source. The head of the medical department also said that he did not give Streiff any information about the athlete's condition.
In July 2016, Schumacher's manager said that the situation is very difficult, and unfortunately they cannot provide any details on the state of the seven-time champion.
Dubai 2012. Michael Schumacher and his wife parachute jump
Why the public forgot about the great racer Michael Schumacher two years later, what the children of the seven-time world champion do, and what made the Red Baron's wife smile for the first time after the tragedy, Maxim Ognenny, deputy editor-in-chief of R-Sport, argues.
A little over two years ago, as a result of a fatal incident in the ski resort of Meribel in the French Alps, the most famous Formula 1 race car driver of our time, seven-time world champion German Michael Schumacher said goodbye to his army of millions of fans in absentia, falling into a coma and being chained to hospital bed.
Loyal fans of the athlete, and people who are simply not indifferent to sports, with bated breath in the first days and months after the incident, followed the news releases to hear encouraging data about Michael's condition. All the world's major media dedicated their materials to the great racer, praying for Schumacher's health, and the public on the World Wide Web in their comments expressed the maximum noble empathy for the family and friends of the German athlete.
After the first year of treatment, it became clear that in the coming months, and possibly years, the Red Baron would not appear in public.
Media reports began to appear less frequently. News about the fundamental unwillingness of the German wife Corinna to report any information about the health of the racer alternated with the opinions of yellow press sources about the timing of recovery. Reporters learned "sensational" facts from the life of the great athlete's family: the wife is selling Schumacher's personal plane, the driver's son is injured in one of the races, unknown people steal the computer of Michael's personal doctor.
From day to day, the number of people wishing to speak out on the topic of Schumacher's health or to speculate about how the people around him and the rider's relatives should behave was rapidly decreasing. Large TV channels and publications, realizing that the "most delicious foams" in the form of the number of views and responses from readers have already been collected, practically forgot about the famous athlete.
Of course, such restraint can be taken as a tribute to the family of the great racer. Even at the very beginning of the difficult path of the struggle for the life of the racer, many wrote about the unwillingness of the son of Michael Mik to appear at secular parties, and Schumacher's wife was accused of being too closed. And, of course, one can nod to all these considerations and agree that the unfortunate family is best left alone. But is this behavior correct?
Year after year, watching life-and-death battles during dangerous turns on racetracks around the world, holding my breath moments before the finish line of the Great Schumacher, not holding back tears during the farewell of the racer to the big sport, all this time no one side of the screen, I didn’t even think about the cost of this struggle for an ordinary German boy who first got behind the wheel at 4 years old.
And over the next 43 years, the boy, gradually growing up and becoming a real man, getting his first injuries and winning his first awards, simply gave himself to the sport and his fans. He gave his health, strength, emotions to people, most of whom he does not know. He was a source of delight for people most of whom would never see. He deliberately went for it, without thinking about himself.
And now, when the "Red Baron" can no longer bring the same emotions as before, we, putting on the masks of the righteous, turn away from the person whose goal of his whole life was only to prolong our pleasure. From speed, struggle, triumph and victories.
This is not a laudatory ode to the great German race car driver, whose fate inexplicably preserved the athlete's health throughout numerous races and races, and killed this health during a banal ski trip. No. These are reflections on our human attitude to the grief of our neighbor. The problem of compassion. This is what prevents us from truly supporting and believing in the speedy recovery of the father of two children, Michael Schumacher.
Now Schumacher does not think about his fans, is not upset because a large number of previously loyal fans have forgotten about him. In principle, we do not know and will not find out what the seven-time world champion is thinking about now. But it's safe to say that he would be delighted to know that his son Mick, already in his third race in the Formula 4 championship, climbed to the highest step of the podium.
And we would certainly have seen the famous smile on Michael's face if we were told that Schumacher's daughter Gina-Maria took part in the European Equestrian Championships in August last year, which took place in the racer's homeland, in Germany. Say what you like, but it was at these competitions that the wife of the “Red Baron” was seen laughing. Perhaps in children she sees her husband, a real fighter for life and just a brave man - Michael Schumacher.
