Joyeux Noel (2006)

the audience applauded

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

It's Christmas 1914 with the horrors of trench warfare on the Western Front. Three nationalities have an unauthorized truce. Palmer (Gary Lewis) is the priest from a small Scottish parish. Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) is a German opera singer and Anna Sörensen (Diane Kruger) is his singing partner. French lieutenant Audebert (Guillaume Canet) is being reassigned further back in artillery. He's worried about his pregnant wife caught behind German lines.There is a little bit of action but mostly it's sentimental anti-war feelings. It over-does it a little when everybody moves from one side to the other to avoid the artillery barrage from both sides. They could easily just communicate and hide in their bunkers. The horrors of trench warfare isn't as visceral as the best war movies. It's very sincere but maybe a little too sentimental.

the opera based on it (Silent Night) was even better.I've been interested in the insanity known as the Great War for some time now and was aware of the Christmas Truce before it became popularized. In fact it will have occurred 100 years from this Christmas. The 100th anniversary of the shot that started the dominoes toppling will be June 28th.I'm a long time fan of opera and about a month ago I saw Silent Night, and opera based very closely on this film at Fort Worth. It was simply stunning. The movie is very good as well, but not as good as the opera I'm afraid. If anyone has an opportunity to see it I recommend doing so.

*Spoiler/plot- 2005, Christmas Eve 1914 on a WW1 battlefield a momentous event changed the lives of soldiers from France, Germany, and England (Scotland). An Oscar nominated film tells the true-life story of the spontaneous Christmas Eve truce declared by Scottish, French, and German trench troops in WW1. The enemies leave their weapons behind for one night as they band together in brotherhood and forget about the brutalities and military discipline of war.*Special Stars- Diana Kruger, Daniel Bruht, Benno Furmann *Theme- Hollywood film business is a crazy impressionable system.*Trivia/location/goofs- The History Channel did an extensive documentary on this mystical event. This fictional narrative adds more attractive trivia to the real event. The voice singing of the two German characters is stunning; were they dubbed or not? They were DUBBED.*Emotion- An enjoyable film. A must see and powerful film of a real startling wartime event commemorated even today yearly in Belgium on the very spot it occurred.

If war is futile the trench warfare style of fighting which defined World War I is the most futile of all. Men dug into trenches a few hundred yards apart waiting until the men of one side are ordered to come up out of the trenches and charge at the enemy. Ordered to their deaths as these men are inevitably slaughtered. In this movie the Germans on one side and the French and Scottish on the other are fighting over a tiny, inconsequential strip of land in eastern France. The war was never going to be won or lost here. But men would die here. And for what? The film begins, rather brilliantly, with scenes of children from each of the three countries reciting patriotic speeches about their country's superiority and the inherent evilness of the enemy. And then we meet the soldiers. These aren't evil men. These are young men who just want to survive. Young men ordered off to war by men who sit comfortably far away from the front lines, protected from the savagery and true cost of war. The men in the trenches have retained their humanity. Their leaders, as will become painfully obvious by the film's end, have lost theirs.The remarkable events depicted in this film actually did happen. Sure there are some things changed and embellished to make a true story into a movie but the heart of the story remains. And what a story it is. Soldiers stopping the senseless killing and laying down their arms to come together to celebrate Christmas. In doing so they come to realize they have more in common with the enemy than they would have imagined. Bonds are formed. Which will of course make going back to slaughtering one another somewhat difficult. But that is a concern that is reserved for the movie's end. How good is the movie that leads towards that inevitably uncomfortable ending? Pretty good indeed. It's a heartwarming story. Character development is rushed or, in some cases, nonexistent which is a little disappointing. More time spent getting to know these soldiers would make us so much more emotionally invested in their fate. But the movie still manages to pack a serious emotional punch. Once the story sets itself up there are times where things move a little slowly and the movie seems to get bogged down a little. But for whatever little quibbles you may have with the film the good far outweighs the bad. The performances are uniformly excellent, the cinematography is wonderful and the message is inspiring. There is so much more that can bring us together than there is that can tear us apart. The men in the trenches figured this out. If only their leaders had done the same.