Written and directed by Christian Carion
Starring Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Daniel Brühl, Gary Lewis, Alex Ferns, Steven Robertson, Ian Richardson
Rated PG-13
In December of 1914, there are many accounts (primarily through letters) of fraternization between French, German, and British troops on Christmas Eve. While specifics are difficult to pin down, there are enough of these letters to show that these fraternizations occurred over 700 kilometers between Ostend in Belgium and Basel in Switzerland.
Director Christian Carion’s Oscar-nominated 2005 masterpiece focuses on a group of French, British, Scottish and German soldiers on this historic night. There are six main characters. Audebert (Guillaume Canet) is a French lieutenant as well as the son of an overbearing general. Palmer (Gary Lewis) is a British priest who joined the war as a medic primarily to keep an eye on two boys from his church, Jonathan and William. Gordon (Alex Ferns) is a Scottish lieutenant who works closely with Palmer. On the German side is famous tenor Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) and his Danish girlfriend Anna Sorensen (Diane Krüger). Sprink is pulled to the front lines during a performance with Anna. His lieutenant Horstmayer (Daniel Brühl) looks down on Sprink. He has a very low opinion of artists who become soldiers.
It is Sprink’s singing that serves as the catalyst which brings these soldiers together. After several days of intense fighting, he strolls into a snowy No Man’s Land singing “O Come All Ye Faithful”. It is haunting and powerful. It is also a reminder that God is there with them even on the battlefield. After all, God has always been there. It is man who decided to fight.
Religion, in fact, plays a huge role in the film. It begins with some disturbing images (also based on fact) of schoolboys from France and Germany reciting poems that praise their country and spread hatred for their enemies. It’s religion as propaganda bolstered by another scene in which a Scottish Bishop preaches to the troops about their God-given mandate to kill Germans. It is a disturbing scene that serves as a turning point for one of the main characters.
The genius of Joyeux Noël is that it manages to simultaneously be a sobering and wise insight into the nature of war and an affirmation of the real meaning of Christmas. And not in a Hallmark kind of way. These are men who come to realize the irony in celebrating the birth of Christ during a cessation of hostilities. There is a friendship that spreads like wildfire throughout the ranks as these men - through song, drinking, and sharing of pictures - come to realize that their governments have ordered them to kill each other yet they believe in a different King.
Many of the specific events in the film are based on fact including a cat that goes back and forth between the trenches before being arrested for treason as well as a woman (Anna) being brought to the trenches to assist in the Christmas festivities. In fact, there is a fascinating interview on the DVD in which the director talks about many of these true events.
This is actually a terrific family film if you have older kids. In fact, the film has a unique history in that it was first rated R by the MPAA until Roger Ebert blasted the decision, and it was changed to a PG-13. There is a brief scene of nudity during a tastefully filmed sex scene. Aside from that, there is nothing objectionable. While the war scenes are filmed with great skill, they are not graphic.
This is a true holiday treasure unlike anyone you’ve seen before. It will definitely help you have a Joyeux Noël.
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