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50 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Merry Christmas in No Man's Land: Inspired by an Episode in World War I, September 28, 2006
This review is from: Joyeux Noel (Widescreen) (DVD)
On Christmas Eve in 1914, the first year of World War I, there was an unauthorized truce between the German and the British/French armies. Both sides first agreed to bury the dead, and a mass was held during this brief time. Some soldiers even enjoyed playing football in no man's land.
`Joyeux Noël' is inspired by a real-life event that really happened on Christmas Eve at the several front lines during the First World War, and presents the material in a pretty orthodox way, employing the well-handled multi-plot device, in which we will witness the joys and the pains of each character: Guillaume Canet as French lieutenant, Daniel Brühl as German officer, and Gary Lewis as Scottish military chaplain. The cast playing the soldiers are unanimously good, but it is Gary Lewes as tormented military chaplain who is most impressive among them.
'Joyeux Noël' also has a sub-plot about a beautiful soprano singer played by Diane Kruger and tenor singer (and her husband) by Benno Fürmann. I don't know to what extent the film generalized these historical events it shows, but I think their love story looks less effective before the more realistic episodes about the solider in trench. Still these songs are beautiful, and so is Diane Kruger (whose voice is dubbed by soprano singer Natalie Dessay), showing the power of the music which is timeless and universal.
But to some viewers (including me), smaller things would remain more strongly in their mind. A stray cat found in trench is given different names by the German and the French soldiers. There is a good-natured French soldier Ponchel, who sneaks out of the trench every night to meet his family living behind the enemy line. There are moments when the film wears its heart on its sleeve, but it is most touching when it chooses not to be so, showing the details of the life under the extreme circumstances.
In spite of its wave of sentimentality, `Joyeux Noël' does not forget the reality surrounding the soldiers. It surely has some "feel-good" moments that are often seen in the films about Christmas, but it is also about the humans on the battlefield, and you will realize it when you know the fate awaiting them. After all, it was still 1914, and most people must have thought the war would be over soon while we know it finally ended in 1918. The film has a clear, life-affirming message bolstered by moving songs, but the film may look slightly poignant when you imagine how many of them could have survived the war. `Joyeux Noël' is an inspirational French film with several touching songs, a bit of sadness, and hope, too.
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35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth Weighing, November 22, 2006
This review is from: Joyeux Noel (Widescreen) (DVD)
With our country at war and Christmas coming up, this seemed like a timely movie to share with my family. I'd heard it was based on actual events from World War I, a Christmas Eve on which three sides of the war in the trenches laid down their weapons to share in an evening of peace.
"Joyeux Noel" is not only beautifully directed and photographed, it uses a cast of great actors. The story revolves around a Scottish priest caught up in the drama, two German opera singers caught between love and patriotism, and a French lieutenant missing his pregnant, sick wife. Other characters are included as the movie meanders toward the momentous evening on December 24, 1914. For American audiences raised on constant drama, this might seem to lack fireworks; yet the ideas here are potent, made all the more so by their basis in fact. When one man makes a simple sacrifice for the sake of his superior, he pays a price that underlines the irony of war.
In conclusion, the movie is a moving tribute to men of three nations who saw past hate and political intrigue long enough to share in their humanity. The true enemies reveal themselves as those who stick dogmatically to their own agendas. This is a message worth weighing--spiritually and politically--in light of our current Christmas situation.
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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let There Be peace On Earth, September 6, 2006
This review is from: Joyeux Noel (Widescreen) (DVD)
This powerful and thought evoking film depicts an actual incident which took place on Christmas Eve, 1914. The film juxtaposes the great beauty of Christ's birth with the unspeakable human tragedy of war.
The events chronicled in this film took place on the killing fields of France where The French and Scottish armies were entrenched across from the German army. Here these powerful armies slaughtered each other for four years never giving up more than 25 miles of teritory either way. On this special Christmas eve, the first of the Great War, these armies saw a chance to stop the killing to celebrate the birth of the prince of peace. As the soldiers emerged from their trenches, littered with human filth and rotting corpses, one can not help but sense an immediate rebirth. In doing so, they recognized their common humanity and fulfilled the promise of Christ's birth which is "Let There Be Peace on Earth".
The film is wonderfully acted and the attention to detail is spectacular. The most moving scene of this film is when the Scottish priest celebrates mass in latin (as was done back then) to the Sottish, French and German soldiers. While all speak their own language they were able to experience a spritual moment in the common language of the Catholic mass. This simple act of mass reminds the viewer of the good that comes when human beings focus on the commonalities that bind us and not the differences that tend to destroy us.
I highly remommend this wonderful film to anyone who believes in the inherent promise of humanity and the power of good versus evil.
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