Customer Reviews

Joyeux Noel (Widescreen)

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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.

that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold.
"Peace on earth, good will to men,
from heaven's gracious King.
The world in solemn stillness lay
to hear the angels sing."

On December 24, 1914 a spontaneous, unscheduled, unapproved truce among German, French and British soldiers took hold in various sectors along the front lines. Soldiers exchanged cigarettes and alcohol, played football (soccer), and allowed the removal and burial of dead soldiers from the frozen tundra of no mans land. "Joyeux Noel", a French-made film with an international cast directed by Christian Carion, is a fictionalized account of this truce. It is a wonderful film that in its own way stands with or close Stanley Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" as one of the great films about the horrors of what has come to be known as the First World War.

The film opens in the days and years before the start of the "Great War". We see British (in this instance Scottish), French, and German schoolchildren absorbing lessons in Kiplingesque nationalism and empire-building that taught each group that God was on their side and demonized the evil German, Briton, or French. After a quick introduction to the main characters the war begins in all its brutality. The Scottish and French troops rise up from their trenches and are mowed down by German machine-gunners. The dead and wounded are left in no-mans land. At the same time we see the respective high commands, enjoying the comfort of life war out of harms way. As night falls on Christmas Eve, German soldiers place small Christmas trees atop their trenches. A bagpiper plays a Christmas tune and the German soldiers applaud. A German enlisted man, a well-known singer (the relationship between the soldier and his Danish wife, also a singer form the basis of much of the plot) rises out of the trenches to sing Silent Night.

"Still through the cloven skies they come
with peaceful wings unfurled,
and still their heavenly music floats
o'er all the weary world;
above its sad and lowly plains
they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o'er its Babel-sounds
the blessed angels sing."

It is said that music hath charms to sooth the savage heart and in short order the German, French, and Scottish squad leaders (the "Three Wise Men"?) meet to discuss a short truce. The truce takes on a life of its own and forms the centerpiece of the rest of the film. The interaction amongst the soldiers is well crafted and well acted. There are even light moments as a stray dog routinely crosses the field of battle to take food from whatever army wishes to feed it. The cinema photography is lush without detracting from the story line. The songs sung by the soldiers as they observe the holiday truce are compelling. In the context of a war, even during a truce, the words to hymns of peace are tragically ironic. The words of peace must have been comforting but it is a comfort born of stolen moments and director Carion does an excellent job conveying the all too temporary nature of this reprieve.

"Yet with the woes of sin and strife
the world has suffered long;
beneath the heavenly hymn have rolled
two thousand years of wrong;
and warring humankind hears not
the tidings which they bring;
O hush the noise and cease your strife
and hear the angels sing!"

The film shows us the aftermath of the truce, the reaction of the high commands and it is these moments that bring Paths of Glory to mind.

Joyeux Noel is a beautifully drawn and acted film that very much deserved (and perhaps should have won) its Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig

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.

Writer/director Christian Carion ('Une hirondelle a fait le printemps' aka 'The Girl from Paris') is unafraid to write and create cinematic tales that touch the heart as well as the mind. 'Joyeux Noël' is a story of war and its effects on soldiers that goes far beyond sentimentality (or the opposite emphasis on brutality as found in American films) and offers the viewer insights to the responses of young men's minds to the monster of war and how they cope.

Based on a true story, the film opens with the usual callous killing among three groups of soldiers - German, French, and Scottish - who face an oncoming Christmas Eve in the trenches, the realities of fighting have precluded their getting time to retreat for air. But a miracle happens: among the Germans is a famous opera tenor Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) who has aligned with his fellow troops in the trenches, hoping he can bring some minor sense of Christmas and understanding to them. His soprano partner Anna Sorensen (Diane Kruger) finds a way to be with him in the trenches on Christmas Eve, 1914. Meanwhile the disgruntle troops of all three sectors are planning meager festivities and a bit of relaxation even in the trenches as the bodies of the day's plunder lie in the snow of no man's land. We get to know the French Lieutenant Audebert (Guillaume Canet) and his orderly Ponchel (Dany Boon), the German head of the regiment Horstmayer (Daniel Brühl), and the Scots - especially the priest/medic Palmer (Gary Lewis).

Christmas Eve comes and the voice of Sprink (in reality the tenor Rolando Villazón) sings 'Stille Nacht', rising out of the trenches to sing in the open of no man's land. Soon he is accompanied by the Scottish bagpipes and the 'chorus' of the Germans, the Scots and the French. They all emerge, share gifts of champagne and other libations, and agree to a cease-fire in honor of the holiday. It is in this magic moment that the true personalities of these warring men surface and each is seen as a vulnerable puppet of the WW I, exchanging addresses to meet after the war. Anna Sorenson has managed to enter the scene and during a communal mass led by Palmer she sings (the voice is Natalie Dessay) an Ave Maria (composed by the film's composer Philippe Rombi): the lovers have previously sung a duet version of Bach's 'Bist du bei mir'. For that moment in time the horrors of war melt and the camaraderie of the men glows and is carried into Christmas Day when all three groups of soldiers agree to bury their dead together. Of course the brutality and ignorance of war re-engages and the leaders of the three groups enter camp and threaten courts martial and punishment for the troops' lack of military discipline. The film ends in a manner that leaves the audience able to integrate the happenings of that Christmas Eve on the futures of these men.

The script is superb, the cast is uniformly excellent, the sets and cinematography are creatively moody, and the musical score by Philippe Rombi is one of the finest in years: the ending song 'I'm Dreaming of Home' deserves to become a standard. Would that everyone could see this film, a bit of global hope in the cloud of the destruction that shadows our world right now. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 06

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.

Watching this delightful, deep and orginal movie I suddenly realized why John Paul II was so disappointed when the European Constitution failed to mention Christianity as one of the founding pillars of Europe.

Based on a true episode that took place on Christmas Eve of 1914 (and probably was repeated in other similar occasions) along the Western Front in France, Christian Carion builds up a Christmas tale that signals out the common ideals and beliefs of British (Scots), French and German soldiers.

In the hell of opposing trenches a Christmas chant awakens longing, sadness and expecially friendship among allied Scots and French and their German enemies. Due to the great chivalitry of the troup comanders, that each in his own way represents the best of their cultures, a friendly truce takes place and continues during the following days, until the leading authorities (generals, bishops and fathers) discover what is considered the worse possible form of treason, "fraternization"!

The moving and supremely inspiring moment of the movie is the Mass, officiated by a Scottish clergyman (Gary Lewis), during which the "Ave Maria" is sung, but music intended as an emotional force, like the Christian ideals that then governed society, are present and at work all the time.

All the characters are very well etched and the actors are appropriately chosen. There are many marginal episodes that give a flavour of simple and suffering humanity, that however doesn't loose its dignity or sense of humor.

Revisionism of WWI historiography has been going on now for sometime, and the current opinion of the mass massacre wanted by economical/national powers is now well accepted. This movie does not dwell on such a modern concept, but somehow is born not only from this modern idea of history but also from the construction of a united European Nation.

Carion describes a beautiful and maybe sentimental episode but goes deep into its genesis and meaning, making this way a miliary movie that enriches young and old.

I had just bought and watched Flyboys. While Flyboys was not the greatest it left me in the mood for WWI. 'The Great War' that not even The History Channel touches. Fortunately I found this in the rental bin at the store and figured I would give it a try.

A warning to those looking for an action/war flick..this is not it. This a heavy drama with a powerful message. There is a battle scene at the begining of the movie but it feels to me that it was obligatory and thrown in just because of the setting of the movie. It does nothing to illustrate the ablolute horror of trench warfare during this seemingly forgotten war.

There are scenes in this movie that truly touch the heart. Christmas day after the Christmas Eve gathering the German officer goes out to meet a Scottish officer on the battlefield who is ordering a Scottish soldier back to the trench who is on the battlefield without authorization digging a grave for his brother. The German officer has to order his troops back into the trench as they try to follow him out. They didn't want to fight.

Many touching scenes. Great cinematography. Excellent music, especially if you like bagpipes. Uniforms and weaponry are all right on. This Sony DVD release is incredible at handling the subtitles. There is English, French and German spoken throughout and the English subtitles come up only when English is not spoken, a very easy movie to watch.

This is one film that truly shows the meaning of Christmas. Christmas is not about Santa and all worldly gifts but actually of love, kindness, forgiveness and humanity.

Presented in 3 languages - mostly English - Merry Christmas shows 3 armies caught in World War I France.How Christmas brings out the good in people and the brotherhood/sisterhood of man. The lessons of Jesus can be learnt and practiced for the good of mankind.

By the way, my Church pastor mentions this incident portrayed in this movie as part of the Christmas message. This is the true meaning of Christmas. Most glitzy children's shows about Christmas hardly shows the meaning of Christmas only the meaning of Christmas shopping.

Tres bien. Bravo.

When I saw Silent Night, Holy Night on DVD and read the accompanying book, I cried like a baby. The story of spontaneous "fraternizing" between enemy soldiers during WWI on the front on Christmas in 1914 is like a hippie's dream come true. Soldiers laid down their arms and recognized the humanity in the men in the trench just yards away. They joined them in song, helped bury their dead and swapped addresses with their new friends - friends they were sworn to kill. The amazing thing is, it was true. Now it's inspired the French feature film Joyeux Noel, based on the photos and first-hand accounts of these fraternizations.

The tale is told on the ground in war-torn France, with French and Scottish troops on one side and Germans on the other. The stage is set Christmas Eve when a German tenor sings, and the troops put their small Christmas trees on top of the trench. Soon, Scottish bagpipes join the Germans in a Christmas hymn, and the singer is swept away by the moment and marches out into no-man's land to place a Christmas tree. Commanders of the forces there - German, Scottish and French - meet and arrange a night's treaty. The troops come climbing out of their trenches, eventually drinking together, playing together, talking together. A midnight Mass is punctuated by distant bombs.

In the morning, the new, war-scarred friends find something special has happened that forces commanding officers of all three armies back at their respective headquarters to disband these men. They won't shoot each other, and they even invite opposing forces into their trenches to hide from artillery fire.

The astonishing thing is, it's mostly true, as writer-director Campion explains in an interview and in his commentary. The German tenor who brought applause from the opposing side and a truce to bury the dead is real. Men refused to shoot at the opposing side and were disbanded and sent elsewhere. And it happened not just Christmas Eve, 1914, but 1915 and 1916 as well. The movie opens, though, with a terrible truth. The Europeans and their governments had all been hating each other for a long time before the war. Campion starts the film with children singing sickeningly jingoistic songs about the evils of the other nations. These were songs learned years - even decades before - World War I ever started.

DVD Extras: Aforementioned interview and commentary. Subtitles in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Audio in French or English.

-- Brendan Howard

Joyeux Noel is outstanding. It's a Christmas movie that gets to the true meaning of the holiday while avoiding all the annoying, hollow cliches about the "Christmas spirit" that flood the market every holiday season (in corny TV shows and movies like The Santa Clause.)

It is also a war movie that asks the right questions about war without demonizing or blaming any particular worldview. Some of the best war films challenge the viewer - Platoon comes to mind - but, unfortunately, leave their audience depressed and in despair. As hellish as war is, as much evil as men commit against each other, sometimes mankind's best characteristics are revealed in battle. Joyeux Noel celebrates what's best in mankind without being trite, sappy or silly.

The religious messages are impossible to avoid. The director, Christian Carion, superbly demonstrated, through the characters, Father Palmer and the Bishop, the contrast between the loving, caring, humble service Christ demonstrated and the rigid, dogmatic, political and sometimes hateful lives of the members of the religious establishment. (Sadly, the Bishop's words were taken from an actual sermon given at Westminster Abbey during World War I.)

As a work of art, Joyeux Noel is top-notch. The acting is superb, the sets and costumes are well-done and the soundtrack is beautiful. It is moving and funny, happy and sad, captivating but moderately paced, all at the appropriate spots. As we enter the holiday season, I can't think of a movie I would more highly recommend to watch in the coming weeks (or anytime, really.)