Joyeux Noel
This is one of the most heartwarming and heartbreaking movies I've seen in my entire life. It tells the story of the 1914 Christmas Truce that took place in the no-man's land between the French, German, and Scottish trenches during the Christmas holiday in World War I. Very little of the film is actually in English, since two-thirds of the characters are French and German so you'll either need to speak three languages or rely on subtitles for much of the film but that doesn't detract from the experience, it adds to it.
The movie does a great job of showing the futility and horror of war, the opposing ideologies of kings and politicians are paid for in the blood of men that would otherwise be friends. The major players are the French commander, son of a well-known Major General who uses his influence and position to keep his son out of the most dangerous situations while trying to manipulate his career so he comes out of the war a hero, a drafted German opera singer (disgusted by the comfort his superiors and their sons live in while others are dying in the trenches) and his reluctantly by-the-book commander and a Scottish priest and medic who prefers the company of the men on the front line (many of them from his parish) than the (relative) safety and ease of the back lines.
These forces all come to a head on the fateful Christmas Eve, tensions are high as each side has been informed that the other will most likely plan an attack and while the French, Scottish, and German soldiers do have minor festivities planned their hearts are not in it as they all wait for the others to fire the first shot. Instead of gunfire, the sound of singing is heard from the Scottish and German trenches, which leads to a hesitant back-and-forth of "Silent Night" and "Adeste Fideles" as the troops slowly start to wander out of the trenches and into the devastated landscape in between. Eventually the commanders agree to a cease-fire for the holiday and a mass is held (in Latin so all can understand), afterward small gifts of chocolate, wine, and coffee are exchanged as well as photos of wives and loved-ones as the soldiers regard each other with hesitant but genuine respect and camaraderie. Burial services are held for the dead and are attended by all three sides of the conflict and even friendly football (soccer) games are held.
But just as it did in real life the peace would not last. The hire-ups are not pleased the the enemy becoming friendly with each other and order the troops back to the trenches to continue killing each other, an order that is outright ignored for some time. The film ends when the men are all shipped away from each other and troops are placed into heavy rotations to keep them from ever becoming familiar with each other ever again. but no matter what the bond formed cannot be broken , and even to this day those who have survived still regard each other fondly and try to maintain contact with each other.
This is one of those movies that helps to restore what little faith is left in humanity, it's a barely fictionalized story that is shot and framed flawlessly and when the singing starts roughly halfway through you WILL start crying, even if you weren't before, and you won't care who sees, it's THAT beautiful. Watch this film this Christmas, and every Christmas after, just to remind you what the season really is about. Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.
The movie does a great job of showing the futility and horror of war, the opposing ideologies of kings and politicians are paid for in the blood of men that would otherwise be friends. The major players are the French commander, son of a well-known Major General who uses his influence and position to keep his son out of the most dangerous situations while trying to manipulate his career so he comes out of the war a hero, a drafted German opera singer (disgusted by the comfort his superiors and their sons live in while others are dying in the trenches) and his reluctantly by-the-book commander and a Scottish priest and medic who prefers the company of the men on the front line (many of them from his parish) than the (relative) safety and ease of the back lines.
These forces all come to a head on the fateful Christmas Eve, tensions are high as each side has been informed that the other will most likely plan an attack and while the French, Scottish, and German soldiers do have minor festivities planned their hearts are not in it as they all wait for the others to fire the first shot. Instead of gunfire, the sound of singing is heard from the Scottish and German trenches, which leads to a hesitant back-and-forth of "Silent Night" and "Adeste Fideles" as the troops slowly start to wander out of the trenches and into the devastated landscape in between. Eventually the commanders agree to a cease-fire for the holiday and a mass is held (in Latin so all can understand), afterward small gifts of chocolate, wine, and coffee are exchanged as well as photos of wives and loved-ones as the soldiers regard each other with hesitant but genuine respect and camaraderie. Burial services are held for the dead and are attended by all three sides of the conflict and even friendly football (soccer) games are held.
But just as it did in real life the peace would not last. The hire-ups are not pleased the the enemy becoming friendly with each other and order the troops back to the trenches to continue killing each other, an order that is outright ignored for some time. The film ends when the men are all shipped away from each other and troops are placed into heavy rotations to keep them from ever becoming familiar with each other ever again. but no matter what the bond formed cannot be broken , and even to this day those who have survived still regard each other fondly and try to maintain contact with each other.
This is one of those movies that helps to restore what little faith is left in humanity, it's a barely fictionalized story that is shot and framed flawlessly and when the singing starts roughly halfway through you WILL start crying, even if you weren't before, and you won't care who sees, it's THAT beautiful. Watch this film this Christmas, and every Christmas after, just to remind you what the season really is about. Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.