Joyeux Noel

This is a great movie. If any piece of art can make you feel like you are watching it for the first time even though it is the fifth time, it is something special. That's how this movie is for me. Every time I watch it I feel like I'm watching it for the first time. From the start of the children reciting and setting the tone to watching the men go off to war. To the brutal way that war was fought and wondering just how these men could put aside the deaths of people they were in the trenches with and come together to celebrate one day. The more you find out about the characters the more you care and hope and pray that somehow the day after the war will just end. But we all know history we all know it continued on. We all know that more deaths were to follow and that another war would follow. Rent the movie, watch it twice. And if you feel like you are watching it for the first time every time, buy it. It's a good quiet movie for when you think every person in the world is horrible.

They don't get much better than this. Based on true incident in WWII, an incident that defies National leadership and upholds the common sense of the people. A clear statement of hope for peace and the Prince of Peace.

Based on a real incident. Multilingual and touching. Quite realistic. This is the third time I am watching this. And touched. To me, it has stood the test of time.

Unpublished real facts in the history of the wars of humanity, WW1 the two enemy sides came together to celebrate Christmas, and their leaders punished them to continue with the war. That is why we are never going to eradicate wars in the world as long as we have those kinds of people with power.

Having spent the last three Christmas seasons in Afghanistan, in the Army in RC Capital area, (and am FINALLY home in central PA), I can attest to "I'm dreaming of home; I feel so alone...". Anyone else who also has been "downrange" during the holidays can identify with this film. I cannot see this movie without choking up at multiple points. It was based on true stories of fraternization, which afterward were brutally suppressed and all possible records being confiscated and destroyed. Only by diligent searching for the remaining few records that escaped the censors and other military authorities could this tale be reconstructed. See references at the Noel14-asso in France.

This review contains spoilers. Joyeux Noel is an interesting movie. The movie does do a good job in presenting the historical basis for the Christmas Truce. These scenes are heartwarming and engrossing. However the movie does not expand much besides this. The characters are not particularly memorable. All of the sets and costumes are great and are more interesting than the characters themselves. The problem with Joyeux Noel is that it remains on the note of sentimentality too long. It felt too repetitive as the movie kept on the theme of Christmas bringing out the best in humanity. It felt like the movie wanted to portray this aspect and did not portray any of the other aspects such as why certain soldiers had enlisted. In addition, the movie does not do a good job in presenting how the war started. There are not many scenes where the soldiers thought about the causes of the war. Overall I would recommend "Joyeux Noel". Grade: C.

Congratulations on Joyeux Noel being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. I saw this at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and of the 35 films I viewed there I may have to rank this as high as #2. World War I was so long ago and not as covered by filmmakers as other wars and conflicts. We can name Wings and All Quiet on the Western Front from the 20's and 30's and Sgt York and The African Queen from the 40's and 50's or Lawrence of Arabia and The Blue Max from the 60's and 70's but it's been a long time coming since a good movie about the Great War has come around. I was very familiar with the events of the Christmas 1914 trench truce and this movie is a pretty faithful dramatic composite of actual events. There were a few areas of this film that I would have liked seen a little more background development and character development but this was a good film and I would give it a 8.5 and recommend it.