Southern Belle 1:

This is a true story of a battle during WWI in 1914 between a battalion of French, Scottish, and German soldiers. Each are somewhat protected in their respective trenches with a vast no-man's land centering all of them. Hundreds of casualties from all three countries lie frozen and partially buried in the snow. The night sky is bright with stars and it is Christmas Eve. A beautiful voice is heard from one of the trenches singing Silent Night. Soon Scottish bagpipes join in from another trench. The moment mesmerizes hundreds of men who are mortal enemies of one another. What happens next is truly inspirational and heartwarming. This is an unbelievably amazing human drama that transcends battle and military orders. Highly recommended for those who are deeply touched by the irony of war. 12-11-08

Bunched Undies:

Peace briefly erupts in the trenches of WWI, and the French and German commanders, safe at the back lines, are livid. This film, based on the famous "Christmas Truce" folk tales but greatly augmented, asks a number of important questions. When the warring factions decide to cease fire and emerge from their trenches, the Great War becomes in essence the Great Cocktail Party, as Germans, French and Scots share food, drink and small talk. The soldiers get to know their enemies as people, and find that they have a large amount in common. You can see on the men's worn and exhausted faces the unasked question, "Why are we fighting?", because it is clear that other than their tattered uniforms, there is little difference between them. Yet, a few hours ago, the sides were exchanging a hellfire of bullets and artillery shells. The officers that called the truce are later severely reprimanded by their generals and face charges of conspiracy, yet ironically, it is those commanders who must conspire with their enemy counterparts in order to get the fighting underway again. The film doesn't quite achieve the greatness of its aspirations - it drags in places and the resolutions are a bit pat- but still this is an enjoyable and worthwhile entertainment. And it may leave you wondering: What if they gave a war and no one came?

Skorpean:

If this wasn't a true story I wouldn't believe it could happen. Not a whole lot of character development, but you know who they are by the language spoken. Touching tribute to the goodness within all mankind even in the worst situations. Set in France during the first world war, shows how similar people are despite government-ordered wars. Recommended for every adult no matter your politics or religion. 1/09

DFWFOREIGN:

Being the pacifist I am this movie had a strong effect on me. It is a classic french film about WW I. great plot great scenery great music!! I was moved to tears by its touching tenderness. War is a grotesque part of human nature that no one wants part of, even those involved. This movie shows us how. Watch and enjoy. four stars really almost 5 stars. I loved this movie.

Matt Algren:

As much as I enjoyed the film, there were some major problems. The film's middle section is beautiful. Just wonderful stuff. But the first third or so is a bit clumsy as we're introduced to a variety of people in different countries with different opinions of the war. There are so many characters to introduce that all of them get a bit shortchanged in the end. The more subtle nuances of each character's motivation is left for the audience to fill in, and I'm not sure we're given enough information to do so. The greater problem, though, is the last 45 minutes of the movie, during which it becomes a pretty heavy handed anti-war movie. After a while I wanted to ring up Carion (who also wrote the screenplay) and assure him that we all get it. Still, Joyeux Noël is a fair film. If the problems I mentioned above had been addressed even by half I'd be begging my friends to see it. As it is, this is a movie to see once and put away. Some memorable performances were given, most notably (to me) by Daniel Brühl, as German Lieutenant Horstmayer and Guillaume Canet as French Lieutenant Audebert. There was some great work between the two and I look forward to seeing more from them.

Bimplebean:

Touching and poignant, this is a powerfully good Christmas movie. Well acted, well directed, well filmed, you see and feel the difficulty of war, the suffering of the men, the bitter cold of a Belgian winter and the redemptive power of Christmas even through the darkest of times and events. We also get a good sense of the hypocrisy of the various leaders as they frantically thrash about trying to contain the news of a small outbreak of peace on the Belgian front. Highly recommended.

wbh 1648358:

Very, very well done. I could have handled another half hour to an hour for more character background, but all-in-all a wonderful movie! The fact that the directors kept most of the background stories at bay, actually added to the feeling of being right there in the trenches with the troops - who, also, knew very little of each other. Definitely a Christmas-spirited movie, but would be well-received any time of year.

KB 1543952:

A very good movie about the unofficial cease fire which broke out on the Western front during Christmas 1914. The acting is very good, but the love story is a bit forced to get a leading lady into the movie. The movie shows not only what happened, but the consequences which the soldiers faced when their superiors found out what had happened. It's based on a real event, and it makes me want to find out how many of the specific events shown in the movie are real.

Rigel:

A bittersweet story of three factions facing each other, trench-to-trench, in WW1. Each side celebrates Christmas, and the fighting stops over the holiday so all soldiers can celebrate together - much to the consternation of their superior officers. An unlikely, but apparently true, account of the distances in perception between those on the war front and those directing traffic behind the lines. While it is a war movie in theme, the focus is on the unifying event rather than any action film heroics. Thus, it is more of a drama and may move slower than one might expect, ranging from scenes of trench warfare to several extended religious operatic numbers. The dialogue is split between at least three different languages, so be sure to keep subtitles on despite the prevalent english. While rated PG-13, there was a debate during release concerning whether the violence would garner an R rating. The scenes are quite strong and it probably falls in the middle somewhere, but it's all part of relating the compelling story. I'm not sure I'd call this a holiday movie since some elements are bound to depress, but it's very worth seeing out of season.

Supercords:

Based on real events, which means liberties were taken to put together an entertaining film, which is just fine with me. I enjoyed it. We are given 3 different perspectives, the Brits, Scots, and Germans, which eventually blend into one. Fantastic message of peace that doesn't hit you over the head. Rating: B

4dae2b8fc6:

Just imagine what would happen in the world if peace broke out in the world? It did on Dec. 24, 1914.This movie is inspired by the true events of the Christmas truce during WWI. This movie is subtitled,but the Scottish speak in their own language as well as the French and Germans. This is well acted by it's international cast. I found this movie quite moving. It shows how our sense of separateness and our ignorance toward our unknown fellow human has been causing all the suffering on this world. This movie is worth watching anytime of the year. 2/16/09

nyq 789213:

A wonderful film.