In December 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce on the Western Front allows soldiers from opposing sides of the First World War to gain insight into each other’s way of life.
Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee for Best Foreign Film, JOYEUX NOEL (Merry Christmas) tells the true-life story of the spontaneous Christmas Eve truce declared by Scottish, French and German troops in the trenches of World War I. Enemies leave their weapons behind for one night as they band together in brotherhood and forget about the brutalities of war. Diane Krüger (Troy), Daniel Brühl (Good Bye Lenin!) and Benno Fürmann (The Princess and the Warrior) head a first-rate international cast in a truly powerful, must-see film.
Joyeux Noel captures a rare moment of grace from one of the worst wars in the history of mankind, World War I. On Christmas Eve, 1914, as German, French, and Scottish regiments face each other from their respective trenches, a musical call-and-response turns into an impromptu cease-fire, trading chocolates and champagne, playing soccer, and comparing pictures of their wives. But when Christmas ends, the war returns…Joyeux Noel has been justly accused of sentimentality, but if any subject warrants such an earnest and hopeful treatment, it’s the horrors of trench warfare. The largely unknown cast–the more familiar faces include Diane Kruger (Troy), Daniel Bruhl (Good Bye Lenin!), Benno Furmann (The Princess and the Warrior), and Gary Lewis (Billy Elliot)–deliver low-key but effective performances as the movie dwells on the everyday elements of life in the face of war. Based on a true incident (though considerably fictionalized). –Bret Fetzer
Unfolding slowly, then building in momentum like the hymns themselves, this entire sequence is tremendously affecting. – Globe and Mail.
In English and French with English subtitles.
Starring Guillaume Canet, Benno Furmann, Daniel Bruhl, Diane Kruger, Gary Lewis.