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This very touching story about a true occurrence during the first Christmas of the Great War is very moving. Although the truce was not a generalized event, it did happen in quite a few areas all along the front line. It was the only moment of sanity in an otherwise gruesome experience in futility. Twenty years later, these same countries would be at it again.Karl Marx said that wars are awful events pitting ordinary people (proletariats) one against another for the benefit of the wealthy, the powerful, the aristocrats. This aspect is depicted very well in this movie. I would just like to add a footnote: Alfred Anderson, the last survivor of the Christmas Truce of 1914 died November 21th, 2005 at a nursing home in his native Scotland. He was 109 years old. Lest we forget.

Wow! Joyeux Noel was a great movie. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this film but found it to be moving, heartwarming and a wonderful cinematic experience.

The fact that the story is based on real events that happened shows that their is some good in humans across the world. In this story, all sides are respected as humans and the soldiers come to understand that under God, we are all one.

Please, even if you don't normally go to foreign language films or war movies, go to this film. The war scenes are not prolific. You will come out changed and smiling from the inside out!

I was sceptical before watching this film but by the end I had tears running down my cheeks.

By depicting the feelings and destinies of the soldiers, the film demonstrated the absurdity of war and how each soldier is more than a mere cannon target. It is a commentary on the utter stupidity of politics governing war events from behind curtains while not actually experiencing the real war. By depicting a unique event in European war history that occurred on Christmas day 1914 it shows viewers that Europeans can be as one even as "enemies".

About ten years ago I watched Paul McCartney's video "Pipes of Peace" and thought that what it depicted was completely fictitious--nothing more than pacifists' dreams. I have now learned that it was true.

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

It's Christmas 1914 with the horrors of trench warfare on the Western Front. Three nationalities have an unauthorized truce. Palmer (Gary Lewis) is the priest from a small Scottish parish. Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) is a German opera singer and Anna Sörensen (Diane Kruger) is his singing partner. French lieutenant Audebert (Guillaume Canet) is being reassigned further back in artillery. He's worried about his pregnant wife caught behind German lines.

There is a little bit of action but mostly it's sentimental anti-war feelings. It over-does it a little when everybody moves from one side to the other to avoid the artillery barrage from both sides. They could easily just communicate and hide in their bunkers. The horrors of trench warfare isn't as visceral as the best war movies. It's very sincere but maybe a little too sentimental.

Thanks to a special showing as one of the events to mark the centenary of the Alliance Française in Canada's capital, I had the privilege of attending a North American premiere of this remarkable film just two days before today Remembrance Day (Veterans Day in the U.S.) Both an appropriate theme and a cinematic Christmas gift come early. I think it may become my top film among several hundred seen this year, just as A Very Long Engagement - also set in the trenches of the First World War - captured my heart and critic's choice last December. Writer-director Christian Carion and all the actors do an amazing job in this multi-country Euro co-production. It should appeal not only to audiences across that continent but to film goers around the world. In addition to presenting a parable from real life relevant for any war-torn age, including our own I might add, Carion works wonders with front-line incidents great and small while drawing compelling individual character portraits from a top notch Scots, French and German cast, each speaking in their native language and accents. That goes for even relatively smaller roles: for example, that of the junior German officer at the front, Lieutenant Horstmayer (ironically a Jew who recalls a Paris honeymoon with his French-speaking wife), as played by the superb young actor Daniel Brühl (Goodbye Lenin, The Edukators). There is so much more that could be said about this remarkable and timely movie with a timeless message. Even had France not chosen Joyeux Nöel as its selection for the 2006 Oscar best foreign-language film category, I would herald it and rejoice in the advent of a new classic that is in another class altogether from the general run of "holiday movies". A story of harsh truths as well as transcendent art, it finds humanity and hope in the midst of battlefield horrors. Seasonal glad tidings indeed!

On Christmas eve in the First World War, an unexpected truce was agreed upon by the warring French, Germans, and the Scotsman contingent of the British army. The truce began when ex-tenor turned German private Sprink (Benno Furmann) gave an apt rendition of "Silent Night" which the Scotsmen quickly offered to accompany with their bagpipes. Feeling the Christmas spirit despite their hometown being invaded by the Germans, the French agreed to celebrate Christmas eve with their enemies. Undeniably schmaltzy and melodramatic, Merry Christmas seems to be doomed to be in the company of other schmaltzy films like Pay it Forward or Benigni's Life is Beautiful. However, one has to look beyond the evident schmaltziness and keep one's cynicism at an all-time low to truly enjoy the film, which I thought was decently made and truly touching. After all, one cannot fault writer-director Christian Carion as the film was based on recorded events that truly happened during World War I. I think Carion tried his best to make the film as grounded and as realistic as possible although sometimes his screenplay gets a bit too oratorical and his direction gets a bit too overhanded with his overuse of the musical score. Carion promptly neutralizes the fuzzy feelings that are generated by warring men playing football and poker on Christmas Day by immediately portraying the sad repercussions of the men's fraternizing with their enemies. I thought that was a very welcome addition to bring back the audience from its suspension of disbelief to a more realistic ground that despite the innate humanity in everyone's heart, politics and the irrationalities of war still determine the fates of these men. There are also some technical aspects that I feel could've been polished a bit more. The lipsynching of the songs is quite obvious and very distracting especially since its hard to believe that Diane Kruger can belt out those high and strong note with her anorexic frame. Merry Christmas is wonderful, yet disposable entertainment. It is France's submission to the Oscars and I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a nod as it possesses almost everything that the Oscars want - a war film, with themes of peace and humanity, and of course the resulting emotion of fuzziness and pride for one's humanity. ***1/2/*****

I saw this film the day before Christmas Eve last year and I have to say that it was the highlight of my Christmas. No, I did not have a rubbish holiday - the film just made me realise what Christmas must be like for the people who do not enjoy the relative peace we take for granted.

I cannot think of a single bad thing to say about the film. And this from someone who usually avoids foreign language films like the plague because it annoys me when the words are out of time with the movement of the lips.

I thought that using actors from each of the countries involved in the conflict was a master-stroke and made it all so much more believable. I shed a tear at the end, though I could see why the men needed to be moved from the front having made friends with 'the enemy.' I know that this is going to be a must see film for me every Christmas and I am eagerly awaiting the release of the DVD.

I had been looking forward to seeing this film for a long time and when i finally managed to get a copy on DVD i couldn't wait to watch it only to be really disappointed. Joeux Noel doesn't show any of the true horrors of WW1,the trenches look far to clean there's no mud, rats,lethal barbed wire,hardly any carnage or dead mutilated bodies,not that i partically want to see that,but if this film is depicting WW1 then this is what you would expect to see because thats how it really was.The soldiers look far too bright and fresh and don't at all seem exhausted and fatigued or battle weary so it just doesn't convince that they have been fighting in a horrific war.For instance not one of them had shell shock when in reality many of them by that point would have had. Because the film plays down the true horrors of war, when the actual scenes of the Christmas Truce happen it just doesn't seem to mean much,and its all very sudden there's no big build up and not much apprehension,as in reality the soldiers at first believed it was a trick,so they didn't all rush out to shake hands with the Germans as this film suggests. Then what really ruins it for me is the female opera singer who is living in the German trenches who then comes out to sing{mime}to all the soldiers she is all elegantly dressed and of all

things she is wearing a bright red cape,how ridiculous is that.I know its good to stretch your imagination a bit but this is just going to far,there is no way she would have been allowed in the German trenches or any one else's for that matter,and this for me is where the story loses all credibility it just becomes more fiction which is a shame because there really is a good story to be told here.I've been interested in the Christmas Truce for years and have watched many documentaries about it and always thought it would make a great film,however this one just doesn't do it. The Truce scene in Oh What A Lovely War handles the subject much better even if it is for only ten minutes, it captures the atmosphere perfectly and is memorable,this one sadly isn't.

I was looking forward to finding out how this historical yet forgotten event would be put to film, and how accurately it would be depicted. I am not disappointed. This evokes emotion without ever slipping into sentimentality or sap. It personalizes without robbing the true occurrence of attention. There is focus put on certain characters(all of which are quite well-written), but never to the point of such being lost on what really happened. The plot is great, and develops well. Some liberties are taken with the story, and they are not all justified, but the core is kept intact, and this manages to both tell what happened and make us feel and care about it. The overdubbed singing could have been subjected to better synchronization, but there is little to any criticisms directed at the acting itself. The same goes for the production value. The technical aspects of this are excellent, as well. The cinematography and editing are just about flawless. Pacing is rather good. Writing and directing are commendable. All three sides each speak the actual languages, adding to the already well-established sense of realism. I recommend this to anyone interested in the period, and the specific situation in particular. 8/10

A truly powerful and must see film about the futility of war.

It depicts that whatever those in power would have us believe there are more similarities between various nationalities than differences.

Wonderful performances by many little known actors.

First class cinematography and other production values.

Illustrates that there can be no war if if if you have no enemy. It is impossible to kill a man with whom you have shared drinks and stories and grown to like

Wonderful music and singing as those who have suffered and fought each other in the trenches slowly gather to mark Christmas Eve by drinking and talking with each other, swapping addresses, singing Christmas carols common to all three nations (Germany, France and Scotland), burying frozen corpses and playing soccer together.

Not perfectly historically accurate but very close to an actual incident, A vivid illustration of the foolishness of war. While some have laid the blame at the feet it is clear that the primary blame lays with those who order others to go to war while safely enjoying the better of things far from the trenches

This film manages to render potentially fascinating true events into a story that is, in a word - boring.

The characters were one-dimensional and the acting, excepting that of Guillaume Canet and Daniel Brühl, ranged from forgettable to plain bad. Benno Fürmann was especially wooden, and Diane Krüger came across as a silly twit. The Scotsmen were portrayed as, well, "jolly good Scots" and not very bright. Suffice it to say that too many characters were annoying, and as a viewer, I wanted to slap them after a short while.

The film itself sunk into Hollywood depths of cheese, which shouldn't have happened in a Euro telling of this subject matter.

Very disappointing.

I have always had an interest in WW1 and when I discovered that a film about that conflict was being released, I knew I'd have to see it as soon as possible. This is a very special movie. Telling the story of the extraordinary Christmas truce between waring soldiers in the trenches at Christmas 1914, it demonstrates just how ludicrous war really is and how the human spirit can overcome blind hatred. Performances, cinematography and direction don't really matter in this film. Though all these elements are of a high quality. What's important about this film is its message. It is a "feel good movie" with a difference. The difference is that the plot is based on a true event.

It is sure to become a fixture on Christmas T.V. listings over the coming years. But go and see it now. Particularly if, like me, your beginning to get cynical about this time of the year.

The movie is inspired by a true story about a Christmas Eve truce in 1914 during World War I between the Germans and the English but the story is badly distorted in the movie. Actually there were numerous such truces. None were ever sanctioned by the commanders but contrary to what occurred in the movie, no one was ever censured or punished.

Such truces often occur in warfare when two armies face each other during long periods of time in trench warfare. As a Marine Lieutenant in Korea, we had such truces with the Chinese on two occasions, one of which is recorded in one history of the Marines in Korea. In both cases we had been been in trenches opposite each other and the Chinese initiated the truces. Every night we were serenaded by a woman who would also blast us with propaganda and on the two occasions, she invited us to have a truce beginning at dawn the next day ending at sunset. We always wondered where she was during the night so that we could shell her but during the truces, she would come out during day and serenade us. Thus, we found out where she broadcast from and a couple op days after our last truce, we shelled the spot. We never heard form her again and there were no more truces. One of the reasons we agreed to the truces was that it gave each side a chance to recover the bodies and that was the main reason. Moreover, both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the Chinese shelled the hell out of us.

The movie really takes license with the Christmas truce. It would never have happened the way it did in the movie. No woman would have ever been permitted to get close to the front lines and enemy troops would never been allowed in the opposing trenches. No one was that stupid. and one Christmas Carol that was not sung in the movie was O' Tannenbaum or Christmas tree which actually was sung and very popular with the Germans.

For those who want to know more about what really happened I suggest they go to the following Website: http://history1900s.about.com/od/1910s/a/christmastruce.htm Even with all its flaws, I still think it was a good movie. It would have been better if they had left the woman out of the story.

Last night I went to special screening of Joyeux Noël ahead of it's release on 22nd of December.

Wow, what an amazing movie. As a rule I generally tend to blacklist war movies but this so different.

This is in no way about the glorification of war but instead tells a tale of a group of human beings that see past their differences for one night.

Apparently all based on true events known as the The Christmas Truce of 1914.

I highly recommend this movie to any and all.

This film is one of the best Christmas films out there, about a true story where warring sections of the Scottish and French, and Germans got together to celebrate Christmas during WW1.

Film is a true feel-good and at the same time thoughtful Christmas film, and unfortunately a very underrated one as well. The message is loud and clear 'nationalism is a disease'.

Good choice of letting actors speak in their mother tongues and represent people of their nationality.

I recorded this movie from a TV broadcast and before watching it heard from a few people how much they enjoyed it. When I watched it I felt that it must have been recorded live because it was quite a mess on the screen due to unusual interferences during the recording. Pass the frustration of the spoil we managed to see it and all of the 5 of us enjoyed it tremendously. I'm glad that there were notes on IMDb about the story versus the history. Yes it was a little too much to think it may have been true. It's one thing to be inspired by an event but it's another to compare the two if too much liberty has been taken with the inspiration. So one should not loose touch with the reality of war. Although I'm prepare to believe that some extraordinary events took place during this tragic period, I feel it would not have been to the scale portrayed in the film. But it is a film not a documentary and I think it told the story very well, with humour, feelings and class. For the entertainment, from me: Tres chouette! (and here for those who wonder about "chouette", originally I believe it's the noun that describe an owl in French, but it's also a light way to describe something good, nice etc... and the "hibou" it's male counterpart, but the same bird in English, is usually associated with ugliness!) Unlike a comment I read, I appreciated the willingness of the German officer to throw this word in.

Son of a WWI vet, I found this very disappointing. Firstly, it gave a sanitised depiction of trench warfare, further weakened by a schmaltzy and improbable romantic sub-plot and, despite decent performances in the lead roles, a set of caricatured minor characters from central casting(noble priest, slimy bishop,comic-relief Ponchel)and plodding direction - not to mention poor lip-synching of the singers and, as so often, overlit night scenes and unrealistic snow! The essential point - the futility of war - was made in a didactic rather than dramatic way, so that some of the schoolkids in the audience when I saw it were visibly bored. For a multinational production with a worthy aim, this was an opportunity missed.