Silent Night

I think most love a true story and this one to me is one of the best. I loved this movie the first time I saw it but each time since, I fall in love with it a bit more. Set in a time in our history where death and war (World War II) were on every mind, this sweet story shows how love and friendship can happen even between strangers who are bitter enemies forming a friendship that can and actually does wind up lasting a lifetime. It opens as a battle rages on showing the horrors of war while a mother and her son try to find a safe haven in the family cabin. Little did they know on that special Christmas Eve so long ago that something was going to happen that would change their lives forever. Enemies met in that small space and an understanding grudgingly developed between people even surprising them at the end and bonding them for life. Hopefully all will make a point of going back in time and experiencing this amazing true story. You won't be disappointed.

I saw this story originally I believe on "Unsolved Mysteries" a few years ago and I thought to myself "this story would make a great movie," and wondered how long it would take for someone to realize what a movie of this caliber could do for people. I see that it didn't take as long for that realization, as I thought it would.

In one of the most heartfelt performances in her life, Linda Hamilton, as Frau Elisabeth Vincken, a woman living alone with her young son who has her own demons to deal with and her own dislike of the war that has torn her country and family apart, has managed to pull off what few other women could have with the strength and believability that she did.

World War II...Christmas Eve...all the makings for a dreary night in the trenches with not much to celebrate one would think.

Not so for this movie and the heartstrings definitely get a good pulling in this film.

The animosity between the German and American soldiers when they first meet is evident and Martin Neufeld puts in one heck of a performance as Lt. Hans Klosterman, a bitter, loyal to the death, and unbending German officer. The hatred, the anger that he feels toward the American soldiers, especially Sgt. Ralph Blank, played with hard realism by Alain Goulem; who seems to butt heads from the get go with the battle hardened Lt., who have come seeking shelter for the evening in the home of Frau Vincken is palpable and makes for a very believable situation. More than once I felt myself torn between hating Neufeld's character and having hope for his heart to soften.

As has already been said, this story was based on a real life occurrence. Sometimes fact can be more beautiful than fiction and this movie is ironclad proof.

If any film needed levity and laugh now and then, it was this movie, and that call was quickly and with an outstanding performance, answered by Private Jimmy Rassi, played with expert talent by Romano Orzari. This actor really put his heart into his performance and the result was a character that was not only heartwarming but completely and utterly believable.

If you want a movie that can convey the message of what Christmas is REALLY about, then you must see this film. It will make you think, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry...it will give you hope that our future, if we could simply put aside our differences could be a lot brighter than what people could ever dream...

And this movie proves that old adage. Silent Night is a simple story with a small cast in one setting (and one that will translate well into a stage play, if it didn't originate as one to begin with). It is not an unfamiliar story for those who read military history, but the human aspect of civilians in the midst, and especially one courageous woman who set the terms of a truce for just one evening, is a fresh twist. As with all "based on a true story" movies, one wonders how true the facts are to the original events. If liberties were taken with the facts of this event, the result was a charming and tightly told story that questions the value of duty and honour versus the value of life and friendship. Its a good war story, and a good Christmas story, and although the plot is set up from the start, so that the viewer knows all will end well, there is a tension throughout that keeps the viewer interested.

Growing up I was told by my Parents and Grand Parents similar accounts of how during the W.W.II that the enemy lines were crossed in order that the Rank and File solders, of each side could have a cup of worm cheer and a carol or two on Christmas Eve.

The night that seemed too holy not to stop and remember Family so far away. This touching move does this and in a engaging and dramatic way. It also reminds us that not all Germans welcomed the war and the havoc it brought, nor did all Germans believe in the Nazi propaganda. Elisabeth's impassioned speech in which she tells a reluctant Nazi solder ` If I had only know earlier, in the beginning I would have done something, but I didn't know' brought me to tears. Also the scene where the two sides sit down to a "pitch in" Christmas Supper was very moving.

Linda Hamelton's Elisabeth is a fine performance and a wonderful example of how when given good material she can really give an award winning performance. All the actors turned convincing and hart tugging performances.

I feel that it is unfortunate that a Major network did not pick this up for broadcast, and that it ran on a rather obscure cable station, but Kudos to Hallmark for using good sense in airing it.

This film challenged my assumptions about made-for-TV films. Linda Hamilton and an excellent supporting cast do a first-rate job portraying a group of American and German soldiers who take time out from battle in the closing days of World War II to celebrate Christmas and remember their shared humanity.

Nice underacting combined with solid camera work and lighting make this film work. An interesting touch is that throughout much of the film, the German characters speak in German with English subtitles; personally, I found this effective -- amazingly, most of the accents were pretty good. Although it has a happy ending -- it is a Christmas movie, after all -- the film has sufficient pathos to prevent it from becoming saccharin.

This film seems proof again that our northern neighbors seem to have to compensate for a lack of special effects and big names by resorting to acting and plot! Definitely worth watching.