Movie Review: Joyeux Noël

Rarely do I come across a film about a subject so far from my general taste that touches me so deeply. For those unaware, the film Joyeux Noël, which translates literally to Merry Christmas, a fact I did not realize at first but is quite obvious in retrospect, is about the Christmas Armistice of 1914. During World War I on a few locations on the front, the two sides refused to fight each other on Christmas eve and instead fraternized. They shared food, sang Christmas carols, played soccer, and did not fight. This beautiful image lasted past Christmas, and these new compatriots refused to fight each other after Christmas, and the military leadership had to separate the groups and send them to other places in order to remove this peaceful disposition from them. I love the Christmas armistice. It is proof that humanity, when given the choice, will choose love over hate. That's beautiful to me. Now, for the actual movie.

Joyeux Noël, the Christmas movie that made an atheist cry. Seems like a good enough review at that, doesn't it? Don't worry, there's more. The film is very well acted, though it is not an American film, so the odds of you knowing the actors are very low. If you're interested, check the imdb page. A few of the actors stood out as particularly good. Benno Fürmann as tenor opera singer turned soldier Nikolaus Sprink plays the protagonist, more or less. The cast is somewhat large, but the most focus goes to Sprink, and to a lesser extent to his wife, also a singer, Anna Sörensen who is portrayed by Diane Krüger. Both actors had their singing voices dubbed in by other actors, and it is a little noticeable, but not completely distracting. Sprink is played with this restrained emotional power that he seems to emanate in every scene. The times when he tries to be overtly emotional, and isn't backed up by Krüger's intensity, he fails, and comes across as forced.

The supporting cast, whether they be French, or Scottish, or even German, are stellar. I have no complaints towards any of them. The French cast is the best, followed by the Scottish and the German, but even the lesser performances are still excellent. There is one French soldier who always carries an alarm clock with him, and he's the most endearing of all of the supporting cast.

The cinematography is good, but not noticeable. I tried to keep my eye out for anything particularly good, but I didn't. The cinematography is good. It isn't great. It isn't awful. It's just there. Nothing about the cinematography is particularly good or memorable, but nothing comes out as good or bad. It's just...there.

The music throughout is excellent, though I wonder why very little of it was sub-titled. The songs were mostly Christmas related, but I didn't know all of the tunes, or all of the lyrics, even in English. I would have appreciated sub-titles for the songs, and I think it is a missed opportunity. Perhaps sub-titles would have detracted from the overall feel and it was an artistic choice, but it irritated me to not be able to understand what was being said, or rather, sang. The only other time I took issues with the rest of the sub-titles, was when I couldn't read them through my tears.

This movie makes a powerful message about war, but unfortunately it is the same belabored point that every war movie makes. I don't take issue with the message, I just find it unsettling how many movies employ the theme of peace through brotherhood, and how completely this message is ignored by the world. The message perceived from the war scenes comes through loud and clear. The only section where the message feels tacked on is the religious commentary made after the armistice employed through the character of a cartoonishly evil religious man. Maybe it's just my modern sensibilities, but I don't understand how anyone, even in wartime, can reconcile a lust for war and sheer hatred for your enemy with the teachings of Jesus Christ, even when reading the bible selectively.

The film ends right after the armistice troops have been re-deployed to different areas, and everything after the last bit of peace and civility drags on into the credits. But this is in no way a bad film. It has a few issues, but overall its still a great Christmas film, and a rather good movie overall. Though perhaps a bit too heart-breaking and sad for repeat viewings. Four stars, out of five.

**** out of *****