Hallmark Channel films are always well-made, thought-provoking and excellent and this one is no exception. I saw it last night and it really resonated with me. It's based on a real incident that occurred on Christmas Eve 1944 in the Ardennes Forest during the World War II German counteroffensive known as the Battle of the Bulge.
The opening sequence and the end sequence act as bookmarks to bracket the film and bring it full circle. Three American soldiers- a sergeant and two privates- one of whom has a serious leg wound, find themselves cut off and are attempting to make their way back to their own lines. They stumble upon a cabin in the woods occupied by a German woman named Elisabeth Vincken(LINDA HAMILTON) and her 12-year old son, Fritz(MATTHEW HARBOUR). Mother and son both speak English, but this does not help in endearing them to Sergeant Ralph Blank(ALAIN GOULEM), whose hatred of Germans does not distinguish between soldiers and civilians. Mrs. Vincken is depicted as a proud, strong-willed woman who is grounded in morality and has only distaste and contempt for Adolf Hitler and the ruinous war he has foisted upon the German people. Fritz, on the other hand, like most young boys his age, is a believer and looks forward to becoming a member of the Hitler Youth and joining the fight against the Americans.
Mrs. Vincken allows the Americans to use her house to try and patch up their wounded comrade- but with one condition attached. She will not tolerate the presence of weapons inside her home and has her son hide them for safekeeping in the cellar when the soldiers' attention was with their wounded buddy.
The arrival of three German soldiers at the cabin serves as the focal point for what will turn out to be a very unusual encounter between opposing enemy forces. The Germans- a Wehrmacht Lieutenant named Hans Klosterman(MARTIN NEUFELD) along with his Sergeant and a Private, are tricked into dropping their weapons by Private Jimmy Rassi(ROMANO ORZARI), a street-smart Italian-American soldier from Brooklyn.
With both sides now effectively disarmed, Mrs. Vincken offers them the hospitality of her cabin for Christmas Eve and works to establish and maintain a shaky truce between the two hated enemies. The main conflict comes in the obvious mistrust and dislike between the two ranking officers of each group. Lieutenant Klosterman is a hard-liner who believes in the inevitability of a German victory against the Allies. He believes that this battle is the first step in an eventual German rout of the Allied Armies that will succeed in pushing them back through France and into the English Channel. He realizes early on, however, that Sgt. Blank, a tough, grizzled combat veteran with an attitude, is no pushover and can handle himself quite capably in their verbal jousts. Mrs. Vincken has her hands full keeping them apart. However, when the German Sergeant(MARK KRUPA) helps save the wounded American's life by cauterizing his leg wound with a heated knife, it goes a long way in establishing a measure of trust and comradeship as the evening progresses.
Mrs. Vincken offers to feed these soldiers a Christmas meal out of the goodness of her heart and in the hope that sitting down at the table and breaking bread together might help both sides see that they share a common humanity in spite of their differences- at least for one night. She is challenged in her assumptions by the Lieutenant, who feels that she lacks the proper allegiance to the Fatherland. She puts him in his place by telling him that she has already lost her eldest son in the war and has no intention of sacrificing her youngest son in what has become a lost cause. Private Rassi understands what she's trying to do and suggests that each soldier- German and American- contribute to the meal by offering up items of food from their personal supplies. This goes over quite well and gives Rassi the opportunity to display his quick wit and repartee about Italians and food. He is shown as a sensitive, wise, intelligent and caring person. He knows how to communicate with people and reach them on an inner level and this ability goes a long way in bringing the two groups together.
As the evening wears on, the desired effect is achieved. With the exception of a conflicted moment between Rassi and the German Lieutenant, which was about to lead to fisticuffs but was resolved by a painful personal confession and an apology, the two groups actually start to relax in each others presence and begin to enjoy each others company as they come to know one another better. The effect that Mrs. Vincken had hoped for becomes a reality as the soldiers come to see each other not as a faceless enemy, but as people with shared dreams, fears, hopes and desires. Even Lieutenant Klosterman loses some of his hard edge and allows himself the spirit and significance of this night.
The next morning, the slumber of the men is disrupted by the sudden appearance at the cabin of an American Army MP Captain. I won't reveal what happens after he arrives, other than to say that this officer is a surprise for both sides. When the two groups part, they part as friends, with Lieutenant Klosterman giving Sergeant Blank a compass to help the Americans find their way back.
This is a beautiful, sensitive movie which shows that even amidst the horrors of war, men wearing different uniforms can, if only for a moment, come together in peace, reconciliation and healing. I give this one a 10 out of 10, hands down.
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