Joyeux Noël (2005)

Director:

Christian Carion

Writer:

Christian Carion (written by)

Release Date:

9 November 2005 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

France 1914. A moment of humanity that made history.

Plot:

On Christmas Eve during world War I, the Germans, French, and Scottish are trying to make peace, so they bury their dead and play football.

Plot Keywords:

German | Corpse | Soccer Football | Prologue | Military Officer

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Diane Kruger	...	Anna Sorensen (as Diane Krüger)
Natalie Dessay	...	Anna Sörensen (singing voice)
Benno Fürmann	...	Nikolaus Sprink
Rolando Villazón	...	Nikolaus Sprink (singing voice) (as Rolando Villazon)
Guillaume Canet	...	Lieutenant Audebert
Gary Lewis	...	Palmer
Dany Boon	...	Ponchel
Daniel Brühl	...	Horstmayer
Lucas Belvaux	...	Gueusselin
Alex Ferns	...	Gordon
Steven Robertson	...	Jonathan
Frank Witter	...	Jorg
Bernard Le Coq	...	General Audebert
Ian Richardson	...	Bishop
Thomas Schmauser	...	Le Kronprinz

Also Known As:

Merry Christmas (UK) (USA)
Happy Christmas (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for some war violence and a brief scene of sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

UK | France | Germany | Belgium | Romania

Language:

French | German | English | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | UK:12 (video release) | Singapore:M18 | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) | Norway:11 | Sweden:7 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Germany:12 (f) | Singapore:PG (edited version) | Brazil:14 | UK:12A (theatrical release) | USA:R (originial rating) | Ireland:12A | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Nord-Ouest Productions

Trivia:

When Lieutenant Audebert (Guillaume Canet) compliments Horstmayer (Daniel Brühl) on his French, Horstmayer replies, "No honor in that; your wife is not German." At the time, Guillaume Canet was married to German actress Diane Kruger, who also starred in the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Anna and Nikolaus talks about the time they met for the first time, they say "Oslo". Oslo, capitol of Norway, was called Kristiania until 1924.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Enfant francais: Child, upon these maps do heed This black stain to be effaced Omitting it, you would proceed Yet better it in red to trace Later, whatever may come to pass Promise there to go you must To fetch the children of Alsace Reaching out their arms to us May in our fondest France Hope's green saplings to branch And in you, dear child, flower Grow, grow, France awaits its hour.
Enfant anglais: To rid the map of every trace Of Germany and of the Hun We must exterminate that race We must not leave a single one Heed not their children's cries Best slay all now, the women, too Or else someday again they'll rise Which if they're dead, they cannot do.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remake of Simple Gifts (1977) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

The Power of Song as a Gateway of Understanding

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