Director Brian Skiba's World War II romance "Christmas Truce" is preposterous in just about every way imaginable. Nevertheless, "Merry Ex-Mas" writer Alexandra Julson and he-this represents their second film together-manage to pull off this tearjerker with loads of sincerity. First, the story takes place during the Battle of the Bulge, when damned few Allied planes were aloft. Had Allied airpower flocked across the skies, Hitler's last desperate gamble to stalemate the war would have been crushed much faster. In this made-for-television your, an American, Captain John Myers (Craig Olejnik of "Thir13en Ghosts") is accompanied by two Allied agents who are going to masquerade as Germans, bail out over occupied enemy territory, and blast two bridges that the Germans are using to spearhead their advance. Anybody who knows anything about the Bulge knows that the Germans had infiltrated American lines with their own men masquerading as Americans and had turned everything into chaos by sending the army in different directions. The Germans surprised the Americans, and General Patton had to haul ass to save the encircled American Army from annihilation. Foul weather and German anti-aircraft riddle the C-47 and the plane crashes. All but one of our heroes bail out to safety, but an African-American airman, Jenson (Eli Goree of "Race"), injures his leg on the way down. Happily, a bespectacled doctor Lieutenant Berkowitz (Adam DiMarco of "When We Rise") who has been itching for some combat, happens to be along, and he keeps Jenson alive. The problem now is that one of the Allied soldiers dispatched to impersonate a German soldier is dead. Moreover, Captain Myers is seriously committed to the welfare of his men. He sets out to find somewhere for Jenson to ride out the night before they resume their mission.
They wind up in a stable at a remote farm on the week of Christmas. Myers meets the woman of his dreams, an attractive Belgium bachelorette, Alina Hammond (Ali Liebert of "Wonder") who lives with her mother, Helen (Kate Vernon of "Pretty in Pink"), by themselves. Helen's husband has gone missing, so the two women must hold the farm together. Happily, they are reunited with him after the war. Anyhow, Helen cautions her daughter about the problem with getting romantic with soldiers. She got romantic with a French soldier, and she never saw him again. Alina persuades her mom to let the Americans spend the night. One thing leads to another and Alina and Myers become an item of sorts. They try to go to bed one evening, but the unwitting Helen intervenes and keeps them apart. Meanwhile, the Germans are crawling like ants over the countryside. They almost catch Alina with Myers after the two lovebirds have gone out to chop down a Christmas tree. At this point, things grow complicated, and Lieutenant Berkowitz and Jenson are captured by a German patrol. The German officer-in-command, a stern looking customer named Oberst Josef Braun (Josh Blacker of "Elysium") takes these Americans into custody about the same time that an American fighter strafes the car carrying his wife and son. Braun's wife Lilly Braun (Elise Gatien of "Fifty Shades of Gray") is wounded, and Berkowitz manages to save her life. Meanwhile, Myers rescues Braun's son Phillip (Luke Roessler of "Legion") from a car before it blows up. When all of this mayhem occurs, the small French village is about to celebrate Christmas. Oberst Braun decides to call a truce and let enemies sit down and enjoy 24 hours of peace.
Combat war movie aficionados will probably want to shun this tearjerker, not only because there isn't that much firefighting going on, but also because things get somewhat sappy at the end. Suffice to say, "Christmas Truce" was far better than I expected, didn't wear out its welcome, and was sincere enough in every respect despite its appalling historical inaccuracies.
They wind up in a stable at a remote farm on the week of Christmas. Myers meets the woman of his dreams, an attractive Belgium bachelorette, Alina Hammond (Ali Liebert of "Wonder") who lives with her mother, Helen (Kate Vernon of "Pretty in Pink"), by themselves. Helen's husband has gone missing, so the two women must hold the farm together. Happily, they are reunited with him after the war. Anyhow, Helen cautions her daughter about the problem with getting romantic with soldiers. She got romantic with a French soldier, and she never saw him again. Alina persuades her mom to let the Americans spend the night. One thing leads to another and Alina and Myers become an item of sorts. They try to go to bed one evening, but the unwitting Helen intervenes and keeps them apart. Meanwhile, the Germans are crawling like ants over the countryside. They almost catch Alina with Myers after the two lovebirds have gone out to chop down a Christmas tree. At this point, things grow complicated, and Lieutenant Berkowitz and Jenson are captured by a German patrol. The German officer-in-command, a stern looking customer named Oberst Josef Braun (Josh Blacker of "Elysium") takes these Americans into custody about the same time that an American fighter strafes the car carrying his wife and son. Braun's wife Lilly Braun (Elise Gatien of "Fifty Shades of Gray") is wounded, and Berkowitz manages to save her life. Meanwhile, Myers rescues Braun's son Phillip (Luke Roessler of "Legion") from a car before it blows up. When all of this mayhem occurs, the small French village is about to celebrate Christmas. Oberst Braun decides to call a truce and let enemies sit down and enjoy 24 hours of peace.
Combat war movie aficionados will probably want to shun this tearjerker, not only because there isn't that much firefighting going on, but also because things get somewhat sappy at the end. Suffice to say, "Christmas Truce" was far better than I expected, didn't wear out its welcome, and was sincere enough in every respect despite its appalling historical inaccuracies.
