Joyeux Noël
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| Merry Christmas | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Christian Carion |
| Produced by | Christophe Rossignon |
| Written by | Christian Carion |
| Starring | Benno Fürmann Guillaume Canet Daniel Brühl Diane Kruger |
| Music by | Philippe Rombi |
| Cinematography | Walther van den Ende |
| Editing by | Judith Rivière Kawa Andrea Sedlácková |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics (U.S.A.) |
| Release date(s) | November 9, 2005 (France) November 11, 2005 (U.S.A.) |
| Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | France Germany United Kingdom |
| Language | English French German |
| Budget | ~ $22,000,000 |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Joyeux Noël (English: Merry Christmas) (2005) is a film about the World War I Christmas truce of December 1914, depicted through the eyes of French, Scottish and German soldiers. It was written and directed by Christian Carion.[1]
The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards. The film was originally rated R. However, after film critic Roger Ebert criticized the rating the MPAA officially changed the rating to PG-13. The film was one of Ian Richardson's last appearances before his death on February 9, 2007.
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[edit] Plot
This film is based on the true stories of the 1914 World War I Christmas ceasefires along the Western front.
The story centers upon six main characters: a Scottish priest working as a stretcher-bearer; a Scottish Lieutenant; the French Lieutenant Audebert, the reluctant son of a general, whose call to fight has meant leaving his bedbound pregnant wife; a Jewish German Lieutenant, and two famous opera stars, German tenor Nikolaus Sprink and his Danish lover Anna Sörensen.
Christmas arrives, along with the snow, and bundles of presents from families and the army head office. That night the soldiers' lives on both sides of the trenches are changed forever; drawn together by Christmas spirit, they lay down their arms on December 24, 1914. It all begins when the Scots begin to sing Christmas songs, accompanied by bagpipes, and then Sprink responds by singing for his German comrades and exits his trench with a small Christmas tree singing "Adeste Fideles". He leaves the tree in the middle of no-mans land. The French, German, and Scotish officers meet and agree on a cease-fire for the evening. The various soldiers meet and wish each other "Joyeux Noël," "Frohe Weihnachten" and "Merry Christmas." They exchange photos of loved ones, chocolate, and champagne. The Priest with the Scots says a brief mass and the soldiers retire deeply moved.
The following day the officers have coffee together and decide to "bury their dead on the day Christ was born". After sheltering each other during an artillery barrage, the French, Scottish and German soldiers face the inevitable consequences from their superiors. The Scots are ordered to shoot a French soldier: Ponchel, the local Ch'ti aid to Audebert who is disguised as a German. The French Commander is reprimanded by his General, who happens to be his father, and sent to Verdun as a punishment, while the Germans are shipped to the Eastern Front while singing a Scottish carol they learned during the events which will eventually become the tune for L'Hymne des Fraternisés/ I'm Dreaming Of Home. As their train pulls away the word "Tannenberg" is painted on the side of the cars. This was the site of the great German victory over the Russians--and also referenced in the classic World War I film with a similar theme, the Grand Illusion, but with regards to the German dead and futility of war.
[edit] Cast
- Diane Kruger as Anna Sörensen
- Benno Fürmann as Nikolaus Sprink
- Guillaume Canet as Lieutenant Audebert
- Gary Lewis as Palmer
- Dany Boon as Ponchel
- Daniel Brühl as Horstmayer
- Lucas Belvaux as Gueusselin
- Alex Ferns as Gordon
- Steven Robertson as Jonathan
- Frank Witter as Jorg
- Bernard Le Coq as Général Audebert
- Ian Richardson as Bishop
[edit] Critical reception
Stephen Holden, film critic for The New York Times, liked the motion picture and called it a "visually sweeping film," also believed the drama's anti-war sentiments were high-minded. He wrote, "If the film's sentiments about the madness of war are impeccably high-minded, why then does Joyeux Noël ...feel as squishy and vague as a handsome greeting card declaring peace on earth? Maybe it's because the kind of wars being fought in the 21st century involve religious, ideological and economic differences that go much deeper and feel more resistant to resolution than the European territorial disputes and power struggles that precipitated World War I... Another reason is that the movie's cross-section of soldiers from France, Scotland and Germany are so scrupulously depicted as equal-opportunity peacemakers that they never come fully to life as individuals."[2]
Critic Roger Ebert also wrote about the sentimentality of the film, "Joyeux Noël has its share of bloodshed, especially in a deadly early charge, but the movie is about a respite from carnage, and it lacks the brutal details of films like Paths of Glory ...Its sentimentality is muted by the thought that this moment of peace actually did take place, among men who were punished for it, and who mostly died soon enough afterward. But on one Christmas, they were able to express what has been called, perhaps too optimistically, the brotherhood of man."[3]
[edit] Soundtrack
- "Ave Maria," performed by Natalie Dessay, The London Symphony Orchestra.
- "If you are with me," performed by Natalie Dessay and Rolando Villazon.
- "I'm Dreaming of Home," performed by Griogair Lawrie, David Bruce, Ivan McDonald and Calum Anthony Beaton (Bagpipe Ensemble)
- "The Braes of Killiecrankie," traditional.
- "Piobaireachid dhomhnail dhuibh," traditional.
- "Silent Night"
- "Adeste Fideles," traditional, performed by Roland Villazon (vocals), Griogair Lawrie (bagpipes).
- "Auld Lang Syne," Scottish traditional.
- "L'Hymne des Fraternisés/I'm Dreaming of Home," performed by Scala Opera Chorus, Natalie Dessay, The London Symphony Orchestra.
[edit] Awards
Wins
- Leeds International Film Festival: Audience Award, Best Feature, Christian Carion; 2005.
- Valladolid International Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize, Christian Carion; 2005.
Nominations
- Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, France; 2006.
- Golden Globes: Golden Globe, Best Foreign Language Film, France; 2006.
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, Best Film not in the English Language, Christophe Rossignon and Christian Carion; 2006.
- César Awards, France: César, Best Costume Design (Meilleurs costumes), Alison Forbes-Meyler; Best Film (Meilleur film), Christian Carion; Best Music Written for a Film (Meilleure musique), Philippe Rombi; Best Production Design (Meilleurs décors), Jean-Michel Simonet; Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur second rôle masculin), Dany Boon; Best Writing - Original (Meilleur scénario original), Christian Carion; 2006.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Joyeux Noël at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Holden Stephen. The New York Times, film review, "A Christmas Truce Forged by Germans, French and Scots," March 3, 2006. Last accessed: January 8, 2008.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. Chicago Sun-Times, film review, March 10, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Joyeux Noël at the Internet Movie Database
- Merry Christmas at Allmovie
- Joyeux Noël at Rotten Tomatoes
- Joyeux Noël film review at European-films.net
- Construction of a monument in France (French)
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