Did you watch the movie 'Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noël)'?

Did you watch the movie 'Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noël)'?

 

 

Do you like movies?

Today, I introduce one movie

'Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noël)'

 It is the one of the famous movies of anti-war.

Directed by Christian Carlon
An extraordinary film

about a miraculous occurrence

during Christmas in World War I

when men laid down their arms and fraternized with the enemy.
 

 



 

Merry Christmas (France) - 78th Academy Awards - Best Foreign Movie Nominee [2006] - Trailer

 

 

Synopsis

The year is 1914, and as World War I continues to rage across the European countryside, four individuals stuck on the front lines find themselves faced with the unthinkable in director Christian Carion's Academy Award-nominated account of the true-life wartime event that would offer hope for peace in mankind's darkest hour.

 

When the war machines began rolling in the summer of 1914, the devastation that it waged upon German, British, and French troops was palpable. As the winter winds began to blow and the soldiers sat huddled in their trenches awaiting the generous Christmas care packages sent by the families, the sounds of warfare took a momentary backseat to the yearning for brotherhood among all of mankind. It is here that the fate of a French lieutenant, a Scottish priest, a German tenor, and a Danish soprano's lives were about to be changed forever.
 

On Christmas Eve of that year, the lonely souls of the front lines abandoned their arms to reach out to their enemies on the battlefield and greet them with not anger or hostility, but with the simple, kindly gesture of a much needed cigarette or a treasured piece of chocolate, and to put their differences aside long enough to wish their brothers a sincere "Merry Christmas!" ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

 

by http://www.fandango.com/merrychristmas_92932/plotsummary

  

Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

 

In 1914 Scottish brothers William (Robin Laing) and Jonathan (Steven Robertson) excitedly enlist to fight in World War I; they are looking forward to what they regard as an adventure. Palmer (Gary Lewis), their Anglican minister, goes to the front with them as a stretcher-bearer. In Berlin, Germany, a military official interrupts a performance at the opera house to announce that the country is at war.
 
Tenor Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Furmann; songs performed by Rolando Villazon) is drafted; his lover, Anna Sorensen (Diane Kruger; songs performed by Rolando Villazon), a famous soprano, knows that their lives will never be the same again.

 

Meanwhile, French Lieutenant Audebert (Guillaume Canet) prepares to leave for the front lines without knowing whether his wife, left in German territory, has given birth to their child.
 

None of these men is prepared for the senseless barbarity of what is to come. Audebert's French troops and a Scottish regiment led by Gordon (Alex Ferns) live in muddy trenches just a few yards from the German lines commanded by Horstmayer (Daniel Bruhl). Many of them die in a senseless charge toward the Germans, who use machine guns to mow them down. A Scottish soldier tries to carry his wounded brother to safety but has to leave him to die in the no-man's land between the trenches.

 

 

As Christmas nears, the German command sends Christmas trees with lights and tinsel to their troops. The Scottish and French troops receive packages with liquor and trinkets. Anna Sorensen, the opera singer, uses her beauty and charm to get Sprink brought from the front to join her for a concert at German headquarters.

 

Afterwards, he convinces her to return with him to the trenches to sing to his comrades.

Meanwhile, on the French and Scottish side, Palmer tries to lift the men's spirits with a rendition of "Dreaming of Home" played on the bagpipes.

In the German trenches, with Anna standing by him, Sprink sings "Silent Night." He follows this classic with "O Come All Ye Fatihful," and Palmer joins him with bagpipe accompaniment. The tenor then grabs a Christmas tree and while singing walks toward the enemy.
 

 

 

No shots are fired, and soon the men from Scotland, France, and Germany have laid down their arms and are feeling the Christmas spirit of sharing and joy.
 

While the commanders drink champagne together, others show pictures of their wives and children and share treats from home, including chocolate.
Palmer gathers them for a mass, and Anna sings "Ave Maria."
 

It is a moment of true communion and beauty.

 

 

"How true; it is the soldiers on the ground who most want peace.
 

This movie reverberates in our hearts as we realize that these messages are relevant to present-day situations."

 

by http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/15230

 

by http://www.moviesbydecade.com/2005/Joyeux_Noel.html

 



This scene is unbelievable. Benno Furmann pulls it off with great emotion.

One of the things that make this scene so incredible is the intensity of the fighting and shelling that was going on only hours before.

And now, suddenly, peace. And not just peace, but camaraderie. For the rest of the night, and into the following day, the men share food and drink, games, letters and even Mass.

They also bury their dead. They even share their trenches when the shelling starts back up, to protect each other from their own armies' attacks.
 

by http://www.moviesbydecade.com/2005/Joyeux_Noel.html

 

Most memorable lines:

 

"We were talking about a cease fire, for Christmas Eve. What do you think? The outcome of this war wont be decided tonight. I don't think anyone would criticize us for laying down our rifles on Christmas Eve."

 

- Gordon (Scottish Commander)