FILM
Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)
Talk Cinema presentation
It is odd to think that a relative handful of British, French and German soldiers on the front lines of World War I could have foreseen the harmony between those three countries that would only be achieved toward the end of the 20th century.
On Christmas Eve 1914, officers and soldiers who slaughtered each other from trenches barely 100 kilometers apart on a daily basis, put down their weapons to share wine and food, exchange photographs and memories, and play a game of soccer in the snow. It was an extraordinary act of human generosity and humility although later the men's superior officers would regard it as fraternizing with the enemy and make them pay for it.
With a cast of Scottish, German and French actors all speaking their own language, writer-director Christian Carion has fashioned a deeply moving and uplifting piece that should find appreciative audiences everywhere.
That is not to say the film is overly sentimental, only that when war-torn men facing the darkest hell imaginable join to shake hands and smile and sing to the plangent accompaniment of bagpipes, only the sternest eye will remain dry.
Stories from war are often bizarre, and World War I seemed to offer the strangest. Carion's screenplay swiftly sketches the characters who soon become fully formed. There are scenes of great bravery, simple decency and extraordinary humor.
On the German side, there's a famous tenor named Sprink (Benno Furmann) who is called up to serve as a private. His partner, Anna Sorensen (Diane Kruger), conspires to arrange a recital for a Prussian nobleman near the front line so they can be together.
On the British side, there are two brothers Jonathan (Steven Robertson) and William (Robin Laing) who rush to sign up for war, accompanied to their surprise by their local priest, Palmer (Gary Lewis), who registers as stretcher bearer.
The French are led by a talented lieutenant named Audebert (Guillaume Canet) whose superior officer is his father, General Francais (Bernard Le Coq) and whose pregnant wife is at home behind enemy lines.
All three military services send booze and trinkets to their men at the front to give them a forlorn sort of Christmas. The Germans send out 100,000 Christmas trees complete with lights and tinsel.
Palmer starts things off by playing the bagpipes with the Scots joining him in song. Then Sprink, who has taken Sorensen to the trenches to sing for his fellows, responds with the carol "Silent Night," and Palmer accompanies him. Palmer follows with "O Come All Ye Faithful," which Sprink starts to sing and, placing a Christmas tree atop the trench, he climbs up himself risking potential gunfire.
No one fires, and soon the trench is alight with Christmas trees as men on all sides climb out to meet and greet each other. The episode was briefly but brilliantly depicted in Richard Attenborough's 1969 epic "Oh What a Lovely War!" and Carion's film, beautifully shot and acted, fleshes out the story to make it ever more memorable.
Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)
Talk Cinema presentation
It is odd to think that a relative handful of British, French and German soldiers on the front lines of World War I could have foreseen the harmony between those three countries that would only be achieved toward the end of the 20th century.
On Christmas Eve 1914, officers and soldiers who slaughtered each other from trenches barely 100 kilometers apart on a daily basis, put down their weapons to share wine and food, exchange photographs and memories, and play a game of soccer in the snow. It was an extraordinary act of human generosity and humility although later the men's superior officers would regard it as fraternizing with the enemy and make them pay for it.
With a cast of Scottish, German and French actors all speaking their own language, writer-director Christian Carion has fashioned a deeply moving and uplifting piece that should find appreciative audiences everywhere.
That is not to say the film is overly sentimental, only that when war-torn men facing the darkest hell imaginable join to shake hands and smile and sing to the plangent accompaniment of bagpipes, only the sternest eye will remain dry.
Stories from war are often bizarre, and World War I seemed to offer the strangest. Carion's screenplay swiftly sketches the characters who soon become fully formed. There are scenes of great bravery, simple decency and extraordinary humor.
On the German side, there's a famous tenor named Sprink (Benno Furmann) who is called up to serve as a private. His partner, Anna Sorensen (Diane Kruger), conspires to arrange a recital for a Prussian nobleman near the front line so they can be together.
On the British side, there are two brothers Jonathan (Steven Robertson) and William (Robin Laing) who rush to sign up for war, accompanied to their surprise by their local priest, Palmer (Gary Lewis), who registers as stretcher bearer.
The French are led by a talented lieutenant named Audebert (Guillaume Canet) whose superior officer is his father, General Francais (Bernard Le Coq) and whose pregnant wife is at home behind enemy lines.
All three military services send booze and trinkets to their men at the front to give them a forlorn sort of Christmas. The Germans send out 100,000 Christmas trees complete with lights and tinsel.
Palmer starts things off by playing the bagpipes with the Scots joining him in song. Then Sprink, who has taken Sorensen to the trenches to sing for his fellows, responds with the carol "Silent Night," and Palmer accompanies him. Palmer follows with "O Come All Ye Faithful," which Sprink starts to sing and, placing a Christmas tree atop the trench, he climbs up himself risking potential gunfire.
No one fires, and soon the trench is alight with Christmas trees as men on all sides climb out to meet and greet each other. The episode was briefly but brilliantly depicted in Richard Attenborough's 1969 epic "Oh What a Lovely War!" and Carion's film, beautifully shot and acted, fleshes out the story to make it ever more memorable.
posted by D @ 2:16 PM
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