Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Semisonic Let's admit it, we're a rather conflict-loving and aggressive species, willing to spill the blood of our own about any kind of disagreement, however ridiculous. Yet sometimes the matters dividing us yield to the matters uniting.Apparently, that was the case on the Christmas Eve of 1914 somewhere along the front lines of the World War I. Only several months into the course of war, still not entirely broken with its horrors and each other's monstrosity, with the first chemical weapon attacks still to come, people could still view that war as a giant game their nations decided to play, without investing their personal hatred into it. Consider all that, the likelihood of cultural tastes and of religious background, and the Christmas spirit itself - and you would realize that the true events behind the story of Joyeux Noel are much more likely than it would seem at first.This film does avoid the sharp edges here and there, making the story of fraternization among the enemy troops almost inevitable. The officers conveniently know each other's language and have personal motives for softening up towards the enemy, the common soldiers have snacks and booze to exchange, there's even a cat that loves to cross the front line and is beloved on the both sides.But don't let yourself be fooled by this seeming easiness. This is still war, and at no time you might expect people to just drop their weapons and start dancing and singing and hippie loving each other. Even in the most peaceful moments there's some unspoken tension, and there are still people who take things personally and for whom the war has already taken its toll. And that shaky balance between the humanity of you as a person and the duty imposed on you as a soldier is something that Joyeux Noel conveys beautifully.Yet while you are watching this film, you can't help coming back to the same thought over and over again. If there were no orders from above, would those people actually fight each other? Do the common soldiers feel the need to do it, the need to destroy and to kill? And it makes you realize how different the world was a century ago, when Europe was still mostly monarchical and deeply connected from within, with the Kaiser and the Russian Emperor cousins, with no ever-reaching propaganda we have today. That was still the time when the ideological differences might be a major concern somewhere in the higher cabinets, but for the regular people the only major difference was the language - the rest was the same. That implicit unity was destroyed in the flames of two world wars, and then painfully rebuilt. So Europe's been lucky to become the place where wars don't make sense anymore. And that sentiment, "there's no reason to make war on someone who's exactly like you", is probably the most universally understood anti-military recipe our civilization ever created. And at times when war is such a profitable business for some, it's the films like Joyeux Noel that help us not to fall for the agenda of bloodthirstiness again.

SnoopyStyle It's Christmas 1914 with the horrors of trench warfare on the Western Front. Three nationalities have an unauthorized truce. Palmer (Gary Lewis) is the priest from a small Scottish parish. Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) is a German opera singer and Anna Sörensen (Diane Kruger) is his singing partner. French lieutenant Audebert (Guillaume Canet) is being reassigned further back in artillery. He's worried about his pregnant wife caught behind German lines.There is a little bit of action but mostly it's sentimental anti-war feelings. It over-does it a little when everybody moves from one side to the other to avoid the artillery barrage from both sides. They could easily just communicate and hide in their bunkers. The horrors of trench warfare isn't as visceral as the best war movies. It's very sincere but maybe a little too sentimental.

[email protected] I remember seeing this movie in theaters almost 7 years ago, during the Holidays, and falling under its spell almost instantly.The main element of the story, unknown to me at that time, was that soldiers on both sides of the War decided to call a truce on that night. And the following morning. Until...Like the title to this review says: How common sense almost prevailed. Almost. I won't go into spoilers here, I'll simply add that this movie is a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas, and how we need to find hope and common sense in each other in the heart of madness. Considering the recent events in Newtown CT, I think that's more appropriate than ever.The acting is good, but I give special props to Gary Lewis, Dany Boon and Daniel Bruhl in their respective roles. Production values are good too. Best of all, the music.

Sanou_san This film made my thoughts over the old Germany changed. Well I guess somewhere in my subconscious told me that these merciless enemy of the world during the old times were actually as knotted and determined like any other country would fight for their aspirations. Sadly there are millions who are caught in between the warring countries' ambitions and idealisms. And the complicatedly sad truth about it is that those who took part as pawns of the warring countries had in no way desired what they leaders wanted. They're mixed up, confused, longing for their families, scared, lonely and angry.I had this film long before. I just let it sit in my collections not knowing the brilliance it carries. I only owned it in the first place because it's a highly rated foreign film whose translation of German title I don't even know. I had the chance, the isolation to watch this film and it give me the chills over the beauty of the truth I never thought had been part of world history. The film per se is superb. The cast, the settings, and the sounds everything, as typical as they are, but like I always wanted over a film, whether it is cliché or contentious the story stands out. It's totally new to me! Warring countries fraternizing with each other? I mean if you've first heard of it and idiot enough not to think it's clearly impossible to happen. But the instance each party experiences led them to form such truce. It's heartbreaking, bitter sweet, poignant, touching at its best and really beautiful. Indeed nothing more is despicable than those who never thought of the efforts and lives sacrificed for the country's best. The leaders as they may be as necessary as leading the entirety could be as appalling more than the enemy for putting their men in no-man's-land while joyfully feasting over their wealth and safety. I saw through the characters inner thoughts. It was indeed the beauty that led this film as better as it was. I saw "The Pianist" and "Schindler's List", compared the two and filled my thoughts of hatred over the old Germany. But not everything was it seems to be. This film made its light seems ridiculous, impossible but in anyway such impossibility is probable when you know a man's heart speaks truly than they're countries' will.A worth of film certainly. It made me cling to my religion tighter than ever. But really there are those well in the church that seem to know so well but knows nothing at all being in the war could bring forth.