BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

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.

juneebuggy This was pretty good, a Christmas movie without all the commercialism and clichés. I liked how this started out in modern times with a grandfather telling his story and then we see him as a young boy with his mother during WW2.He and his mother (played by a mostly German speaking and almost unrecognizable Linda Hamilton) have taken refuge in a cabin which is invaded by American and then German soldiers. She persuades them to lay down their weapons and break bread together, pooling their meager rations for a Christmas eve feast.This did come across a bit far fetched at times, in regards to how quickly the men said "okay" to leaving their guns outside and bonding over pineapple pudding but on the same note they ended up having a lot in common. The 15 year old German boy-soldier was particularly heart wrenching. This has been based on real events which makes me like it even more. Rough time in history for so many people. 12.26.13

kimfoto For producing this quality little gem. I've grown pretty tired lately of the poorly-written fluff that passes as "holiday entertainment" this time of year. I'm a WWII buff as well, so I was happy to see this theme so appropriately and meaningfully depicted in this special television event. There are only three other Christmas classics in my collection-- "Scrooge" starring Alistair Sim ( the only true 'Scrooge' in my opinion, everyone else is just trying to keep step)-- Willy Wilder's "Ben Hur" (containing the greatest single action sequence in history, Heston's chariot race), and another wonderful surprise for me, Jim Carrey doing a star turn in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (like Mr. Sim, no one else in Hollywood possessed the necessary skills to do these roles justice). But, I'm happy to say, "Silent Night" has taken it's rightful place of honor in my sadly minescule collection. I was most surprised with Linda Hamilton's effective German accent in the telling, and the forceful performance and singular power of Martin Neufeld playing the over-zealous German Lieutenant as a dramatic counterpoint. I'm only surprised that apparently none of the cast outside of Hamilton ever achieved much bigger screen success as a result. Welcome to Hollywood.

Michael DeZubiria There is a scene early in Silent Night that I thought was indicative of a profoundly cheesy war film that was to follow. A couple American soldiers are passing through a snowy wood when they come across a young German boy. One soldier calls the kid "my friend," and the kid mutters a well-rehearsed line about how they are not friends and never will be, at which point the American soldier gives him a heartwarming speech about how the radio has been deceiving them, and that they are not his enemy, Hitler is. This is a level of preposterous cheesiness that almost reaches propaganda, but even though a German country woman talks some American and German soldiers into disarming and spending some quality time together, it turns out to be a lot better than I expected.Linda Hamilton plays Elisabeth Vincken, a German widow who lost one son and probably her husband (he's only a cook but has been missing for months), and is now living in a small cabin in the woods with her 12-year-old son Fritz, who she is protecting from compulsory military service. Two American and two German soldiers have a confrontation just outside her cabin, and she demands that they leave their weapons outside if they want to take shelter in her home.My initial reaction was that I was not going to be able to tolerate Linda Hamilton speaking German (followed by her German accent, after they switched to English), but the movie deals with many of the difficult realities of war, despite a feeling of being unrealistic. My understanding, however, is that it's based on a true story (which has already been brought to the screen multiple times), but either way, it deals with the fact that wars are fought by guys on both sides that just want to survive and go home safely to their families. One of my favorite scenes in the movie shows the soldiers on both sides compiling all the food they have on them in preparation for their first meal together. It's a perfect way to humanize a bunch of guys with guns, especially when one of the German soldiers has a small package of cookies that his wife made him. A doting wife baking cookies is not exactly the kind of image that Hollywood has taught us to associate with the soldiers of Nazi Germany, but it is undeniably true. Essentially the movie is the story of a small group of "enemies" in World War II who decided to make a temporary truce with each other in honor of Christmas Day. This is a premise fraught with potential pitfalls, but by staying away from confectionery clichés it manages to come across as a disarming analysis of the politicians that create wars and the young men that fight them.

Razalia_Queen While movies made solely for television generally have a stereotype for being mediocre, this outstanding movie breaks records easily. It covers a true story, of a boy during WWII with his not so traditional mother. It tells the story of how soldiers of both sides come to share a Christmas with them.One of my favorite aspects of this film was that it did not have the excess violence, gore, profanity, etc. It seemed to me that it was just an honest, down-to-earth type. It is not made up of thousands of dollars worth of special effects or an hour and a half of cars being blown up. The characters are not overly evil, good, or perfect. They acted as if they were the actual people that the events had happened to. Wonderful acting, I think.The storyline is filled with twists and turns, heart-breaking moments and even a little humor. It is a perfect film for any family, especially during the holidays. I am sure if someone got real nitpicky there are a few errors, but to me, everything is pretty darn close to being perfect. I sincerely recommend it to someone looking for a truly good film.**I suggest that you google "Fritz Vincken" after watching the movie. There are numerous interviews with him about the real events and his life after the war ended. I find them very inspiring.