Barnes & Noble

In wartime, does shared humanity trump duty? Based on authentic incidents from World War I, writer-director Christian Carion’s emotionally rich period drama attempts to answer that age-old question. Enemies are juxtaposed: the Scottish brothers Jonathan (Steven Robertson) and William (Robin Laing) with Nikolaus (Benno Furmann), a famed German tenor. The horrors of war take their toll, but a brief truce is called for Christmas Eve; soon the German singer and Scottish bagpipers join to make beautiful music from their separate outposts. The mortal adversaries begin fraternizing, but night passes all too quickly. Christmas Day presents an ethical dilemma: Where does holiday spirit end and treason begin? The production is well served by accurate period detail and skillful location shooting in France, Romania, Germany, and Scotland. It’s a tribute to Carion’s vision and sensitivity that the Oscar-nominated Joyeux Noel transforms the potentially maudlin into the profoundly affecting. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

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

Product Details

• UPC: 043396150997
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Deutsche
• Subtitles: English, Español, Portugais
• Time: 1:56:00
• Sales Rank: 1,474

Features:

DVD MENU