A Review - Joyeux Noël

Joyeux Noël

A truth forgotten by history

Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) is a French historical movie, set during the First World War, that tells the astonishing story of the truce that happened at Christmas 1914. In more than one point of the western front there was a ceasefire between the trenches - a real and proper miracle. The movie follows the story of three lieutenants, a Scotsman, a Frenchman, and a German. They decide to lay down their weapons for the night of Christmas Eve, and the truce lasts for more than one day.

The characters, the main ones and those less prominent, are all interesting and well-developed, with a deep psychology and a human irrational side that always comes out and in which every viewer can recognise himself. Between two of the lieutenants, the Frenchman and the German who are the youngest ones, grows a natural and spontaneous friendship that unfortunately is not going to last so long, because like the Scottish lieutenant says “The war won’t forget about us”.

It’s a moving and sad story, with a good cast and a beautiful soundtrack. There’s not so much music though, but the few pieces you can hear are powerful and touching. And it doesn't have too many dialogues either, it just lets you understand and feel what is not said.

I recommend this movie to anyone who’s interested in history, and would like to see a movie a little bit different from the big Hollywood blockbusters. It’s a powerful movie, that tells us a real story that had been hidden from governments for decades, but that no one should ever forget.