What The Critics Say

"Skilfully directed, acted and shot, the film is unapologetically melodramatic and has every right to be; it's a true story after all." Boyd Van Hoeij EUROPEANFILMS.NET " Daniel Brühl as the humane German Jewish Lieutenant Horstmayer, Dany Boon as Ponchel the French barber who sneaks behind German lines to visit his mother living a short distance from the front, and Gary Lewis as the Anglican minister resolutely serving beside his fallen parishioners are all noteworthy." Avril Carruthers INFILM AUST "The performances are mostly solid, particularly Daniel Bruhl as the German Captain." Fenella Kernebone SBS THEMOVIE SHOW "Joyeux Noel prides itself on being old-fashioned and openly sentimental, yet somehow we surrender to its sometimes naïve charm and allow ourselves to be touched." Bettina Hamilton-Irv MC REVIEWS "Although Joyeux Noel is presented as a fiction, it has an almost fairy tale aura to it – the film is in fact based on an actual event where troops from conflicting sides fraternised on Christmas Day before taking up the business of killing one another. It’s very nicely performed, writer/director Christian Carion in only his second film imbues his characters with both humour and pathos. It’s a film with great humanism and if it’s a little light on true drama or even realism it’s intentions are honourable." Margaret Pomeranz ABC ATTHEMOVIES "It’s hard to believe that this is writer-director Christian Carion’s second feature film. He accomplishes the difficult task of writing a story based on facts, portraying vividly the horror, humanity and humour surrounding those events, skilfully weaving in fictitious elements and delivering a powerful movie as a result. This is a film that is particularly relevant in the present international climate and deserves to be seen no matter what the season." Brigitte Tong THE PROGRAM-MOVIE REVIEWS

The Main Players Anna Sörensen (Diane Krüger)
A Danish Soprano, but more than anything, a woman who will do everything to snatch the man she loves, Nikolaus Sprink, away from the war.
Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) A tenor with a magnificent voice, a regular German soldier at the start of the war, who will give his most beautiful recital on Christmas Eve 1914, on No Man's Land.
Audebert (Guillaume Canet)
A French lieutenant who hides his grief, and fear, from his men who expect everything from him.
Palmer (Gary Lewis)
An Anglican priest who will give his most beautiful Mass on Christmas Eve 1914, on No Man's Land.
Ponchel (Dany Boon)
A barber haunted by the thought of his mother living in a German occupied town a mile away from the frontline.
Horstmayer (Daniel Brühl)
A German Lieutenant raised for war who, thrown off balance by his men's desire for peace, will change.
The French General (Bernard Le Coq)
A man whose profession is war and who will have to deal with those men who have “erred”, including his son, Lieutenant Audebert.
Jonathan (Steven Robertson)
Overwhelmed with grief and locked away in an immense solitude, he could not fraternize on No Man's Land with his companions.
Gordon (Alex Ferns)
As an officer, he tries to control, justify and normalize the fraternizing. But in his heart, he has a secret fascination for the incredible outpouring of humanity.
Gueusselin (Lucas Belvaux)
A French soldier who is afraid of nothing and has nothing to lose from fighting. However, he will be truly touched by this Christmas night. The Inside Story In 1993 director Christian Carion discovered a book: 'Battles of Flanders and Artois 1914-1918', by Yves Buffetaut. The Great War as WW1 was known as, was a subject he says he was very familiar with. Carion revealled he originally came from the North of France. "I grew up," he said, "in one of the ten French territorial departments that for four years, between 1914 and 1918, was under German occupation. Naturally, this important period in History left its mark on the population and the region. I grew up with the memory of the Great War. It was something omnipresent, not merely honored on those inescapable celebrations of Armistice, every November 11. Son of a farmer, I remember as a child how I would carry a shell that had come uncovered in our fields while we were ploughing the land. Even today, papers, various objects and rusted missiles become unearthed from time to time. These objects had belonged to soldiers who were wounded and sometimes buried on the spot." The book 'Battles of Flanders and Artois 1914-1918' revealed "the fraternizing between the enemies, the episode of the German tenor applauded by the French soldiers, a soccer match, the exchange of letters, the Christmas trees, visiting each other's trenches." Carion sent a synopsis off to Christophe Rossignon who, after the success of Carion's film "The Girl From Paris" encouraged Carion to take up the project. In 2002 Christian Carion started writing the screenplay. He searched French, British and German archives coming across he recalls, "a series of astounding news events." He received much help from author Yves Buffetaut who assisted him accessing the archives. "In France, the army is in charge of these files. And though they do not stop one from consulting them, they certainly don't advertise them either. This state of mind seemed like a direct link to the mentality that reigned during the war: during that period, photos taken of the soldiers fraternizing made front-page news in the English press while in France the pictures were requisitioned and destroyed!" Carion says he felt truly imtimidate when writing the story. Many of the characters are real and some are ficticious. One of the real characters was Ponchel, the aide-de-camp. "He was a Chtimi (patois for a person from Northern France), like me," notes Carion. "He was evocation of the French soldier whose house was located behind the German lines. Every evening he had to cross that zone through a breach so he could sleep with his wife and children before he went back to the French trenches early the next morning to fight the war!" And just in case you think the Operatic performance on the front couldn't possibly happened, well think again. "There was also the German tenor who genuinely sang for the French soldiers one Christmas evening. This character was important to me because 90% of the fraternizing happened when people sang. Others listened, responded, applauded. I love the idea that culture, popular songs and music silenced the cannons," he says. And did they really send thousands of Christmas trees to the front? It seems the Germans did! "Thousands of Christmas trees were sent to the German Front that Christmas of 1914. It was supposed to be the soldiers' 'only one spent on the front', and Kaiser William II felt that 'even in times of war, values should be maintained'! One scene didn't make to the screen because, even though it was true, no-one would have believed it because it was so absurd. "This was the case with the story of the cat who roamed from one trench to the other and in the film ended up being imprisoned. In reality, the tom cat was accused of spying and was arrested by the French army and then shot according to regulations! "I wanted to show this in "Joyeux Noel" and filmed the cruel execution scene". And why didn't it make it into the finished film? "It was too much. The audience would have lost interest, never believing that such a thing happened. At risk of repeating myself, this really did happen!" Rest assured though, the film "Joyeux Noel", even with the execution of the spy cat missing, is a very engrossing film to experience. Cast & Crew Bytes "JOYEUX NOEL" stars .......
Diane Krüger ["The Piano Player", "Troy", "Wicker Park" and "National Treasure"]; Guillaume Canet ["The Beach", "Whatever You Say", "Love Me If You Dare" and "Narc"]; Gary Lewis ["My Name is Joe", "Billy Elliot", "Gangs Of New York" and "Cargo"]; Dany Boon ["Le Grand blanc de Lambaréné", "Paroles d'hommes", "Pédale dure" and "The Magic Roundabout"]; Benno Fürmann ["The Warrior and the Empress", "Friends", "Naked" and "My House In Umbria"]; Lucas Belvaux ["No C4 for Daniel-Daniel", "They Call This... Spring", "Three" and "Tomorrow We Move "]; Alex Ferns ["The Ghost and the Darkness" and "Man Dancin'"]; Bernard Le Coq ["Beautiful Memories", "Why (Not) Brazil?", "Le Premier jour" and "Hidden"]; Steven Robertson ["Chess", "The Race", "Inside I'm Dancing" and "Kingdom of Heaven"]; Suzanne Flon ["Children Of The Stork", "A Crime in Paradise", "The Landlords" and "The Flower of Evil "] and Daniel Brühl ["Good Bye Lenin!", "The Edukators", "Ladies In Lavender" and "Cargo"] as Horstmayer.
"JOYEUX NOEL" was .......
directed by Christian Carion ["Monsieur le député" and "The Girl from Paris"]; screenplay by Christian Carion ["Monsieur le député" and "The Girl from Paris"]; costume design by Alison Forbes-Meyler [TV'S "Leonardo" and "Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets"]; production design by Jean-Michel Simonet ["Briganti", "The Girl From Paris" and "Love Me If You Dare"]; cinematography by Walther van den Ende ["1001 films", "No Man's Land", "Science Fiction" and "Romance"]; original music by Phillipe Rombi ["Under the Sand", "Swimming Pool", "Love Me If You Dare" and "Five Times Two"] produced by Christophe Rossignon ["Vertical Ray of the Sun", "Irreversible", "Love Me If You Dare" and "A Sight for Sore Eyes"]. What It's All About Christmas Eve 1914 and troops who have been firing at each other across a barren landscape no more than 100 metres wide call a truce. The weather is bitter, the ground is covered by snow, while the soil and the bodies scattered upon it are frozen together. Troops from opposing forces venture into no-mans land to exchange greetings. An agreement is reached to retrieve their dead and give them a proper burial. The truce is extended during Christmas Day and a friendly soccer match is played. The men exchange stories of family and friends and pray and take their meals together. But war beckons and soon they must return to their respective trenches. The experience has changed the men. They have lost their will to fight each other. When their superior officers find out, drastic action is taken. The Verdict "Yes there is a 'huge' emotional grab in "Joyeux Noel" but then isn't the tragedy of war, and one so bloodied and butchered as WW1, a huge emotional tugger of the heart? Of course it is and if you keep that in mind you'll thoroughly enjoy this take on an incident which happened in France during Christmas 1914. A big hit at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, "Joyeux Noel" carries a timeless message about the futility of war. In all probability "Joyeux Noel" will be lost on younger audiences and therefore will get its best reception from mature viewers. "Joyeux Noel" brings life to the words of Longfellow who said; "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility." Daniel Brühl, Gary Lewis and Guillaume Canet all give solid performances as does Diane Krüger. An emotional journey worth taking! And yes it is based on true events. Recommended viewing." Who's Who?

Daniel Brühl Gary Lewis Dany Boon Lucas Belvaux Diane Krüger Benno Fürmann Guillaume Canet Joachim Bissmeier Marc Robert Friedemann Thiele Johannes Richard Voelkel Bernard Le Coq Alex Ferns Christopher Fulford Michel Serrault Suzanne Flon Robin Laing Thomas Schmauser Frank Witter Ian Richardson Steven Robertson Christian Carion Tom Duncan Mathias Herrmann

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Horstmayer Palmer Ponchel Gueusselin Anna Sörensen Nikolaus Sprink Lieutenant Audebert Zimmermann Guimond Karl Gunther Le général Gordon Le major Le châtelain La châtelaine William Le Kronprinz Jörg L'évêque/Bishop Jonathan Un infirmier Scottish Soldier German Soldier

Directed & Written by Christian Carion Produced by Christophe Rossignon Original Music by Philippe Rombi Cinematography by Walther van den Ende Casting by Sabine Schroth Production Design by Jean-Michel Simonet Costume Design by Alison Forbes-Meyler Run Time 116 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - HOPSCOTCH - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages- All Rights Reserved