[DVD Joyeux]
During the early days of the first World War, really only five months after hostilities began, the French, German and British forces on the battlefield called a truce on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, meeting in the middle of the battlefield to share the task of burying their dead, but also so share small gifts and souvenirs, such as exchanging their helmets with their enemies, and to play impromptu games of soccer and sing Christmas carols.
Joyeux Noel is a 2005 French-language film, nominated for the
Foreign Language Academy Award, which dramatizes this unique moment in the
history of warfare. It features incredible performances from an international
cast, and astonishing attention to the details of set design and costuming.
This cease-fire in 1914 occurred again during Christmas of 1915, but to a much
lesser extent, and the camaraderie disappeared by 1916.
Joyeux Noel humanizes and shows the commonalities of the
participants in a horrific time in world history, and is an excellent piece of
film-making. I highly recommend it, as long as you don’t mind subtitles.
[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Joyeux Noel web site ] [ Wikipedia article on The Christmas Truce ]
Read Becky W.C.’s review of Silent Night:
The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce in
the February 2015 Staff Recommendations on BookGuide!
Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service
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