:''Joyeux Noël means Merry Christmas in French. For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation) and Merry Christmas (disambiguation)'' ''Joyeux Noël'' ( English: ''Merry Christmas'') is a 2005

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

based on the

Christmas truce The Christmas truce (; ; ) was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front of the First World War around Christmas 1914. The truce occurred five months after hostilities had begun. Lulls occurred in the fighting a ...

of December 1914, depicted through the eyes of French,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

soldiers. It was written and directed by

Christian Carion Christian Carion (born 4 January 1963) is a French film director, dialogue writer and screenwriter, gaining international attention for '' Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas)'', which was nominated for several awards, including the 2005 Academy Awar ...

, and screened out of competition at the

2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica served as jury president for the main competition. Cécile de France hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Belgian filmmakers D ...

. The film, which includes one of the last appearances of

Ian Richardson Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy, as well as the pivot ...

before his death, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the

78th Academy Awards The 78th Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, P ...

. It is a fictionalised account of an actual event that took place in December 1914, when

Wilhelm, German Crown Prince Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last German emperor, Wilhelm II, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, an ...

, sent the lead singer of the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Imperial Opera company on a solo visit to the

front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an Military, armed force's Military personnel, personnel and Military technology, equipment, usually referring to ...

. Singing by the

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

, Walter Kirchhoff, to the 120th and 124th Württemberg regiments led Scottish soldiers in their trenches to stand up and applaud.

Plot

The story centres mainly upon six characters: Gordon (a Lieutenant of the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

); Audebert (a French Lieutenant in the 26th Infantry and reluctant son of a general); Horstmayer (a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

German Lieutenant of the 93rd Infantry); Father Palmer (a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

priest working as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

and stretcher-bearer); and two famous

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

stars, German

Nikolaus Sprink (based on Walter Kirchhoff) and his Danish fiancée,

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Anna Sørensen. The film begins with scenes of schoolboys reciting patriotic speeches that both praise their countries and condemn their enemies. In Scotland, two young brothers, Jonathan and William, join up to fight, followed by their

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, Father Palmer, who becomes a

. In Germany, Sprink is interrupted during a performance by a German officer announcing a reserve call up. French soldier Audebert looks at a photograph of his pregnant wife, whom he has had to leave behind (in the occupied part of France, just in front of his trench), and prepares to exit into the trenches for an Allied assault on German lines. However, the assault fails, with the French and British taking many casualties while William loses his life. In Germany, Anna gets permission to perform for Crown Prince Wilhelm, and Sprink is allowed to accompany her. They spend a night together and then perform. Afterward, Sprink expresses bitterness at the comfort of the generals at their headquarters and resolves to go back to the front to sing for the troops. Sprink initially opposes Anna's decision to go with him, but he agrees shortly afterward. The unofficial truce begins when the Scots begin to sing festive songs and songs from home, accompanied by

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

. Sprink and Sørensen arrive on the German front line, and Sprink sings for his comrades. As Sprink sings "

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

", he is accompanied by Father Palmer's bagpipes from the Scottish front line. Sprink responds to Palmer and exits his trench with a small Christmas tree, singing " Adeste Fideles". Following Sprink's lead, Audebert, Horstmayer, and Gordon meet in no-man's-land and agree on a

cease-fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

for the evening. The various soldiers meet and wish each other "Joyeux Noël", "Frohe Weihnachten", and "Merry Christmas". They exchange chocolate, champagne, and photographs of loved ones. Horstmayer gives Audebert back his wallet containing a photograph of his wife, which was lost in the attack a few days prior, and they connect over pre-war memories. Father Palmer celebrates a brief

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

for the soldiers (in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

as was the practice in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

at that time), and the soldiers retire deeply moved. However, Jonathan remains totally unmoved by the events around him, choosing to grieve for his brother. The following morning, the Lieutenants agree to extend the truce to allow each side to bury their dead, followed by cordial fraternisation for the rest of the day. As their soldiers play football, Audebert and Horstmayer sympathise, speaking in French of their memories of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

, and their families. Horstmayer offers to take a letter to Lens for Audebert's wife. The next day, as the German forces shell the Allied position, Horstmayer offers to shelter the French and British soldiers in his trench, an offer Audebert and Gordon return to protect the Germans from their own retaliatory bombing. Before parting, aware that the truce has now truly ended, Audebert and Horstmayer lament that they cannot be friends, and hope that they both survive the war. As Audebert compliments Horstmayer on his French, the German reveals that his wife is French. Prior to the bombing, Horstmayer learns that Anna and Sprink left without the German superior's assent to entertain fellow front soldiers and informs both that Sprink is going to be arrested for disobedience. As the Germans regain their trenches, Anna and Sprink remain behind and ask Audebert to take them as captives, in order to avoid separation. Letters that they hand over to him from the German soldiers (who had been hoping Anna would deliver them when she returned to

), as well as letters from soldiers all across the front, are intercepted by military authorities, revealing that the truce had occurred. Father Palmer is being sent back to his own parish and his battalion is disbanded as a mark of shame. Despite emphasising the humanity and goodwill of the truce, he is rebuked by the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, who then preaches an anti-German sermon to new recruits, in which he describes the Germans as inhumane and commands the recruits to kill every one of them. Father Palmer overhears the sermon and removes his cross as he leaves. Back in the trenches, the Scots are ordered by a furious English major (who is angered by the truce) to shoot a German soldier who is entering no-man's-land and crossing towards French lines. All of the soldiers deliberately miss in response, except the bitter Jonathan, who shoots the targeted German soldier. Audebert, hearing the familiar alarm clock ringing outside, rushes out and discovers that the soldier is a disguised Ponchel, his

batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

. With his dying words, Ponchel reveals he gained help from the German soldiers, visited his mother, and had coffee with her. He also informs Audebert that he has a young son named Henri. Audebert is punished by being sent to

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

, and he receives a dressing down from his father, a general. In a culminating rant, young Audebert upbraids his father, expressing no remorse at the fraternisation at the front, and his disgust for civilians and superiors who talk of sacrifice but know nothing of the struggle in the trenches. He also informs the general about his new grandson Henri. Moved by this revelation, the general then recommends they "both try and survive this war for him". Horstmayer and his troops, who are confined in a train, are informed by the German Crown Prince that they are to be shipped to the Eastern Front, without permission to see their families as they pass through Germany. He then stomps on Jörg's harmonica and says that Horstmayer does not deserve his

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

. As the train departs, the Germans start humming a carol they learnt from the Scots. (The carol in question, "''L'Hymne des Fraternisés''" / "I'm Dreaming of Home", is in fact a modern composition by Lori Barth and Philippe Rombi.)

Cast

* Benno Fürmann (singing voice: Rolando Villazón) as Private Nikolaus Sprink (German tenor) real name Walter Kirchhoff (Berlín;1879 — Wiesbaden; 1951) *

Guillaume Canet Guillaume Canet (; born 10 April 1973) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, and Show jumping, show jumper. Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like ''Joyeux Noël'', ...

as Lieutenant Camille René Audebert (French 26th Infantry Regiment) *

Diane Kruger Diane Kruger (; Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German actress. Early in her career, she gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival. Kruger became known for her roles in films such as ...

(singing voice: Natalie Dessay) as Anna Sørensen (Danish soprano, Sprink's wife) * Gary Lewis as Father Palmer (Scottish priest and stretcher-bearer) *

Alex Ferns Alexander Ferns (born 13 October 1968) is a Scottish actor and television personality. His role in ''EastEnders'' as Trevor Morgan from 2000 to 2002 was described as "Britain's most-hated soap villain". He also played the role of Rick Harper ...

as Lieutenant Gordon (Scots Fusiliers) * Dany Boon as Private Ponchel (Audebert's batman) *

Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González (; ; born 16 June 1978) is a German and Spanish actor. He has received various accolades, including three European Film Awards and three German Film Awards, along with nominations for two Golden Globe Awar ...

as Leutnant (Lieutenant) Horstmayer (German 93rd Infantry Regiment) *

as British Medical Orderly *

Christopher Fulford Christopher Fulford (born 1955) is a British actor who is best known for his supporting roles in many British TV shows, one of the earliest being punk Alex in the short lived sitcom '' Sorry, I'm a Stranger Here Myself'' (1981–82). Career Ful ...

as Royal Scots Fusiliers Major * Mathias Herrmann as German Officer at Headquarters * Neil McNulty as Scottish Soldier *

Lucas Belvaux Lucas Belvaux (; born 14 November 1961) is a Belgian actor and film director. His directing credits include the ''Trilogie'', consisting of three films with interlocking stories and characters, each of which was filmed in a different genre. The ...

as Gueusselin * Steven Robertson as Jonathan *

Suzanne Flon Suzanne Flon (28 January 1918 – 15 June 2005) was a French people, French stage, film, and television actress. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the 1961 film ''Tu ne tueras point, Thou Shalt Not Kill''. Flon also re ...

as The Chatelaine * Bernard Le Coq as Général *

as the Bishop * Thomas Schmauser as the Crown Prince

Development and production

Carion's youth was spent in his parents' farm fields in Northern France, where he was constantly reminded of World War I as the family often found dangerous unexploded shells left over from the conflicts in the fields. He had also heard of the stories in which French soldiers would leave their trenches at night to meet with their wives in the surrounding German-occupied towns and return to fight the next morning. Carion stated that he'd never heard of the actual Christmas truce incidents while growing up in France, as the French Army and authorities suppressed them, having been viewed as an act of disobedience. He was introduced to the stories via a historian who showed him photos and documents archived in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and became fascinated. He tried to portray all of the soldiers with equal sympathy, as "the people on the frontline can understand each other because they are living the same life and suffering the same way", so he could understand how the truce could have come about. He endeavored to stay true to the real stories, but one of the things he had to change was the fate of the cat that crossed into various trenches. In reality, the cat was accused of spying, arrested by the French Army and then shot by a

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

, as an actual traitor would have been. The extras in the movie refused to participate in this scene, so it was amended to have the cat imprisoned.

Adaptations

Kevin Puts' 2011 opera ''

'' is based on the ''Joyeux Noël'' screenplay.

Soundtrack

* "Ave Maria", performed by Natalie Dessay, The London Symphony Orchestra * "

Bist du bei mir "" (If you are with me, I go with joy) is an aria from Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel's opera ''Diomedes'', which was first staged on 16 November 1718. The aria is best known as "," Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, BWV 508, a version for voice and basso ...

", performed by Natalie Dessay and Rolando Villazón * "I'm Dreaming of Home", performed by Griogair Lawrie, David Bruce, Ivan MacDonald and Calum Anthony Beaton (Bagpipe Ensemble) * " The Braes of Killiecrankie", traditional * Piobaireachd – "The Cloth of Gold", traditional * "Piobaireachd of Donald Dubh", traditional * "

" * " Adeste Fideles", traditional, performed by Rolando Villazón (vocals), Griogair Lawrie (bagpipes) * "

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" () is a Scottish song. In the English-speaking world, it is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay/New Year's Eve. It is also often heard at funerals, graduations, and as a far ...

", Scottish traditional * "L'Hymne des Fraternisés/I'm Dreaming of Home", performed by

Scala & Kolacny Brothers Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian women's choir conducted by Stijn Kolacny, and arranged and accompanied by Steven Kolacny on the piano. They have released five studio albums (in multiple languages), starting with ''On the Rocks'' in, 200 ...

, Natalie Dessay, The London Symphony Orchestra

Reception

Critical response

''Joyeux Noël'' has an approval rating of 74% on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 112 reviews, and an average rating of 6.8/10.The website's critical consensus states, "The poignant humanity on display in ''Joyeux Noël'' makes its sentimentality forgivable".

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

, film critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

,'' liked the motion picture and wrote, "If the film's sentiments about the madness of war are impeccably high-minded, why then does ''Joyeux Noël'' ...feel as squishy and vague as a handsome greeting card declaring peace on earth? Maybe it's because the kind of wars being fought in the 21st century involve religious, ideological and economic differences that go much deeper and feel more resistant to resolution than the European territorial disputes and power struggles that precipitated World War I... Another reason is that the movie's cross-section of soldiers from France, Scotland and Germany are so scrupulously depicted as equal-opportunity peacemakers that they never come fully to life as individuals." Critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

also wrote about the sentimentality of the film, "''Joyeux Noël'' has its share of bloodshed, especially in a deadly early charge, but the movie is about a respite from carnage, and it lacks the brutal details of films like ''

Paths of Glory ''Paths of Glory'' is a 1957 American anti-war film directed by Stanley Kubrick, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson. It is adapted from the 1935 novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb, which in turn was ...

'' ...Its sentimentality is muted by the thought that this moment of peace actually did take place, among men who were punished for it, and who mostly died soon enough afterward. But on one Christmas, they were able to express what has been called, perhaps too optimistically, the brotherhood of man."

Awards

References

External links

* * * *
Construction of a monument in France
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