Joyeux Noël facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Merry Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Christian Carion
Produced by	Christophe Rossignon Benjamin Herrmann
Written by	Christian Carion
Starring	Benno Fürmann Guillaume Canet Daniel Brühl Diane Kruger Gary Lewis Alex Ferns
Music by	Philippe Rombi
Cinematography	Walther Vanden Ende
Editing by	Judith Rivière Kawa Andrea Sedlácková
Distributed by	UGC Fox Distribution (France) Senator Film (Germany) Sony Pictures Classics (United States, Latin America and United Kingdom) Big Bang Media (Belgium) Media Pro Pictures (Romania)
Release date(s)	9 November 2005 (2005-11-09)
Running time	116 minutes
Country	France Germany United Kingdom Belgium Romania
Language	French English German
Budget	$22 million
Money made	$17,709,155

Joyeux Noël means "Merry Christmas" in French. This 2005 war drama film tells a story based on the famous Christmas truce of December 1914. It shows this amazing event through the eyes of French, British, and German soldiers during World War I.

The film was written and directed by Christian Carion. It was shown at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Joyeux Noël was even nominated for "Best Foreign Language Film" at the 78th Academy Awards. The movie is a fictional story, but it's inspired by real events. For example, in December 1914, the German Crown Prince sent a famous singer to the front lines. This singer, Walter Kirchhoff, sang for the soldiers, and French soldiers in their trenches stood up to applaud!

Story of the Film

The movie mainly follows six characters. These include Gordon, a British Lieutenant, and Audebert, a French Lieutenant. There's also Horstmayer, a German Lieutenant. Father Palmer is a Scottish priest who helps wounded soldiers. Finally, there are two famous opera singers: Nikolaus Sprink, a German tenor, and his fiancée, Anna Sørensen, a Danish mezzo-soprano.

The War Begins

The film starts by showing schoolboys giving speeches. These speeches praise their own countries and speak badly about their enemies. In Scotland, two brothers, Jonathan and William, join the army. Their priest, Father Palmer, also joins as a chaplain. In Germany, Sprink, the opera singer, is called to join the army during a performance.

A French soldier named Audebert looks at a photo of his pregnant wife. She lives in a part of France that the Germans have taken over. He gets ready for an attack on the German lines. However, the attack fails, and many French and Scottish soldiers are hurt or killed. Sadly, William, Jonathan's brother, dies in this attack.

Singing on the Front Line

In Germany, Anna gets permission to sing for Crown Prince Wilhelm. Sprink is allowed to go with her. After their performance, Sprink feels bad that the generals are so comfortable. He decides to go back to the front lines to sing for the troops. Anna decides to go with him, even though Sprink first didn't want her to.

The unofficial truce begins when the Scottish soldiers start singing Christmas songs. They play their bagpipes too. Sprink and Sørensen arrive at the German front line. Sprink sings for his fellow soldiers. As he sings "Silent Night", Father Palmer plays along on his bagpipes from the Scottish side.

Sprink then leaves his trench with a small Christmas tree. He sings "Adeste Fideles". Following his lead, Lieutenants Audebert, Horstmayer, and Gordon meet in no-man's-land. This is the empty space between the trenches. They agree to stop fighting for the evening.

A Christmas Truce

The soldiers from different countries meet. They wish each other "Joyeux Noël", "Frohe Weihnachten", and "Merry Christmas". They share chocolate, champagne, and photos of their families. Horstmayer gives Audebert back his wallet, which had a photo of his wife. Audebert had lost it during the attack. They talk about their lives before the war.

Father Palmer holds a short church service for the soldiers. He uses Latin, as was common in the Catholic Church then. The soldiers are deeply moved by this moment. However, Jonathan, who lost his brother, remains sad and doesn't join in the celebrations.

The next morning, the Lieutenants agree to continue the truce. This allows both sides to bury their dead soldiers. After that, they spend the rest of the day being friendly. The soldiers even play football together! Audebert and Horstmayer talk about their memories of Paris and Lens. Horstmayer offers to take a letter to Audebert's wife in Lens.

The Truce Ends

The next day, German forces start shelling the Allied positions. Horstmayer offers to let the French and Scottish soldiers shelter in his trench. Audebert and Gordon return this kindness later. They protect the Germans from their own bombs. Before they part, Audebert and Horstmayer are sad that they can't be friends. They hope they both survive the war. Horstmayer then shares that his wife is French.

Before the bombing, Horstmayer learns that Anna and Sprink left without permission. He tells them that Sprink will be arrested for not obeying orders. As the Germans go back to their trenches, Anna and Sprink stay behind. They ask Audebert to take them as prisoners. This way, they can avoid being separated.

Letters from the German soldiers, which Anna and Sprink were supposed to deliver, are found by military leaders. These letters, along with others from the front, show that the truce happened.

Consequences of the Truce

Father Palmer is sent back to his own church. His group of soldiers is broken up as a punishment. He tries to explain that the truce showed humanity and goodwill. But the bishop scolds him. The bishop then gives a speech to new soldiers. He says Germans are not human and tells the recruits to kill them all. Father Palmer hears this and takes off his cross as he leaves.

Back in the trenches, a furious major orders the Scots to shoot a German soldier. This German is walking into no-man's-land towards the French lines. All the soldiers purposely miss, except for Jonathan. He is still bitter about his brother's death and shoots the German soldier. Audebert rushes out and finds that the soldier is Ponchel, his helper, who is disguised. Ponchel, dying, says that German soldiers helped him visit his mother. He also tells Audebert that he has a young son named Henri.

Audebert is punished by being sent to Verdun. His father, a general, scolds him. But Audebert tells his father that he is not sorry for being friendly with the enemy. He says he is disgusted with people who talk about sacrifice but don't know what it's like in the trenches. He also tells his father about his new grandson, Henri. His father is touched by this news. He suggests they both try to survive the war for Henri.

Horstmayer and his troops are put on a train. The German Crown Prince tells them they are being sent to the Eastern Front. They are not allowed to see their families as they pass through Germany. The Prince stomps on a soldier's harmonica and says Horstmayer doesn't deserve his Iron Cross. As the train leaves, the Germans start humming a Scottish Christmas song they learned from the Scots, "I'm Dreaming of Home".

Cast

• Benno Fürmann (singing voice: Rolando Villazón) as Private Nikolaus Sprink (German tenor) real name Walter Kirchhoff (Berlín;1879 — Wiesbaden; 1951)
• Guillaume Canet as Lieutenant Camille René Audebert (French 26th Infantry Regiment)
• Diane Kruger (singing voice: Natalie Dessay) as Anna Sørensen (Danish soprano, Sprink's wife)
• Gary Lewis as Father Palmer (Scottish priest and stretcher-bearer)
• Alex Ferns as Lieutenant Gordon (Scots Fusiliers)
• Dany Boon as Private Ponchel (Audebert's batman)
• Daniel Brühl as Leutnant (Lieutenant) Horstmayer (German 93rd Infantry Regiment)
• Christian Carion as British Medical Orderly
• Christopher Fulford as Royal Scots Fusiliers Major
• Mathias Herrmann as German Officer at Headquarters
• Neil McNulty as Scottish Soldier
• Lucas Belvaux as Gueusselin
• Steven Robertson as Jonathan
• Suzanne Flon as The Chatelaine
• Bernard Le Coq as Général
• Ian Richardson as the Bishop
• Thomas Schmauser as the Crown Prince

Making the Film

Christian Carion, the director, grew up in Northern France. His family's farm fields often had dangerous unexploded shells from World War I. He also heard stories about French soldiers leaving their trenches at night. They would meet their wives in German-occupied towns and then return to fight the next morning.

Carion said he never learned about the real Christmas truce incidents while growing up in France. The French Army and authorities kept them quiet. They saw these truces as acts of disobedience. A historian later showed him photos and documents from France, Great Britain, and Germany. Carion became very interested.

He tried to show all the soldiers with equal understanding. He believed that "the people on the frontline can understand each other because they are living the same life and suffering the same way." This helped him understand how the truce could have happened. He tried to stick to the real stories. However, he had to change one thing: what happened to a cat that crossed into different trenches. In real life, the cat was accused of spying and shot. But the actors in the movie refused to film this scene. So, in the movie, the cat is just imprisoned instead.

Other Versions

Kevin Puts' 2011 opera called Silent Night is based on the story from the Joyeux Noël film.

Soundtrack

• "Ave Maria", performed by Natalie Dessay, The London Symphony Orchestra
• "Bist du bei mir", 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
• "Silent Night"
• "Adeste Fideles", traditional, performed by Rolando Villazón (vocals), Griogair Lawrie (bagpipes)
• "Auld Lang Syne", Scottish traditional
• "L'Hymne des Fraternisés/I'm Dreaming of Home", performed by Scala & Kolacny Brothers, Natalie Dessay, The London Symphony Orchestra

Awards

See also

In Spanish: Joyeux Noël para niños

• List of Christmas films