War is pretty much the complete opposite of Christmas. The goal at Christmas time is to be happy and bring happiness to others. At times of war however the goal is to beat the other side and make sure they are so unhappy they don't come anywhere near you ever again. So what happens when these two polar opposites meet? Joyeux Noël tries to tell us just that.
The Christmas Story
World War One was a bit of a surprise. No one really knew how long it would last or how many lives it would take. Many of the men shipped off to fight were under the impression that they would be home for Christmas and glory would be theirs in no time at all. So when several months had passed and they were still hunkered down in freezing rat infested trenches and Christmas was only a few days away many of the soldiers were understandably low. In this film we see how a ceasefire was organised by Lieutenants on opposing sides for Christmas Eve and the repercussions of this act. As former enemies come together to share stories and Chocolate you can't help but feel one hell of a Christmas high. All the more powerful is that high as this story is actually true. Charles Dickens wrote the greatest Christmas story of all time (That's not opinion, that is fact) and it is as brilliant as it is because it embraces horror and fear before happiness. You can't be truly happy until you know what it is to be truly miserable. That is exactly what Joyeux Noël does. 5/5
The Voice of Christmas
Palmer is one hell of a Priest. When war is declared he asks if he can join up as a Medic just so he can keep an eye on members of his congregation. He crawls out into no-mans-land to try and help a dying soldier. He even stands his ground in front of his superior, claiming he felt he was doing the work of some higher power.. One hell of a guy. He keeps everyone's morale way up just as the voice of Christmas should and never shakes from his path of piety and can play the bag pipes. 5/5
The Annoying Kid At Christmas
Turns out there isn't even one kid in this film but there is no shortage of annoying people. In reality calling them simply annoying kinda degrades how horrible these people really are. It is war after all. There is the General that gets his own private operatic recital at Christmas and then ships off Soldiers to fight in Russia (For anyone up on there History that doesn't start well for the Germans) Then there is the guy that sneaks into the French barracks just to shout at Audebert. But the worst of them all has to be that massive douchebag of a Priest that tells some new soliders that they have to kill all the Germans, good and bad, young and old, kill them all because they are not even human and God hates them. He is a piece of work. He even tells another Priest off for giving a sermon on Christmas Eve. Now that is pretty evil. 3/5
The Christmas Miracle
It is indeed a miracle that two opposing sides in the theatre of war can come together and stop fighting in the name of Christmas. However, I think the real miracle is that after that they keep the experience with them. Even when everyone is disgusted at what they did and they are being shamed by their superiors or being sent to their certain demise they keep singing. It's one thing to do what they did but another to not deny it but be proud of it. 5/5
The Christmas Message
When it comes down to it we are all the same and there is no point in anger and hatred when we all have an equal capacity for love and generosity. It's either that or when it comes to Christmas we should drop everything and give the closest person and big bear hug. 5/5
Festivity Rating - 23/25
JO
Tomorrow Jingle All The Way Cause Cookies Are Not For Neighbors
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