Joyeux Noël

It’s not bad but it could have been so much better. The director and screenwriter in one person failed to create interesting characters, and as a result, the potentially compelling story loses a lot. But if you are easily moved, you won't regret paying for a ticket. I wouldn't watch it a second time for any reason, though. (09.12.2006)

The film delves into a well-known episode of the First World War, one that disrupted the peaceful slumber of the higher command on both sides of the Western Front. For a front-line commander, there's nothing worse than soldiers realizing that the enemy in the trenches isn't all that different from themselves. When ordinary soldiers start seeing their foes as fellow human beings despite all the indoctrination, morale takes a nosedive, something that must be promptly prevented. This could have been a fantastic film if the creators had taken a more restrained approach. Instead, it veered into a realm of melodrama and clichés, gradually morphing into what felt like a farce. The final switch of trenches was the tipping point. Yes, war is chaotic, message received, but if the creators had presented it to me without unnecessary silliness, I could have appreciated their effort more and rated it higher. (05.03.2022)

Cheap and calculating. But it really happened (and the fact that it wasn’t all so black and white doesn’t really matter. I don’t know if it is just because it’s Christmastide, but despite all three nations’ talent at speaking Czech (thanks to the awful dubbing), this Sunday evening story from the front moved me. Not much, but a little. Perhaps it’s because I can recall the situation from a different, and better movie. Including one excellent British (?) documentary about it. (23.12.2008)