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Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > War > Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)

Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C-     Film: C+

 

 

In time for the holiday, Sony is issuing Christian Carion’s 2005 film Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) that once again tries to tell us about the story about how opposing sides in the battle trenches of WWI were still under enough of a “grand illusion” of gentleman-at-war that they were able to take a break around Christmas-time and play games!

 

It has become the stuff of propaganda as if the holiday can magically bring world peace and though the film is somewhat of a mythbreaker; it is hardly a deep mediation on what really happened and does not make any kind of deep examination of the situation thereof.  It simply spends nearly two hours somewhat recreating what it must have been like when it did happen.  Its cast of mostly unknowns is good, but it makes WWI look too clean, resulting in a film that misses what really happened and thinks only recreating the time period is sufficient.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is nicely shot by Walther Vanden Ende, but his cinematography is more interested in the beauty of the snow than the gritty realities of WWI, especially the trenches.  The result is a strange visual language that does not know if it is being romantic, being “realistic” or trying to create aspects of holiday spirit.  That is much like the script itself.  At least the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not bad and has a naturalistic soundfield.  Carion does both and on-camera interview and feature-length audio commentary, which are intelligent enough.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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