Joyeux Noël 2005

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: The movie deftly and subtly limns the precarious line between basic human goodwill and institutionalized hatred. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: It's a marvelously entertaining history lesson -- glossy, emotional and touching. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: A poignant and rousing carol for peace. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Ultimately it fades away quickly from memory; a sad fate for a good story. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The true story here is so astonishing that there was no need for the film to resort to obvious dialogue (the characters keep spelling out what we have just seen) or heavy-handed characters. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Profound, beautifully made and deeply touching. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Some might castigate its unabashed sentimentality, but I found myself moved, especially when I recalled that this was supposedly the war to end all wars. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: Writer/Director Christian Carion wrings every drop of emotion possible from these tales, and he delivers a film so corny that at times it might have given Frank Capra pause. But you know what? It worked on me. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Lovely and moving. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Though a painless time-passer, Joyeux Noel ultimately contributes little to the venerable anti-war genre. Read more

Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: Well-photographed and acted, Joyeux Noel suffers most from the inevitable comparison with its betters, such films as Paths of Glory or All Quiet on the Western Front. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: It's hard not to admire the film's sense of nobility. It's harder not to find the movie dull. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: An elegantly crafted drama that derives its eerie, ethereal mood as much from the sounds of war -- and their absence -- as the sights of combat. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The camaraderie is heartbreaking because we know it will only be a matter of hours before they are once again at each other's throats. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Its noble intentions do not negate its lumpy ordinariness. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Carion has given it exactly the qualities that often appeal most strongly to moviemakers and humanists: social breadth, warmth, humor, sympathetic characters and a passionate sense of justice. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: What might have been a great movie is watered down into a nice one peopled with lots of down-home folk you'd really like if only they felt the slightest bit real. Read more

Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger: It tells an evocative story that withstands the sentimentality of the film-making. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: You can't watch this film without thinking about modern wars and about how much easier it is to demonize a foe when language and customs are more at odds. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: You can't go wrong with an uplifting, anti-war story like this, but director Christian Carion trowels on the schmaltz. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: A glossy French antiwar movie with melted snowflakes in its eyes. Read more

Craig Outhier, Orange County Register: For all their friendship and yuletide charity, the men must return to battle, and the miracle of Christmas does little to alter the course of war. By the end of it, they must decide if they've witnessed their own grand illusion. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It makes for a fascinating exploration of the human experience. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Joyeux Noel has its share of bloodshed, but the movie is about a respite from carnage. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: [Images of WWI are] terrible, but shadowy and distant, and it takes an extraordinary film on the order of Joyeux Noel to make it all suddenly vital, immediate and human. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The story's factual weight compensates for the film's schmaltzy telling. We might grimace at some of the movie's machinations, but it's hard not to be moved by the humanity it depicts. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Unfolding slowly, then building in momentum like the hymns themselves, this entire sequence is tremendously affecting. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: A beautifully lensed and acted European co-production that blends historical fact with sentimental drama to forge a powerful anti-war statement. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: It's a respectful, sobering tribute to the flickering of humanitarian spirit amid the darkest days of conflict and, as such, surely a Christmas film for the ages. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The fraternal atmosphere speaks powerfully of the triumph of the human spirit. Read more

Lisa Nesselson, Variety: The message is powerful with storytelling to match. Read more

Jessica Winter, Village Voice: Carion is no Jean Renoir, but he does strike an appealingly low key of tender, faintly goofy affinity between the combatants. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: The film ends with a moving and surprisingly sophisticated meditation on the definition of moral duty. Read more