Merry Christmas
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Metascore
70 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 19 Ratings

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  • Starring: Benno Fürmann, Diane Kruger, Guillaume Canet
  • Summary: This movie is inspired by a true story, which occurred in the trenches of the World War I battlefield on Christmas Eve in 1914. When war breaks out in the lull of summer 1914, it surprises and pulls millions of men in its wake. Christmas arrives, with its snow and multitude of family and army presents. But the surprise won't come from inside the generous parcels which lie in the French, Scottish, and German trenches. That night, a momentous event will turn the destinies of four characters: an Anglican priest, a French lieutenant, an exceptional German tenor and the one he loves, a soprano and singing partner. During this Christmas Eve, the unthinkable happens: soldiers come out of their trenches, leaving their rifles behind to shake hands with the enemy. (Sony Pictures Classics)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Bennett
    90
    With a cast of Scottish, German and French actors all speaking their own language, writer-director Christian Carion has fashioned a deeply moving and uplifting piece.
  2. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Melissa Levine
    80
    But except for a few missteps, the movie is so beautifully and sensitively rendered in its particulars, in its characterizations of soldiers and officers, and in its dramatization of a nearly miraculous event, that the result is an affecting piece of cinema.
  3. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    80
    It's a profoundly moving story of -- yes! -- the human spirit rising above horrible circumstances, and simultaneously a work of nostalgia for the gentlemen's war that marked the end, or the beginning of the end, of Christian Europe's world domination.
  4. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    60
    The first two-thirds of Joyeux Noel are strangely inert, but the film ends with a moving and surprisingly sophisticated meditation on the definition of moral duty.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. Roeyl
    10
    A very beautiful movie, very sentimental. It represents perfectly a human aspect in war like no other movie did. This isn't your classic war movie: it has nothing to do with action or mass death.… Expand
  2. Fill
    10
    Those who don't like the film because it's too "contrived and cloying" should go back to commenting on National Lampoon and American Pie fims and let the grown ups talk aboutreal films. Joyeux Noel is fantastic. Christian Carion did his research. He was able to accurately portray a time and place that is difficult for us to understand. He is able to bring out the humanity that exists during a time of war. This is effectively evidenced by the compelling characters that he places before us. Through them we are able to see that the men on both sides were fighting for one thing; the right to go home. A wonderful film. A must see!… Collapse
  3. ChrisP.
    6
    Failed to evoke any empathy towards the characters at all. Since the oppression of war or the characters were not built up enough the whole movie makes you rely on your own knowledge of the war to appreciate the beauty of the event although most people who are going to see it probably know enough about the war and probably even this event in particular.… Expand
  4. RobC.
    3
    Extraordinarily contrived and cloying, kind of like a Hallmark movie done in a different language. No way should this be a Best Foreign Film nominee.

See all 9 User Reviews

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