- Film Review
- Reviewed By Dave Aldridge
-
3 out of 5
Writer/director Christian Carion's First World War drama is a touching seasonal tale of camaraderie and common sense in the midst of carnage and military madness. Carion bases his story on the now legendary ceasefire of Christmas 1914, when frontline French, German and Scottish troops spontaneously fraternised in the no man's land between their trenches, sang carols and played football. Here, the catalyst for this brief respite from hostilities is German opera singer Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann), who gives a rendition of Silent Night for his visiting girlfriend (Diane Kruger). The film boasts glossy production values, and there's some decent stiff-upper-lip acting from an international cast (including Gary Lewis and Ian Richardson), the members of which are generally allowed to speak their own languages. But some may feel that Carion is guilty of ladling on the sentimentality, particularly in the latter stages.
Plot Summary
First World War drama starring Diane Kruger and Benno Fürmann, which tells the true story of a spontaneous Christmas ceasefire in 1914 that saw frontline troops taking a pause from the carnage to fraternise and play football in no man's land.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Anna Sörensen
- Diane Kruger
- Nikolaus Sprink
- Benno Fürmann
- Audebert
- Guillaume Canet
- Palmer
- Gary Lewis
- Ponchel
- Dany Boon
- Horstmayer
- Daniel Brühl
- Gordon
- Alex Ferns
- Jonathan
- Steven Robertson
- Bishop
- Ian Richardson
- Scottish soldier
- Tom Duncan
- Guimond
- Marc Robert
Crew
- Director
- Christian Carion
- Share this episode
-