Joyeux Noel

Joyeux Noël (2005)

Timing: 1:56 (116 min)

7.4/10
835

7.833/10
14344

7.6/10
34000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 18

Actors and characters

Release date

2005-11-09

Country

Belgium, France, Germany, Romania, United Kingdom

Production

Canal+, TF1 Films Production, The Bureau, Artémis Productions, Media Pro Pictures, Senator Film, Nord-Ouest Films, Les Productions de la Guéville, Ciné Cinéma

Genre

Drama, War, Romance, History

Budget

$22 000 000

Revenue

$17 709 155

Website

Director

Christian Carion

Actors

Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Gary Lewis, Dany Boon, Daniel Brühl, Alex Ferns, Steven Robertson, Frank Witter, Bernard Le Coq
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Christophe Rossignon, Ève François Machuel

Operator

Walther van den Ende

Composer

Philippe Rombi

Artist

Audition

Susie Figgis, Sabine Schroth

Editing

Andrea Sedláčková
All team (68)

• The film is based on the chapter "The Incredible Christmas of 1914" from Yves Buffetaut's book "The Battle of Flanders and the Battle of Artois 1914-1919".
• This film is dedicated to all the soldiers who fought on various fronts during Christmas 1914 and who initiated a Christmas truce on the front lines that day.
• In October 2009, American composer Kevin Puts began writing an opera based on the film "Merry Christmas" (2005) for the Minnesota Opera. The opera, titled "Silent Night," premiered in Minnesota in 2011. A year later, it won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Musical Composition, and in February 2013 – with most of the original performers – became part of the repertoire of the Philadelphia Opera. The librettist, Mark Campbell, closely followed the film's plot.
• Initially, the film "Merry Christmas" was given an "R" rating (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian), but thanks to critic Roger Ebert, the American Film Association reconsidered its decision and gave the film a "PG-13" rating (under 13 requires parental guidance).
• The events depicted in the film take place in August 4, 1914 and December of the same year.
• The opera singer was modeled after the real tenor Walter Kirchhoff (1879-1951) from Germany, who traveled to the front lines of World War I and performed for active army units. After one such performance, Kirchhoff heard applause from trenches nearby, occupied by the French. Kirchhoff then went out onto neutral ground to see who was applauding him.
• Towards the end of the film, General Odber says, "I have received orders to arrest the cat for treason." Such a case actually occurred when a cat with a new collar appeared near German positions, under which was a note in French that read, "What regiment are you from?" The commander of the German forces in that sector of the front decided to follow the spirit of wartime law and ordered the cat to be shot for espionage.
• Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, and a Saxon infantry regiment actually played football during Christmas 1914. In 2008, representatives of the armed forces of Great Britain and Germany sent their teams to France for a football match in memory of this event.
• Lieutenant Odber, played by Guillaume Canet, praised Horstmeier, played by Daniel Brühl, for his knowledge of French, to which he replied, "There's nothing to brag about. Your wife isn't German." At the time of filming, Canet was married to German actress Diane Kruger, who also starred in the film.
• Judging by the patches on the glengarry (Scottish national headdress), the Scottish regiment shown in the film is the Royal Scots Fusiliers. On December 20, 1914, an infantry regiment of the British Army occupied trenches in the Uplands area of France and remained there until the following year; however, letters from numerous eyewitnesses make it clear that it was precisely the fusiliers who initiated the football match with the Saxons on no man’s land.