Review of Merry Christmas (2006) by Filipeneto — 01 Aug 2020

Before talking about the film, I will leave a brief historical commentary on the real incidents that supported it. The so-called "Christmas Truces" were informal breaks that took place around Christmas 1914 along the western front of the First World War. They consisted of unofficial ceasefire agreements between the belligerents, sometimes followed by moments of fraternization. Although this now seems surprising, and it was done outside the orders and will of the military high commanders on both sides, this incident is not unique and has its origins in Christian beliefs, then still marked in the minds and behaviour of the European peoples, regardless of country and culture. Personally, I believe that there was still a certain tradition of trying to avoid fighting at Christmas and Easter, the strongest dates of the Christian faith and when, at least Catholics, had the "truce of God" tradition, which is a truce of a few days to celebrate and pray. Even though there is no link between the "truce of God" and what happened in 1914, the fulfilment of these informal truces was the last time that a generalized military conflict stopped for religious reasons, and it serves for us to understand (as those soldiers also understood) that there is much more uniting peoples than separating them, and dialogue solutions are always preferable to war. In the following year, 1915, the Germans still wanted to repeat these truces, but the allied military did not give them any possibilities. The increase in the intensity and ferocity of the war would, over time, put an end on any chance of fraternization.

The film, I think, managed to approach the essence of this issue, that is to show what united those soldiers, divided by flags, uniforms and trenches. To show that faith in God and humanity can unite different peoples and stop wars, opening space for new ways of dialogue. If those commanders had those power, they would certainly have been able to negotiate reasonable peace terms between their countries right there, because they saw the enemy's human side, they saw that the enemy is just another man with a family, who thinks the same way and also wants to return home. Of course, the film also has a lot of fictional elements, like the opera singers, but it's a film, not a documentary, and I handled it well. If we exclude these fictional notes, the film is very well done and has a lot of historical rigour, in addition to being quite politically neutral, that is, it avoids falling into the error of classifying the "heroes" and the "villains".

Its a European film, made in co-production between several countries, and it was certainly a very happy and successful effort. It seems to me unnecessary to speak of the cast as I am not an expert on European actors and I do not know any of those involved here. Anyway, the cast did a very good job and the fact that there are no famous names was good, allowing us to see the character better instead of the actor who plays it. Diane Kruger and Benno Fürmann are the exception to this rule, being the only actors I have recognized from previous work. They did well, but they are footnotes in a film that was not made for them to shine. They also pretend to sing, but the voices we hear, which are magnificent, belong to the professional lyric singers Natalie Dessay and Rolando Villazón. In particular, I think the best actors in this film were Guillaume Canet (who gave life to French officer Audebert), Gary Lewis (who played the Scottish Protestant pastor, the character responsible for the most markedly spiritual and ecumenical moments in this film) and Daniel Brühl (the German official).

Technically, it is a film that does not excel in showy production values but has quality and a lot of visual beauty, to which a careful cinematography, with good color and light, largely contributes. The costumes are very interesting and visually well made, but sometimes they seem too clean for soldiers who have been in the mud for weeks. The music is discreet but includes great bagpipe Scottish tunes and beautiful lyric pieces, which are in the ear and will be wonderful in the film.