Merry Christmas [Blu-ray]

Director: Christian Carion

Overview

The year is 1914, and as World War I continues to rage across the European countryside, four individuals stuck on the front lines find themselves faced with the unthinkable in director Christian Carion's Academy Award-nominated account of the true-life wartime event that would offer hope for peace in mankind's darkest hour. When the war machines began rolling in the summer of 1914, the devastation that it waged upon German, British, and French troops was palpable. As the winter winds began to blow and the soldiers sat huddled in their trenches awaiting the generous Christmas care packages sent by the families, the sounds of warfare took a momentary backseat to the yearning for brotherhood among all of mankind. It is here that the fate of a French lieutenant, a Scottish priest, a German tenor, and a Danish soprano's lives were about to be changed forever. On Christmas Eve of that year, the lonely souls of the front lines abandoned their arms to reach out to their enemies on the battlefield and greet them with not anger or hostility, but with the simple, kindly gesture of a much needed cigarette or a treasured piece of chocolate, and to put their differences aside long enough to wish their brothers a sincere "Merry Christmas!"

Product Details

Release Date:	06/16/2015
UPC:	8809154149533
Original Release:	0000
Language:	English

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Diane Kruger	Actor
Benno F?rmann	Actor
Guillaume Canet	Actor
Gary Lewis	Actor
Dany Boon	Actor
Daniel Br?hl	Actor
Ian Richardson	Actor
Michel Serrault	Actor
Alex Ferns	Actor
Steven Robertson	Actor
Lucas Belvaux	Actor
Frank Witter	Actor
Bernard Le Coq	Actor
Christopher Fulford	Actor
Joachim Bissemeyer	Actor
Robin Laing	Actor
Friedemann Thiele	Actor
Joachim Bissmeier	Actor
Thomas Schmauser	Actor
Marc Robert	Actor
Suzanne Flon	Actor
Philippe Beautier	Actor
Christian Carion	Actor
Tom Duncan	Actor
Mathias Herrmann	Actor
Fraser Johnston	Actor,Actor
Ian Petrie	Actor
Christophe Rossignon	Actor
Johannes Richard Voelkel	Actor
Mark Wood	Actor
Neil McNulty	Actor
Philippe Rombi	Composer
Natalie Dessay	Actor,Composer
Rolando Villaz?n	Composer

Technical Credits

Christian Carion

Christian Carion	Screenwriter
Christophe Rossignon	Producer

Editorial Reviews

In wartime, does shared humanity trump duty? Based on authentic incidents from World War I, writer-director Christian Carion’s emotionally rich period drama attempts to answer that age-old question. Enemies are juxtaposed: the Scottish brothers Jonathan (Steven Robertson) and William (Robin Laing) with Nikolaus (Benno Furmann), a famed German tenor. The horrors of war take their toll, but a brief truce is called for Christmas Eve; soon the German singer and Scottish bagpipers join to make beautiful music from their separate outposts. The mortal adversaries begin fraternizing, but night passes all too quickly. Christmas Day presents an ethical dilemma: Where does holiday spirit end and treason begin? The production is well served by accurate period detail and skillful location shooting in France, Romania, Germany, and Scotland. It’s a tribute to Carion’s vision and sensitivity that the Oscar-nominated Joyeux Noel transforms the potentially maudlin into the profoundly affecting.