Joyeux Noel (Christian Carion, 2005)

The story of the unofficial ceasefire that occurred during the first Christmas of the First World War has passed into folklore as the one with the football match between the lines. Carion's film of the incident does collate that event with details of lesser-known similar breaks in the fighting, and therefore suffers at times from a lack to verisimilitude, not least when a popular female singer rises from the German trenches to perform to the troops of all three combatant parties. But, to his credit, Carion does not seem to intend any deception and whilst there's little originality on offer with the standard sneering officer class vs salt-of-the-Earth working man dichotomy abounding, the facts are just about strong enough to make it a worthy enterprise for its honesty and heart.

6/10