Watch Joyeux Noel

Joyeux Noel tells the story of the first Christmas during World War I and how soldiers in opposing armies met in no-man's land and for one night celebrated peace on the front. This is different than typical war movies in that it doesn't culminate in a major battle. Instead, this is a human story about soldiers from different nationalities who come together and share a common bond even though they're supposed to be at war with each other.

The story centers on Germans soldiers on one side, and French and Scottish soldiers on the other. After a failed assault on the German trenches leads to many casualties, both sides get a respite on Christmas Eve at the same time a German named Spink arrives from a trip home. A famous opera singer, Spink hears the Scots singing Christmas hymns on their side of the trenches and joins singing from his side. Eventually the men are so touched, they all come out of their trenches under a cease-fire and exchange gifts and forge friendships.

The Christmas truce was eventually broken up by the generals, but the soldiers saw up close that their enemies were just like them. They wanted peace.

Joyeux Noel is a 2005 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 56 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.6 and a MetaScore of 70.