Mjeteconer
Just perfect...
Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
juneebuggy
This was pretty good, a Christmas movie without all the commercialism and clichés. I liked how this started out in modern times with a grandfather telling his story and then we see him as a young boy with his mother during WW2.He and his mother (played by a mostly German speaking and almost unrecognizable Linda Hamilton) have taken refuge in a cabin which is invaded by American and then German soldiers. She persuades them to lay down their weapons and break bread together, pooling their meager rations for a Christmas eve feast.This did come across a bit far fetched at times, in regards to how quickly the men said "okay" to leaving their guns outside and bonding over pineapple pudding but on the same note they ended up having a lot in common. The 15 year old German boy-soldier was particularly heart wrenching. This has been based on real events which makes me like it even more. Rough time in history for so many people. 12.26.13
stepperry2008
My favorite parts were when Private Rassi (am I right)and the German where they "sang" O, Tamonblum/O, Christmas Tree and when Private Peter Heinrich so beautifully sang STILLE NACHT, HEILIGE NACHT/Silent Night, Holy Night in German.(German which was originally written in)Was the actor actually singing Silent Night if so he is quite good singer?It is amazing that it was a true story. Another good scene was Rassi gave young Fritz Vinckin and Private Heinrich.Silent Night, Holy Night was sang well. The soldiers came out as friends at least in the since that they did leave without killing each other or whatever.
cloudyskye
I rather liked this, having bought the DVD just based on these recommendations, although I agree with some of the reviewers in that I find it a little too sweet and naïve in some places. But then, apparently it is based on a true story, and I don't really mind swallowing a little sugariness sometimes. There is just the language issue that made me cringe throughout the film. As a native speaker of German (perhaps the only one here?) I can't agree with the reviewers who praised the actors' accents. Maybe they could impress foreigners with their very fake sounding English-with-a-strong-German-accent, but no German would ever be fooled. The only exception is Cassian Bopp, playing young Heinrich. All the others speak their German lines in a very stiff and wooden way, betraying their origins all the time. And please, is there a German who can read "Moby Dick" and "Huckleberry Finn" in the original and yet forgets to say "and" instead of "und" when speaking English? I think not. Still, I tend to be forgiving because obviously they tried their best. I'll certainly give it another chance – because sometimes a good story covers many sins.
joed1667
I found this movie while flipping through the channels early one morning in December/2005. I had missed the first 10 minutes and just had to buy the DVD. Although it plays loosely with the facts, something the film industry has a hard time adhering to, it nevertheless is an wonderful movie made for TV for the Hallmark Channel.It is based on the short story "Truce in the Forrest" and "The Night God Came for Dinner" by Fritz Vicken. Unlike the movie, communication was done between Fritz's mother Elisabeth, who spoke some French and one of the American soldiers who also spoke a little French. Only one of the Germans spoke some English.Both the movie and real life incident showed that these people could put their differences aside and found they were much alike in many ways. Unlike the conflict between the Germans and Russians, there wasn't that level of hatred unless they were dealing with the SS. I've found many stories where soldiers put their differences aside to help each other out, from a German officer stopping an American jeep at a checkpoint that was carrying a wounded GI, then directing them to the American lines, to the pilot of an ME-109 who came upon a crippled B-17 and rather than shooting it out of the sky, escorted it to the English Channel and made sure it was going to make it safely back before peeling away. Ironically, the pilots of those 2 warplanes found each other in the later years and became close friends. That's what this movie does it to show the human side of our "enemy" and leaves you hoping they made it out of the war OK but it does leave you wondering what ever happened to them.Fritz Vicken was able to locate Sgt. Ralph Blank in a Maryland nursing home after years of searching for the soldiers, thanks to "Unsolved Mysteries". Sadly, Fritz Vicken died the year this movie was released. What is ironic is that Fritz immigrated to this country after the war, like so many German soldiers and civilians. Our former enemies were now productive Americans. Fritz owned a bakery in Honolulu for many years.I've added this movie to my Christmas holiday collection.
