Hollywood hues
From the battle front

In Merry Christmas, Carion weaves a story of disparate characters against the
backdrop of Kaiser’s war, writes Ervell E. Menezes

THROUGH Christmas comes but once a year it appears quite frequently in films right through the year apart from also figuring as often in film titles, like White Christmas, Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and A Christmas Tree to mention a few. The latest Merry Christmas deals with a real life World War I incident in which the soldiers of opposite sides forged their own Xmas truce even if they later had to pay dearly for it.

The incident also figures briefly though very warmly in Richard Attenborough’s 1969 film Oh What a Lovely War! Christian Carion’s Merry Christmas is about the truce and it is given a musical touch where German tenor Nicholas Sprink (Benno Furman) and soprano Anna Sorenson (Diane Kruger) are in love.

There’s a German lawyer Zimmerman (Joaquim Bissenmeier), a French artist (Guillaume Canet) and two Scottish brothers (Steven Robertson and Robert Long) who make up this motely group that accomplishes this bold anti-Establishment exercise which takes a scathingly satirical look at the evils of war. The camaraderie is in keeping with the Christmas spirit But the Church too is not spared for justifying bloodshed.

Director-scriptwriter Christian Carion does well to weave his story among these disparate characters against the backdrop of Kaiser’s war front and gory battle scenes in the trenches. The close combat (near hand to hand) is graphically recaptured but he also takes the lighter side of it by projecting instances of defying authority. The Scotts take their bagpipes into the trenches and soon Xmas carols rent the air.

When the German tenor and soprano make their appearances we have a classical touch. Opera aficionados will lap it up. The beautiful Anna’s rendition of Ave Maria is astounding and tenor Nicholas joins in with Adeste Fidelis and you have strains of the Berlin Philharmonic. "I don’t think anyone will criticise us for laying down our rifles on Christmas day," says one of them. Silent Night and other Christmas carols follow.

Phillipe Rombe’s music lilts the air in unusual surrounding. Benno Furman is good in the lead role with Diane Kruger lending him adequate support. Gary Lewis’ cameo as Fr Palmer is also effective in this moving anti-war drama.

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