TRENCH ANGELS

REVIEWED - MERRY CHRISTMAS/JOYEUX NOËL: A WELCOME example of a European co-production refreshingly unhampered by compromise, Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noël) brings together a cast and crew drawn from France, Germany and Britain for a seamless drama that, although set in the early part of the last century, speaks eloquently to a modern world that has failed to learn from the lessons of history.

This quietly powerful anti-war picture dramatises the 24-hour peace informally agreed by opposing troops in the trenches on Christmas Eve, 1914. A tenor (Benno Führmann), who is serving in the German ranks, sets it in motion when he sings Silent Night in his native language, and the nearby Scots join in on the bagpipes.

Tentatively, the soldiers inch their way on to the no-man's-land that separates them. They meet as strangers in the night, exchanging glances rooted in suspicion until they realise just how much they have in common. Soon they are sharing wine and chocolate, showing around pictures of the loves in their imperilled lives, and, on Christmas Day, playing football in the snow.

Some of the men naively believe the official line that the war will be over in a matter of weeks, while others are more sceptical. The conflict will never be the same for any of them after this short truce, and an awareness of this prompts an outraged reaction - and retribution - from their commanding officers safely away from the frontline.

The film marks an ambitious and assured step forward for French director Christian Carion, following his more modest debut picture, A Girl from Paris. One could quibble with a few aspects of his new movie: the introduction of a token woman, the tenor's Danish soprano lover (Diane Kruger), into the male preserve of the trenches, and the sometimes unconvincing lip-synching of the two lovers to the voices of professional opera singers.

These are minor, pardonable problems in the context of a deeply moving film that brings this salutary story to the screen with great empathy and conviction, a striking visual style and superb production values. Aptly for a story in which music plays a pivotal role, it is accompanied by a rich, stately original score by Philippe Rombi.

Carion wisely allows each soldier to speak in his own language. In a fine cast, Gary Lewis is outstanding as the Anglican priest who personifies the humanity allowed to be released and expressed between men sent on a mission to kill each other. Michael Dwyer