Fast Carrier Pictures, Hallmark Entertainment, Muse Entertainment Enterprises,
Linda Hamilton, Matthew Harbour, Romano Orzari, Alain Goulem, Martin Neufeld, Mark Antony Krupa, James McGowan
A German woman lives with her son in a small home near the front line. She has lost her elder son in the Battle of Leningrad, and her husband is a cook in the army. Bad weather arrives and it’s Christmas Eve. Three American soldiers arrive, and she invites them in out from the weather, but before long, three German soldiers also arrive. At first it is very tense, but she convinces them to join her as well for a Christmas Eve dinner. It’s a tense time as enemies put away their hatred and weapons and try to spend one peaceful evening together, knowing they’ll soon be out fighting each other once again.
Told in flashback form, this is a slow moving, but thought provoking look at the hardship of war, not only for the soldiers, but for the family as well. There’s a lot about character and trust and other good concepts in the script. Based upon a true event, there are a few turns in the script, especially in the end. It is a really great war story though. Most of the movie is in English, although there is a little German with subtitles. The film is in color, but it has a really black and white feel to it. The sets are dark and dreary and the weather is also a little overcast and dark, at least until Christmas morning. The year was 1944 so the war was nearly over. This is a twist on the normal Christmas fare, but certainly a well done war story that is very realistic.
This is a made for TV movie that is repeated year after year. But I was unable to find a preview for this film. However I have included a link to the Wikipedia page concerning the story. [Click here for the article.]
