"Silent night" is not so much a movie about Christmas as it is one about war and peace. In it, American and German soldiers meet at a hut inhabited by a woman and her young son on Christmas eve during WWII. They agree to remain peaceful for this one night and find out about the more human side of their enemy.
Undoubtedly, this film moves close to being cheesy. On the other hand, it is a clear statement that peace is always and in every situation possible if only people agree on it. In my eyes the movie could have been even better by including German actors and letting them each speak in their respective language supported by subtitles, because that way some of the story would have been additionally supported. In a genre that deals mostly with the horrors of war, a topic this film doesn't exclude at all, it still manages to remain hopeful and set a positive marker. If you're able to see this as a single piece and don't forget about what else happened during that time, I think it has its rightful place as a pacifist contribution not through shock but through kindness.
All in all this is a beautiful movie with some exaggerations (I don't believe even a young soldier would think the war is over in that situation, especially having witnessed everything that led to it, e.g.). There are still possible improvements but it does deliver its message quite clearly.
Undoubtedly, this film moves close to being cheesy. On the other hand, it is a clear statement that peace is always and in every situation possible if only people agree on it. In my eyes the movie could have been even better by including German actors and letting them each speak in their respective language supported by subtitles, because that way some of the story would have been additionally supported. In a genre that deals mostly with the horrors of war, a topic this film doesn't exclude at all, it still manages to remain hopeful and set a positive marker. If you're able to see this as a single piece and don't forget about what else happened during that time, I think it has its rightful place as a pacifist contribution not through shock but through kindness.
All in all this is a beautiful movie with some exaggerations (I don't believe even a young soldier would think the war is over in that situation, especially having witnessed everything that led to it, e.g.). There are still possible improvements but it does deliver its message quite clearly.