Joyeux Noël

This Oscar-nominated European film relates the oft-told anecdote about a Christmas Eve encounter between German, French and Scottish soldiers during World War I. Swept up in the holiday spirit, the soldiers put down their arms for a brief time, sang Christmas carols, shared chocolate and played football. The film promises to be a hard-hitting antiwar parable, but settles mostly for feel-good sentiment and heavy-handed moralizing. Even so, the film is littered with its fair share of touching and thought-provoking moments. In English, French and German with English subtitles. 116 minutes PG-13.