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It may sound like fiction, but Merry Christmas (Joyeux No毛l) is actually based on fact: on 25th December, 1914, enemy troops on the Western Front ceased firing for a few hours to play footy and share a drink in no man's land. Here the story is re-told using a trilingual cast (French, German and Scottish) and a moving mix of sentiment and sobriety. Its message may be simple, but it makes a nice change from the usual Yule fare involving family feuds, trips to the North Pole or Tim Allen.

Mind you, one seasonal clich茅 does sneak under the wire: carol singing. The ice is broken when German opera singer Nikolaus (Benno Furmann) gets impromptu backing on Silent Night from some Scottish bagpipes. Soon enough, everyone's climbing out of their trenches and enjoying a truce for Jesus' birthday. It can't last, of course, and the officers involved find themselves less popular with the top brass than turkey leftovers.

"A STRICT BALANCE OF SYMPATHIES"

Writer/director Christian Carion (The Girl From Paris) sustains a strict balance of sympathies between his three camps, aided by a fine international cast that ranges from The Edukators' Daniel Bruhl to former EastEnder Alex Ferns. There's also a feminine touch in the form of Nikolaus' warbling Danish lover Diane Kruger (no great shakes, but better than usual). Ultimately, these pipes of peace play a tune familiar from generations of combat films. Yet when a blinkered bishop starts getting righteous about a holy war, Merry Christmas' modern relevance rings out like a shot.

In English, French and German with English subtitles.