Ever since I heard about the story of this film - which actually happened quite much before I heard that they were making a film about it as well - I've been thrilled. As an aggressive anti-war person - at least in my mind - I'm easilly pleased by pacifistic war films.
Joyeux Noel was badly written, dotted with unnecessary expositions and weak dialog, and shot in studio environment that resembled nothing more than a studio built to look like the 1914's war field in christmas. These problems never bothered so much that I would've actually be annoyed, but lurked in the background for the first half so strongly it was hard to get immersed by the story and characters.
However, once that happens - propably it depends on the person and time varie - you can't not love the story. Once you accept that this is a film with it's own problems, and just look at the spirit and the good heart the film has been crafted with, it becomes a really beautiful christmas story that reminds you on the very fact that there's nothing as useless, stupid and pointless activity in the world than war, and in most cases, it's not that people hate each others, they are just forced to hate.
This films leaves a nice warm feeling and a grin on your face.