236 MIDNIGHT CLEAR, A
and American soldier poised in a standing embrace, evidently arranged by the Ger-
mans as some sort of dark joke—or ominous threat. Settling into the chateau,
they soon discover they are not alone. A group of Wehrmacht soldiers nearby
reveals their presence that night with ominous laughter and taunting shouts of
“Schlafen Sie gut!” (Sleep well!). Out on patrol, Knott, Mundy, and Shutzer are
suddenly confronted by a trio of German soldiers aiming their weapons at them.
The Americans panic and put their hands up in surrender but the enemy just as
suddenly vanishes. At first the Americans think the Germans— a small group of
teen agers commanded by a middle- aged noncommissioned officer (NCO)— are
mocking them, but then realize the Germans want to surrender to survive the
war. They ask the Americans to pretend to have captured them in combat to pro-
tect their families back home from retribution. The Americans agree, but elect not
to inform Wilkins, who has become half- crazed since learning of the death of his
child stateside. The two groups meet at a forest cabin and proceed to fire their
weapons into the air to simulate a skirmish, as planned. Unfortunately Wilkins,
nearby, hears the gunfire. Thinking the engagement is real, he rushes to the scene
and opens fire at the Germans. Naturally, the Germans start to shoot back. As the
situation spirals out of control, Knott’s men are forced to eliminate all enemy sol-
diers, but not before Mundy is fatally shot and Shutzer badly wounded. As he is
dying, Mundy begs the others not to tell Wilkins that the skirmish was staged.
The always petulant Major Griffin arrives, harangues Knott, and takes Shutzer
back for medical treatment (who later dies). The four remaining soldiers ritualisti-
cally bathe Mundy’s body. The soldiers are then left with no choice but to flee
from the chateau as German forces advance. Knott’s men dress themselves as
medics and carry Mundy’s corpse back to American lines. There Knott learns that
Wilkins has been recommended for the Bronze Star and transferred to the motor
pool, while the rest of the squad will be sent into the frontline to fight as regular
infantry.Reception
A low- budget in de pen dent production, A Midnight Clear received minimal theatri-
cal exhibition when it was released in April 1992 (only seven theaters) and ini-
tially earned a mere $1.5 million— less than half of what it cost to make. Shown
occasionally on tele vi sion and eventually released on DVD and Blu- ray (an enhanced
20th anniversary edition), the movie has since found a somewhat larger and more
appreciative audience. Though war film traditionalists dislike A Midnight Clear due
to its surreal qualities, lack of combat heroics, use of religious imagery, and decid-
edly ce re bral and pacifist leanings, reviews were mostly positive, like Roger Ebert’s:
“A Midnight Clear is a little too much of a parable for my taste— there are times
when the characters seem to be acting out of the author’s need, rather than their
own— but it’s a good film, and Gordon is uncanny in the way he suggests the eerie
forest mysteries that permeate all of the action” (Ebert, 1 May 1992).Reel History Versus Real History
It is well known that during World War I some 100,000 British and German troops
called a truce and fraternized in sectors of the front at Ypres and Saint- Yvon,