A Midnight Clear

A Midnight Clear is a 1992 American war drama film written and directed by Keith Gordon and starring an ensemble cast that features Ethan Hawke, Gary Sinise, Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon and Arye Gross. It is based on the eponymous novel by William Wharton. Set toward the end of World War II, the film tells the story of an American intelligence unit that finds a German platoon that wishes to surrender. Plot summary In the early phase of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, a small US Army intelligence and reconnaissance squad (selected for their high IQs) is sent to occupy a deserted chateau near the German lines to gather information on the enemy's movements. Losses from an earlier patrol has reduced the squad to just six men: Sgt. Knott, Miller, Avakian, Shutzer, Wilkins and Mundy. On their way to the chateau, the men discover the frozen corpses of a German and an American in a standing embrace, seemingly arranged by the Germans as a grim joke. Settling into their temporary home, they soon discover they are not alone. A group of German soldiers has occupied a position nearby. While out on patrol, Knott, Miller and Shutzer see a trio of German soldiers aiming their weapons at them, but the Germans then vanish without shooting. The Germans, clearly more skilled and experienced than the young GIs, soon leave calling cards, start a snowball fight one evening and offer a Christmas truce. At first, the Americans think the Germans are taunting them, but it eventually becomes clear that the Germans wish to talk to them. Shutzer's Yiddish is enough to communicate with them, and they are revealed to be a small group of teenage soldiers led by an aging officer. Having survived the Eastern Front and sensing that the end of the war is imminent, the Germans say that they wish to surrender. However, they ask that the Americans pretend that the Germans were captured in combat in order to protect their families from possible retribution for their desertion. The Americans agree, but keep the plan from Wilkins, who has been mentally unstable since learning of the death of his child back home. The two groups meet and proceed to fire their weapons into the air as planned. However, Wilkins hears the shooting and thinks that the engagement is real. Arriving at the scene, Wilkins opens fire at the Germans who, thinking they have been tricked, immediately shoot back.