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A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noel)

Release Date 16 Jan 2009 16 Jun 2009

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  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
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Certificate: 15A

Genre: Drama

Abel and Junon had two children, Joseph and Elizabeth. Victim of a rare genetic condition, Joseph's only hope was a bone marrow transplant. As they and Elizabeth were incompatible, his parents conceived a third child in the hope of saving their son. But, little Henri too was unable to help his brother, and Joseph died at the age of seven. The Vuillard family has never recovered. Many years have passed, and family relationships are more strained than ever - In particular, those between Elizabeth, authoritarian head of the family and Henri, a cynical drop out who divides his time between women and drink. After a violent argument, Elizabeth banishes her feckless brother, cutting him off from his nephew, her son Paul - a tortured adolescent beset by serious mental problems.

Cast:
Catherine Deneuve | Jean-Paul Roussillon | Mathieu Amalric | Emile Berling | Françoise Bertin | Laurent Capelluto | Anne Consigny | Emmanuelle Devos | David Frenkel | Hippolyte Girardot

Writers:
Emmanuel Bourdieu | Arnaud Desplechin

Producers:
Pascal Caucheteux

Directors:
Arnaud Desplechin

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  • Avg User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    Onionhead

    arrive here (as the children on the screen do). It's more a film about family life and the peculiar kind of fulfillment we get from the strife that results. As with the "ghost wolf" in this family's basement, we're haunted by the familiar and the strange: it's both fearful and thrilling to see. And that's a very admirable accomplishment for Arnaud Desplechin.

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    mart

    You could, of course, forgive the whole enterprise as the extravagances of an intellectual fairytale, but the film's wayward eccentricities outweigh its good performances and breezy telling of a jumble of a plot

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