A Christmas Tale
(2008)
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A Christmas Tale
(2008)
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| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Catherine Deneuve | ... |
Junon Vuillard
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Jean-Paul Roussillon | ... |
Abel - Junon's husband
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| Anne Consigny | ... |
Elizabeth Dédalus - Abel and Junon's oldest child
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| Mathieu Amalric | ... |
Henri Vuillard - Abel and Junon's middle child
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| Melvil Poupaud | ... |
Ivan Vuillard - - Abel and Junon's youngest child
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| Hippolyte Girardot | ... |
Claude Dédalus- Elizabeth's husband
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| Emmanuelle Devos | ... |
Faunia - Henri's lover
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| Chiara Mastroianni | ... |
Sylvia Vuillard - Ivan's wife
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| Laurent Capelluto | ... |
Simon - Junon's nephew - the painter cousin
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Emile Berling | ... |
Paul Dédalus - Elizabeth and Claude's son
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Thomas Obled | ... |
Basile 'Baz' Vuillard - Ivan and Sylvia's son
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Clément Obled | ... |
Baptiste - Ivan and Sylvia's son
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Françoise Bertin | ... |
Rosaimée Vuillard - Abel's mother's girlfriend
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| Samir Guesmi | ... |
Spatafora - the family friend at Roubaix
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Azize Kabouche | ... |
Doctor Zraïdi - the oncologist
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The Vuillard family gathers: Junon and Abel, a daughter Elizabeth and her son Paul, Henri and a girlfriend, Ivan, his wife Sylvia and their young sons, and cousin Simon. Six years before, Elizabeth paid Henri's debts and demanded he never see her again or visit their parents' home. Paul, at 16, has mental problems and faces a clinical exam. Junon learns she needs a bone marrow transplant if she's to live beyond a few months: thus the détente bringing all together. Two family members have compatible marrow, but the spats, fights, cruel words, drunken toasts, and somewhat civilized bad behavior threaten all; plus Junon may simply refuse treatment. Do we know ourselves? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
An overly long and incredibly too talky dysfunctional family drama about a clan reuniting for one Christmas to see which if any family members will have bone marrow that's compatible with that of the matriarch, played by a chilly Catherine Deneuve. She's dying of a rare kind of cancer, and the spectre of that eventuality plus the proximity of brothers and sisters who haven't seen each other for a while and have scores to settle puts everyone in a reflective mood. Unfortunately for us, they stay in that mood for nearly three hours, and they talk and talk and talk endlessly about it.
There's far too much plot, some of it quite banal, some of it very interesting. The film is well executed and acted, but it's also distant and cold. I never felt vested in anything that happened to these people, and I greeted the ending with the curiosity of one who has spent a lot of time with something and simply wants to finish it rather than with any real concern for what the ending would be.
"A Christmas Tale" falls into the trap of too many family dysfunction dramas: We all have our own families to deal with in real life, so if we're going to spend 2-3 hours listening to the petty whining of someone else's, it better damn well be worth our time.
Grade: B