A Christmas Tale (2008) Un conte de Noël (original title)

Director:

Arnaud Desplechin

Writers:

Arnaud Desplechin (scenario and dialogue) and
Emmanuel Bourdieu (scenario and dialogue) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 May 2008 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

The Vuillard family is no stranger to physical/mental illness, loss, and banishment. But when the matriarch becomes in need of a transplant, the whole family is forced to come together, emotional baggage and all, just in time for Christmas.

Plot Keywords:

Transplant | Christmas | Bone Marrow Transplant | Banishment | Debt

Awards:

4 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Junon Vuillard
Jean-Paul Roussillon	...	Abel - Junon's husband
Anne Consigny	...	Elizabeth Dédalus - Abel and Junon's oldest child
Mathieu Amalric	...	Henri Vuillard - Abel and Junon's middle child
Melvil Poupaud	...	Ivan Vuillard - - Abel and Junon's youngest child
Hippolyte Girardot	...	Claude Dédalus- Elizabeth's husband
Emmanuelle Devos	...	Faunia - Henri's lover
Chiara Mastroianni	...	Sylvia Vuillard - Ivan's wife
Laurent Capelluto	...	Simon - Junon's nephew - the painter cousin
Emile Berling	...	Paul Dédalus - Elizabeth and Claude's son
Thomas Obled	...	Basile 'Baz' Vuillard - Ivan and Sylvia's son
Clément Obled	...	Baptiste - Ivan and Sylvia's son
Françoise Bertin	...	Rosaimée Vuillard - Abel's mother's girlfriend
Samir Guesmi	...	Spatafora - the family friend at Roubaix
Azize Kabouche	...	Doctor Zraïdi - the oncologist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mathieu Bakanina	...	Le prêtre
Thierry Bosc	...	La procureur
Marie-France Jaskula	...	La fidèle
Jean-Pierre Jouet	...	Le président des experts
Philippe Morier-Genoud	...	L'ami franc-maçon
Beata Nilska	...	L'anesthésiste
François Regnault	...	L'analyste
Hélène Roussel	...	Le juge
Hélène Darras	...	La vendeuse (uncredited)
David Frenkel	...	L'avocat d'Elizabeth (uncredited)
Romain Goupil	...	L'ami psychiatre (uncredited)
Miglen Mirtchev	...	Maître Bakine - l'avocat d'Henri (uncredited)

Directed by
Arnaud Desplechin

Writing credits
Arnaud Desplechin		(scenario and dialogue) and
Emmanuel Bourdieu		(scenario and dialogue)
Jacques Asher		(inspired by: "La Greffe") (as J. Asher) &
Jean-Pierre Jouet		(inspired by: "La Greffe") (as J.P. Jouet)

Produced by
Martine Cassinelli	....	executive producer
Pascal Caucheteux	....	producer
Pierre Héros	....	co-producer (uncredited)
Vincent Maraval	....	co-producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Grégoire Hetzel

Cinematography by
Eric Gautier

Film Editing by
Laurence Briaud

Casting by
Stéphane Touitou

Production Design by
Dan Bevan

Set Decoration by
Caroline Dessimond

Costume Design by
Nathalie Raoul

Makeup Department
Sylvie Aid	....	key makeup artist
Jean-Marie Cuvilo	....	hair stylist
Mina Matsumura	....	makeup artist
Eric Monteil	....	hair stylist
Helen Murphy	....	makeup artist
Frédéric Souquet	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Gwenaëlle Alglave	....	assistant unit manager
Lucie Bercez	....	assistant unit manager
Edouard Decker	....	unit production manager
Anne-Claire Delmas	....	assistant unit manager
Bruno Deschátrette	....	assistant unit manager (as Bruno Deschatrette)
David Edouard	....	assistant unit manager
Anne Farrer	....	assistant unit manager
Simon François	....	assistant unit manager
Chloé Huet	....	assistant unit manager
Laurencina Lam	....	assistant post-production manager
Thibault Leclercq	....	assistant unit manager
Sandra Marinier	....	assistant production manager
Cristobal Matheron	....	unit manager
Béatrice Mauduit	....	post-production manager
Clarisse Merel	....	assistant unit manager
Julien Minet	....	assistant unit manager
Jean-Patrick Nourricier	....	assistant unit manager: retake
Benoît Pilot	....	production manager
Olivier Riche	....	assistant unit manager
Isabelle Tillou	....	production manager
Nils Zachariasen	....	additional unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lucie Borleteau	....	assistant director
Colomba Falcucci	....	second assistant director
Céline Huyghebaert	....	assistant director
François Mathon	....	assistant director
Alexandre Nazarian	....	assistant director: documentary
Frédéric Nicolas	....	first assistant director
Gabriele Roux	....	first assistant director
Hélène Serra	....	assistant director
Mathieu Vaillant	....	assistant director

Art Department
Marie-Pierre Aynes	....	art department assistant
Toma Baqueni	....	graphic artist
Gils Barichnikoff	....	property buyer
Pascale Courtois	....	painter
Paul-Louis Courtois	....	painter
Jackie Delevoye	....	props (as Jacques Delevoye)
Guillaume Deviercy	....	property master
Oumelkeir Dewavrin	....	assistant decorator
Fathi El Aihar	....	assistant decorator
David Fargot	....	painter
Georges Goyon	....	swing gang
Gaëlle Guitard	....	assistant decorator
Stephanie Guitard	....	set dresser (as Stéphanie Guitard)
Alain Haidon	....	painter
Mohamed Jabbad	....	assistant decorator
Ian Letort	....	art department runner
Stéphane Loup	....	set dresser
Florent Maillot	....	property master
Bruno Nicolas	....	carpenter
Gregory Quesque	....	carpenter
Ludovic Treny	....	carpenter
Gaëlle Usandivaras	....	second assistant decorator
François Willenz	....	digital artist

Sound Department
Nicolas Cantin	....	sound editor
Nicolas Cantin	....	sound
Roberto Cappannelli	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jacques Defrance	....	foley artist (as Jacques de France)
Roland Duboué	....	assistant sound editor
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lionel Le Bras	....	post-synchronization boom operator
Jean-Louis Lebras	....	post-synchronization boom operator (as Jean-Louis Le Bras)
Didier Lesage	....	foley recordist
Sylvain Malbrant	....	sound
Jean-Max Morise	....	post-synchronization
Philippe Penot	....	foley artist
Jérôme Petit	....	assistant sound editor
Jérôme Petit	....	sound assistant
Mélissa Petitjean	....	sound re-recording mixer
Julien Sicart	....	additional sound
Julien Sicart	....	boom operator
Jean-Alexandre Villemer	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Olivier de Laveleye	....	special effects
Marie Pierre Franck	....	special effects (as Marie-Pierre Franck)

Visual Effects by
Marie-Claire Bazart	....	visual effects supervisor
Jacques Bled	....	visual effects producer
Alexandre Boiron	....	flame artist
Emilien Dessons	....	digital effects artist
Delphine Domer	....	visual effects coordinator (as Delphine 'Fifine' Domer)
Sebastien Gombeaud-Saintonge	....	flame artist (as Sébastien Gombeaud-Saintonge)
Peregrine McCafferty	....	digital artist: mac guff ligne
Benoit Philippon	....	digital compositor
Patrick Siboni	....	flame artist
Martial Vallanchon	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Éric Alirol	....	electrician
Néwine Behi	....	camera operator
François Berroir	....	gaffer
Damien Bret	....	electrician
Gerard Buffard	....	key grip (as Gérard Buffard)
Julien Buffard	....	grip
Arnaud Carney	....	second assistant camera
Xavier Cholet	....	electrician
Raphaël Dougé	....	assistant camera
Malek Krimed	....	assistant camera
Kareem La Vaullée	....	Steadicam operator
Nathalie Lao	....	assistant camera
Julien Leblond	....	electrician
Jean-Claude Lother	....	still photographer
Eric Nové	....	grip (as Eric Nove)
Fabienne Octobre	....	first assistant camera
Ludovic Petit	....	electrician

Casting Department
Astrid Mouget	....	casting: children
Beatrice Saorin	....	casting: children

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Isabelle Blanc	....	costumer
Geneviève Danguis	....	costumer
Mahemiti Deregnaucourt	....	costumer
Charlotte Dubois	....	dresser

Editorial Department
Isabelle Julien	....	color grader
Laurencina Lam	....	post-production assistant
Tuong Vi Nguyen-Long	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
David Braccini	....	musician: violon
Karen Brunon	....	musician: violon
Catherine Cantin	....	musician: flûte
Doriane Gable	....	musician: violon
Matthieu Gonet	....	conductor
Max Guiguet	....	additional music: Conseiller musical & musiques électroniques
Grégoire Hetzel	....	orchestrator
Bruno Hovart	....	composer: additional music
Thomas Jamois	....	soundtrack producer

Other crew
Toma Baqueni	....	shadow theater and family photos by
Lysiane Biagini	....	location scout
Agnès Chabot	....	press attache
Agnès Feuvre	....	script supervisor
Nicolas Livecchi	....	production assistant
Alexandre Nazarian	....	researcher
Julie Nouzareth	....	location manager
Sylvia Pain	....	production administrator
Cédric Villani	....	mathematical demonstrations
Wendelin Werner	....	mathematical demonstrations

Thanks
Manuel Alduy	....	thanks
Jacques Asher	....	thanks
Hervé Basch	....	thanks
C. Becquart	....	thanks: Ville de Roubaix
Valérie Boyer	....	thanks
Philippe Brame	....	thanks: Musée de l'Art et de l'Industrie de Roubaix
Monsieur Candriès	....	thanks: Mairie de Tourcoing
Dominique Charron	....	thanks (as Professeur Dominique Charron)
Brahim Chioua	....	thanks
Monsieur Cole	....	thanks: Cimetière de Tourcoing
Hector Contouris	....	thanks
Isabelle Debeunyck	....	thanks
Jean-David Debeunyck	....	thanks
Monsieur Delcroix	....	thanks: EDF Roubaix
S. Deswarte	....	thanks: CNRS Images
Raphaël Douady	....	thanks
Didier Duverger	....	thanks
Monsieur Gaudichon	....	thanks: Musée La Piscine
Colette Gervais	....	thanks
Frédérique Gifford	....	thanks
Olivier Goinard	....	thanks
Hassini-Bonette	....	thanks
Pierre Héros	....	thanks
Jean-Pierre Jouet	....	thanks
M. Kalikowski	....	thanks: Ville de Roubaix
Kathleen	....	thanks: Hôpital Tenon de Paris
V. Kleiner	....	thanks: CNRS Images
T. Klinek	....	thanks: IGN
Mike Kourtzer	....	thanks
Jean Labadie	....	thanks
P. Layille	....	thanks: SNCF Lille
Madame Lorsin	....	thanks: Hôpital Provo Roubaix
Brigitte Maccioni	....	thanks
Vincent Maraval	....	thanks
M. Moudard	....	thanks: Ville de Roubaix
Hayette Méchouar	....	thanks
Mélanie	....	thanks: Musée La Piscine
Monsieur Nerdellec	....	thanks: Hôpital Provo Roubaix
Omar	....	thanks: Bar aux Alouettes
Madame Petit	....	thanks: Hôpital Provo Roubaix
Julie Peyr	....	thanks
A. Philouze	....	thanks: SNCF Lille
C. Pierrache	....	thanks: Salle des Fêtes de Croix
Roodolphe Ploquin	....	thanks
T. Pollet	....	thanks: Salle des Fêtes de Croix
Péguy	....	thanks: Grand Hôtel de Roubaix
Patricia Ribaud	....	thanks (as Dr. Patricia Ribaud)
Monsieur Seynave	....	thanks: Hôpital Provo Roubaix
Madame Staneck	....	thanks: CHRU de Lille
Isabelle Terrel	....	thanks
D. Thierry-Mieg	....	thanks: CNRS Images
Eva Torreton	....	thanks
Pierre Torreton	....	thanks
S. Turk	....	thanks: Ville de Roubaix
Charlotte Viort	....	thanks
Pierre Walfisz	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Why Not Productions (presents)
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• Wild Bunch (co-production)
• Bac Films (co-production)
• Canal+ (with the participation of)
• CinéCinéma (with the participation of)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (with the participation of)
• C.R.R.A.V. Nord Pas de Calais (with the support of)
• Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais (with the support of)
• Sofica UGC 1 (in association with)

Distributors

• Camera Film (2008) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Independenta Film (2009) (Romania) (theatrical)
• Les Films Séville (2008) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Moviola (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Pachamama Cine (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Victory (2008) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• All Media Company (2010) (Russia) (all media)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Bac Vidéo (2009) (France) (DVD)
• Cinema Mondo (2008) (Finland) (all media)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• E1 Entertainment (2009) (Canada) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Imovision (2008) (Brazil) (all media)
• Independent Film Channel (IFC) (2008) (USA) (TV)
• Pan Vision (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Teleview International (2008) (Lebanon) (all media) (Middle East)

Special Effects

• Mac Guff Ligne (visual effects)
• Sfxworks

Other Companies

• Puf  book publisher: "Le Greffe" (as éd. PUF)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  courtesy: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
• Paramount Pictures  courtesy: "Funny Face" and "The Ten Commandments"
• Agnès B  thanks
• Bar aux Alouettes  thanks
• Bottage Venetta  thanks
• Bulgari  Anne Consigny's jewels by
• Burberry  thanks
• CHRU de Lille  thanks
• CNRS Images  thanks
• Cerruti  thanks
• Chanel  Emmanuelle Devos' jewels by
• Christian Dior  Chiara Mastroianni's jewels by (as Dior)
• Christie's Paris  thanks (as Christies)
• Cimetière de Tourcoing  thanks
• Coiffeur Faudil  thanks
• Dries Van Noten  thanks
• EDF Roubaix  thanks
• Emanuel Ungaro  thanks (as Ungaro)
• Gianmaria Buccellatti  Catherine Deneuve's jewels by
• Grand Hôtel de Roubaix  thanks
• Guy Laroche  thanks
• Hermès  thanks
• Hôpital Bichat de Paris  thanks
• Hôpital Provo Roubaix  thanks
• Hôpital Tenon de Paris  thanks
• Institut Geographique National  thanks (as IGN)
• Isabel Marant  thanks
• Jean Paul Gaultier  thanks
• Lanvin  thanks
• Lefranc-Ferrand  thanks
• Mairie de Croix  thanks
• Mairie de Tourcoing  thanks
• Mairie du 7ème Arrondissement  thanks
• Missoni  thanks
• Musée La Piscine  thanks
• Musée de l'Art et de l'Industrie de Roubaix  thanks
• Renata  thanks
• Renault Communication Boulogne  thanks
• SNCF Lille  thanks
• Sacs Renaud-Pellegrino  thanks
• Salle des Fêtes de Croix  thanks
• Teinturerie Lenfant  thanks
• Tiffany  Chiara Mastroianni's jewels by
• Vanessabruno  thanks (as Vanessa Bruno)
• Ville de Roubaix  thanks
• Yves Saint Laurent  thanks

Also Known As:

"Un conte de Noël" - France (original title)
"Christmas Story" - Japan (English title) (imdb display title)

Runtime:

France:150 min | USA:150 min | Argentina:150 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | USA:Unrated | UK:15 | Sweden:7 | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Singapore:NC-16 | Japan:G | Finland:K-11 | France:U

Filming Locations:

Salle des Ventes Sotheby's, 76 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Why Not Productions

Trivia:

Staff members of the Lille Hospital appear as themselves.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Henri and Faunia sneak out of the house, the camera operator is clearly visible in the door window.

Quotes:

Sylvia - Ivan's wife:[about Faunia] She has an ass like Angela Bassett.

Movie Connections:

References The New World (2005)

Soundtrack:

Raga Hansadhwani

Another brilliant French film

This one, however, is not for everyone. Most people will probably not only have trouble with its length, but its style, as well. Both as wild as it is imaginative, this film is like a post-modern jazz score, mixing elements from a variety of cinematic styles that are jarring (at times), but always interesting to behold. And as long as the film is, it always keeps moving and changing before our very eyes. What makes its odd stylistic combinations work is the compelling depths of its explorations into family and the bonds the unite, or divide us. Like and The Royal Tennenbaums, with a nouvelle vague twist, the film is not only full of odd combinations of image and music, but seems to jump from one film to another from scene to scene, as if each character or emotional quality (from light comedy to serious drama) were each receiving its own rendering. At times, the characters turn and speak directly to the camera. The filmmaker also intercedes by providing chapter headings and keyhole views, but, somehow, what could have become a cacophony of chaos, turns into a wonderment of cinema that any real cinephile will be amazed to behold and want to experience again....