A Christmas Tale

Arnaud Desplechin

France

2008

152 minutes

Color

2.35:1

French

492

Synopsis

In Arnaud Desplechin’s beguiling A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël), Catherine Deneuve brings her legendary poise to the role of Junon, matriarch of the troubled Vuillard family, who come together at Christmas after she learns she needs a bone marrow transplant from a blood relative. That simple family reunion setup, however, can’t begin to describe the unpredictable, emotionally volatile experience of this film, an inventive, magical drama that’s equal parts merriment and melancholy. Unrequited childhood loves and blinding grudges, brutal outbursts and sudden slapstick, music, movies, and poetry, A Christmas Tale ties it all together in a marvelously messy package.

Cast

JunonCatherine Deneuve
AbelJean-Paul Roussillon
HenriMathieu Amalric
ElizabethAnne Consigny
IvanMelvil Poupaud
FauniaEmmanuelle Devos
SylviaChiara Mastroianni
PaulEmile Berling
ClaudeHippolyte Girardot
SimonLaurent Capelluto

Credits

DirectorArnaud Desplechin
ScreenplayArnaud Desplechin and Emmanuel Bourdieu
ProducerPascal Caucheteux
CinematographyEric Gautier
EditingLaurence Briaud
MusicGrégoire Hetzel
Production DesignDan Bevan

Disc Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Arnaud Desplechin
  • L’aimée, Desplechin’s 2007 documentary about the selling of his family home
  • New documentary featuring interviews with Desplechin and actors Mathieu Amalric and Catherine Deneuve
  • Original theatrical trailers
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Lopate

From the Current

PRESS NOTES: A CHRISTMAS TALE

Dec 8, 2009

Arnaud Desplechin’s A Christmas Tale may not be the most sugary of holiday treats, but critics are spreading cheer all over this sweet-and-sour family-reunion drama, now available in Criterion Blu-ray and DVD editions. http://www.papermag.com/blogs/2009/12/a_christmas_tale_on_criterion . . .

A Christmas Tale:
The Inescapable Family

by Phillip Lopate Dec 1, 2009

In the eight films he’s made since 1991, Arnaud Desplechin has been developing a visionary world, a personal style that goes against the grain of standard cinematic . . .

THE FANTASTIC MONSIEURS
ANDERSON AND DESPLECHIN

Oct 29, 2009

For the new issue of Interview magazine, Wes Anderson sat down in Paris with another of our favorite contemporary auteurs, Arnaud Desplechin, who interviewed him in anticipation of the November release of . . .

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Un conte de Noël?

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Available Editions

A Christmas Tale Criterion DVD Add to Cart

DVD

2 Discs

SRP: $39.95

Criterion Store price

$31.96

A Christmas Tale Criterion Blu-Ray Add to Cart

Blu-Ray

1 Disc

SRP: $39.95

Criterion Store price

$31.96