A Christmas Tale (2008) - The Criterion Collection

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

Junon	Catherine Deneuve
Abel	Jean-Paul Roussillon
Henri	Mathieu Amalric
Elizabeth	Anne Consigny
Ivan	Melvil Poupaud
Faunia	Emmanuelle Devos
Sylvia	Chiara Mastroianni
Paul	Emile Berling
Claude	Hippolyte Girardot
Simon	Laurent Capelluto

Credits

Director	Arnaud Desplechin
Screenplay	Arnaud Desplechin and Emmanuel Bourdieu
Producer	Pascal Caucheteux
Cinematography	Eric Gautier
Editing	Laurence Briaud
Music	Grégoire Hetzel
Production Design	Dan 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 . . .