A Christmas Tale
2008 · Movie · NR · 152 min · ★ 6.8 · 85% critics
A large, strained family reunites for Christmas when their mother becomes seriously ill and needs help from relatives. Old grudges, complicated loyalties, and long-buried feelings resurface as everyone navigates tense conversations, unexpected connections, and the messy reality of being together again.
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Details
- Original title
- Un conte de Noël
- Years
- 2008
- Release date
- 2008-05-21
- Language
- French
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 152 min
- Critic score
- 85/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.8/10 (171 votes)
About
You may like this if you enjoy messy, true-to-life family dramas with sharp conversations and unresolved tensions, in the vein of Kings & Queen; Not for you if you want a tight plot, quick pacing, or clear emotional closure.
Pros: rich family complexity; strong ensemble acting; tense holiday atmosphere | Cons: long and talky; scattered, unresolved threads; hard to connect
Themes
- christmas party
- family secrets
- dysfunctional family
- alcoholism
- banishment
- transplant
- mental illness
- bone marrow transplant
- christmas
Awards & recognition
- European Film Academy Prix d'Excellence · 2008 · nominated
Cast & crew
Catherine Deneuve
as Junon
Jean-Paul Roussillon
as Abel
Anne Consigny
as Elisabeth
Mathieu Amalric
as Henri
Chiara Mastroianni
as Sylvia
Melvil Poupaud
as Ivan
Emmanuelle Devos
as Faunia
Hippolyte Girardot
as Claude Dédalus
Laurent Capelluto
as Simon
Émile Berling
as Paul Dédalus
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin