A Christmas Tale
(2008)
★ 6.8 IMDb · 177 votes
Year: 2008
Runtime: 152 мин
Country: France
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
Cast: Катрин Денёв, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Анн Косиньи, Матьё Амальрик, Кьяра Мастроянни, Melvil Poupaud, Эмманюэль Девос, Hippolyte Girardot, Laurent Capelluto, Émile Berling
Plot
When their regal matriarch falls ill, the troubled Vuillard family come together for a hesitant Christmastime reunion. Among them is rebellious ne'er-do-well Henri and the uptight Elizabeth. Together under the same roof for the first time in many years, their intricate, long denied resentments and yearnings emerge again.
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?