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Synopsis:
For
some, Christmas means the joy of spending time with loved
ones. But not for the Vuillard family in Arnaud Desplechin's
blackly comic A CHRISTMAS TALE. Instead of egg nog, bile and
venom flow at the family get-together when estranged son
Henri (Mathieu Amalric, QUANTUM OF SOLACE) returns. His
mother, Junon (French legend Catherine Deneuve), has cancer,
and Henri may be the bone marrow donor match that could save
her life. Oldest daughter Elizabeth (Anne Consigny, THE
DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY) is equally unhappy to see her
brother; he has been an emotional and financial drain on the
family, and she had him legally banished from the family six
years ago. But with his return, old wounds are freshly
opened as the entire family gathers together for what could
be their last holiday. Director Desplechin's previous film
KING AND QUEENS established his ability to seamlessly meld
drama and comedy, and A CHRISTMAS TALE continues that
tradition. This French film easily moves between the
audience between laughter, gasps, and tears. The behavior of
the Vuillard famille is atrocious at times, and it goes
beyond just the awful - and sometimes awfully funny - things
they say to one another. But Desplechin has no trouble
achieving the right tone in these moments, and his
postmodern style of filmmaking (with elements such as the
actors addressing the camera) is perfectly suited to the
material. His ensemble cast includes Jean-Paul Roussillon,
Denueve's real-life daughter Chiara Mastroianni, and Melvil
Poupaud, and though each does a fantastic job, it's the
bitter and hilarious interplay between Amalric's Henri and
Deneuve's Junon that carries the film. It's not destined to
be a feel-good holiday classic a la IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE,
but A CHRISTMAS TALE may prove a perfect prescription for
when viewers' families get to be a little too much.
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