A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noel)In the days before Christmas the children of the Vuillard clan, presided over by Abel (Jean-Paul Roussillon) and Junon (Catherine Deneuve), descend upon their parents' home for the season's festivities. Junon soon skewers the holiday mood by announcing she has a rare genetic disorder that will require a suitable bone marrow donor from within the family's (somewhat splintered) ranks.
Desplechin has a keenly perceptive eye for family dynamics but never strays into lazy sentimentality. Blissfully side-stepping the cliches of more routine family dramas, the film is also buoyed by a marvellous ensemble of actors anchored by Deneuve's splendidly pragmatic matriarch.
Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) distinguishes himself in a stand-out cast that also features Chiara Mastroianni (Deneuve's daughter with Marcello Mastroianni).
