Leading French film-maker Arnaud Desplechin has gathered an all-star cast headed by Catherine Deneuve and Mathieu Amalric for this wickedly funny and outrageous spin on a family reunion drama. Deneuve plays the matriarch who needs to gather all the family together not just for Christmas but for reasons of her own. As the disparate members gather together in the Northern French city of Roubaix, old tensions and affections re-awaken. The cast give terrific performances, and Desplechin orchestrates them all to create an exciting and original film that had critics on both sides of the Atlantic entranced.
Double Disc
Disc 2 contains L’Aimée, a documentary by Arnaud Desplechin about his family in Roubaix, and his grandmother who died whilst still a young woman.
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1991 LA VIE DES MORTS
1992 LA SENTINELLE
1996 COMMENT JE ME SUIS DISPUTE (MA VIE SEXUELLE) (My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument)
2000 ESTHER KAHN
2003 EN JOUANT ‘DANS LE COMPAGNIE DES HOMMES’ (Playing 'In the Company of Men’)
2004 ROIS ET REINE (Kings and Queen)
2007 L’AIMEE (documentary)
2008 UN CONTE DE NOËL (A Christmas Tale)
Director..................................Arnaud Desplechin
Screenplay.............................Arnaud Desplechin, Emmanuel Bourdieu
Cinematography......................Eric Gautier a.f.c.
Editor.....................................Laurence Briaud
Music.....................................Grégoire Hetzel
Casting..................................Stéphane Touitou
Sound....................................Nicolas Cantin, Sylvain Malbrant, Jean-Pierre Laforce (mix)
Production Designer................Dan Bevan
Costumes..............................Nathalie Raoul
Assistant director....................Gabrièle Roux
Make-up................................Sylvie Aïd, Mina Matsumura
Hair.......................................Eric Monteil, Frédéric Souquet
Continuity..............................Agnès Feuvre
Location Manager...................Cristobal Mathéron
Production manager................Benoît Pilot
Line Producer.........................Martine Cassinelli
Producer................................Pascal Caucheteux
A Why Not Productions - France 2 Cinéma - Wild Bunch - Bac Films coproduction with the participation of Canal+ - CinéCinéma - Centre National de la Cinématographie with the support of CRRAV Nord-Pas de Calais - Région Nord-Pas de Calais in association with Sofica UGC 1
CAST
Catherine Deneuve...............Junon
Jean-Paul Roussignon............Abel, her husband
Anne Consigny......................Elizabeth, the eldest daughter
Mathieu Amalric.....................Henri, the middle child
Melvil Poupaud......................Ivan, the youngest
Hippolyte Girardot..................Claude, Elizabeth’s husband
Emmanuelle Devos................Faunia, Henri’s girlfriend
Chiara Mastroianni.................Sylvia, Ivan’s wife
Laurent Capelluto..................Simon, Junon’s nephew
Emile Berling ........................Paul, son of Elizabeth and Claude
Thomas and Clément Obled...Basile & Baptiste, sons of Elizabeth
Françoise Bertin....................Rosalmeé
Samir Guesmi......................Spatafora
Azize Kabouche....................Dr Zraïdi, the oncologist
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★★★★
“Richly entertaining…”
Edward Porter, The Sunday Times
★★★★
‘…superbly acted …
‘Desplechin’s generosity to his characters is unquestionable…’
Tom Dawson, Total Film
★★★★
“A great cast”
Derek Malcolm, The Evening Standard
★★★★
“A compelling domestic drama, a French art gem.”
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times
★★★★
Porter,The Sunday Times Review
Interview with Catherine Deneuve by Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times, January 18, 2009
★★★★
“One of the most intriguing directors working in France......a film to ponder and to savour… a wealth of classy French stars.”
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Friday 16 January 2009
Interview with Catherine Deneuve by Laura Barton in The Guardian
★★★★
A delight...gloriously eccentric...invigorating…exhilarating
Tim Robey, The Daily Telegraph
★★★★
Absolutely wonderful – a rich, heady stew of a movie...fresh and daring
Allan Hunter, The Daily Express
Interview with Chiara Mastroianni by James Mottram in The Independent, 21 January, 2009
Interview with Arnaud Desplechin by …France in London
★★★★
…lively…accomplished…beautifully cast
‘A beautifully cast, tragic-comic ensemble piece’
Lisa Nesselson Screen International
★★★
A first-rate cast
“It’s like eavesdropping at an elegantly unhinged dinner party.”
Wendy Ide, The Times
‘A late cracker... a high-spirited comedy – albeit of a highly unconventional kind.’
‘…elements of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander and Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums…’
‘…fabulous performances…
Sheila Johnston, The Scotsman‘...
French family-drama...assembling a heavyweight cast which includes mother and daughter Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni...’
Kieron Corless, Sight & Sound
‘Acidly funny, brilliantly observed...Impeccably acted’
Sandra Hebron, London Film Festival
The best film of the Cannes Film Festival
Film Comment
Consistently engaging...fine performances…Deneuve and Amalric are especially impressive
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
★★★★★
'A feast of a movie'.
Channel4.com
'French Knockout..the cast is heaven...magic...'
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
'Marvellous…This was one of favourite films in the festival…Desplechin is one of France’s top young directors, and the film is smart, outrageous and a real treat'
Graham Fuller, LA Weekly - read the full review
'Some have already hailed A Christmas Tale as Desplechin’s Bergman film, his Fanny and Alexander'
LA Weekly
'I swear, it filled me with unadulterated joy’
A.O.Scott, The New York Times - read the full review