A Christmas Tale, a film by Arnaud Desplechin (2008)

November 5 at 7 p.m.
Stahr Auditorium
Stager Hall

Set in Roubaix, a small city in northern France along the Belgian border, A Christmas Tale concerns the Vuillard family, a nominally happy clan that has nonetheless been torn apart by death and the sibling hatred between Elizabeth, the eldest child, and Henri, the middle child. When the indefatigable Vuillard matriarch, Junon, discovers she has a rare type of leukemia, the family’s Christmas gathering is marked by frequent discussions of who will be the most compatible bone-marrow donor for Junon.

Director Arnaud Desplechin expertly depicts the volatility of family dynamics without ever becoming cynical about the fractious nature of blood ties. In one of the film’s more astonishing scenes, Junon imperiously tells Henri that she never loved him—an emotional stance made far more complicated when the prodigal son turns out to be Junon’s most compatible donor.

This event is part of the 2009 French & Francophile Film Festival.

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