Un conte de Noël

A Christmas Tale

(France, 2008, 151 minutes)

An extended family comes together at Christmas in Roubaix after the mother is diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease that only a bone marrow transplant from a compatible donor can hold back. Playful all-star family melodrama that makes a point of deconstructing the genre through its fluid, shifting handling and innocent yet black humour.

A Bac Films release. Why Not Productions presents, with the participation of Canal Plus, Cinécinéma and Centre National de la Cinématographie, with the support of CRRAV Nord-Pas de Calais and Région Nord-Pas de Calais, in association with Sofica UGC 1, a Why Not Productions/France 2 Cinéma/Wild Bunch/Bac Films co-production. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Anne Consigny, Mathieu Amalric, Chiara Mastroianni, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos, Hippolyte Girardot, Laurent Capelluto, Émile Berling, Françoise Bertin, Samir Guesmi, Thomas Obled, Clément Obled. Directed by Arnaud Desplechin; screenplay by Arnaud Desplechin, Emmanuel Bourdieu, inspired by the book by Jacques Ascher and Jean-Pierre Jouet, La Greffe; music by Grégoire Hetzel; director of photography (colour, widescreen), Éric Gautier; production designer, Dan Bevan; costume designer, Nathalie Raoul; film editor, Laurence Briaud.