Un conte de Noël. Dir. Arnaud Desplechin (2008)
Nathalie CROUAU
Reference (explicit)
1. Film data
- Arnaud Desplechin
- Catherine Deneuve (Junon), Jean-Paul Roussillon (Abel), Anne Consigny (Elizabeth), Mathieu Amalric (Henri), Chiara Mastroianni (Sylvia), Melvil Poupaud (Ivan), Emmanuelle Devos (Faunia), Hippolyte Girardot (Claude), Laurent Capelluto (Simon), Emile Berling (Paul Dédalus), Françoise Bertin (Rosaimée), Samir Guesmi (Spatafora), Thomas Obled (Basile), Clément Obled (Baptiste)
- Arnaud Desplechin, Emmanuel Bourdieu
- Eric Gautier
- Laurence Briaud
- Grégoire Hetzel
- Dan Bevan
- Nathalie Raoul
- Pascal Caucheteux
- Why Not Productions, France 2 Cinéma, Wild Bunch, BAC Films
- 145 min.
- France
- 2008
- French
- BAC Films, 2008
- DVD
English Synopsis
The Vuillard family is preparing to celebrate Christmas in Roubaix at Abel (Jean-Paul Roussillon) and Junon's house. Shortly before Christmas, Junon (Catherine Deneuve) learns that she is suffering from a potentially fatal disease and is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Tests are run and two possible donors are found: her son Henri (Mathieu Amalric), who has been estranged from the family for several years after a mysterious quarrel with his sister Élisabeth (Anne Consigny) and her grandson Paul (Emile Berling), Élisabeth's son. As all the family members, including Henri, convene in Roubaix for the holidays, tempers run high, family issues resurface and new love interests are found. When everyone is on their respective ways back home, Junon undergoes the transplant but its success or failure remains unknown. In an optimistic epilogue where she predicts that all will turn out well, Élisabeth concludes the film by quoting from Puck's speech at the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
3. Analysis
Theseus and Dedalus: Shadows of A Midsummer Night's
by Nathalie CROUAU