Un Conte de Noël (A Christmas Tale) (2008)
83%RT Audience Score: 75%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 5 nominations
A sharp black comedy about a chaotic family holiday gathering, A Christmas Tale is always involving, thanks to an impressive ensemble cast
A Christmas Tale is like a fruitcake – it’s a bit dense and overwhelming at first, but once you get into it, you can’t help but enjoy the unique flavors and textures. The dysfunctional family dynamics are relatable, and the quirky filmmaking style keeps things interesting. Plus, Catherine Deneuve is a total holiday treat. It may not be your traditional feel-good Christmas movie, but it’s definitely worth a watch.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for scary sequences and images
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital SDDS DTS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 30m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 14, 2008 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 27, 2009
Genre(s)
Keyword(s)
A Christmas Tale, 2008, Holiday, French, Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Mathieu Amalric, Arnaud Desplechin, Pascal Caucheteux, Emmanuel Bourdieu, bone marrow donors, family gathering, dysfunction, black comedy, ensemble cast, sharp, involving, impressive, box office, budget, critic reviews, reviewed by Stanley Kauffmann, Nicholas Barber, Kevin Maher, Tim Robey, Alissa Wilkinson, Rick Groen, David Harris, Mattie Lucas, Sean Axmaker, Brian D Johnson, Tynan Yanaga, audience reviews, directed by, written by, produced by, MPAA rating, limited release, streaming, distributor, IFG Films
Worldwide gross: $325,286,646
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $449,582,161
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 333
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 49,027,499
US/Canada gross: $137,855,863
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $190,532,066
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 380
US/Canada opening weekend: $30,051,075
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $41,533,913
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 294
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $200,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $276,422,144
Production budget ranking: 23
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $148,853,325
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $24,306,692
ROI to date (est.): 6%
ROI ranking: 1,373
Jean-Paul Roussillon – Abel
Mathieu Amalric – Henri
Françoise Bertin – Rosaimée
Laurent Capelluto – Simon
Anne Consigny – Elizabeth
Director – Arnaud Desplechin
Producer – Pascal Caucheteux
Writers – Emmanuel Bourdieu, Arnaud Desplechin
Director(s)
Arnaud Desplechin
Writer(s)
Emmanuel Bourdieu, Arnaud Desplechin
Producer(s)
Pascal Caucheteux
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (132) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (113) | Rotten (19)
[Desplechin] has skill, patience, empathy, and insight; quickened by the holiday occasion, they make the title of his film ultimately, if unconventionally, right.
December 10, 2014
Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
It’s a bracingly eccentric, waspishly intelligent blast of flashbacks, freeze frames, split screens, and bizarre music choices.
December 10, 2014
Nicholas Barber
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Perfect off-season timing for a wickedly off-kilter movie about a French family Christmas in extremis.
December 10, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It’s maddening and it’s exhilarating.
December 6, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A Christmas Tale is a lively, capricious, mischievous ensemble delight.
December 6, 2013 | Rating: 9.5/10
Alissa Wilkinson
Paste Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Despite occasional bouts of tedium over the epic course, a surprising buoyancy emerges: Desplechin’s methods begin to inform, even brighten, the message.
December 6, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Though A Christmas Tale clocks in at 152 minutes, it never feels tired or fails to compel.
October 12, 2019
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
Catherine Deneuve, for her part, is luminous as always. But the entire film feels cold and distant, and fatally unfocused.
July 7, 2019 | Rating: 2/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
Arnaud Desplechin’s mercurial, knotty and cinematically vibrant drama of family dysfunction stirred up over a Christmas gathering was my pick for best film of 2008
January 5, 2018
Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand
Un Comte de Noel is a long, rambling story of a bourgeois family going into dysfunctional overdrive during a reunion at the parental home.
December 15, 2017
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
If you are intrigued by the interpersonal relationships and entanglements of a family – maybe a lot like yours and mine – this film is a fascinating exposé that might well prompt some seasonal self-reflection.
December 15, 2017
Tynan Yanaga
Film Inquiry
A Christmas Tale has bountiful charm in the first leg of the film, mainly because it is able to take a lovely, dry wit to its characters’ bitterness.
December 13, 2017
Zachary Wigon
MUBI…
Plot
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Catherine Deneuve is described as “luminous as always” in her role as the matriarch of the dysfunctional family in A Christmas Tale.
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