A Christmas Tale
A Christmas Tale is a French take on the dysfunctional family Christmas get together but it is nothing like the gingerbread cutter formula we’re used to with this kind of story. It doesn’t repeatedly go for a punch line and what laughs do come up are pretty dark. Even the most sympathetic member of the family isn’t all that likeable. That would be Junon (Catherine Deneuve) the GILF matriarch of this clashing clan who is diagnosed with a rare disease that requires a risky bone marrow transplant. It turns out the best match is her son Henri (Mathieu Amalric currently on screen in Quantum of Solace) who happens to be the family pariah. The resulting Christmas feast reveals the skeletons stacked up in the hall closet and festering due to a family tragedy many years prior. This isn’t really light Christmas fare – it will leave you feeling like you had seconds of everything,