In an old Parisian apartment block, Zao, an elderly refined Chinese man, crosses paths with Sarah, a troubled young Australian actress, who has just moved in across the hallway. The day she reveals her plans for a vengeful suicide, he proposes a pact: to cook for her until the fateful date. And so begins an ambiguous and subtly erotic friendship, under the ever watchful and envious eyes of the other inhabitants who do their best to disrupt this mystifying relationship.Read More »
Criterion wrote:
In Arnaud Desplechin’s beguiling A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël), Catherine Deneuve brings her legendary poise to the role of Junon, matriarch of the troubled Vuillard family, who come together at Christmas after she learns she needs a bone marrow transplant from a blood relative. That simple family reunion setup, however, can’t begin to describe the unpredictable, emotionally volatile experience of this film, an inventive, magical drama that’s equal parts merriment and melancholy. Unrequited childhood loves and blinding grudges, brutal outbursts and sudden slapstick, music, movies, and poetry, A Christmas Tale ties it all together in a marvelously messy package.
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