In the beginning, Abel and Junon had two
children, Joseph and Elizabeth. Victim of a rare genetic
condition, Joseph’s only hope was a bone marrow transplant.
As they and Elizabeth were incompatible, his parents
conceived a third child in the hope of saving their son. But
little Henri too was unable to help his brother, and Joseph
died, aged 7.
After the birth of a fourth child, Ivan, the Vuillard family
gradually began to recover from the death of the firstborn.
Years later, Elizabeth is now a playwright living in Paris.
Henri goes from successful business deal to fraudulent
bankruptcy and Ivan, the adolescent on the edge of the
abyss, has become the almost sane father of two strange
boys.
One fateful day, worn down by his excesses, Elizabeth
solemnly ‘banished’ her feckless brother. No one else knows
exactly what happened, nor why Henri disappeared, and today
the family seems to have come apart. Only Junon’s nephew
Simon, taken in by his aunt after the death of his parents,
struggles to maintain the semblance of a link between the
provincial parents, the virtuous sister and the two
brothers, one uncertain, the other disgraced...
A CHRISTMAS TALE begins with the reappearance of the disease
that took Joseph: Junon learns that she has leukemia, and
that chemotherapy will not work. Her only hope is to find a
bone marrow donor amongst the members of her family. Her
children and grandchildren are all tested. And Paul,
Elizabeth’s son, the oldest of the grandchildren and a
tortured adolescent, allows himself to become overwhelmed by
anguish.
Christmas approaches. The whole family gathers at the
splendid parental home at Roubaix. Even Henri accepts Paul’s
invitation and turns up with his latest conquest, Faunia.
Elizabeth’s husband Claude will join them later...
It’s time for the settling of scores. But little by little,
the storm calms.
Ivan’s wife Silvia discovers the feelings Simon has had for
her for years. Has she truly lived her life, or just its
pale shadow?
Will Junon accept a dangerous transplant to cure an illness
that may never develop further?
Will Paul’s father Claude allow his son to become his
grandmother’s donor, and thus risk the responsibility for
her death?
As for Elizabeth and Henri, what can be done when a dispute
moves beyond all reason?
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