Faunia Chiara Mastroianni as Sylvia Vuillard Laurent Capelluto as Simon Emile Berling as Paul Dédalus Thomas Obled as Basile 'Baz' Vuillard Clément Obled as Baptiste Vuillard Françoise Bertin as Rosaimée Vuillard Samir Guesmi as Spatafora Azize Kabouche as Doctor Zraïdi Critical reception Awards and nominations Broadcast Film Critics (USA) Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film Cannes Film Festival (France) Nominated: Golden Palm (Arnaud Desplechin) César Awards (France) Won: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Jean-Paul Roussillon) Nominated: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Anne Consigny) Nominated: Best Cinematography (Eric Gautier) Nominated: Best Director (Arnaud Desplechin) Nominated: Best Editing (Laurence Briaud) Nominated: Best Film Nominated: Best Sound (Nicolas Cantin, Jean-Pierre Laforce and Sylvain Malbrant) Nominated: Best Writing – Original (Emmanuel Bourdieu and Arnaud Desplechin) Nominated: Most Promising Actor (Laurent Capelluto) Chicago Film Critics (USA) Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film Christmas Gifts (France) Won: Best Director (Arnaud Desplechin) Online Film Critics Society (USA) Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film Satellite Awards (USA) Nominated: Best Actress – Musical or Comedy (Catherine Deneuve) Reviews Top ten lists The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. 1st — Andrew O'Hehir, Salon 1st — Dana Stevens, Slate 1st — Josh Rosenblatt, The Austin Chronicle 1st — Rick Groen, The Globe and Mail 1st — Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1st — Shawn Levy, The Oregonian 2nd — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times (tied with The Class) 2nd — Kimberly Jones, The Austin Chronicle 2nd — Stephanie Zacharek, Salon 3rd — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune 4th — Lou Lumenick, New York Post 5th — Ella Taylor, LA Weekly (tied with The Class) 6th — Dennis Harvey, Variety 7th — Scott Foundas, LA Weekly (tied with The Secret of the Grain) 7th — Stephen Holden, The New York Times 8th — Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail 10th — Robert Mondello, NPR See also List of Christmas films References External links A Christmas Tale: The Inescapable Family an essay by Phillip Lopate at the Criterion Collection 2000s Christmas comedy-drama films 2008 films 2000s French-language films Films about dysfunctional families Films directed by Arnaud Desplechin Films with screenplays by Arnaud Desplechin Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor César Award-winning performance French Christmas comedy-drama films Films set in 2006 2000s French films