Press Conference: “A Christmas Tale”

To answer questions from the press about his film A Christmas Tale, Arnaud Desplechin was accompanied by actors Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Devos, Chiara Mastroianni, Anne Consigny, Mathieu Amalric, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Hippolyte Girardot, Laurent Capelluto, and Emile Berling.

Arnaud Desplechin regarding his relationship to cinema:
“Most of my activity consists in watching films. And I go to the movies for sheer pleasure. Events on the screen are arranged better than in life. It’s more interesting, more intense. There’s always a to-and-fro motion on the surface of the screen. That’s the place where I feel good: it’s a comfortable place to dwell, for understanding and reappropriating things for myself.”

Catherine Deneuve, on the scene where she tells her son she doesn’t love him:
“I find this scene pleasing, because it’s taboo to tell your children that you don’t love them. Yet maternal love is not innate. The woman has a strong bond to her husband, and I think it’s difficult for children to make a place for themselves when their parents are in love with each other.”

Arnaud Desplechin, on the theme of the family:
“When a tragedy befalls a family, it disorganizes everything. Here, the Vuillard family already seems quite disorganized, when the film starts. When disorder is added to disorder, oddly enough, the tensions are eased somewhat. But I don’t believe there is a family pathology. It would be difficult for me to see things so darkly.”

Catherine Deneuve, about working with her daughter:
“It amused me, that she played my daughter-in-law, especially a daughter-in-law I find annoying… But that’s what Arnaud wanted! On the set, we relate to each other as professionals, just as with other actresses. It was like being part of a theater troupe. We were shooting in a natural setting, in a provincial city. I really enjoy shooting outdoors, because after hours, everyone is sociable. We were together morning, noon, and night, in the same hotel. That forges a special bond – a family bond.”

Hippolyte Girardot, on working with Arnaud Desplechin:
“Arnaud takes us to a world I compare to Mount Olympus, even if it is not ideal. We are heroes. We move according to Arnaud’s instructions, in a way that’s very organic, very physical, and also childlike. It’s also a pleasure for the viewer, who’s also aloft. The exchange is an agreeable one, mirroring Arnaud’s relationship to film. He really is on both sides of the screen. It’s his country.”