In many ways, Arnaud Desplechin's A Christmas Tale is linked thematically to and offers the same sometimes discomfiting pleasures as Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married. Both films center on a large, fractious family gathered in a comfy house for one of life's big rituals. Both feature a depressive grown daughter, a wild, wonderful soundtrack, and filial dynamics that strain and stretch the boundaries of civility.
And, most obvious, and profound, the families in the respective films are haunted by the death of a child.
