A Christmas Tale 2021

Roubaix, December 2006. Junon Vuillard, married to Abel, is the iron-willed matriarch who has kept the family standing through years of hardship. Her unwavering resolve has bound the clan together, but it also leaves a slow-burning resentment in some of her children. And yet, despite time taking its toll on him, her husband remains a steady presence—dealing with his own obesity and age—with a clarity, acceptance, and tolerance that feel almost like a quiet, unconditional love. This shared bond underpins a fragile family that endures, even as its members drift in different directions.

The family tree is crowded with adults now in their thirties. Elizabeth is a successful playwright, married to Claude, whose own achievements mirror hers. Their only child, Paul, is sixteen and lives under the weight of a serious mental illness, kept from spiraling by strong medication. Henri, the middle child, battles the bottle and has always clashed with the others, though he now has a new girlfriend, Faunia, whose presence brings a softer, more forgiving energy to the household. The youngest, Ivan, is married to Sylvia, and they have two sons, Basile and Baptiste. A cousin, Simon, was raised with them after his parents’ death; he is an artist by day and an alcoholic who often ends up in public brawls. Over the years, all three brothers — Henri, Ivan, and Simon — pursued Sylvia at one point, but she grew to believe that only Ivan truly loved her. Meanwhile, a deceased sibling, Joseph, continues to loom large in the family psyche: he died of leukemia at six, a tragedy that left a ripple of guilt and memory behind, especially as his parents altered their family plans in hopes of providing a bone marrow donor.

Six years prior to the latest Christmas gathering, Henri faced bankruptcy. Elizabeth stepped in to cover his debts, but she insisted he be cut off from the family’s gatherings forever, a condition that has sparked speculation and quiet tension whenever relatives converge for the holidays.

As Christmas approaches, Junon is diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, and time becomes an urgent factor. A bone marrow transplant is presented as the crucial option, and the extended family is summoned to test their compatibility. The atmosphere is tense with secrecy and fear: Elizabeth clashes with Henri, who is drinking again and hiding Paul’s medications. Paul’s anxiety centers on whether the test might reveal that Claude is not his biological father, a fear that compounds his already fragile condition. Henri’s refusal to participate stems from a history of not loving his mother, but Faunia’s honest and gentle presence offers a counterpoint of warmth, and she stays on for a couple of days instead of leaving for her own family.

On December 23, Rosaimée drops by for dinner and fireworks. She is connected to Abel’s mother, and there are whispers of past closeness between them. Rosaimée hints to Sylvia that Simon stopped pursuing her because he believed she would be happier with Ivan. This revelation stirs a sense of betrayal in Sylvia, who confronts the sense that she’s been manipulated by the various strands of love and loyalty weaving through the family.

Henri takes the marrow test and learns he qualifies to donate, a turn that shifts the atmosphere toward fragile hope. Simon’s drinking intensifies as the family searches for him, and Sylvia finally confesses to him that she knows he loves her. Their late-night conversations lead to a quiet, intimate moment when they return to the house and share a private connection. Paul opens up to Henri about his fears, and Henri reassures him that fear does not define his paternity; the test confirms that Paul’s anxiety isn’t a failing of his own identity. This moment of reconnection appears to improve Paul’s mental health, offering a small but meaningful revival of his important relationship with his brother.

Christmas Day brings a mix of tenderness and unease. Abel and Elizabeth discuss Elizabeth’s long-standing depression, and Abel reads aloud the prologue to Friedrich Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morality, a meditation on how well people truly know themselves. He suggests that Elizabeth’s fear of death has translated into cautious, protective behavior—an insight that resonates with the family’s current fragilities and coping mechanisms.

As the day unfolds, Ivan uncovers Sylvia’s affair with Simon. He seems almost detached, as if he’d anticipated the news, while Paul remains with Henri, whose influence on his younger brother seems to be helping stabilize him. The bone marrow donation progresses: Henri gives his marrow to Junon, and she voices a grim conviction that her body may reject the transplant. Elizabeth weighs the possibility that Junon could still live, even as Henri flips a coin in the hospital, choosing not to reveal the result. The moment captures the unpredictable twists of fate that hover over the family during this holiday season, where fear, love, loyalty, and complicating truths coexist in equal measure.

Throughout, the core dynamic remains clear: a family held together by shared history, stubborn bonds, and the stubborn hope that even when the future feels uncertain, acts of care—whether a donor’s selflessness, a listening ear, or a quiet act of reading philosophy aloud—keep them moving forward together, one complicated Christmas at a time.