A Christmas Tale (2005) poster

2005 · drama · thriller · tv-movie

A Christmas Tale

Directed by Paco Plaza1h 15m2005

Cubelles, Tarragona, Spain, Christmas 1985. Five friends make an unexpected discovery in the forest: a woman disguised as Santa Claus trapped in a deep hole dug in the middle of nowhere.

Our read: A Christmas Tale (2005) reads as a sombre, kinetic, inventive drama · thriller · tv-movie entry — measured in intensity, intimate in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook.

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Cast

Maru Valdivielso Christian Casas Roger Babià Pau Poch Daniel Casadellà

Movie DNA

Sombre, kinetic, measured drama / thriller, inventive in texture. Nihilistic, intimate, cold.

ElsewhereIMDb6.22k

sombre
brisk
intense
cold

Video previewNo trailer available for this one.

Game · before you press play

Watching A Christmas Tale tonight? Spin for your lens.

Everyone on the couch spins once and gets one craft to watch for. After the credits, compare what you caught.

Your lens for tonight

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Everyone on the couch gets one craft to watch for. Spin the wheel to get yours. Sound on: the narrator reads your mission.

Where to watch

Not on streaming here right now.Check JustWatch Check Letterboxd

More info & search links

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Where the cast leads

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Maru Valdivielso + Paco Plaza

Maru Valdivielso · Paco Plaza

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Maru Valdivielso thread

Maru Valdivielso

Veronica (2017) poster

Paco Plaza direction

[REC]² (2009) poster

Paco Plaza direction

Maru Valdivielso

actor path

Lovers of the Arctic Circlenear DNA Sister Deathnear DNA

DNA · twelve axes

How A Christmas Tale feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy

PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic

IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme

WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal

HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive

StakesIntimate ↔ Epic

HumourNone ↔ Broad

RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical

DensitySparse ↔ Twisty

WarmthCold ↔ Tender

AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature

Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want mean-spirited Spanish horror where kids torment a trapped Santa figure who turns predator.”

ends unsettlingit leaves you shakensteady all the waygrips by minute 12attention 3/5breezes bysubtitles: full

Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around

Heads-upgraphic violencegorechild peril

Skip it tonight — You want wholesome Christmas tales or cannot handle child cruelty and gore.

If A Christmas Tale is your film

Who Can Kill a Child? (1976)

children become dangerous in isolated setting

(if you want modern production)

The Children (2008)

kids imperiled by sinister forces in snow

Eden Lake (2008)

youth violence turns adults into prey

(if you want supernatural)

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