La Bûche (The Yule Log) is a family melodrama set in France, where Christmas evidently isn't Christmas without adultery and unplanned pregnancy. A welcome contradiction, La Bûche appeals expressly to those of us who detest the annual cinematic fuckload of saccharine holiday wholesomeness.

The story opens with Yvette (Françoise Fabian), an embittered matriarch whose second husband has just died. Her three adult daughters seize the opportunity and suggest that their father, Stanislas (Claude Rich), be included in the holiday festivities. Stanislas, who cheated on Yvette back in the day and hasn't seen her in 25 years, isn't eager to show his face, but the daughters conspire to piece the smithereens of their family back together anyway.

The girls all have their reasons for seeking holiday comfort. Fortysomething Louba (Sabine Azéma), the eldest, pays homage to Dad's heritage by working at a tacky Russian cabaret as a singer. When she learns that she's been knocked up, her ugly little lover makes it clear that he's a coward and has no intention to leave his wife. Sonia (Emanuelle Béart), the beautiful and talented middle child, has married well, but is in a tizzy over her role as a vestigial wife. Meanwhile, Milla (Charlotte Gainsbourg), the youngest, is a motorcycle-riding tech geek who's pursuing a casual piece of ass from Stanislas' enigmatic tenant, Joseph (Christopher Thompson).

And there you have a fine formula for a soap opera. Secrets and resentment abound and everybody's at each other's throat from the outset, which is gratifying. It's true that the plot is disjointed and interspersed with non sequiturs, but that's forgivable--it's a soap opera. Really, the most glaring aspect of this film is that, while the characters are convincing, they're never endearing, which could be the film's best quality.

To the cynic, La Bûche's triumph lies in its ending, which defies the Hollywood mandate by neglecting to resolve the family's problems. Instead, it offers an honest representation of holiday politics without resorting to irony or scrambling for laughs. It's a diorama of rich, selfish losers who are hanging by threads.