Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, c'est tout) (2007) |
|
Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, c'est tout) (2007) |
|
|
| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio Short Film-62 Sleeps - a short film by Erin White (11:32) (16x9) Theatrical Trailer-Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, c'est tout) (2007) Theatrical Trailer-Bread and Tulips (Pane e Tulipani) (2000) Theatrical Trailer-Caterpillar Wish (2006) Theatrical Trailer-Forbidden Lie$ (2007) Theatrical Trailer-The Last Kiss (L' Ultimo bacio) (2001) Theatrical Trailer-Va savoir (2001) |
|
| Rating |
|
||
| Year Of Production | 2007 | ||
| Running Time | 92:34 (Case: 96) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Claude Berri |
|
Studio
Distributor |
Pathe Films Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Audrey Tautou Guillaume Canet Laurent Stocker Françoise Bertin Alain Sachs Firmine Richard Béatrice Michel Kahena Saighi Hélène Surgère Alain Stern Halima Guizani Juliette Arnaud |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | Frédéric Botton |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
 |
||
| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English (Burned In) | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Ensemble, c'est tout (literally Together, is everything) is the award winning drama from veteran screenwriter-director Claude Berri. The film is based on the celebrated novel of the same name by French writer Anna Gavalda. The bestselling novel Ensemble, c'est tout was also translated in English, under the title Hunting and Gathering.
Ensemble, c'est tout is the tale of four loners, from different walks of life, who will eventually live together. We first meet Camille (Audrey Tautou), a frail young woman, whose sunken eyes and isolated existence are the result of a battle with depression and anorexia. Camille lives in a cramped apartment at the top of her building by herself, she has a strained relationship with her mother and in the dead hours of the night works as a cleaner, despite her obvious talent as an artist. One night Camille reaches out to her neighbour Philibert (Laurent Stocker), a shy young man who is all too conscious of his speech-impediment. Philibert, an aristocrat, lives in a lavish apartment filled with artwork and literature passed down from generations before, yet despite his obvious intelligence and love of art and history he works outside a gallery selling postcards. Philibert, shares his apartment with Franck (actor-director Guillaume Canet) a hot headed womanising young chef who works six days a week and on his only day off visit’s his grandmother who raised him. Franck’s grandmother Paulette (Françoise Bertin) is a recluse who has recently had hip replacement surgery and feels abandoned by her grandson as she is forced into an aged-care facility while she recovers.
These four lives come together when Camille suffers a severe flu and Philibert allows her to stay in his apartment. However Franck instantly dislikes Camille and warns Philibert not to get involved with her. Still, Camille’s friendship with Philibert grows, while her animosity for Franck deepens, but when Philibert must leave Camille alone with Franck in the apartment for two weeks, they are forced to get along with one another. Soon they find some common ground and Camille and Philibert invite Paulette to stay with them, allowing her to see her grandson more often.
Ensemble, c'est tout is a graceful film and what sets this film apart from becoming a run of the mill romantic drama are the spirited performances, particularly from Canet and Stocker. Critics have suggested some of the characters are underwritten, particularly the character of Philibert, but overall this is a charming film about the friendships and relationships which are formed when we least suspect it.
Recommended.
Ensemble, c'est tout is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen and it is 16x9 enhanced.
The average bit-rate of the feature, which has been encoded over a Dual Layer DVD, is 8.25 Mb/s.
The quality of the transfer is very good. The look of the film is sharp and natural.
Shadow detail is well exhibited and colour is considerably rich with natural flesh tones.
There are no issues regarding film artefacts or compression during the feature film.
The burnt-in English subtitles appear in a clear white font and are a decent translation of the onscreen French dialogue.
| Sharpness |  |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
While Ensemble, c'est tout is a dialogue based film, it is still disappointing that a French 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack option is not available on this DVD.
The standard French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) soundtrack is practical and as expected, emitted from the front soundstage.
The soundtrack is clear and audible without any flaws and Frédéric Botton’s lush melodramatic score has been nicely produced.
| Dialogue |  |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use |  |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
The main menu is composed of a still image of the cover art, accompanied by a fragment of Button’s score. The main menu offers 12 chapter selections and access to the extra feature content.
This is an award winning short film directed by Erin White. This engaging live action short film is focused on a young girl anxiously waiting for her absent father to return. (16x9) (11:32)
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Ensemble, c'est tout was released in Region 2 (France) on November 28 2007.
The R2 (France) DVD release included the following technical specifications and extras in addition to our local release :
However this release is not English friendly. Ensemble, c'est tout had a limited theatrical release in the UK and USA and is yet to be released on DVD.
Ensemble, c'est tout is an enchanting romantic drama, with spirited performances from the multi-talented Guillaume Canet and Laurent Stocker.
The transfer on this DVD is very good, however the only audio option is a standard stereo soundtrack.
The only extras are a handful of trailers and an unrelated short film.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras |  |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | OPPO DV-980H, using HDMI output |
| Display | Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
| Amplification | Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS |
| Speakers | (Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12 |