isabel_towns This is a nice and quiet movie. There's no explosions or beautiful clothes or perfect people. We don't even see the beauties Paris has to offer. The actors do their job so well that they seem to really belonging there. The characters act on the base of regular people. For example: Frank falls in love with Camille and when he realizes she isn't, he is angry. The law of the first guy the girl sees is the one she would get, doesn't apply here. Don't believe me but that law is well respected in Hollywood cinema.That's what makes it so comforting, if one can say that about a movie. It's easy to relate to. It's the life of four regular people, trying to get the best out of life. It's the tale of a modern family, people who don't have a family either because they are alone or they don't get along with them, form a community.A weird comment: I've read the book after I saw the movie, and for me this is new, I like the movie more than I like the book. I never felt so attach to the book as I did to the film.

mike-euro What a pleasant surprise this film turned out to be! After about 25 mins, i was totally hooked into this quartet of terrific, subtly drawn characters. What could have been a fairly stock- standard, 'everyone-comes-together-in-Paris' type of comedy-drama, is elevated by great performances (the always gorgeous Audrey Tautou and the impressive Guilliame Canet in particular), considered production design & a script that doesn't take the easy way out and continually defies your expectations.Wholly charming, this is a great romantic fable, hugely fun, and should appeal to anyone who wants a thoughtful yet enjoyable trip to the cinema.

film_riot "Ensemble, c'est tout" is a lightweight of a film, but nevertheless it portrays one in hundreds of generations, each of which fights the conflict of how to manage a good life. Do you follow your dreams, or won't it be possible? Do you let a twist of fate interfere with your dream? Laurent Stocker's character Philibert has to struggle with a speech impediment, but still wants to be an actor and a comedian. He was the standout for me in this movie. How do you reach your life targets when you don't even have the time to set them in our modern society? Guillaume Canet's character is disoriented like so many people around us. Is escaping some of the social constraints a way to really be able to live today? Is communication between the generations possible? Audrey Tautou's and Françoise Bertin's characters try to gain answers to these questions. To conclude, Claude Berri made a very nice film, for which he also adapted the screenplay from a novel by Anna Gavalda.

marissas75 "Ensemble, c'est tout" (the title translates to "Together, That's All," but it looks like it will be released in English-speaking countries as "Hunting and Gathering") is, at heart, a romantic wish-fulfillment fable, and a particularly French example of the genre. If you're a depressed, anorexic girl who lives in a tiny room and works as a cleaning lady despite your artistic talents, what could be better than having your blueblooded neighbor invite you to stay in his luxe, antique-stuffed Parisian apartment? By the end of your time there, you and your new friends will form a makeshift family, and you'll even find love with a guy who rides a motorcycle and is a talented chef. Don't worry that you hated him at first sight. It's a romantic fable; these things happen.At least, they happen that way for Camille (Audrey Tautou), the heroine of "Ensemble, c'est tout." Her host in that fabulous apartment is Philibert (Laurent Stocker), a young, eccentric, and socially awkward scion of an aristocratic family. Philibert shares his apartment with Franck (Guillaume Canet) the motorcycle-chef; and eventually Franck's ailing grandmother Paulette (Françoise Bertin) moves in as well.From there, things proceed mostly how you'd expect, with the requisite mixture of comedy and drama. The scenes between Franck and Paulette are the least original; the other plot lines at least have a few amusing incidents to liven them up. And the movie is so concerned with the romance between Camille and Franck that Philibert--who also finds love during the course of the story--gets short shrift. We never see him interact with his girlfriend, which severely limits his character arc. Also, in an American movie, a character who looks and acts like Philibert (shy, bookish, wearing velvet suits and bow ties) would almost certainly be gay, so it comes as a bit of a surprise to learn that he isn't. This, however, is the only surprise that "Ensemble, c'est tout" has in store.