"Before starting on the script, I wanted Charlotte Gainsbourg to play the role, because I wanted to work with her again. As I said, life is all about chance. Shortly afterwards, I went to New York and Audrey Tautou, who I had never met, was on the plane sitting next to me. We got to know each other, but didn’t talk about the book. She already knew that Charlotte had the role. However, two or three weeks later, Audrey told her agent that if Charlotte could not do the film, she would like to play Camille. As she is a generous girl, she did not want to take the role from Charlotte. " says director Claude Berri.

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The acclaimed French director is talking about how he cast French star Audrey Tautou ( A Very Long Engagement, Amelie) in the lead role for his new film, Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, c’est tout).

What's the Movie About: In mid-2004, Anna Gavalda’s best selling novel Hunting and gathering was brought to the attention of celebrated producer and director Claude Berri (Jean de Florette, The Housekeeper). Berri believed that the combination of contemporary subject matter, tender and often humorous dialogue, and the unique setting would lend itself wonderfully to the cinematic form, and immediately secured rights. Three years later, the resulting film is a sensual, romantic fable that digs deep into the heart of human by emotion in all its forms. Both realist and poetic, Hunting and gathering tells a universal story about happiness regained through love and friendship.

Hunting and gathering (Ensemble, C’est Tout) was released in France in March 2007 and struck a chord with audiences, turning into a genuine word-of-mouth phenomenon that grossed over A$20 million, screening in cinemas for over four months.

Synopsis: Set in the City of Light, Hunting and gathering follows the lives of four main protagonists over the course of a year. Camille (Audrey Tautou) is a lonely young woman who befriends her two neighbours, Philibert (Laurent Stocker) and Franck (Guillaume Canet), and subsequently moves in with them for emotional support. Together, these three vastly contrasting characters rediscover their passion for life. Beyond their arguments, reconciliations, quarrels and complicity, each is strengthened their growing bond, particularly when they decide to take on challenging task of caring for Franck’s ailing grandmother, Paulette (Francoise Bertin).

Camille, the film’s heroine, is beautifully portrayed by Audrey Tautou. She captures the character of a fragile young woman who, while honest and gentle, is also intense and vulnerable.

Despite Camille’s middle-class background, she limits herself to the life of a cleaning lady in a bid to escape the pretence and falseness of her upbringing. She is guarded and trusts no one, including her mother, until the day she meets Philibert. His gentle and generous spirit gives her confidence and a desire to share life’s path, without worrying about the future.

Laurent Stocker is Philibert, a young aristocrat with a stutter, an immaculate upbringing and a penchant for helping people out. Temporarily living in a large apartment belonging to his family, he shuns the rigidity of his parents’ world, selling postcards despite his profound scholarly knowledge and definite ability to do so much more. In order to take advantage of the lavish yet lifeless accommodation, he asks his friend Franck to move in with him until the fate of the apartment is decided.

A chef with bad temperament but big heart, Franck is played by Guillaume Canet in an arresting yet touching performance.

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^{[ Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet in Hunting and Gathering, movie still courtesy of Palace Films ]}

When not working, or engaged in one of his many affairs, the handsome and slightly uncouth Franck looks after his grandmother. Initially objecting to Camille’s presence in the apartment, Franck is hostile and aggressive. Gradually, however, he changes his mind about Camille and is somewhat tamed by her, being drawn in and seduced by her fragility and devotion - highlighted through her care for his grandmother. Having fallen for her, Franck is determined to convince Camille of the great love story they could live together, but finds himself up against her intense fear of commitment.

Franck’s grandmother, Paulette, is played by the magnificent Françoise Bertin. The film begins with her story, and is continually driven by the changes that are arising in her old age and failing health. After a fall, she is no longer able to live alone in the home she loves, but fixed in her ways, she categorically refuses to leave and move to a retirement home. She comes to share the communal apartment and develops tender, eternal connections with the other inhabitants, particularly Camille.

Each carrying their own emotional scars, we are confronted with characters that are wild and solitary. But somehow, simply being together allows them to discover themselves; to realise their potential. While often bordering on fairytale, the film is firmly set in the trials of everyday life with drama never far away. As happiness is threatened outside and in, the question remains: how do they avoid the setbacks of life without taking the risk of letting life pass them by?

Interview with Claude Berri

How did you discover Anna Gavalda’s novel and when did you decide you wanted to adapt it for the cinema?

These things always happen by chance. Emmanuel Pierrat, my lawyer, told me one day to read the book. Given that it’s 600 pages long, I hesitated at first. At the time, the book wasn’t yet a best-seller, but it had started to be quite successful. So I read the book. I loved it and I felt that many people would be interested in it. Before I decided to buy the rights to the book, Emmanuel Pierrat asked the publisher not to sell them while I made a decision. Then I finished reading it and I still hesitated, as it is such a dense novel. The growing success of the novel confirmed my initial reaction. So, without being entirely sure that the novel could be adapted to the screen, I bought the rights. During the following summer, still under the impression that I would not be able to make the film, I started on the adaptation, which would be useful one day to another director. I started to write the screenplay, and the more I wrote, the more I laughed and had fun writing the scenes. At the end of the script, I told myself that no one else could do this film. When the scriptwriting was completely finished, the novel had become a major success.

The book was having more and more success as you wrote the screenplay.

In the beginning, when I met Anna Gavalda, I asked her if she would work on the screenplay with me. She said yes. We saw each other two or three times. But since she liked everything I suggested to her, she left me to finish the script myself.

What about this story moved you and would suggest that it is similar to your other films, even the autobiographical ones?

I wasn’t the one who came up with the idea for this film, but once it was finished, several people told me “It’s definitely a Claude Berri film”. It is not, however, a story that I could have lived or experienced. The story moved me, of course, but not like in my personal and autobiographical films.

Audrey Tautou IS, when we see her in the film, the character of Camille. How did you have such an intuition?

Before starting on the script, I wanted Charlotte Gainsbourg to play the role, because I wanted to work with her again. As I said, life is all about chance. Shortly afterwards, I went to New York and Audrey Tautou, who I had never met, was on the plane sitting next to me. We got to know each other, but didn’t talk about the book. She already knew that Charlotte had the role. However, two or three weeks later, Audrey told her agent that if Charlotte could not do the film, she would like to play Camille. As she is a generous girl, she did not want to take the role from Charlotte. To be honest I had thought of her in the role when I met her. But I had already made a commitment to Charlotte. Besides, I had already started to film with Charlotte, one day at the Gare de Lyon. Then, once again, chance intervened, and Charlotte had a snow-boarding accident. I obviously thought of Audrey again for the role, but she had just made two films, one of them the Da Vinci Code, and her agent told me she didn’t want to make another film for a year. We nevertheless met up at the Wepler brasserie, and there was definitely a chemistry between us. She also understood that I really needed her and that everything was ready, the crew were in place. If Audrey did not accept, it would have been disastrous for the film. It was a Tuesday and she said she would let me know by the Friday. Indeed, she accepted on the Friday. One more thing: that night, at the Wepler, she phoned Stephen Frears, who I have known for 40 years, who lived with my parents. She told him that she was with me and suggested we have a drink together. We went to see Stephen, and Audrey, who adores him, saw how close Stephen and I were. That must have had an influence. And on the Friday, she said yes.

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^{[ Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet in Hunting and Gathering, movie still courtesy of Palace Films ]}

The choice of Guillaume and Laurent Stocker is also very interesting because they are both very different yet complement each other. Were you sure that they would go so well together?

When I saw Guillaume, I immediately fancied him in the role. He also really wanted us to do a film together. He knew some of my films. I didn’t screen test him, I immediately said yes. It was at the start of preparations for the film. For Philibert, it was much more difficult. The character of Franck is as popular as Philibert is aristocratic. I did many screen tests with my casting director, Gérard Moulevrier. One day, he presented Laurent Stocker to me. His screen tests were great and I decided to give him the role.

Françoise Bertin is absolutely beautiful and moving in the role of Paulette. The scene where you film her naked resembles a Rodin painting. Was this an important character for you?

To begin with, I wanted Tsilla Chelton, but the role was too important and the insurance wouldn’t cover an actress of her age. When I screen tested Françoise Bertin, I knew she would be wonderful in the role. She matched the character and it is very difficult to find an actor to play this type of role. It’s amazing that she accepted, without hesitation, to be filmed naked. We were able to film her naked.

Agnès Godard’s visuals are intimate and dense. She turns the apartment into the fifth character of the film. The actors seem to have lived there forever, cut off from the outside world. Is the apartment a crucial part of the story?

I knew that we needed a huge apartment and that we had to shoot in the studio. For a long time I had thought of Agnès Godard, ever since I saw Noemy Lvovsky’s film, Life doesn’t scare me. I was absolutely enraptured by the way she filmed both aesthetically and also how she cut scenes. After working with Bruno Nuytten and Eric Gautier - who wasn’t free at the time, otherwise I would have worked with him as he worked on my last films - I wanted Agnès. I should also mention my editor, François Gédigier, who has edited my films for a long time now. The main crew members, they were on board from the start.

You managed to emphasise the depth of this apparently joyous story. Do you think that this is perhaps a result of the depression that you experienced?

Before starting the film, I had a cerebrovascular accident and developed depression. I came out of this depression while I was casting and location spotting for the film. I felt in a position to do the film. We started shooting and, during the third week, I felt the depression returning. Nathalie Rheims advised me to take on somebody to help manage the cast and crew. I was fortunate that François Dupeyron, a very talented director who I love very much, was free. He really helped me out. Everything was ready, but I didn’t have the energy to make the film alone. I had a similar experience of developing depression during a film when shooting Une femme de ménage. When I shot this film, I had my first bout of depression after the death of my son. Jean-Pierre Bacri empathised with me in constructing his character. It’s not the same topic, but for both films, the same “soul” is present.

Family and the difficulty of being happy together, the fear of breaking up and of the separation of the family unit are all at the heart of your films. This aspect of the novel, does it touch you personally?

Inevitably, I had to put something personal into the film, without realising it. It’s always the things that escape you which are the deepest. It happens in spite of oneself.

One of the differences with your other films is that this is about young people, who search and ask themselves how to be happy and what they expect from life. Normally, you are interested in characters that are more mature, that have to deal with more adult problems.

It was written in the novel. The characters are of course younger than me. I wanted to respect the story.

There is a funny story about an element that you added to the script that wasn’t in the novel - the speech therapy classes. Is the teacher who gave diction classes to Philibert the same one who treated you?

In the book, Philibert has elocution problems. I was able to use that. At the time, sometimes even now, I had speech problems, and who, instead of making people speak, made them sing. When I couldn’t pronounce a word, he made me sing it. This person did not exist in the novel. I think this scene relates to my desire to bring the theatre into the story. I wanted the theatre to be at the centre of the film. In the book, there is a very short passage where Philibert says he meets a girl who suggests that he takes drama classes. So I developed the idea of stuttering with the love story with the young girl.

Do you think that between Camille and Franck there is a real love story, worthy of an American romantic comedy?

To begin with, the character that Guillaume plays is hostile to Camille. Philibert is the one in love with Camille, but he will not admit it. Like an American romantic comedy, a love story slowly develops between the two characters who dislike each other to begin with. A love story that is complicated, right up until the end.

Today, Hunting and gathering has become known as a Claude Berri film. Moreover, all those who have seen it consider it to be part of your filmography. How does Anna Gavalda react to this reinterpretation and reappropriation of her work?

All I can say is that she saw the film and she loved it. She never intervened. I think that she said that if she hadn’t liked the film and people had asked her about it, she wouldn’t have talked about it at all. On the contrary, even though she has been very discreet, if she were asked the question, I think she would say that she liked it. She didn’t tell me what could have been changed. I remember, after the screening, that her publisher was in tears. I think Anna felt the same.

After “Une femme de ménage”, this is the second time that you have adapted the novel of a contemporary author. Of all your work, do you think that these two films are the most similar?

I don’t know, because in this film, there is a happy ending, whereas Une femme de ménage finished on a sad note.

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