Hunting and Gathering is a sweet, small little film with a quirky set of characters, like a tamer, shallower version of Avenue Montaigne or The Station Agent, but still heartwarming. It showed at this year’s Cinefranco festival at the Royal Cinema and you can find it on DVD now across town, including at Bay Video. Hunting and Gathering stars Audrey Tautou (Amélie) as a depressed and underweight but talented artist who works as a cleaning woman and French heartthrob Guillaume Canet (Jeux d’Enfants), a gruff gourmet chef who spends his Mondays taking care of his sick grandmother, only to bring home different women each week afterward to help him drown his sorrows.

They meet through Franck’s (Guillaume Canet) friend and roommate, Philibert (Laurent Stocker), a smart, educated man whose stutter prevents him from doing what he wants with his life. Philibert and Camille (Audrey Tautou) live in the same apartment building – he, in a large and grandiose apartment owned by his deceased grandparents, and she, in a small, cold bedroom in the attic. They meet in the hallways one day, share a meal, and then meet once more, when the skin-and-bones Camille is very sick. Philibert takes her in, feeds her and cares for her, in a completely innocent and platonic way.

Camille and Franck quarrel at first, but we know from the start of the film that they’ll make it in the end. We also know that Camille will be the key to helping unlock Philibert’s insecurities and make something with his life – or as it is, give him the courage to speak to another woman who he will fall in love with and who will in turn help him get over his stuttering nervousness.

But even though the film is completely predictable from the start – the cute young people must fall in love, the grandmother must die, the man lacking in self-esteem must get over his problem – the film has some nice, unexpected moments. Camille and Franck first fall for each other, then they ‘fuck’, and just as Franck has begun to fall in love, Camille shuts herself down and tells him “we fuck, we have fun, we don’t fall in love”. Franck is hurt and so starts to set boundaries on how frequently they have sex and how their sexual relationship works: he prohibits kissing. He wants to be with her; she wants to use his body. But it is more complicated than that. She loves him but is too afraid to admit it. Unfortunately, the film never gives us enough background on the source of the pathos. But the courtship is sweet and tender without sentimentality, as it should be.

Hunting and Gathering is far from a great film, but it is a good film, and a re-watchable film. The plot is simple but the actors’ charisma and talent make up for its failings, so we can forgive it for its over-the-top sentimental ending. It’s a sweet, quirky romantic drama.

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