All Our Desires (2011) Toutes nos envies

French screenwriter, producer and director Philippe Lioret's seventh feature film which he co-wrote with French actor, screenwriter and director Emmanuel Courcol and co-produced, is an adaptation of a novel from 2009 called "D'autres vies que la mienne" by French author, screenwriter and director Emmanuel Carrère. It premiered in the Venice Days section at the 68th Venice Film Festival in 2011, was shot on locations in France and is a French production which was produced by producer Marielle Duigou. It tells the story about a jurist named Claire Conti who has moved in to a new house in Lyon, France with her husband named Christophe who is a sauce chef and their daughter named Mona and son named Arthur. On an autumn day, Claire goes with her children to their kindergarten where she meets her daughter's friend named Zoe's mother named Céline Hersant. She then goes to court, and during the hearing of a case regarding a loan company's lawsuit against a woman she meets Céline again.

Distinctly and eloquently directed by French filmmaker Philippe Lioret, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the two main characters' viewpoints, draws a quietly compassionate portrayal of a woman whom after a crucial meeting with her doctor becomes increasingly involved in the life of a woman whom has been left by the father of her children and befriends a judge named Stéphane who lives with his girlfriend named Marthe. While notable for its naturalistic and atmospheric milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by cinematographer Gilles Henry, production design by production designer Yves Brover-Rabinovici and costume design by costume designer Anne Dunsford, this dialog-driven and character-driven story about a woman's virtuous fight for another person and for moral justice against a capitalist-driven loan company called Crefiref, depicts two heartrending studies of character and contains a great score by Danish composer Flemming Nordkrog.

This charmingly humorous, perceptively romantic and reflective drama which is set during an autumn and winter in a city in Southern France in the 21st century and where a French mother and wife whom has lived most of her life without a father-figure and whom is faced with a "verdict" she decides to master on her own, finds a precious human connection with a middle-aged father and rugby coach whom is missing his adult son and a single mother whom is struggling to support her three children receives help from two jurists who for once would like to see the ethical aspects of a case within the judicial system surpass the financial, is impelled and reinforced by its refined narrative structure, subtle character development, rhythmic continuity, acute examination of its central themes, scenes between Claire and Stéphane and the empathic and understated acting performances by Belgian actress Marie Gillain, French actor Vincent Lindon and actress Amandine Dewasmes. A graceful, whole-hearted and authentic narrative feature.

IMDB Reviewer