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Very Long Engagement, A

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by Mark Rodger-Snelson

"Another superb movie from one of the best directors in the game"

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s adaptation of the Sébastien Japrisot novel A Very Long Engagement is yet another brilliant piece of filmmaking from one of the world’s most talented directors. It is a superb movie that intricately weaves a tale of romance and mystery set against the brutality of war.

The beginning of the movie is set in the horrendous frontline battle between France and Germany in Somme during World War I. So atrocious and frightening are the conditions in this trench warfare that five French soldiers decide it is better to self inflict shooting injuries in a hope to be sent home than to continue fighting in this bloody war. Unfortunately this does not work out as planned and a court martial sentences them to death but rather than facing the firing line, they are forced to fend for themselves and face certain demise in the no mans land between the French trenches and the enemy line. None of these soldiers are reported to have survived.

Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) was on of these soldiers and back at home his fiancé, Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) refuses to believe that he has perished and decides to go on a quest to find out the truth. This leads her on a complex journey of conspiracies, military cover ups and various versions of what may have happened to her beloved Manech. But no matter how devastating each story she is told, in her heart she feels that he is still alive and her search goes on. Her investigation sees her meeting a number of eccentric characters as well as a lethally bitter femme fatale, all of whom may lead her to Manech. The film also flashes back a number of times to show how Mathilde and Manech first met as children right up to when they fell in love and became engaged. It also visits the battlefields in gory detail, so be warned it is quite graphic in these scenes.

A Very Long Engagement is simply gorgeous to look at thanks to the wizardry of Bruno Delbonnel (Amelie) who uses digitally enhanced camerawork to a spectacular effect. The scenery and set design are also breathtaking and the costuming is exquisite. All of the acting is flawless with Audrey Tautou delivering the goods again and Jodie Foster in a cameo that sees her speaking perfect French.

Although it is not quite the masterpiece that was Amelie, it is not very far behind and is still an outstanding piece of cinema. Had this wartime romance/mystery been adapted and made in Hollywood, it would have been an over emotional and sappy affair but thankfully Jeunet avoids all the clichés that a story of this ilk would normally attract and delivers an always intriguing and visually stunning film.

link directly to this review at http://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=11186&reviewer=388
originally posted: 04/10/05 05:12:15

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User Comments

6/11/15 Paul This review is telling an artist what his art should be. Arrogant! And I love Kubrick! 5 stars

11/03/09 MP Bartley Lyrical and harrowing, if just a tad too dense and overdone. 4 stars

7/11/09 Jared Kreiner Jeunet's' best 5 stars

9/30/08 Annie G Beautifully filmed, but ultimately sadder than expected. 3 stars

6/18/08 gemma & kirstie a brilliant film that we cant seem to get enough of!!!!! definatly a 5 star!!!! 5 stars

6/05/08 PAUL SHORTT PRETTY LONG AND UNENGAGING 1 stars

3/01/08 Alisha Amazing, amazing, amazing. 5 stars

8/18/07 aliza its interesting 4 stars

3/12/06 Roderick Cromar Really great. Everything a film should be. Only tiny flaws. 5 stars

12/19/05 Nicole Good movie, but its hard to care about Mathilde's search...love story not devl early enough 4 stars

10/31/05 Christina OUrsler Very french, very existential....tuba, polio,war and love...mostly love. 5 stars

10/28/05 TPS worth it for the battlefield scenes alone but the rest is pretty good also 4 stars

10/27/05 Rosie everything you need in one film! 5 stars

9/23/05 Phil M. Aficionado Complicated and beautiful story full of vivid characters; slightly contrived in places, tho 4 stars

8/22/05 Taylor Fladgate Fantastic. Complicated plot, I had to watch it twice to catch the nuances. 5 stars

8/12/05 foxy familiar story line but Tautou makes it enjoyable 4 stars

8/03/05 Mark Albert The feel of Amelie, but deliciously dark and different! 5 stars

7/17/05 JFK great movie. Jean Pierre rules!!!! 5 stars

6/13/05 Helen Bradley Audrey Tautou disappointing, plot poor editing bad 2 stars

4/20/05 Dan Excellent cinematography and a compelling story 5 stars

2/24/05 ronnie surprising , deligthful movie 5 stars

2/16/05 John Cinematography masterpiece....... 5 stars

2/04/05 Veronica Serwin Absolutely phenomenal. 5 stars

1/15/05 jcjs fabulous, delightful surprize, great show 5 stars

1/12/05 nick2k wow...good stuff. nice to see jean-pierre attempt wwi. loved it! 5 stars

1/06/05 Green Gremlin Another masterful achievement from Jeunet. 5 stars

12/31/04 paul fantastic, beautiful 5 stars

12/28/04 T. Maj Does justice to a wonderful book 5 stars

12/27/04 John Bale Possibly the best antiwar film since Paths of Glory. Brilliant ! 5 stars

12/26/04 ajay I had a hard time with the French names/subtitles. I loved Amelie, so I'll see this again 4 stars

12/03/04 Luc Confirms a new way of making movies 5 stars

11/27/04 Eva masterful film making! 5 stars

11/25/04 Dianne A truly beautiful film with moments that will haunt/touch me forever. 5 stars

11/22/04 Vince One of the very best movies of the year. A must see. 5 stars

IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS FILM, RATE IT!
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USA 26-Nov-2004 (R) DVD: 12-Jul-2005 UK N/A Australia 26-Dec-2004

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet Written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet Guillaume Laurant Cast Audrey Tautou Gaspard Ulliel Dominique Pinon Clovis Cornillac Jerome Kircher Jodie Foster

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