A Very Long Engagement 2004 Starring Audrey Tautou Gaspard Ulliel

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A Very Long Engagement

DVD
Format: Widescreen
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Release Date: July 2005
UPC: 085393897222
List Price: ~~$19.98~~

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Summary:
Both epic and intimate, A Very Long Engagement reunites Audrey Tautou and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the star and director of the hugely popular Amelie. A young woman named Mathilde (Tautou, Happenstance) separated from her lover by World War I refuses to believe he's been killed and launches an investigation into his fate--an investigation that spins in all directions, creating dozens of miniature stories (including that of an Italian prostitute avenging the death of her own lover by elaborate means) that shift to and fro in time. The dazzling curlicues of narrative put brutality and tenderness back to back, shifting between crushing inevitabilities and miraculous rescues with deft storytelling skill and the lush visual style of the director of Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children. Through it all, Tautou--fierce and luminous--anchors the movie effortlessly. She's among the most emotionally engaging actresses in cinema, with the kind of expressive beauty that transcends language. A gorgeous, far-reaching film; the huge cast also includes Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs), Gaspard Ulliel (Strayed), and Dominique Pinon (Alien: Resurrection).

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Rating:

An Intricate WWI Whodunit Masquerades Effectively as Epic Romance

Customer Rating:

The previews of this movie presented images that promised an enduring love story set against the backdrop of WWI. What Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2004 follow-up to Amelie really is, however, is a whodunit, a jigsaw puzzle of a mystery that starts slowly in a fragmented recollection of seemingly unrelated events and gradually through the introduction of new characters, becomes a story of unrelenting commitment. That it is driven by a seemingly naïve love story seems almost incidental to what the director seems intent to present here, an epic inspired not only by Stanley Kubrick's 1957 antiwar classic about a WWI suicide mission, Paths of Glory, but also Edward Zwick's 1996 Courage Under Fire and to some degree, Akira Kurosawa's 1950 classic, Rashomon.

The film is successful in evoking memories of these other films and at the same time, bears the unmistakable stamp of Jeunet's now-recognizable visual invention. Whereas his filmmaking style befits the optimism and quirkiness of Amelie, it surprisingly feeds very well into this much darker tale. The most memorable example is an extended scene, which takes place in a field hospital crowded with wounded soldiers and housing a huge, hydrogen-filled zeppelin. An undetonated shell is lodged in the ceiling as the zeppelin unexpectedly lets loose from its tether. The contact of these objects is inevitable, but Jeunet films it in such a stylized chain of events that I was impressed with his flair as much as I was dreading the outcome. Jeunet invests a lot of effort capturing the bleakness and sheer brutality of war, including a plethora of mutilations that made me wince, but again his visual sense does not allow it to reach the gut level of the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Rather, they become part of this intimate world he is building to facilitate his storytelling, which in itself is stylized by its very unfolding. The technique can be frustrating at first since so many bits of information are thrown at the viewer without much context until it all weaves together into a singular strand that moves toward the ending.

Audrey Tautou, Dietrich to Jeunet's von Sternberg, downplays the charm she displayed in Amelie for a more sullen performance as Mathilde, a woman handicapped by childhood polio but relentless in her search for Manech, her fiancé and lifelong love. I wish there were more scenes of their blooming relationship, as I think that is the one imbalance in the film that could have drawn me closer to her character. So much is assumed of our empathy for her plight, but frankly she comes across as a bit too monomaniacal at times. With the intensity of the romance missing, Manech, as played with appropriate vacuity by Gaspard Ulliel, comes across as something of a cipher despite what is obviously his undying love for her. The four other men who were court-martialed with Manech on the front lines for self-mutilation are all revealed in their own stories. A serial-killing prostitute brings an unusually exotic, Mata Hari aspect to more than one of the stories, but that is not the only plot twist. Prominent in one of the other stories is Jodie Foster, speaking what sounds like impeccable French, as a put-upon housewife who in an effort to save her husband, gets mired in an unfortunate love triangle. Foster gives a fine, small performance, but her recognizable appearance and Yankee appeal cut into the realism of the story at an important juncture.

Fortunately, the film is a feast for the eyes throughout. Thanks to Bruno Debonnel's expert cinematography, the film contains desaturated hues that produce an almost brown-and-white look that recalls an old, graying photograph. I think the film could have been trimmed from its 2 ¼-hour running time, but it doesn't feel much time has been wasted in getting to the hopeful conclusion. It's definitely worth seeing for Jeunet's individualistic filmmaking panache. The two-disc 2005 DVD set contains the movie on the first disc and an extremely informative commentary track from Jeunet (in French with English subtitles) that covers everything about the production. The highlight of the second disc is the comprehensive 73-minute documentary, "A Year at the Front". More than a standard making-of feature, it covers everything from storyboarding to location shooting. Two other shorts are included - "Parisian Scenes" covers what it took to re-create 1920's Paris, and "Before the Explosion" concentrates on the mechanics behind the zeppelin sequence. Finally, there are also fourteen deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary from Jeunet.

Disappointing yet captivating

Customer Rating:

"Amelie", Jean Pierre Jeunet's rightly praised follow-up to the abysmal fourth entry in the "Alien" series, was one of my favorite foreign releases in recent years and there was such a charm and lightheartedness about it that it cheered me up whenever I'd see it. Reuniting with star Audrey Tautou, you'd think "A Very Long Engagement" with its more adult story and complex narrative would make it just as good or even better but unfortunately there's occasions where there's some missteps that could've been changed.

During World War I, Matilde is seeing off her childhood friend and love Manech as he goes straight to the trenches. But him along with 5 others self-mutilate in hopes they'd be taken out due to injury but instead they're sentenced to walk within "no man's land", the middle of the trenches between French and German forces. Declared dead, Matilde doesn't believe and starts her own investigation into what exactly happened.

A lot of foreign films tend to be predominantly story driven, often having big vista shots and dialogue as opposed to action scenes and the like. This film does have some wartime scenes but they're used sparingly and doesn't delve into Private Ryan-esque battles every 15 minutes. The thing is, since the story gets the bigger emphasis, is that it's just not a very well-paced film. A film should make you feel like you're so caught up in it that the time seems to fly by but I was constantly away of its length and the strange pacing. Plus there's some subplots, one involves Jodie Foster (who surprisingly has a great handle on the language) that could've been taken out while one involving Marion Cotillard in a situation similar to Mathilde doesn't seem as prominent as it should be. And there's some "Amelie"-style humor like dog flatulence (I wish I was kidding) that doesn't work, period.

But then again, Jeunet's films have always been a great sight to watch and while I prefer the color scheme of Amelie, this film is also visually sumptuous with a sepia-toned color grading and more gray, dull looks for the war scenes. But on occasion, it seems like he went overboard and many scenes in the countryside look too....yellow and kind of distracting. The actors though are just as welcome to watch from Tautou to frequent Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon. It's a shame that a storyline involving Foster who's admittedly good got a mention whereas the one with Cotillard wasn't as fleshed out since I got quite interesting in her side and the dichotomy of what Mathilde does and the other character would've made a good story idea.

I'd recommend you watch the film since it's a well-made and watchable story but whether Amelie spoiled me or its the film itself, this one slightly missed its mark.

If you ever found notecards useful...

Customer Rating:

Great movie. I've read most reviews on Amazon and it seems that I wasn't the only one having initial trouble with all the French names and relationships portrayed. If you want to enjoy the movie to its fullest, it may help to spend some time and write down the character names, former occupation, persons they are involved with, or some other distinct feature. You can even do this based strictly on the first 4-5 minutes of the actual movie - which present us a lot of condensed information on "the five". You'll still have more than 2 hours left to sit back and enjoy.

And Each Slow Dusk a Drawing-Down of Blinds

Customer Rating:

The 2004 Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, The City of Lost Children, Delicatessen) film A Very Long Engagement (Un long dimanche de fiançailles) is one of those rare movies I'm urged to consume myself with annually. In fact it was my favorite film of that year and Jeunet, were it not for the terrible Alien: Resurrection, has a nearly flawless list of films he has directed, at least in my opinion. Here, Jeunet once again gets to work with the quirky, lovable, and brilliant Audrey Tautou, who were it not for her humble choice of roles outside of the Da Vinci Code, would probably be a Hollywood icon. They clearly compliment each other, as in A Very Long Engagement Jeunet recaptures everything that makes Tautou so wonderful in Amélie. But that's not all. Jeunet has an outstanding international ensemble in this movie. Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon is back once again. 2007 Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (La Môme a.k.a. La Vie en rose) is absolutely perfect as the tragic anti-hero and clever revenge connoisseur, Tina Lombardi. Gaspard Ulliel, who plays the infamous title character in 2007's Hannibal Rising, co-stars opposite Tautou, and is as equally engaging for his pure boyish innocence in the role. Even Jodie Foster appears in a supporting role and is as compelling as ever. On the technical side Bruno Delbonnel (unquestionably among the best cinematographers in the world) collaborates again with Jeunet to make a great story also a visually dazzling film. Frequent David Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti scores the film effectively as well. But enough about who made the movie.

A Very Long Engagement follows Mathilde (Tautou), an orphan partially paralyzed from polio, as she undertakes a desperate journey to find her fiancé, a French soldier in World War I named Manech (Ulliel). Their love for one another is portrayed as remarkably profound and that really is what this movie is built on. Jeunet has a unique way of introducing characters to us. He makes it almost impossible to not relate in some way to them. The characters in his films are far more charming than most, especially here. Manech was one of five soldiers convicted of self-mutilation. He did this so he would no longer have to serve. All five soldiers faced a death sentence by being forced to enter No Man's Land between the French and German trenches. All are assumed to have not survived but Mathilde's faith in Manech's survival cannot be shaken. A Very Long Engagement is seen through the perspective of both primary characters, but mostly focuses on Mathilde. I won't give away the end but suffice to say it is among the most beautiful bittersweet movie moments in many years.

In such a passionate story that never loses my attention I sometimes forget how amazing this film is visually. You can plainly see that Jeunet is delighted to tell his story with a big budget, and believe me he uses it wisely. The war scenes do not for one second turn away. Even with all I've heard, read about, or seen visual interpretations of; nothing could prepare me for Jeunet's seemingly spot-on depiction of World War I trench warfare brutality. What's amazing is he contrasts these fragmented horrific visuals with mostly gorgeous countryside shots of north western France and gazing shots of the beautiful and delicate Mathilde. Seems so appropriate, as the world I see today might need these contrasts as a reminder of how very beautiful life has the potential to be. A Very Long Engagement to me is the total package. It really is what movies should be about and I very highly recommend it to anyone.

A sweeping tale, confusing at times

Customer Rating:

A Very Long Engagement is a very good movie with some beautifully stunning imagery. Although the story is sometimes hard to follow, with a few random characters' backstories that distract from the overall story about Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) and her seemingly futile search for information about her war bound finacee, Manech (Gaspard Ulliel). Overall, I think that this is a beautiful film that ended with an emotional punch.