A Very Long Engagement
(2004)
|
This World War I mystery finds limitless beauty in the nostalgia of loss. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, whose whimsical AMELIE riveted audiences, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT also stars Audrey Tautou--the 21st century's Audrey Hepburn--in the stubbornly emotional role of a widow in denial. Here she is Mathilde, a waifish young woman with a pronounced limp from childhood polio. Living with her quirky aunt and uncle in a farmhouse by the sea, and waiting desperately for her fiance Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) to return from the war, she believes that if he were truly lost she would feel it in her heart. Thus, when the bad news arrives--Manech and five fellow soldiers were exiled to No Man's Land for shooting off their own fingers in hope of being discharged--Mathilde refuses to believe he is dead. Instead, she begins her own investigation into Manech's infantry, hiring a private detective and tracking down the wives and girlfriends of each of Manech's compatriots. Conducting countless interviews, Mathilde pieces together Manech's war stories--which are told in earthshaking flashbacks involving gruesome explosions, flying guts, and massive suffering. And yet, the all-in-this-together humanity of these awful scenes, and the heartfelt bravery with which Mathilde absorbs the details of each battle, is undeniably moving. Jodie Foster appears as Elodie, one of the widows, in a charismatic yet muted performance and with a flawless accent. However, the most intriguing of the widows is Tina Lombardi (Marion Cotillard), a thrilling dominatrix-assassin bent on avenging her lover. A timeless masterwork that raises the bar for breathtaking camerawork, vivid landscapes, and fantastical storytelling, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT is adapted from the novel by Sebastien Japriscot. |
Screenshots
Although based on the late Sébastien Japrisot's 1991 novel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's lyrical treat for the eye and heart plays a little like “Amélie Goes to the Front”. Grittier in tone than that romantic fable — A Very Long Engagement contains unflinching scenes of battlefield carnage — and with flashes of the dark humour of Jeunet's Delicatessen, this epic romantic mystery still has whimsical charm to spare. The gorgeously gamine Audrey Tautou stars as Mathilde, the fiancée of a First World War soldier abandoned to face an ignominious death in no-man's land as punishment for a self-inflicted wound. Mathilde, trusting her intuition, refuses to believe he has been killed and begins an investigation into her lover's fate. This sweeping saga is fabulous looking and beautifully performed — two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster has an uncredited but pivotal role — and, though overlong, remains an engaging, utterly involving portrait of unswerving devotion.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Grand, gently moving movie on an epic scale, encompassing not only the horrors of war but also the effect it had on life after: the lush landscapes, through which our heroine travels, recover, but the people don't.