Directed by:
Jean-Pierre JeunetCinematography:
Bruno DelbonnelComposer:
Angelo BadalamentiCast:
Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon, Chantal Neuwirth, André Dussollier, Ticky Holgado, Marion Cotillard, Dominique Bettenfeld, Jodie Foster (more)VOD (1)
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The film is set in France near the end of World War I in the deadly trenches of the Somme, in the gilded Parisien halls of power, and in the modest home of an indomitable provincial girl. It tells the story of this young woman's relentless, moving and sometimes comic search for her fiancé, who has disappeared. He is one of five French soldiers believed to have been court-martialed under mysterious circumstances and pushed out of an allied trench into an almost-certain death in no-man's land. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (8)
I like the special atmosphere of the rotting decadence of the trenches of the First World War and the visual rendering by J. P. Jeunet is one of the best... excellent camera work, clear management of mass scenes and nice color filters. The battle sequence are just filler for the detective-love mosaic, which is again drawn only by the cute Audrey Tautou, who always uses her big eyes and smile. I was very satisfied with the chosen tone, which is relatively close to the bitter-unserious melodrama from Amelie, but in this film with enhanced undertones of the drama. The overlong engagements offer a rather interesting story, essentially tolerable main character and excellent visual processing, which only confirms the selected abilities of Jeunet's creative vision. I can't say that a melodramatic trip to the depths of war would get to me so deeply, but it slipped softly under over my skin...meaning that it stroked me pleasantly. I like it.
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Fragmentary in terms of story, perfect in terms of visuals and captivating in terms of music. In places it lacks substance and is rather long-winded, in other places it is indescribably emotionally powerful. Too bad that Audrey is stylized into her Amelie role again. Her acting talent is capable of more than just a grinning mademoiselle. Although the wartime interludes aren’t consistent with the rest of the movie, but they don’t pull down the overall high quality. The result is a crushing victory of form over content. But it’s a quality victory.
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Sebastien Japrisot’s book is quite bad to begin with. It’s a detective story told in terribly clumsy language, which presents a primitive theme in a wannabe sophisticated way of purposeful confusion, and it is therefore not surprising that the film has a similar effect. It remains relatively faithful to the source material, so hats off to those who don’t get lost in the plot chaos. The formal aspects are typical Jeunet without feeling or moderation, as his rampage (the turmoil of trench warfare is as authentic as ever) and picturesqueness (yellow-painted beauty with signs saying "kitsch!" not visible doesn't just catch the eye of the blind) meet again in an uneven whole and battle against each other throughout the runtime. The futility culminates in the moronic casting, which puts Audrey Tautou (76) and Gaspard Ulliel (84) next to each other, with the difference between them being obvious from the poster. This is a heavy misstep that, when repeated again, will in my eyes remove Jeunet from the list of the best original filmmakers.
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In terms of imagery, A Very Long Engagement is beautiful screenwriting chaos with excessive camera filters, fantastically beautiful sets and the extreme contrast between the cruelty of war and the tenderness of love. Its powerful, interesting scenes are offset by superficial kitschiness and music-video-style masturbation. A few passages had me on the edge of my seat (the airship), a few caressed my soul (the blowing-out of matches) and one shot transported me to the clouds (circling around the lighthouse in the opposite direction of the girls running around it). But I gave up watching the storyline after the first half hour. The director’s hectic storytelling, quick editing and constantly moving camera seem very contradictory in such a tranquil genre. Not to mention the later uncovering of connections with initially unclear and needlessly confusing scenes. After all, this isn’t supposed to be a sophisticated movie, for god’s sake! But I still liked it very much for its life energy and positivity.
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It is all too evident how Jean-Pierre Jeunet strives to elevate the content to the level of the form, but he does not succeed. He alternates between a gray-black camera filter, which adds rawness to the war scenes, and a yellowish one, but unlike the war scenes, which I would compare to Saving Private Ryan, the romance did not impress me at all. Also the story is unnecessarily convoluted and often muddled.
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