Film: A Very Long Engagement
Release date: 2nd January 2006
Certificate: 15
Running time: 134 mins
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon, Chantal Neuwirth, André Dussollier
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Romance/War
Studio: Warner
Format: DVD
Country: France/USA
Disallowed from becoming a candidate for the Cannes Film Festival, due to it being screened outside of France, and deemed "too American" to receive French subsidies by a Paris court, the release of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement was not without its fair share of controversy.
Combining beautiful cinematography with the backdrop of WWI France, A Very Long Engagement explores the beauty of hope and the absurdity of war. The film begins with the story of five soldiers who are court-martialled for injuries they inflict upon themselves in the hope that they'll be dismissed from service. The five men are sentenced to death and thrown into the no man's land between the French and German trenches.
All five men are reported to have perished, but Mathilde (Audrey Tautou), the fiancée of Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), one of the men sent over the top, refuses to believe this is the case. "If Manech were dead," the narrator explains, "Mathilde would know."
Following her intuition, Mathilde embarks on a quest to find out what became of her beloved fiancée. Talking to survivors and the widows of men killed during the war, she slowly pieces together an intricate puzzle that draws her ever closer to Manech. A Very Long Engagement depicts the lengths an individual is willing to go to for love and the manner in which war destroys the lives of all that come into contact with it…
Jean-Pierre Jeunet has achieved something rather interesting with A Very Long Engagement. The film combines elements of comedy and romance, as seen in Amelie, with some rather serious subject matter. Whilst the film maintains the quirky, comic feel of Jeunet's previous films, it manages to paint an incredibly impressive portrait of the horrors of war.
Some of the film's most visually arresting moments come during the WWI battle scenes, which, whilst offering the odd offbeat, comic moment, give a haunting sense of the absurdity of war. Jeunet uncharacteristically employs the use of some rather gruesome violence, which helps to counteract the otherwise upbeat feel of the film. Sweeping shots capture waves of men racing up over the trenches, only to be met with a continuous spray of bullets from German machine guns. Despite the mix of quirky characters and weirdly wonderful scenes, such as a blimp explosion above a makeshift hospital, Jeunet respectfully handles the subject of war.
As always, Jeunet's characters are unconventional and colourful. The cast deliver impressive performances, clearly helped by the fact that most of them have worked with Jeunet on a number of his previous films. These rounded characters work perfectly with the film's script, which, whilst being simple, is brought to life by the diverse range of characters who inhabit it. From Mathilde's dog-flatulence-loving aunt Bénédicte (Chantal Neuwirth) to the aptly labelled “officer killer,” Tina Lombardi (Marion Cotillard), A Very Long Engagement features an impressive host of wild and wacky characters. Heck, there's even a cameo from actress Jodie Foster, who is surprisingly fluent in French.
Although, there is to be no doubt, as with Jeunet's classic, Amelie, Audrey Tautou steals the show. The film would be nothing without Audrey's vibrant, loveable performance as Mathilde. Audrey draws us in and helps to make Mathilde's quest to find her fiancée a moving and memorable experience. A weak performance from the lead role in A Very Long Engagement would have surely seen the demise of the entire film, but Audrey pulls it off beautifully.
The argument that A Very Long Engagement feels like an American film appears to have some merit. The film's high budget certainly sets it apart from Jeunet's other works, such as Delicatessen (or even Amelie, for that matter), but that is not to say the film's budget negatively effects the quality of the film. A Very Long Engagement retains the style of Jeunet's previous films and, similarly, its success remains indebted to its unique characters. If A Very Long Engagement feels slightly ‘Americanised’ because of its high budget, it certainly isn't to its detriment.
A Very Long Engagement's depiction of the indelible marks that war leaves upon everyone it touches, and its story of one woman's quest to find the man she loves, is thoroughly engaging. It doesn't always feel as memorable and original as some of Jeunet's previous films but it does boast all of the classic quirks associated with a Jeunet film, including memorable performances from its wonderful cast and some truly beautiful imagery. ME
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