A Very Long Engagement
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Movie Reviews of A Very Long Engagement
Movie Review: A Hopeful Love Story Contrasting Opposite Elements...
Summary: 5 Stars
War is filthy, nasty, and bloody. It is also a form of disagreement where one or more parts of society has decided that verbal communication can no longer achieve the desired result, and thus, tries to convince the disagreeing party through brutal physical force. The force is most usually not carried out by those who tend to disagree, as they draft innocents to carry out the disagreement with full force. The innocents usually are too busy to worry about national power struggles, as they have to carry out their daily labor while providing food and shelter for loved ones. If the innocents disagree with those who recruited or drafted them they will most likely face a court martial, and in the past, even death. A Very Long Engagement plays out un the backdrop of the French government who drafted and sentenced a group of five innocents to death due to cowardice through self-mutilation during the end of World War I.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet opens with a genuine visual description of the realities of war during World War I. The rain pours down over the desolated no man's land between the French and German border in 1917 in the opening shot. Relentless artillery fire has stripped the land on the battle front from all sign of life while the rain water slowly seeks its way to the lowest place - the trenches. The trenches are the home of the soldiers where they have to live among water, mud, urine, body parts, and other disgusting objects. Endless machine gun fire forces the men to remain below the top edge of the trench as bullets hungrily seek new living targets above. The poor conditions due to rain and overcrowding in the trenches develop terrible hygiene among the men, which creates several other enemies besides the ones in the opposing trench such as trench foot, trench fever, and other illnesses that often caused death.
Death seems to be the only way out for those who arrive to the front, which makes the notion of hope a meaningless dream. Seasons develop different kinds of obstacles in the trenches. Winter brings cold while in the summer diseases peaks in the trenches, as the overwhelming stench of rotting human flesh and feces would make any normal person throw-up. As if this was not enough, the men constantly struggle with sleep deprivation due to nightly bombardments while proper meals are something of a heavenly dream. Morale could not be lower while an abundance of madness lingers in minds of the soldiers in this nightmarish home of World War I. Unknowingly at the time, this is a year before the end of World War I, but for those who live in the trenches it might as well have been an eternity until the end of the war. The only desires these men have are to leave the madness of the trenches behind them at any cost.
Having the notions of the conditions of World War I in the mind, it becomes clear what compels a man to shoot their own hand while trying to leave the trenches and the battlefront behind them. In he beginning of the film Jeunet introduces five men who all have shot their own hand in order to avoid the trenches. However, all of the five men have been sentenced to death due to the act of self-mutilation, which is observed as a sign of cowardice. The five condemned wander through the trench at Bingo Crepuscule where flashbacks disclose the identity of the five men. Up to this point in this review, you the reader, might think that A Very Long Engagement is a war film, but do not let this notion trick you. This is a love story where one of the five condemned men, Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), who is or was, which is never clear until the end, engaged to Mathilde (Audrey Tautou).
Two years after World War I, Mathilde still awaits the return of Manech, her first and only love. She holds on to her hope that he is still alive through silly speculations and wishful thinking while she contacts survivors from Bingo Crepuscule where Manech supposedly died. Through many of survivors Mathilde hears often the similar stories of his death, but she refuses to accept the stories. Persistently, she hires a private detective to look up more information while she continues her own personal investigation of the fate of her fiancé. Unlike the trench war previously described, Mathilde quest resembles a fairy tale where she is determined to find her prince.
To say that this is an anti-war film might be true to some degree, but it does not present a complete image of the story. Jeunet portrays several different notions in this story such as love, hope, death, relationships, vengeance, and more. Through the survivors from Bingo Crepuscule Mathilde learns much about the five condemned men, but the audience also learns much about why life is worth living through these stories. In essence, A Very Long Engagement tells a story of life and the glue of life - love. Love is the main theme, which Jeunet throws into contrast with numerous different notions such as death, hatred, and anger. Through the contrasting elements Jeunet accentuates the importance of love. Thus, it is more accurately stated that this is a love story.
There is strong presence of cinematic symbolism that Jeunet uses from the opening scene with the broken crucifix with a partial and dangling icon of Christ until the very final scene. In the first scene, the importance of hands comes into the image where the Christ icon hangs from only one hand. The five men were also injured in their hands while several scenes stress the importance of hands carrying out actions. This could suggest that people with two hands can carry out different kind of deeds. In this case, the hand could deliver both love and hatred. Love representing emotional touch and handshakes while hatred displays the notion of pulling a trigger that kills another fellow human being. Thus, the notion of mutilating one hand could then extend the thought that the five condemned wanted to end their ability to carry out hatred and brutality against mankind.
In a clever intricate woven tale Jeunet incorporates flashbacks and voiceovers into a complex narration of Mathilde's pursuit for the lost Manech. Visually the fragmented storyline encourages the audience to ponder Mathilde's yearning for Manech along with the aftermath of war, which displays terrific editing. The camerawork bears a resemblance to his preceding films Delicatessen (1991), The City of Lost Children (1995), and Amelie (2001), but it still feels original. It is obvious that Jeunet is more comfortable telling stories that are slightly bizarre and fantastic. What Mathilde learns about Manech's fate will not be revealed here, but one thing is certain, A Very Long Engagement is a marvelously touching story that offers both comedy and tragedy on a very high level.
Movie Review: And Each Slow Dusk a Drawing-Down of Blinds
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Jean-Pierre Jeunet's wondrous film of Sébastien Japrisot's novel
Summary: 5 Stars
The idea that Jean-Pierre Jeunet would make another film starring Audrey Tautou that would remind you not only of their previous success with the international hit "Amélie" is not at all surprising. But the fact that "A Very Long Engagement" ("Un long dimanche de fiançailles") will also remind you of Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" is certainly unexpected. Yet the contrast between a realistic depiction of the horrors of trench warfare in the First World War and Jeunet's inventive use of the camera and other cinematic tricks may well prove unpalatable to some, but I found this 2004 film totally captivating. Besides, the war scenes are dominated by brown, with splotches of gray, which contrasts nicely with the golden glow of the scenes in the "present" focusing on Tautou's character.
In 1917 at the front in the Sommes, five French soldiers are court-martialed for the offense of self-mutilation. For all but one of these men these were desperate acts to get out of the living hell of the trenches. The condemned men are not shot by a firing squad, but instead are sent to the trench of Bingo Crepuscule where they are served a last meal and then sent out in the no man's land between the French and German lines. Eyewitnesses report that none of the five survived, but Mathilde (Tautou) feels that she would know if her fiancé, Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), had died. It is now 1920 and she is determined to find out what really happened to him. Along the way she finds out about the other four soldiers and several of their comrades, just as we find out about how the shy, polio-stricken young Mathilde (Solène Le Pechon) ended up with the young Manech (Virgil Leclaire), son of the lighthouse keeper.
Determined to find out the truth, Mathilde collects information from reluctant former soldiers, their family members, and government officials. Her aunt (Chantal Neuwirth) and uncle (Dominique Pinon), who raised her when she was orphaned, wish Mathilde would accept that Manech is dead, but our heroine refuses. Like the postman (Jean-Paul Rouve) who delivers letters to Mathilde answering her questions regarding the fate of her fiancé, we are caught up in her quest, and one of the best things I can say about this film is that while we are certainly hoping that the quest is not in vain, the stories that make up the journey are compelling enough that it works either way. For example, when Mathilde goes to confront Elodie Gordes (Jodie Foster), the story she has to tell is memorable, but while it answers a few questions about what happened at Bingo Crepuscule, it does not get Mathilde any closer to finding Manech. Yet even such dead ends constitute another piece of the puzzle, and Sébastien Japrisot's novel, which provides the words for the film's narration, is full of such pieces. In the end, the story and the characters are as captivating as the compelling visual images that Jeunet provides in this rich film.
In the world of cinema the French army is far and away the most brutal one to ever be depicted. In reality the Soviet army might have been worse, but all we have to go by is the opening sequence of "Enemy at the Gates," while the cruelty of French officers has been established by "Paths of Glory," and reinforced by every reference to the Dreyfus case (e.g., "The Life of Emile Zola"). Add to that the Vichy government that played along with the Nazis in "Casablanca," and you are inclined to start thinking that once you get past the Napoleonic era the only good French general is a dead French general. "A Very Long Engagement" certainly plays into that idea, but what stands out more is the graphic depiction of the trench warfare of the Great War. There are few films about that war, but when you are talking about "Wings," "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Sergeant York," and "Gallipoli," you end up with a small but pretty good collection. But just as "Saving Private Ryan" did for World War II, this film redefines cinematic realism for the War to End All Wars. If the scenes of horror entwined with the romanticism of Mathilde's quest does not offend your sensibilities, you will find "A Very Long Engagement" to be a glorious film.
Movie Review: Breathtaking
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, it is confusing with the bombardment of characters that are splattered here and there throughout the entire movie but it isn't very difficult to follow after a while. They do plenty of flashbacks from different angles of the same event that one will become familiar with each character although not quite remembering their names. If as any movie lover, one will pick up little clues to keep focused on whom is whom. Such as when Mathilde first meets the bartender with the wooden hand she comes home and recounts the names, the people who built the wooden hand, which happens to be one of the five soldiers sent to expected death at no man's land that faithful day, over and over. It is an epic saga of the young girl's journey to finding out the truth-the truth of whether or not she is holding onto hope that may become realized or just blind baseless hope of something that could never be.
This movie is a reunion of the director and his leading actress Audrey Tautou. The two worked together on the movie Amelie. If one looks back to Amelie there are plenty traces of the dark side of the director's vision and it is certainly explored and realized in A Very Long Engagment. The trench warfare of WWI is truly stunning and disgusting as that war was. The tuba becomes her distress call not just an idiosyncracy of hers and each time she plays it it becomes more familiar to us. Familiar because undoubtedly every one of us has a habit to unwind after stressful situations and playing the tuba as a ship's distress call happens to be hers.
I rather like to compare the director Jean-Pierre Jeunet as the modern day Hitchcock. With each movie the style, vision, and themes that possess each director becomes more and more pronounced. Jeunet pays attention to every detail-the look, the feel of his film, sex, romance, whimisical habits/details (such as the albatross in AVLE and the goldfish in Amelie, certain personalities that inhabit each movie of his. ETC...
Basically the film is about Mathile holding onto hope that her childhood sweetheart, her fiance, is still alive and did not die on no man's land condemned. It is three years after 1917 when he was supposed to have died and she still holds onto hope. One reviewer complained that there were slight background(flashbacks) as to their love before the war but really if the girl after 3yrs still holds onto hope, and she is a sensible girl even though whimisical, then doesn't that explain all? Manech (her fiance) was condemned for trying to get back home to her. Anyway, as the movie progresses it is still important that she finds that her hope is realized but even if she does find that her fiance is dead, it becomes more important that she is able to find out the entire complete truth of what happened to the five men that were condemned that faithful day to die on no-man's land including Manech. Although, as the audience, one would rather hope that she finds her fiance alive and well somewhere. But, more than a love story it is a story of will and tenecity that one person could have to seek out something-a story, an event (what have you) that could have just layed somewhere as a bunch of yellowing papers in an archive storage.
This movie is over two hours but it is worthwhile and does not compromise on the story. Even the ending has a bit of a dark undertone to it. Let's just put it this way if you keep coming back to A Very Long Engagment, hesitant on whether or not to see it, just please watch it. MOre than most likely you will enjoy the movie perhaps grumble slightly about the length perhaps lose track of the many characters at first but if you can read the subtitles it must mean you are working your brain while watching the movie so surely a few characters here and there will not make you lose your temper about devoting two hours to this enchanting film.
Movie Review: I Want to Marry a Lighthouse Keeper
Summary: 5 Stars
I was prepared to dislike "Un long dimanche de fiançailles", reasoning that a 131 minute French WWI era epic costing $56 Million would be bloated and ponderous, in the tradition of "Gone With the Wind". Instead I found a complex story that blended visual mastery with emotional intimacy. While the huge budget was there for all to see in the wonderful production design, it did not overwhelm the human elements of the film.
If you have not seen this film try to imagine a "Paths of Glory" premise, leading to a woman's obsessive quest on almost the intensity level of Truffaut's "The Story of Adele H", and revealed in a storytelling style like that of Akira Kurosawa's "Rashômon".
Like Kurosawa's classic, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Un long dimanche de fiançailles" illustrates the subjectivity of truth. In this case soldiers in both the French and the German trenches witness the disciplinary banishment of five French soldiers to the "no-mans-land" between their trenches (apparently the French were enamored enough by the English term for this area that they adopted it). As the heroine and her detective track down individual survivors they discover conflicting accounts of what became of each marooned soldier. Each witness saw the same thing but from their own individual perspective. Obviously this misdirection device is not original (see "The Hole" for a particularly nice recent example) but it is very effective and is simply one weapon in a director's arsenal of ways to take the viewer where they want them to go.
Amelie" star Audrey Tautou, the "Adele H" of this film, is a young woman who refuses ("An albatross is stubborn, he knows he can outlast the wind") to believe her fiancée and childhood sweetheart is dead. They have been in love since age nine. French films are big on this childhood sweetheart angle. Although I have never known an actual couple who can trace their romantic involvement all the way back to this early age, it does provide an excuse for some of the film's best scenes; the polio disabled girl being carried to the top of the lighthouse by her young admirer, where they kiss each other on opposite sides of the glass window.
"Un long dimanche de fiançailles's" greatest strength is also it's greatest weakness as the complex "Rashômon-like" storytelling technique and huge array of characters and incidents requires close attention or careful note taking to keep viewers from being overwhelmed. This is made even more challenging by the need to read subtitles (unless your French is way better than mine) while attempting to view the action.
It could benefit from a little selective trimming, like losing the moronic and completely unnecessary hospital scene with the silly exploding hydrogen balloon. This scene does not fit the tone and texture of the film but it probably cost so much to stage that they felt compelled to utilize it. It subtracts 10 IQ points from the target audience.
Tautou's character Mathilde is able to enlist the aid of a famous private detective (The Peerless Pry) at a bargain price because his own little girl is likewise a polio victim. Two recurrent devices are used repeatedly to unify this complex story. The first is Mathilde's heartbreakingly vivid reliance upon little superstitions to tell her if her soldier is still alive ("if I reach the bend before the car Manech will return safely"). The second is a comic relief bit involving the rural postman's dramatic arrival on his bicycle with the latest dispatch to advance the story ("When I see gravel I make it a point of arriving in style').
Fortunately, Jeunet does not give into the temptation to go out on an overly dramatic note but instead ends with a restrained poetic voice-over. Very nice.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.