Film Reviews

A Very Long Engagement

• Rating:
• Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jean-Pierre Becker, Jodie Foster, Albert Dupontel, Clovis Cornillac, Marion Cotillard.
• Details: Fra/ 133 mins/ (15A).

After the huge international success of Amelie, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and his star, Audrey Tautou, reunite in this World War I based drama. Tautou is our heroine, Mathilde, a love-lorn young woman who yearns for the return of her beloved fiance Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) from the killing fields. Despite all the evidence pointing to his death - he was court marshalled for allegedly self-mutilating himself - the polio-stricken Mathilde goes in search of her love, slowly building up a picture of what might have happened to him. Employing the same distinctive style which characterised Amelie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet has fashioned a handsome film which flawlessly recreates the period detail of the First World War. The horror of battle is effectively articulated in a couple of particularly nasty scenes, and the captivating performance of the elfin Tautou gives A Very Long Engagement an emotional anchor. Real subtlety or judicious editing doesn't seem to rank particularly high on Jean-Pierre Jeunet's agenda, but provided you can embrace the somewhat fanciful premise, it's possible to lose yourself in A Very Long Engagement.

Review by Garreth Murphy