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Plot:
Set in France near the end of World War I in the deadly trenches of the Somme, in the gilded Parisian halls of power, and in the modest home of an indomitable provincial girl and her relentless search...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:September 29, 2008
An absolutely beautiful and engaging movie - so much more than a war movie or a love story. Gaspard Ulliel is amazing!
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MCT:September 7, 2008A love/detective story set amongst the first world war. The cinematography is stunning. I liked the bittersweet ending(s).
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MCT:August 15, 2008Buen argumento basado un poco n las manias de ''Amelie'' y su mundo, pero m ncanta esa moraleja d q la esperanza es lo ultimo q s pierde
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MCT:July 31, 2008
Mathilde: [peeling an apple] If I don't break the peel, Manech is alive.
Audrey Tautou stars in another beautifully made film by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The story mixes romance, mystery, and war, and looks absolutely wonderful throughout, due to Jeunet's eye for lovingly detailing his sets and his approach to special effects.
The story is set around WWI. Two lovers are separated. One is Tautou as Mathilde, a nice enough girl who has a crippled leg due to polio. The other is her fiance, Manech, who was shipped out to war in the trenches. Along with four others, Manech had himself shot in the hand in an effort to be shipped back home, but the plan has backfired, and the men have been sentenced to survive in no man's land.
While many believe all of the men punished this way died, Mathilde finds evidence suggesting the possibility that some made it out alive.
What follows is Mathilde's attempts to track down the entire story of what happened to the punished men. During her search, she encounters a number of characters, including a private investigator who wants to help her, and some of the lovers of the punished men.
Tina Lombardi: I regret nothing. Except my hair.
Along with viewing the film from Mathilde's perspective, there are numerous flashbacks from different points of view, providing us more and more information about what happened in total.
As mentioned, the whole film, including the war scenes, are beautifully done. Jeunet has a particular style which works wonderfully for all of his movies. Its kind of like watching a fairy tale come to life. It shows the kind of love he has for making movies, working not to throw emotions at an audience, but draw them in through the way he handles his cinematography.
I also felt drawn in by the mystery aspect of this story. I really wanted to find out what happened to these characters, and its very neat to see the various events occur, which work to resolve each one.
Overall I very much enjoyed watching the film, as it looks great, and the story was engaging enough as well. And of course Tautou is always a delight to see.
[The mail man skids in on his bike, on the gravel road]
Sylvain: Every time you do that I have to pick pieces of gravel out of the grass.
The Postman: Sir, whenever I see a gravel road, I feel I need to enter with style. -
MCT:July 20, 2008UN LONG DIMANCHE DE FIANÇAILLES is a dream. One of the most (visually) beautiful films I've ever seen; exquisite cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel. This movie is very similar to "Amelie", and while the style works with AMELIE, it doesn't quite work with this one. Sometimes you doubt the scene you're watching is meant to be serious or not. That's the main flaw of this war/romance movie, directed by the brilliant Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Audrey Tautou is wonderful. Jodie Foster, Marion Cotillard, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Albert Dupontel, Jérôme Kircher, and Dominique Pinon are a very good supporting cast.
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MCT:July 17, 2008
Didn't care for this as much as I had expected to. I thought it a good story but only fair in the way it was executed. Not one I'd ever bother to see again but it was good enough to hang in there with this watch.
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MCT:July 16, 2008Boring and silly, with a bland unmoving ending and very little of any interest leading up to it. One of the least enjoyable movies from one of the most overrated directors, inoffensive and just watchable, but ultimately pointless and dull...
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MCT:July 11, 2008
same director and actress as Amelie . . . and it's okay, but not nearly as amusing or charming as the other
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MCT:July 6, 2008
AWWW!! it was so good, Ilove the movie since the very first moment i see it. Audrey´s act was the perfect add to it. ^^
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MCT:July 5, 2008Sweet, touching french drama about one young woman's search for his fiancée believed to be lost in WW1 trenches. Beautiful scenery and realistic portrayal of WW1 trench warfare. Love listening to the french language. :)
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MCT:June 28, 2008Walter, aloha e and Happy Tuesday. You know me, Walter. You know that things like captions will never throw me off --
I will gladly read captions until doomsday --
(or until the two cows I have came home -- if I lived in a democracy --
oh, wait, I do live in a democracy -- despite the evil and stupid blundering of GWB and his gang --
where are my two cows?)
for a good movie.
True, Walter, I admit it, I only gave this two tries -- not the usual three. But I gotta add it to our list.
Un-freakin'-bearable . . . Alas, Audrey, and auwe . . .
On the up side, no project with this much work put into it actually deserves a half star . . . right . . . ?
Walter, don't count this one for our 12/31 goal total. I certainly won't : (
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MCT:June 22, 2008
great story, I loved it the whole way through.
has two downsides, it's in french , but thank god for SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH.
other then having to pause a lot to read the subtitles then the bittersweet ending other then that I loved the story it was worth it.
a classic love story that refuses to let anyone lose hope about their true an only love.
I would add to my collection -
MCT:June 21, 2008
upon 24 hours reflection, i realise i quite enjoyed this film. it's not your usual run of the mill war film, it''s more a film which happens to have a war in it. even though it's in french the storyline is quite easy to follow with unexpected twist and turns along the way. i still prefer amelie, but this was a very enjoyable film.
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MCT:June 20, 2008
very French, a very complicated intrigue and an end i was not really expecting....in all, a very good movie....
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MCT:June 12, 2008
Another beautiful movie for Tautou. I love chick flicks and it doesn't matter that I have to read this one.
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MCT:June 7, 2008
Very moving and truthful to the horror of the war. Terrific acting, wonderful script adaptation and great direction.
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MCT:June 5, 2008
This movie reminds me to Jeunet's other movie, Amelie..
The way the camera moves also reminds me to Baz Luhrman's way... Generally it's a great movie. -
MCT:June 3, 2008
the cinematography in this movie was breathtaking. if i had capped some stills, they would've looked like beksinski paintings. i'm a real sucker for nice visuals, so 5 stars for this one.
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MCT:May 23, 2008
oh my god after the feeling of watching TITANIC one of my best movie in my life is A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT what a feelings? what u true love story? 2nd after titanic i love this film a lot... HATS OFF to director...
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MCT:May 22, 2008
This films downfall is also its greatest strength. I loved how dense the story was but the script's ambition clouded some of the characterisation. Visually beautiful if a little over-indulgent in the special effects department.
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MCT:May 22, 2008
I've never been a big fan of Jeunets films. They're either narratives of hope or utter desolation. But A Very Long Engagement was surprisingly complex in its denunciation of war and the havoc it creates on the front lines and civilian life. Base-line story: a young woman's relentless search for her fiance, who had been condemned to face certain death in the no man's land between the French and German trench lines in WW1 for self-mutilation to escape state-ordained murder. But thats just the start. The juxtaposition of the imagery, the realities of trench warfare in synchronicity to the picturesque, serene French country side with Methildes hopes risen and dashed every minute (If I don't break the peel, Manech is alive.) or Tinas vow of vengeance expressed the savages and the absurdity of war to its nth.
Of course it doesn't come close to Terrence Malicks Thin Red Line in its hellish portrayal of war with all its ferocity, intensity and reality. But then maybe it isnt fair to compare the two.
Anyone who accuses this film of being feelgood or heartwarming has missed completely the point. -
MCT:May 19, 2008
Jean-Pierre comes back to satisfy masses (Amelie fans included) with this giant epic-war romantic stiry to move your heart and soul.
93/100 -
MCT:May 16, 2008
Well-acted with wonderful direction; its completely beautiful and it may be one of my favourite war films ever!
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MCT:May 14, 2008
An awesome experience is how I would describe this movie. Beautiful, despite its setting during WWI (and graphic scenes), the story is one of finding what one believes may have been lost, of hope and faith against all odds. Reminiscent of Amelie (comparison is inevitable), but also different, darker in many ways. I loved it. This one will stay in my mind for a very long while (and I will smile while thinking of it).
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A Very Long Engagement Recent Reviews
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Comments
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hidupkosongposted 353 days ago -
Nov. 2004 Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet My take having just seen this film? Raw footage of war.FRENCH MOVIE with your choice of French, English or Spanish subtitles Love story of a young carpenter Maneche & his fiance, Matilda.(Audrey Tatou) Matilda first travels as she beginto a convent to read a letter a fellow soldier(Esperanza) wrote Maneche in Somme(BEFORE Maneche is sent as 1 of 5 into "No Man's Land") Matilda viists a Detective in Paris seeking survivors of the famous trench/bunker Bingo Crepuscule. Cost? 20 francs per day (+expenses) On a more serious note, filming beings graphically depicting harsh reality of trench warfare in "The Great War (WW I)". E.g., mustard gas attacks; flooded trenches; Soldiers' diet (when lucky)Beetroot soup..lavendar honey, cocoa from NIgeria; penalty for soldiers who wounded themselves was court-martial>>death penalty. Jody Foster very convincingly plays the wife of one of Maneche's closest soldier buddies, Bastioche whom Matilda visits...
posted 515 days ago
