A Very Long Engagement

There is a rule in life that the more choice you seem to have, the less choice you get in reality. Take going to the movies in the UK. Multi Screen cinemas abound but there are two main chains, Odeon and VUE, which are bounced around amongst Vulture Capitalists or Private Equity as it has been relabelled these days. They give them a cosmetic makeover and then merrily engage in the game of margin widening so a tub of popcorn or a “giant “coke (2 parts ice to one part coke) are £3.70 each. More importantly they are in thrall to the big name distributors so there is not just popcorn out the front but also on the screens as 2/3 of the screens are blocked off for “popcorn” movies aimed at the kids so us grown ups never get to see the grown up movies.

So it came to pass instead of spending £17.00 at my local Odeon I spent £3.00 at my local HMV to buy the DVD of "A Very Long Engagement" (“Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles” in the original French) starring the wonderful Audrey Tautou, best known for her stunning performance in "Amélie". This movie also comes from the director of "Amélie" (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) and is a very different love story based on the acclaimed novel by Sebastien Japrisot. Already well-known in France for her work in Venus Beauty Institute, in 2001 Tautou rose to international fame for her entrancing performance as the eccentric Amélie in the romantic French comedy "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain". With this movie she confirms that she is a truly outstanding actress playing a wonderfully convincing role as Mathilde a young French woman whose greatest fight begins as World War I draws to an end. She has received word that her fiancé Manech is one of five wounded soldiers who have been court-martialed and pushed out into the no-man's land between the French and German armies... an almost certain death. As in Amélie her role is of an outsider whose mind and emotions work in a different way to those around her but whose conviction and refusal to accept the conventional wisdom is eventually vindicated.


This film touches on two areas which interest me, the incredible personal heroism shown by individual soldiers in the Great War, particularly the Battle of the Somme, and the equally incredible indifference of the Top Brass to the horrendous loss of life and suffering caused. (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/towards-somme-personal-journey.html ) Five desperate French soldiers during The Battle of the Somme shoot themselves, either by accident or with purpose, in order to be invalided back home. Having been "caught" a court-martial convenes and determines punishment to be banishment to No Man's Land with the objective of having the Germans finish them off. In the process of telling this tale each man's life is briefly explored along with their next of kin as Mathilde tries to determine the circumstances of her lover's death. This task is not made any easier for her due to a bout with polio as a child. Along the way she discovers the heights and depths of the human soul.

Unwilling to accept that her beloved Manech is lost to her forever; Mathilde embarks on an extraordinary journey to discover the fate of her lover. At each turn, she receives a different heartbreaking variation on how Manech must have spent those last days, those last moments. Still, she never gets discouraged. If Manech were dead, Mathilde would know. With a steadfast faith, strengthened by hope and a stubbornly cheerful disposition, Mathilde follows her investigation to its conclusion, convincing those who might help her and ignoring those who will not. As she draws closer to the truth about the five unfortunate soldiers and their brutal punishment, she is drawn deeper into the horrors of war and the indelible marks it leaves on those whose lives it has touched.

From the commander who wantonly and secretly destroys the men's pardon, to the amazing lengths one condemned man's friend goes to in an effort to save at least some of them. This movie operates at many levels as a love story, a mystery, and a testament to brutality of "The War to End All Wars" and most particularly the men, women, and children affected by this dark and disturbing time in world history. Technically the cinematography (by Bruno Delbonnel) is amazing. Many scenes will have you asking how was that shot. The use of colour, the score, and the authenticity of the costume, the portrayal by the actors, the effects, and the story itself all combined to make a delightful feast of sound and vision. Look for a long cameo by Jodie Foster.

The film is 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. It tells the story of this young woman's relentless, moving and sometimes comic search for her fiancé, who has disappeared. What follows is an investigation into the arbitrary nature of secrecy, the absurdity of war, and the enduring passion, intuition and tenacity of the human heart.


It is a triumph, thought provoking and a paean to cinematic craftsmanship and the androgynous talented improbability which is the great actress Audrey Tautou who brings us deeply into the recesses of the human condition. Bravo Audrey and Director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who have given us a wonderful movie. Not since Stanley Kubrick's haunting "Paths of Glory" (1957) has the absurdity of war and the tremendous cost of each and every life lost been so compellingly portrayed. Appropriately, such an epic theme deserves epic treatment. What makes "A Very Long Engagement" so effective and so engaging is that Jeunet's stylish blend of visual mastery and emotional intimacy combine to not only deliver an extremely visceral anti–war film, but an intricate, unforgettable, heartfelt love story as well. Get it on DVD for; unfortunately, it probably won’t be coming to a cinema near you anytime soon!

"Un Long Dimanche De Fianςailles": C'est un film exceptionnel. Vous devez le voir.