A Very Long Engagement

Name: A Very Long Engagement
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, War
Released: November 26, 2004
Duration: 133 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster

2004

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 58 Ratings

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7.8

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 58 Ratings

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A Very Long Engagement

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) | Release Date: November 26, 2004 | R

Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster

Summary: An extraordinary love story set against the background of World War I.

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Romance, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 133 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Joe Morgenstern

Rapturously beautiful, startlingly audacious and often very funny, the film employs many of the techniques that were used so pleasingly in "Amélie."

Lisa Schwarzbaum

This is a movie that considers graphic violence with a refined taste for the sensuous: Guts spill, blood spurts, corpses stink, but there is a handsome, absurdist humanity to the way Jeunet (who wrote the script with Guillaume Laurant) maps out the crossroads of human carnage and human caring. Read full review

Charles Taylor

The holiday season's best movie so far. Read full review

David Edelstein

The downside to all this stylishness: that A Very Long Engagement is Amélie Goes to War. Read full review

Jack Mathews

There are many ways to say that war is hell, but few filmmakers have said it with as much imagination, humor, intrigue and humanity as Jean-Pierre Jeunet in A Very Long Engagement. Read full review

Steven Rea

A Very Long Engagement is "Cold Mountain" with French people. Read full review

Kimberley Jones

The elements are all here for something spectacular – and in brilliant bursts, Jeunet really gets it – but in the end, all that potential is sunk by a terminally confused tone and milquetoast pairing of lovers. Pity that. Read full review

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User Reviews

BertiP.

Oct 30, 2006

A compelling film, wonderfully created, showing French cinema at its very best. It seems that some of the "American rewiews" have not understood this productions depth and style.

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FilipeNeto

Jul 14, 2021

Recently, and as a result of its centenary, films with themes around the First World War have once again been the target of interest. Made in 2004, this movie is far from that kind of cyclical phenomenon where we remember things on their birthdays, and there's so much good in it that it'sRecently, and as a result of its centenary, films with themes around the First World War have once again been the target of interest. Made in 2004, this movie is far from that kind of cyclical phenomenon where we remember things on their birthdays, and there's so much good in it that it's hard to know where to start.

The script is simply superb and is the envy of many movies with no story to tell: during the Battle of the Somme, five French soldiers are sentenced to death for allegedly having shot themselves in the hands in order to get them out of the fight. The film quickly lets us know that there are, among this group of convicts, some who were victims of accidents with their own weapons, and each has their own life story before the war. One of them is particularly awaited by his fiancée... however, after the war, and against all odds, she continues to look for him, convinced that he is alive somewhere, and conducts a real detective work to find him.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet's work is excellent. He had already earned an ovation with "Amelie", his film of international acclaim, but this film manages to be even better, because it is more complex in all aspects without losing the quality, freshness and rhythm that we feel in "Amelie". The film is an absolute must for anyone who wants to see something about the First World War, as it carefully respects the historical rigor and recreates, with good doses of precision, the environment of the trenches: materials, uniforms, weapons, everything seems to be fine with the period and environment. The city of Paris was also lovingly recreated by the director, who gives us the atmosphere of a city, and a society, still digesting everything that happened to it.

Audrey Tautou, almost the muse of Jeunet, is once again the star of this film and once again excels in a magnificent dramatic work. She is truly one of the best French actresses today, and brings us a character full of feeling, strength and persistence, who weaves an elegant counterpoint with the apparent fragility of her sick and frail body. In addition to her, the film features the excellent work of Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon and Marion Cotillard. I would like to highlight the performance of Ticky Holgado, who couldn't be more witty and funny than it is, as well as the honorable cameo of Jodie Foster, a Hollywood veteran whom Jeunet imported, in good time, for a minor role but which she does with dedication, commitment and professionalism, in addition to an impeccable French accent worthy of a native speaker of the tongue. As people say, there are no small roles, n'est ce pas?

Despite the excellent story, the remarkable work of the cast, the solicitous direction, the film also has expensive production values and enormous quality, especially considering that it is not a film from Hollywood. The cinematography deserves a very special note, with superb filming work, superb colors with sepia touches and vintage styling, as well as careful editing. The battle scenes were very well done, the sets and costumes are perfect, and the attention to the smallest details is something that does not escape the viewer's eye. Another point I want to highlight is the judicious choice of filming locations, particularly on the coast, where rural bucolicism blends in very well with the wild and untamed nature of the Atlantic. Finally, a note of praise for the excellent soundtrack, composed by Angelo Badalamenti, who we already know from the collaboration in films like "Blue Velvet" or "Mulholland Drive".… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AIle

Sep 13, 2018

ارتباط طويل جداً
بالطبع لفرنسا تاريخ سينمائي لا يمكن لأحد إنكاره، وجان بيير جينت لديه خاصية إخراجية تجعل الروح تحلق ليس مع الفكرة فقط بل بكل حركة كاميرا وموسيقى ولون. هذا الفيلم بطبيعته الساحرة ورومنسيته المفرطة يقدم وجبة شهة من العاطفة المفتقدة كثيراً بالسينما المعاصرة .. وهذا برأيي هوارتباط طويل جداً
بالطبع لفرنسا تاريخ سينمائي لا يمكن لأحد إنكاره، وجان بيير جينت لديه خاصية إخراجية تجعل الروح تحلق ليس مع الفكرة فقط بل بكل حركة كاميرا وموسيقى ولون. هذا الفيلم بطبيعته الساحرة ورومنسيته المفرطة يقدم وجبة شهة من العاطفة المفتقدة كثيراً بالسينما المعاصرة .. وهذا برأيي هو السبب أن يكون فيلماً مميزاً… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

mapizarro

Jun 30, 2013

"Un long dimanche de fiançailles" has charm, gentleness and delicacy. Audrey Tautou has a epic role as Mathile, a young girl who knows her fiancé is alive. Jean-Pierre Jeunet's last good film. Totally recommended!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TonyB.

Jan 4, 2006

This is probably as effective an anti-war film as any since "Paths of Glory." However, it would have been an even better work of cinematic art if it had been shorter. Some scenes are repetitive and should have been eliminated; others would have been more effective if they were shorter.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

ryancarroll88

Aug 27, 2010

The complement of Jeunet's visual style with Tautou's quirky acting will pretty much always give an enchanting product, but in "A Very Long Engagement," the story itself is much too clunky and aloof to stay focused on.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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