X
- 2004
- R
- Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)
- 2 h 13 m
- 2004
- R
- Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)
- 2 h 13 m
Summary An extraordinary love story set against the background of World War I.
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Written By: Sébastien Japrisot, Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- 2004
- R
- Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)
- 2 h 13 m
- 2004
- R
- Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)
- 2 h 13 m
A Very Long Engagement
76
7.6
Where to Watch
Summary An extraordinary love story set against the background of World War I.
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Written By: Sébastien Japrisot, Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 39 Critic Reviews
76
79% Positive
31 Reviews
31 Reviews
21% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 39 Critic Reviews
76
79% Positive
31 Reviews
31 Reviews
21% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Unfolds amid the mechanized carnage of World War I. Yet everything in it is personal. That's why it's a masterpiece.
When this long movie is over, all you want to do is clap and weep and watch it all over again immediately.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 50 User Ratings
7.6
82% Positive
41 Ratings
41 Ratings
12% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
6% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 50 User Ratings
7.6
82% Positive
41 Ratings
41 Ratings
12% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
6% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
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'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".
Report
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 هو السبب أن يكون فيلماً مميزاً
Report
Flattens you with concussive detail and the awfulness of war; it plays like "Saving Private Ryan" as remade by a Continental mathematician flipping out on Ecstasy.
A resolutely odd, occasionally absurd movie, but it's as charming and stylish as one could expect from this pair - if you like that sort of thing.
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.
Engagement simply disappears inside its own enormous, intricate and ambitious design.
Shuttles between schoolboy humor, calculated savagery and, at the end, a rank sentimentalism in which love all too easily conquers all.
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.
Report
Production Company
2003 Productions,
Warner Bros.,
Tapioca Films,
TF1 Films Production,
Canal+,
Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC),
La Région Île-de-France,
Région Bretagne,
Région Poitou-Charentes,
Gerber Pictures
Release Date Nov 26, 2004
Duration 2 h 13 m
Rating R
Tagline Never let go
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
César Awards, France
• 5 Wins & 12 Nominations
