Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004)

Director:

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writers:

Sébastien Japrisot (novel)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet (story) ...

Release Date:

27 October 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | War

Tagline:

Never let go

Plot:

Tells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Court Martial | WWI | France | Polio

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Audrey Tautou	...	Mathilde
Gaspard Ulliel	...	Manech
Dominique Pinon	...	Sylvain
Chantal Neuwirth	...	Bénédicte
André Dussollier	...	Pierre-Marie Rouvières
Ticky Holgado	...	Germain Pire
Marion Cotillard	...	Tina Lombardi
Dominique Bettenfeld	...	Ange Bassignano
Jodie Foster	...	Elodie Gordes
Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Benjamin Gordes
Clovis Cornillac	...	Benoît Notre-Dame
Jean-Pierre Becker	...	Lieutenant Esperanza
Denis Lavant	...	Six-Soux
Jérôme Kircher	...	Bastoche
Albert Dupontel	...	Célestin Poux

Also Known As:

A Very Long Engagement (International: English title) (UK) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

French | German | Corsican

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Spain:13 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:12 (f) | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Austerlitz Railway Station, Paris 13, Paris, France

Company:

2003 Productions

Trivia:

Jean-Pierre Jeunet met Jodie Foster as she was supervising the dubbed version of Panic Room (2002). The main roles were already taken but Jodie Foster agreed to star in a little role, as Elodie Gordes. She speaks French fluently, so she acted with her own voice.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Although Mathilde herself in narration, and her aunt in the story, say the musical instrument Mathilde plays is the tuba (in French), yet any euphonium player can easily recognize the musical instrument shown as a euphonium by seeing its clear images and listening to its sound, which is a little different yet crucial from those of tuba. This mistake might be deliberately made, for a real tuba might be so big for Mathilde that the view could not be taken appropriately.

Quotes:

Mathilde: [after climbing out of her wheelchair] Miracles don't just happen in Lourdes, you know.

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather: Part II (1974)

Soundtrack:

Peer Gynt: Suite Number 1, Opus 46

Simply great

Well, I've never written an IMDb review before (though I read them all the time), but I feel compelled to write one now.. And don't worry, I won't give any spoilers or mention anything which will ruin the movie in any way. I hate when people do that.

This movie is PURE POETRY. I'm not going to claim I'm some great movie buff although I've seen a fair amount of movies, mostly independent and foreign, but "A Very Long Engagement" is one of the best I've ever seen. The whole film has a very dreamlike aura to it and the colors are great. The only other Jeunet film I've seen was Amelie, and while that movie is one of my favorites, this one is right up there with it.

The subject matter here isn't my forte by any means. Honestly, when I read the comparisons to "Saving Private Ryan", I winced a bit. SPR is a great movie, no doubt, but it's just not my cup of tea. What makes this such a strange paradox is that the war scenes in "A Very Long Engagement" are possibly even more graphic and outrageous than those of SPR, but it works just because Jeunet adds his surreal touch to everything. Of course, I would certainly call this a romance themed movie much more than a war themed movie, but it blends everything very smoothly and naturally. It is a film both men and women will enjoy equally. You really have to see this movie. I mean, I was simply floored. The two and a half hour playtime flew by, not a single dull moment in the entire film.

A few things: Someone mentioned earlier that this movie starts off by throwing out a lot of names and it can be very confusing if you, like me, aren't the best at remembering all these names (especially French names), but it seems the director figured that this confusion might occur so as the movie progresses it's almost impossible to not eventually remember who is who because we are reminded so often (especially with flashbacks) of who is who. It's really not a big problem at all, just try your best to remember the names and which faces they belong to.

Another thing, I found it sort of hard to really care much about the relationship between the two main characters at first simply because Audrey Tautou's character is all alone wondering about her fiancé, but as the movie goes to periodic flashbacks of the two in youth, then in their teenage years, I saw so much beauty in it all. And the way these scenes unfold are incredibly spellbinding... Easily putting anything from Amelie to shame. That's another point I wanted to make. Jeunet's style seems so much more natural and mature here as compared to the somewhat forced 'weirdness' (or quirkiness) of Amelie. This is such a masterful film. If I hadn't seen the last showing of the night I would have seen it again tonight.

The ending was mesmerizing, paralyzing, and when the credits came on not a single person even got up for a few minutes. I left the theater and walked around downtown just thinking about it all. I can't say enough great things about this film. I cannot wait for this to come out on DVD.

And in the event Mr. Jeunet sees this, thank you! Truly a film I'll think about for a long time to come, and one I'll be recommending to everyone.

If you're looking for a full length, meaty film to sink your teeth, heart and brain into for a night and walk out of the theater feeling completely full and satisfied, this is the film. I've read IMDb for years, but this movie was enough to make me register and post my first review. Think about it.