A Very Long Engagement Movie Review 2004

Jeunet reteams with his "Amelie" star Tautou in a bittersweet WWI-era weepie about a young woman who refuses to believe her fiance has died on the battlefield. In 1917, Manech (Ulliel) is the youngest of five soldiers court-martialed and condemned to certain death in a frontline trench. Two years later, Mathilde (Tautou) is equally certain that Manech is still alive, especially when she receives a letter from one of Menach's fellow soldiers. She hires detective Pire (Holgado) to help her investigate; in a parallel story, Tina (Cotillard), the girlfriend of another soldier, is also looking for answers, although for a much-deadlier purpose. French with subtitles; based on the 1991 novel by Sebastien Japrisot.

Distribution

Not Yet Released

Available on DVD
Running time 133 minutes.
Originally from French.

Cast and Crew

Genres

World War I, France, Otherwise Engaged, Period Piece: 1910s, Paris, Romantic Drama

Cast

Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jean Becker, Clovis Cornillac, Marion Cotillard, Jodie Foster, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Albert Dupontel, Andre Dussollier, Ticky Holgado, Tcheky Karyo, Denis Lavant, Francois Levantal, Chantal Neuwirth, Dominique Pinon, Dominique Bettenfeld, Jean-Pierre Daroussin, Jerome Kircher, Jean-Paul Rouve, Rodolphe Pauly

Cinematography

Bruno Delbonnel

Director

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Music

Angelo Badalamenti

Other

Herve Schneid, Madeline Fontaine, Aline Bonetto

Producer

Francis Boespflug, TF-1 Films, Warner Bros.