Rent A Very Long Engagement (2004)

Picturesque war-time fairy tale detective story. - A Very Long Engagement review by CP Customer

Jeunet uses a large number of short detailed scenes to tell a long and complicated stroy in a palatable way. This is not a film to watch when you are half-asleep, or tipsy, but for the alert viewer provides a very entertaining yarn, with many amusing diversions throughout.

Essentially it is a detective story, as Tautou (known now to the world as Amelie) tries various leads and calls upon fate to try and discover her lost love, who was one of five men condemned for illicit attempts to be discharged from the front line of the Somme.

The film is very picturesque throughout, and shows a maturity of Jeunet's distinctive style. Extremely ambitious in scope, and achieves a great deal of what it sets out to do. I would prefer to rate this 3.5, but will rate it a generous 4, as it deserves better than 3.

Tried hard, didn't quite succeed - A Very Long Engagement review by BE

A harrowing depiction of first world war battlefields, a quest to find a feared dead fiancé and some incongrous scenes of a whimsical nature, failed to make this movie gel. It would have been better if the main theme had been stuck to instead of additional storylines being attached to some of the characters.

Not to forget WWI and smile - A Very Long Engagement review by CP Customer

This showed the harrowing and perhaps honest face of the 1914-18 war. It manged to balance the serious and horrifying images of the trenches with a light magical touch and a page turning plot. All achieved with exceptional cinamatography and production values... watch it!

Beautifully moving story - A Very Long Engagement review by CP Customer

Audrey Tautou and Marion Cotillard are excellent in this film with a surprise appearance by Jodie Foster.

Never mind that it is subtitled this a superbly crafted and moving film.

Any description of the story would spoil your enjoyment of watching the film, but suffice to say that it based around the horrors of the first World war and lost loved ones.

The title gives a hint to the final outcome.

As ever the French make excellent films and always manage to find a slightly different angle to view any situation.

If you do not usually watch subtitled films, put your prejudice aside for once and watch this film.

Excellent Movie - A Very Long Engagement review by CP Customer

Really enjoyed this movie. I was half expecting it to make me fall asleep after reading about it. The plot is hard to follow and the story lines are maze of intrigue and conjecture or maybe I ws just tired lol Anyway, this film was still fabulous and Audrey T was amazing as ever. The horrors of WWI were not over done but still realistic and the beautiful backdrop of post war rural France was excellent.

Excellent blend of romance and battlefield action - highly recommended - A Very Long Engagement review by RP

It's in French, with subtitles. But don't let that put you off - this is a superb film, blending romance, battlefield action, and search for a missing fiancé.

Mathilde, played by the always excellent Audrey Tatou, searches for the truth about her fiancé Manech, sentenced to death - along with four others - for self inflicted wounds during WW1. The death sentence is carried out by forcing the men into No Man's Land, where they will be killed by enemy fire. After the war, Mathilde refuses to believe that Manech is dead and searches for him, both herself and using a private investigator. During the search the stories of each of the condemned men is explored, giving each of them a fair amount of characterisation.

Told with a voice-over dialogue, the film intertwines several threads of story to give a satisfying complex tale with a happy - if somewhat ambiguous - ending.

I enjoyed this film. The acting, the dialogue and the photography are very good and the war scenes as grim - if not grimmer - than the opening of 'Saving Private Ryan'. Look out for Jodie Foster displaying a remarkably good French accent in a small part.

Excellent - 5/5 stars - highly recommended.

A really lovely film - A Very Long Engagement review by CP Customer

A lovely way to spend an evening. A captivating film which both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed.