"A Very Long Engagement" (2004)

"A Very Long Engagement" is French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's big budget, though generally overlooked and less successful follow up to his quirky, Oscar-winning 2001 comedy "Amelie". Both films star the petit overseas sensation Audrey Tautou, who's French A-list star power granted her a high profile gig in the good 'ole US of A to star opposite Tom Hanks in 2006's big screen adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code". Jeunet had garnered enough success in his home country as well by the mid 1990's, directing his first American film, "Alien: Resurrection" in 1997. It's quite hard to believe that this is the same director, but hey, the guy wasn't on home turf, and was working with the notorious Fox film corporation, who had seriously butchered the previous "Alien" entry in 1992 from then-newbey director David Fincher. So, back in the French saddle he goes and into his comfort zone; the quality of the filmmaking returns in the form of 2004's epic and sublime "A Very Long Engagement".

The film is based on Sebastien Japrisot's novel of the same title, and little seems to be compromised in the jump in medium, at least compared to what we're generally used to in book to film transitions. Set in France near the end of World War I, the story follows Mathilde (Amelie's own Audrey Tautou), a young woman of twenty who has lost her life-long friend and fiance, Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) when he was abruptly called off to war. Mathilde, in the novel, was paraplegic due to having been stricken with Polio at a young age, and mobilized via wheelchair. Here our heroine is not quite as lame; the filmmakers inhibit her with a pronounced limp instead. Her parents lost early on in life, she lives with her quirky aunt and uncle in the French countryside by the sea, eagerly awaiting the return of her lover. In war, there is only so much certain men can take, and knee deep in all its inglorious ugliness, Manech, at one point, pretty much mentally checks out after his fellow man gets blown to bits by an albatross bombing right in front of him, in turn decorating Manech in his blood and guts. Five soldiers in the regiment, including Manech, intentionally maim themselves in a desperate attempt at being discharged from the war. However, it's not difficult for the men of higher office to discover their wounds to be self-inflicted, and in turn the five soldiers are courtmartialed and exiled into No Man's Land (the area between French and German trenches) to die. This is where the mystery of Manech's fate begins.

Mathilde feels in her heart that her fiance is still alive, and, despite advice from her aunt and uncle to try to just accept it and let him go, she stubbornly embarks on her own investigation into Manech's regiment and the five men condemned to death that day. She hires a private investigator, and she soon acquires private documents and letters from the men to their loved ones, providing her with pieces to the puzzle and a complex trail that gets her closer and closer to the truth. An interesting side character among the few witnesses and surviving members of Manech's regiment that Mathilde discovers, is Tina Lombardi (played by the beautiful Marion Cotillard), a widow not unlike Mathilde, yet completely different in her approach, in that it is of sheer vindictiveness. She takes the role of the vigilante, killing those who had anything to do with the death of her man, and it is interesting when the two women eventually meet.

Mathilde is relentless in her quest, and those who have not read the novel are surely hoping (in vain) for the happy ending that most French films are so reluctant in providing. Her unwavering determination and perseverance is heartbreaking. This is your classic story of the endearing power of love and hope, and, set against the backdrop of the macabre brutality of war, creates an epic drama bathed in duality. Jeunet makes a genre blending war film here that, in beautifully and grimly orchestrated ways, highlights the inaneness and absurdity of war. He is lucky he has cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, too, as he provides us with a gorgeous juxtaposition of the dark, drab misery of the frontline trenches, with the subtle sepia tones and golden glows of the peaceful, idyllic French countryside. The war scenes are rife with grit and grain, with a drab, greenish hue, and the scenes of violence are very well orchestrated. It's a French film after all; you're gonna get all the gourmet bells and whistles. Tufts of earth fly through the air, bullets whiz and zip by, occasionally piercing a soldier's clothing and flesh with a smacking thud, with blood subsequently spewing in realistic crimson mists. Whining bombs fly into the ground and explode, sending dirt (often concomitant with blood and body parts), literally flying right into the camera lens, in that gritty, under-cranked, "Saving Private Ryan" sort of look. Jeunet intermittently displays the horrors of war in a way that doesn't resort to shock value to get the point across. Yes, some of these scenes are violent, but they are tastefully and realistically done and do not detract from the mood and atmosphere of the film. It all simply works. Jeunet and Delbonnel grace us with some of the coolest shots in recent cinematic memory. There are a few impressive crane shots that track a whole bunch of things going on on different levels, often in one long, meticulously choreographed take. Tt all looks fantastic, and nothing is wasted within the frame. My favorite shot in the film is when one of Manech's fellow doomed soldiers, while in the middle of No Man's Land, tosses a grenade straight up into the air as an Albatross is on its way to make its killing rounds. The shot is a bird's eye view, and, through impressive use of CGI, we see the grenade come right up toward us, and suddenly the wing of the Albatross comes into frame and the grenade explodes right into its wing. Its sequences like these that really highlight not only the high budget of the film, but the time and effort that was put into it. And Jeunet doesn't use CGI the way many Hollywood blockbuster churners do, in making an eye-popping spectacle of it. In many scenes, CGI is used and you wouldn't even know it, as its implementation is subtle, serving to enhance the overall aesthetic in ways that would otherwise be impossible or extremely difficult. And that is how the use of CGI in film should always be.

"A Very Long Engagement", kind of hurts itself with its title, in that it is a very long film and, for some, could be a bit convoluted and confusing. The narrative does do a bunch of backtracking, and it does introduce many a character. Soon enough, we are not just overwhelmed with a multitude of characters once knee deep into the story, but many of these individuals have nicknames or alternate names, and some even more than one! I admit, it could be difficult to keep this tangled web of characters in check amidst Mathilde's quest, and one might easily become lost if their attention is diverted too often. That was the case with myself the first time, but upon repeated viewings, things I was confused about before suddenly became clear, and I discovered new things about the film. There is also a surprise cameo by A-list American actress Jodie Foster, who I didn't even recognize at first, especially considering she speaks French so fluently and flawlessly. Jeunet has really directed a fine film adaptation and a fine film unto itself. Hollywood should take note from this picture, as it is a very good example of smartly utilizing a very large budget in order to create a wonderfully crafted, great looking film.