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THE MOVIE
With French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s latest film we are once again invited on an excursion into that fantastical, charming world that he specifically can conjure. A Very Long Engagement is the follow up to Jeunet’s spectacularly successful Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain) or, as it was known here simply Amelie. Amelie was a flight of romantic escapism that acted as an elixir to a world reeling from the terrorist attacks in the United States. A very brilliant film in its own right, Amelie was also the right film for the time.
A Very Long Engagement is thematically similar to Amelie but transposes those themes to a very different environment. Rather than urban alienation, the obstacle to romantic relationships in this film is the First World War. We learn from the opening sequence that a group of French soldiers were sentenced to death for self mutilation; among them the doe eyed fiancé of Mathilde (Audrey Tautou). The film follows Mathilde’s efforts to track down her missing fiancé who may or may not have perished with his comrades. From Mathilde’s enquiries we get glimpses into the romantic relationships of the other men who shared her fiancé’s fate. None of these relationships have been left unscathed but Mathilde’s instinctive trust that her man can be found and their relation salvaged spurs her on.
This is an ambitious film on all fronts. The thematic and technical scope is a step up from Amelie. It’s a period piece, a war film, an epic romance and luscious fantasy. It looks tremendous, from the bleak greys of the trenches to the impossible golden sepia of provincial France, once again Jeunet has synthesised a universe familiar yet foreign, with a flourish of whimsy and magic. Audrey Tautou is a maddeningly enticing cocktail of sensuality and impish innocence. She seems to be tailor made for these bittersweet flights of romantic fancy. Her unforced expressiveness makes it easy to relate to the blind optimism and deep yearning of her character.
War is an apt catalyst for the fracturing of relationships and separation of lovers. As a situation, or a backdrop it is useful but is too grand a topic to be used simply as a context. This is a romance with war as a hurdle. Jeunet’s world is too glossy and glib to deal with that most paradoxical and absurd of human enterprises. Not all films have to reveal a great truth about the nature of man in conflict or war’s impact on humanity as a whole, but this film’s failure to do so is the only thing that kept it from being wholly satisfying.
Those of us blessed/cursed with an overly romantic inclination will not be disappointed by this idiosyncratic fairy tale.
THE TRANSFER
Video:
No issues to speak of whatsoever. Those exaggerated, embellished visuals of Jeunet’s have been transferred very well to DVD. The warmth and epic scope come across beautifully in this widescreen presentation.
Audio:
I loved the music in this film, but this could be due to my Lynch bias. Angelo Badalamenti (who composes the music for my favourite director’s films) provided the music for A Very Long Engagement. These are beautiful, emotive pieces that have been mixed very well on this soundtrack. It’s a bit of an aural feast really, switching between impressive explosions, whizzing bullets and masterfully mood setting music. It all sounds superb.
THE EXTRAS
A Very Long Engagement was a very large production. Testament to this is the 1 hour 10 minute behind the scenes “making of” featurette; A Year At The Front. All the steps in production are covered from screen testing to costume design, storyboarding, editing and music composition. It is very comprehensive and interesting, if not a little overlong. It’s amazing to see how different the world Jeunet films in is to what we see on screen. You really get a feel for how much work goes into manufacturing this reality.
Other features include a ten minute behind the scenes look at the creation of the film’s most dramatic special effects set piece, another ten minutes for the Parisian scenes, a trailer and some deleted scenes. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s gives a commentary with the film and the deleted scenes. He’s never lost for words and gives us plenty of interesting information, for example, he modelled the combat and war sequences on Saving Private Ryan. This is probably why I found these parts so hollow. Jeunet and I have a very different understanding of what constitutes a great war film.
SUMMARY
These fantastical worlds of Jeunet’s are very much worth getting ensconced in, but if you needed any extra enticing then this edition offers a lot of quality extras. The video and audio also are of a very high standard. It’s a very well rounded package.
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