Audrey Tautou Movie:

				Label: Warner Bros. France-Tapioca Films Salesrank: 23166
		Our Price: $2.44
		Used Price: $1.49
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
The film is set in France near the end of World War I in the deadly trenches of the Somme, in the gilded Parisien halls of power, and in the modest home of an indomitable provincial girl. It tells the story of this young woman's relentless, moving and sometimes comic search for her fiancC)e, who has disappeared. He is one of five French soldiers believed to have been court-martialed under mysterious circumstances and pushed out of an allied trench into an almost-certain death in no-man's land. What follows is an investigation into the arbitrary nature of secrecy, the absurdity of war, and the enduring passion, intuition and tenacity of the human heart.

A Very Long Engagement Reviews:
"Amelie" meets "Saving Private Ryan"...
2009-10-22 - A bizarre mix indeed but, believe it or not, it's a pretty apt description of this very odd but quite brilliant film.

First off, you get the most realistic depiction of what war must be like since "Saving Private Ryan", only this time the scene is the trenches in the Somme in 1917... so meticulously recreated, believably presented and deeply shocking that it will leave you stunned and drained by the time you've got through the first section of the film.

But then things become very different as director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and lead actress Audrey Tautou take very distinct aspects of their comic classic, "Amelie", and rework them into a much "darker" mix involving a charmingly poignant love story and an extremely complex and, in the end, pretty unbelievable detective story, centred on the fate of five men sentenced to almost certain death for self-mutilation in the trenches. Tautou plays a tougher but actually similarly sweet & quirky character to Amelie, and Jeunet uses a number of the same directing techniques that made "Amelie" such unconventional but fascinating viewing - flash backs, unusual camera angles, fast scene cutting, bizarre events, and intriguingly odd characters - right down to a secret box that holds the key to a mystery.

And, like "Amelie", the dialogue is in French and its delivery is fast, meaning that if you're trying to follow it with English sub-titles you're quite likely to get lost at key points. None of which sounds too promising. But no matter, because the detective story element of the film is fairly predictable, the dénouement to the love story holds no surprises and, their not why the film fully deserves a five star rating.

Why it does is because Jeunet is such a brilliant director and, as a result, the film is stuffed full with superb cinemaphotograhy, first class acting, wonderful scene-setting and, above all, a "pace" that holds your attention throughout and a "style" that makes for, at times, quite beautiful viewing... until, that is, you're plunged back into his equally brilliant vision of what life was actually like in the mud, squalor and blood of the trenches.

Horrific, charming, wholly believable and pretty unbelievable, all at the same time, "A Very Long Engagement" is an extremely strange film but one that will leave you marvelling at the sheer quality of its direction, photography and acting... and, as "Saving Private Ryan" achieved so successfully, it's depiction of the grim realities of war make it one of the best anti-war films that you're likely to see and one that you won't forget for a very long time.

if you liked Amelie, try this movie
2008-11-29 - Featuring Audrey Tautou, who was so cute in "Amelie," with the same director and several of the same actors -- and some of the whimsy and charm that made the "Amelie" movie so memorable -- this movie also has a dark side. Graphic scenes of the violence of World War I is not for the faint of heart. The movie is beautifully crafted, of course, well acted, memorable and moving. Not many movies are so good, I just have to own them, but Jeunet's films and anything with Audrey cause me to get out my credit card.

This movie has the suspense of a "whodunnit," as five French soldiers with hand injuries (some deliberate, one accidental) are accused of "self mutilation" as a ploy to get out of combat. The penalty for this crime is execution. Instead of facing a firing squad, these five are dumped in "no man's land" between the French and German sides. All are reported dead, but "Mathilde" (Tautou) cannot believe "Manech" really died. Despite military cover-ups and misinformation, she meticulously searches the truth behind each man's death, and she never gives up hope of finding Manech alive. (No plot spoiler here.) The movie does have some silly plot devices but the do not ruin the movie for me. I'd invite friends over to watch this one with me again and again.