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Movies / On DVD / A Very Long Engagement
A Very Long Engagement

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A Very Long Engagement (2004)

78%
83%
89%
N/A
N/A
N/A
78 %
Reviews Counted: 143 Fresh: 111  Rotten:32 Average Rating: 7.4/10
 
Consensus: A well-crafted and visually arresting drama with a touch of whimsy.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Rated: 15

Runtime: 2 hrs 14 mins

Theatrical Release: 21-01-2005

Synopsis: This World War I mystery finds limitless beauty in the nostalgia of loss. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, whose whimsical AMELIE riveted audiences, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT also stars Audrey Tautou--the 21st century's Audrey Hepburn--in the stubbornly emotional role of a widow in denial.... This World War I mystery finds limitless beauty in the nostalgia of loss. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, whose whimsical AMELIE riveted audiences, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT also stars Audrey Tautou--the 21st century's Audrey Hepburn--in the stubbornly emotional role of a widow in denial. Here she is Mathilde, a waifish young woman with a pronounced limp from childhood polio. Living with her quirky aunt and uncle in a farmhouse by the sea, and waiting desperately for her fiance Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) to return from the war, she believes that if he were truly lost she would feel it in her heart. Thus, when the bad news arrives--Manech and five fellow soldiers were exiled to No Man's Land for shooting off their own fingers in hope of being discharged--Mathilde refuses to believe he is dead. Instead, she begins her own investigation into Manech's infantry, hiring a private detective and tracking down the wives and girlfriends of each of Manech's compatriots. Conducting countless interviews, Mathilde pieces together Manech's war stories--which are told in earthshaking flashbacks involving gruesome explosions, flying guts, and massive suffering. And yet, the all-in-this-together humanity of these awful scenes, and the heartfelt bravery with which Mathilde absorbs the details of each battle, is undeniably moving. Jodie Foster appears as Elodie, one of the widows, in a charismatic yet muted performance and with a flawless accent. However, the most intriguing of the widows is Tina Lombardi (Marion Cotillard), a thrilling dominatrix-assassin bent on avenging her lover. A timeless masterwork that raises the bar for breathtaking camerawork, vivid landscapes, and fantastical storytelling, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT is adapted from the novel by Sebastien Japriscot. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Clovis Cornillac, Marion Cotillard, Jean-Pierre Darroussin

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Screenwriter: Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Producer: Bill Gerber
Composer: Angelo Badalamenti

DVD Info

Release:

Dec 5, 2006

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • 2-Disc Set - Double Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.40

Audio:

  • Stereo - French
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
  • Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Alternate Scenes - Deleted Scenes (w/Optional Commentary)
  • Audio Commentaries
  • Behind the Scenes - 1. "The Zepplin Explosion"
  • 2. "The Making of A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT"
  • Documentaries - "Paris in the 20's"
  • Trailers - Theatrical Trailer

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
04/20/05
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

Entirely deserving of its unofficial subtitle 'Amelie Goes To War', this is a well-made, frequently enjoyable drama, although the whimsical direction often seems inappropriate for the darkness of the material.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/19/05
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image
86/100

One of those rare gems that don't come along too often.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/24/05
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus
Ratings Image
2.5/5

[Jeunet's] choppy, cheeky filmmaking style simply isn't suited to this remarkable wartime tale about the tenacity of love.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/08/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image
4/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
Ratings Image
C

A stylist filmmaker, unfortunately, Jeunet applies his usual aestheticized approach (which worked for Amelie) to the wrong subject, neglecting in the process the human characters and trivializing this WWII melodrama.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/30/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
3.5/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image
4.5/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
5/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
09/26/05
Onion AV Club
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

It's a romantic epic, an intense and gripping look at WWI, and a nifty little mystery-quest all rolled into one.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/28/05
Scott Weinberg
DVD Clinic
Ratings Image
7/10

a successful genre combination of a war film, period romance, detective story and black comedy

Full Review | comment Comment
07/21/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
4.5/5

Jean-Pierre Jeunet represents that select group of filmmakers who treat special effects as their own art.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/16/05
Rory L. Aronsky
Film Threat
Ratings Image
6/10

A Very Long Engagement is every bit the fantasy, the fairy tale, that Amelie was, yet we are expected to take it seriously. I couldn't.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/11/05
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
Ratings Image
2/5

...light entertainment, but offers only a shallow insight into war.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/28/05
Uri Lessing
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
5/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/21/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

Jeunet’s theme is the absurdity of war and the tremendous cost of each life lost, and he makes us feel for each of these men and for the women at home fighting their own wars.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/23/05
Jeremy C. Fox
Pajiba
Ratings Image
B-

...equal parts whimsy and war horrors, a potentially combustible combination that succeeds largely due to Jeunet’s ability to turn absurd melodrama into something magical.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/13/05
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Related Forums

REEL_REVIEWER
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT gets a very slow release & a Golden Globe nomination too!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/25/05

REEL_REVIEWER
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT gets a very slow release & a Golden Globe nomination too!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/25/05

REEL_REVIEWER
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT gets a very slow release & a Golden Globe nomination too!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/25/05

REEL_REVIEWER
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT gets a very slow release & a Golden Globe nomination too!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/25/05

A Very Long Engagement wins 8 Fidelio Film Awards
by: Fidelio 2/27/05
all

News

Critical Consensus: A Beautiful "Bride," A Bumpy "Flight," And a Bouncy "Bounce"
posted by Tim Ryan September 22, 2005
This week at the movies brings a twisted tale of love from beyond the grave ("Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"), a...

Bruno Delbonnel Takes Top Honors at 19th ASC Awards
posted by RT Staff February 14, 2005
Bruno Delbonnel, the director of photography for "A Very Long Engagement," took top honors at the 19th...

DFW Film Critics choose Million Dollar Baby
posted by Todd Jorgenson January 04, 2005
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association voted Clint Eastwood's character-driven drama "Million...

A Very Long Engagement Ruled Not French
posted by RT Staff November 30, 2004

Around the Network

• A Very Long Engagement at Rotten Tomatoes
• A Very Long Engagement at IGN
• A Very Long Engagement at AskMen
 
 
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