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Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004)
(aka A Very Long Engagement)

Part mystery, part war, part romance
(review by Roger Davis from UK)

It tells the story of a young couple, Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) and Menoch (Gaspard Ulliel).  They are childhood sweethearts who become engaged just before Menoch is called up to fight in the trenches of the Great War.  He goes missing during the Battle of the Somme and Mathilde devotes the next few years trying to discover what had happened to him.

That bare-bones synopsis does no justice to one of the most fulfilling films I have ever seen.  Part mystery, part war, part romance, it is woven together into a complete, satisfying whole.  Its two hugely-entertaining hours are rewarding because of steady and coherent plot and character development, inter-cut with clever use of metaphor and symbolism.  Don't be put off by this if it sounds highfaluting: this film isn't.  It's witty and accessible, its charm lying in its refusal to take itself too seriously.  It is full of in-jokes (which you're invited to share) and mocking self-references (which are satisfying to spot).

The photography is outstanding.  It oozes atmosphere and period.  The camera moves lovingly from cream and umber domestic sets, to steel blues and iron greys for the battle scenes.  Interspersed with these are visually startling scenes, dressing in bright vivid colours the most commonplace of things - a steam train snaking across the summer countryside, a lighthouse at sunset - resonating perfectly with the hyper-realism of hand-tinted early 20th century postcards.

Tautou turns in a faultless performance as the relentless heroine.  Her fragile callipered leg (a legacy of childhood polio) perfectly countered by a will of steel.  Ulliel is outstanding (he's just picked up the César for Most Promising Newcomer for this) as the innocent abroad, blasted apart by the horror of war.  The two leads are simply the best amongst what is a full set of extraordinary performances from some of France's best character actors.  Remarkably, the one who looks a lot like Jodie Foster actually is Jodie Foster, doing - in impeccable French in an extended cameo - her bit for the patria and her soldier husband.

Roger Davis.

Review re-printed with permission - copyright Roger Davis 2005.

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