A Very Long Engagement (2004)

Also known as Un long dimanche de fiançailles.
My good friend and sometimes co-conspirator, alias Phineas Gopher, recently took it upon himself to give me an education in French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, as the only films of his that I had seen at the time were Alien Resurrection, which was awful, and Delicatessen, which was difficult to watch in a high-school classroom. It's a good thing, too, as his films have a color and life and style to them that is unlike anything else in cinema. His films are far from perfect, but they excel at simply being themselves. Rightly (satirically) described as “Amelie 2: Amelie Goes to War”, this film is a sweeping, massive, absolutely epic love story set amidst trench warfare and post-conflict investigation in and after World War One. Audrey Tautou once again headlines the cast, and once again she proves exceptionally watchable, putting in a performance both charming and tragically optimistic. Meanwhile the sets and visuals are beautifully rendered and shot in that uniquely French kind of artistry that makes it both immediately relatable and disarmingly abstract. The plot doesn't quite fare so well, however. Though the pace and thrust of the story are riveting, the sequence of events—of who died, who should have died, who was murdered, and who was simply killed in battle—becomes almost impossibly complicated. However, while the confusion draws away from the narrative satisfaction of this film, it dulls none of its considerable emotional impact. It's a difficult film to follow at times, but the sweep and scope of this romance is exceptional.

8 out of 10.