Love is something that is hard to grasp. Not the idea of love, but the different facets and roads down which love leads us. I never fail to amaze myself when I realize the lengths to which I go for those people and things that I truly love. A Very Long Engagement broaches the topic of love and true dedication to the person you love and also reminds us that maybe it is not the ticking of the clock that erodes our passions, but our lack of hope in a world so open to possibilities.

In 1920, during the aftermath of World War I, poor crippled Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) holds out hope that her fiancé, Manesch, will come home to her despite the news that he was executed for self-mutilation. After meeting with a man who specifically requested Mathilde to come and meet with him, Mathilde learns that there is more to the story than what had been passed down to her. She becomes determined to discover the whereabouts and fate of her fiancé and sets off on an extravagant journey full of mystery, adventure, and a few laughs.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children) embarks on another journey with the wide-eyed beauty that is Audrey Tautou (Dirty Pretty Things). A Very Long Engagement is full of many of the same things that were unique and inspirational about Amelie. He dives straight into the story and shoots at us the background to the people and places where we will soon spend roughly two and a half hours. We are given quick-cut images of the daily life of the five soldiers who are about to be executed for self-mutilating their hand, and these little snippets of their life are full of the same quirky images that we have seen before in Jeunet's work. People have sex, go about their every day business, and indulge in hidden pleasures (like Manesch falling asleep after his first time with Mathilde, or Mathilde's aunt's oft uttered “Doggie fart gladden my heart.”). Not only do we absorb the good and the bad of the main players in the story, but it is done in a way that will distinguish these people from everyone else. We will like or dislike them based on their 3 minute biographies.

This technique is imperative to this story, because this story is a mystery. If we knew everything about everyone at the beginning, then Mathilde wouldn’t need to search the entirety of France to find out what happened to her fiancé. A Very Long Engagement is like playing a less violent version of Clue (though there are a few decidedly violent scenes). You have your players, you have their items that distinguish them and you have your locations. Now all you have to do is fill in the holes to figure out what really happened to whom and where they are now. A dreadfully romantic film in every sense of the word, which simply sets my heart aflutter.

Yet, what really brings the film to the forefront is the cinematography provided by Bruno Delbonnel (Amelie, The Cat’s Meow). The film appears to be antiqued, giving every shot a beautifully gold hue. Unlike Steven Spielberg who washed out the film in Saving Private Ryan, giving it a dull, grainy look, Jeunet imbues A Very Long Engagement with a crisp, clean, and visually pleasing quality. It almost feels like looking at an olden-day photograph. The images on the screen flow together like a beautiful painting and Delbonnel and Jeunet are master-craftsmen as they meticulously set up each scene and pose each character in a position that will work with the beauty that is surrounding them. When Mathlide is finally told that maybe she should give up hope, she is sitting at a right angle to the cook who saw her Manech on the day of hix execution, Célestin Poux (Albert Dupontel), and they mysteriously fall into their own halves on the screen. Célestin is framed in a white doorway and Mathilde is set in a deep oak-brown. The scene almost seems like a split-screen shot, but it is not. This only becomes apparent as the scene progresses and Mathilde leaves the room. The shot is meant to put forth the idea that the cook is in the light of knowledge and and Mathilde dwells in the sad darkness of denial.

After breaking on to the international film scene with Amelie, Audrey Tautou has won over viewers with her gentle nature and big doe-like eyes. Returning to an Amelie-esque character in A Very Long Engagement, Mathilde thrives on the little things and testing fate by saying things like “If Chickpea (her dog) comes in before its time for lunch, Manech will be okay.” Unlike Amelie, Mathilde is not searching for the small things that bring her pleasure, because she has already found the love of her life and must now fight to find out what has happened to him. There is a somber, melancholic tone to Tautou and at times she even feels hard and abrasive, but still someone the viewer can completely align their sympathies with.

Dominique Pinon (Delicastessen, Alien Resurrection) also plays another secondary, yet pivotal role in Jeunet’s film. Pinon has been in every Jeunet film and his memorable face (reminiscent of Jean-Paul Belmondo from Godard’s Breathless) never fails to inspire a few laughs. This time he plays Mathilde’s uncle, Sylvain, and lives to foil the mailman who continually knocks gravel onto his well-kept lawn. Fully clad with a beard and high boots, Pinon warms our hearts as Sylvain supports Mathilde through this hard time.

Yet, as with any Jeunet, Gilliam, or Burton film, it is the little touches of the director that truly help to make the film enjoyable. It makes them what the New Wave writers called an auteur. Their touch is so defined and polished that they can be recognized with only a small glance at their film. With Jeunet, it's funny little attributes to his characters. As mentioned above, we have Mathilde’s aunt secretly saying “Doggie fart gladdens my heart,” but what happens is, every time we hear the dog fart, we can’t help but laugh to ourselves. The same goes for Sylvain and his constant berating of the mailman. I won’t give away what happens, because I feel that is truly one of the tiny pleasures of the film that should not be taken away from the viewer.

The story itself, though, is what also draws the viewer in for the long haul. This romance wrapped in a mystery enthralls us, especially when new characters are added and we can’t help but wonder who they are and what role they will play in the future. It’s is a film of multiple stories, layered on top of each other, telling tales of families and their struggle in the aftermath of World War I. Granted, some may seem outrageous, but there is always truth in the fantastic.

A Very Long Engagement weaves a mystical web of love and hope. With emotions running the gamut from tense to true happiness, this film should leaves us hopeful for our own lives. Hope seems to be something many have left by the wayside. Instead we search for blame or remind ourselves that the worst is what we should expect and hoping is useless. Getting our hopes up can truly leaves us downtrodden, but wouldn’t you rather have hope and exhaust all your possibilities than have no hope at all and never know if you could have made a difference?

There is something out there for all of us, maybe a lover or a cause, but patience is a virtue and once we have found an answer, we should be content with that which has been given to us. Perfection is never something to be expected, but something is always better than nothing, especially when you’re in love. Mathilde understands that.
 

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