"A Very Long Engagement" really isn't all that long. Or at least it doesn't feel that way.
While its more than two-hour running time does put it on par with other overlong feature films already out this holiday season, it's one of the few that doesn't wear out its welcome. Instead, it continues to fill out its story with colorful, interesting characters, several of whom could anchor their own movies.
If you are expecting "A Very Long Engagement" to have the same feel-good atmosphere as "Amelie," since it comes from the same director and star — Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Audrey Tautou — you may be in for a rude awakening. The film does have some light and rather offbeat comic elements, but it's very dark, with some scenes of graphic, gruesome wartime violence.
But if you are among those feeling starved for an epic romance, this engaging, touching, drama-comedy-mystery fills the bill.
The always ingratiating Tautou stars as Mathilde, a young woman whose life has been turned upside-down by World War I. Her fiancZ, Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), has been sent to fight on the front lines.
Things take a turn for the worse when she gets word that he has been court-martialed for cowardice and, along with four others, has been sent into no man's land. Mathilde's uncle (Dominique Pinon) does his best to support her, but even he believes the young man is dead. However, Mathilde refuses to believe it, so she hires a detective (Ticky Holgado) to seek out those who have come back from the front, in the hope that someone might give her some encouraging news.
In adapting the best-selling novel by the late Sebastien Japrisot, Jeunet and co-screenwriter Guillaume Laurant have put their own spin on the material. There's definitely more humor here than was in the book, which helps things from getting too dark and grim.
And the filmmaker has a valuable asset in his star; Tautou lights up the screen every moment she's on it. While the 26-year-old actress may be a little old to be playing a teen, she manages to bring warmth to the film, and her relationship with Ulliel is very believable. All the supporting actors also get moments to shine, including Jodie Foster, whose French is nearly flawless.
"A Very Long Engagement" is rated R for strong scenes of war violence (shootings and explosive mayhem), some graphic gore, simulated sex, occasional use of strong profanity, some off-color humor (including some flatulence references), and brief female and partial male nudity. Running time: 134 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com