A Very Long Engagement

Stars:Audrey Tatou, Gerard Uliel, that funny jealous guy from Amelie, even Jodie Foster is here

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Rating : 4 of 5

Ahhh... Tatou's movies really do seem to have this lyrical, deliberately delicious slowness that would have been boring if not for her acting. I watched this movie a month ago and yet some of the images I've seen in it still pops into my mind once in a while. It seems the whole movie is a myriad of images that just happens to tell a story. I'm not saying the script is bad. The French has a different kind of twist to their humor. They never resort to bland jokes or comic relief. They rely on wit and irony to make people laugh. The thing is, I almost forgot there were sub-titles since the actors evoked the scene so well you hardly need the script.

To retell the whole story would be too complicated. The movie isn't as light hearted as the surprise hit "Amelie". No story which involves war could really ever be light hearted. Or cute. This is the story of semi-crippled Mathilde (Tatou) and Manech (Uliel) who were the best of friends and later became engaged. Their idyllic life is cut short by war, in wich Manech is drafted for. his sensitive sould could not stand war, so he tried to get out of it by shooting his hand along with some others who shared his despair. Unfortunately, they were found out and was given punishment for their supposed cowardice. This is all that Mathilde was told. Manech disappeared from the world. This is where Mathilde's resolve plays up, driven by a tenacious hope which spurned here belief that Manech lives. She investigates what happened, and ends up with so many twists and turns, I need a cheat card to keep up. But she plows on, even after she was shown the grave in which Manech was supposedly buried. In her gut, she was sure he was alive, even if all clues told her otherwise. Finally, a very simple answer came up. It turns out Manech was saved by a well-meaning comrade who exchanged their dog tags with those soldiers who were already dead. Manech recovers, but loses his memory. He was adopted by the mother of the soldier whose tag was stolen, accepting her as if he really is her son. Mathilde, in the end, finds him well and although needing to be reminded a bit of what they had. But, you know what? I don't think anyone was worried it won't work out.

I just wish more movies with this kind of creativity and prowess would be made. So sad it didn't make ti to the final list of best foreign film in the Oscars. It really should be up there with the best of them.