A Very Long Engagement
(Un long dimanche de finacailles)

Release date 27th October 2004
Country : France
Running time : 133 mins
Genre : Romance / War
Starring Audrey Tautou
Screenplay by Guilliame Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet based on the novel by Sebastian Japrisot
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet




In the Somme during World War I five desperate men attempt to escape the horrors of the frontline by trying to shoot themselves. They are caught and punished by being left alone in no-man's land where they are likely to be killed. It appears that is exactly what happens but does it ? Mathilde believes her fiancee Manech somehow survived and embarks on a long and frustrating journey to discover the truth.

This film is very complicated, you have to have your wits about you and catch all the subtitles, it bombards you with lots of information and it has a large cast of characters. This is one of the attractions, the intriguing mystery at the centre of the story compels you to watch. Visually it is an undoubted masterpiece with some memorable imagery of the Great War.

This is director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's tenth feature, the most famous of his previous films was Amelie (2001).

In the 1990s he directed the cult films  : Delicatessen (1991) and City of Lost Children (1995).

DVD available from Warner Brothers Home Video: