If you can't cry, try talking. If you can't talk, say nothing. But sometimes, talking can bring on the tears. Tears say what you can't say, if you get my drift?
A Very Long Engagement, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is a tale of one woman's unrelenting search for her fiance in the face of adversity. Mathilde (Audrey Tatou) has been affected by polio since childhood and has been brought up by her uncle & aunt after the death of her parents. Since the age of 9, she and Manech have been close friends, which turns into love and subsequent engagement by the time she's 20.
When Manech sets off to join the French Army in 1917, we learn he's one of the five soldiers accused of self-mutilation, an act to escape the war. In the subsequent turn of events, the audience is shown flashbacks from the war and first-hand accounts of different survivors who might have known what happened to those five soldiers. As different accounts tell us that Manech might have been killed while wandering off into the no-man's land, Mathilde still believes in her heart that he is alive somewhere. Unyielding in her belief, Mathilde, at times, creates superstitious scenarios to console herself...If I reach the bend before the car, Manech will come alive!....
The movie switches between the gruesome war scenes and the beautiful landscapes of France in the 1920s. The camera work is simply amazing, however ( Disclaimer: I'm no film connoisseur) the director should have stuck to the depiction of a tragic tale, rather than fill it with intermittent scenes of humor. Somehow those scenes do not help the audience in staying focused. Having said that, the acting was excellent by the entire cast. Overall, A Very Long Engagement is only at times gripping, though a very long tale indeed.
Rating: 6.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment