Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: A Very Long Engagement ( Un long dimanche de fiançailles )

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Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 11-28-2004, 05:27 AM:

Hi all

Anyone seen this film yet? I have preview tickets to see it on December 15th.

cheers Peter

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 11-28-2004, 09:07 AM:

No, but why the change of title for English language release? A literal translation would be 'A Long Sunday of Engagement'. If they only managed to stay engaged for one day that relationship ain't likely to last very long!

Better French speakers than me please help out (Michael?)! Does 'dimanche' in this context have a slang meaning, as in 'peintre du dimanche' - a 'Sunday painter' who thinks he's Picasso but whose work is clearly that of an amateur?

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 11-28-2004, 08:57 PM:

I don't know for sure either. Unfortunately, this movie doesn't play in San Diego at all. Apparently there is no cinema playing it closer than LA...

Posted by Larry Davis (Member # 609) on 12-01-2004, 09:27 PM:

Hi Michael,

I saw this in Paris in the Max Linder theater (which I think you recommended?). The movie has a lot of CGI and very graphic scenes of war. Definitely not a pro-war movie. Not a light hearted movie like Amelie, but not a dirge, either. I recommend it if you are a Jeunet fan.

P.S.

Leo, your hunch ties in with the last scene in the film. It would be a spoiler to go into more detail.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-02-2004, 01:30 AM:

I like all Jeunet movies. OK, there was also "Alien Resurrection", but everyone is entitled to a mistake once in a while. But I liked "Delicatessen" and "Amélie" very much, and "City of Lost Children" was quite good too. So I am looking forward to seeing this. Apparently this movie will be released slowly across the US, so I am waiting for it to reach San D.

Posted by Ben Holley (Member # 2247) on 12-24-2004, 07:36 PM:

I loved this movie, its not as lighthearted and humorous as Amelie was but still had some funny quick one liners. Its harder to keep up with names and faces than most foreign films I've seen though. I heard rumors before I saw this movie about it being superviolent and even though there is a good bit its all done tastefully and within reason. I highly recommend this to anyone who is into drama or war flicks.
Overall: 5\5

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-25-2004, 05:38 AM:

I watched it in the meantime too. I liked the visual style and tone of the movie even though I couldn't follow the storyline and how she discovered what really happened by investigating all the details of the stories she heard (the boots, for instance). But that is not the movie's fault: I always have a hard time figuring out complicated storylines in movies (hell, I couldn't even figure out "Timecop"!). I thought that Jeunet's technique of inserting little shots or postcards of events mentioned in the narration, mostly for comic effect, became a little overused and tedious in this movie. Still, it is a very good movie, and I applaud Jeunet for developing this instead of trying to cheaply follow up the "Amélie" success with a too similar movie.

Posted by Mitchell Cope (Member # 32) on 01-09-2005, 03:23 AM:

Terrific film. Really enjoyed it, though I couldn't keep up with the names and clues always. I didn't get "Amélie", but I liked this movie's visual style, like "Amélie". Lots of humor, romance, sadness, and sorrow. Surprises, too. Very intricate... must have kept a 2nd (and 3rd?) unit busy. Didn't notice the CGI except maybe the albatross and where you knew it had to be CGI.

I didn't know Jodie Foster was going to be in the film with a short supporting part. I guess she knows and speaks French very well.

Highly recommended. [thumbsup]