Movie of the Week – A Very Long Engagement

This week’s movie is A Very Long Engagement (2004).

The French romantic epic set against The Great War is about Mathilde and her unwavering search for her fiancé who disappears in no man’s land, after being sentenced to death for self-mutilation along four other men. The film plays like a detective mystery – with each new clue or piece of information, Mathilde comes closer to finding out what really happened. This is auteur director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s second film with actress Audrey Tautou (their first was Amelie). He is working again with screenwriter Guillaume Laurant, brilliant cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, editor Herve Schneid, and production designer Aline Bonetto (same group as with Amelie). Composer Angelo Badalamenti scored the film; he also worked with Jeunet on The City of Lost Children. Tautou stars as Mathilde, and Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon, Ticky Holgado, Marion Cotillard, Jodie Foster, Tcheky Karyo, and many more make up a fantastic supporting cast. A Very Long Engagement has a lot of the same quirkiness and great offbeat scenes as Amelie, but also has an epic scale to it with WWI’s war of attrition shown in graphic detail. Tautou is wonderful in the film, playing Mathilde as being outwardly strong but inwardly scared though resolute and hopeful. She is not ever going to give up until she knows the truth. It has some of the most beautiful cinematography, as well, from the last decade. It is a must for fans of grand romances and war films. Check out the trailer.

Available on DVD and Streaming

Movie of the Week – La Femme Nikita

This week’s movie is La Femme Nikita (1990).

The French crime drama is about Nikita, a troubled youth who is sentenced to life in prison. However, a secret government organization takes her to a facility where she is trained to be an assassin. The film is written and directed by Luc Besson, and represents his first big breakout hit (today, he is probably the biggest producer in French cinema, but sadly he does not direct great stuff like he use to) leading to a series of cool action dramas like Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (which is uneven, but has some great moments). Besson uses the same crew on most of his films, including composer Eric Serra (whose late 80s industrial rock score is an interesting listen today), cinematographer Thierry Arbogast and production designer Dan Weil. The film stars Anne Parillaud (who is good, but I actually like Bridget Fonda in Point of No Return, though the character is a lot less raw, much like the film which is not nearly as good). Marc Duret has a supporting role as well as frequent Besson collaborators Jean Reno and Tcheky Karyo. What sets this apart from many action movies of the 80s and 90s (and even today) is that most of the emphasis is on the character of Nikita – her psyche and her own personal drama of dealing with a double-life. The action is also well done, being a staple of Besson’s style. He is one of my favorite filmmakers of the 90s and this is the film that got me invested in him (and as I have said countless times before, I wish he still made these kinds of films). Check out the trailer.

Available on Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming and to Rent