The City of Lost Children

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro and written by Jeunet,Caro, and Gilles Adrien, La Cite des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children) is a fantasy-drama film set in a dystopian world where a carnival strongman and a streetwise orphan going to an island to save children from a mad scientist. Featuring Jeunet’s whimsical yet colorful direction along with Caro’s broad visual ideas, it is considered the duo’s finest collaboration of their career. Starring Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Rufus, Ticky Holgado, Mathieu Kassovitz, and the voice of Jean-Louis Trintignant. La Cite des enfants perdus is a remarkable yet stunning film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro.

Somewhere on a mysterious island in the middle of the sea, a mad scientist named Krank (Daniel Emilfork) is kidnapping children so he can steal their dreams. Krank, unable to dream, is getting nightmares from the children he kidnaps with the help of his midget-wife Martha (Mirielle Mosse) and a group of cloned men (Dominique Pinon). Yet, all the children are scared of Krank as he hopes to reverse the aging process while is being annoyed by a brain named Irvin (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who the clones admire. Krank continues to look for a child that would give him good dreams so he can stop himself from aging. Meanwhile at a nearby dystopian world, a simple-minded strongman named One (Ron Perlman) is taking care of a young infant child named Denree (Joseph Lucien) who is later kidnapped by a group of men known as Cyclops.

During his search for Denree, One meets a young girl named Miette who helps him as she’s part of a group of orphan thieves who steal for Siamese-twin women known as Octopus (Genevieve Brunet and Odile Mallet) who are connected by one foot. After encountering their guard Peeler (Rufus), One and Miette go on a journey to find Cyclops and its leader Gabriel Marie (Serge Merlin). There, they see a ceremony where Martha and one of the clones get the kidnapped children including Denree where One and Miette are caught. Octopus sends a former circus performer named Marcell (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) to retrieve One for their own reasons where Marcello uses a flea to attack one of the Cyclops to save One while Miette nearly drowns only to be saved by a man in a diving bell suit revealed to be Krank’s former scientist (Dominique Pinon).

When a fuse full of nightmares comes across the ex-scientist, he realizes what is going on while Miette finds One as she also sees one of the nightmares. Realizing where Denree is, they encounter some trouble while finding a man (Ham-Chau Luong) with a tattoo on his head leading to the island. It’s up to a strongman, a young girl, and an ex-scientist to save the kids before its too late.

The film is a fantasy story about a simple-minded yet loving strongman and a young girl try to save a young infant boy from an evil scientist who is trying to steal dreams from children in hopes to reverse the aging process for himself. Yet, it is set in a world where things are hopeless as young infant children are often kidnapped while orphans had to fend for themselves. For this young girl where she meets this childlike strongman, she finds someone who can protect her while this strongman finds someone who can help him. Yet, they face a mad scientist who has become obsessed with becoming young only to lose sight of reality as he becomes dependent on finding infants who aren’t scared of him so he can live in their dreams.

The screenplay that Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, and Gilles Adrien create explores a world that is definitely lost where there are even more crazier things in this mysterious island that is protected by mines and such. Notably as the mainland features an underground army of blind men who can only see through an electronic eye as they’re working for this scientist to kidnap children. When they encounter this strong man and a very determined young girl, all things become troubling for the scientist. Yet, One and Miette also have to deal with the Siamese-twin ladies known as Octopus who are upset over the fact that Miette has become trouble and is turning over a new leaf away from stealing.

While the story is a dystopian-fantasy film, it’s also got a lot of humor as there’s a small subplot about a group of clones trying to figure out who is the original clone. Even in some scenes where there’s a lot of strange scenarios into how One and Miette try to get out of a bad situation that does involve a lot of comedy. Even the character of Krank is comical since he is so delusional about what he wants as he is also annoyed by this talking brain named Irvin who is the film’s conscience.

The direction of Caro and Jeunet is definitely big in terms of its presentation where it is set in a world that is off-kilter and full of things where not everything works. Notably as the mainland is cramped and there’s children running around while there’s a lot of strange things happening where young children have to hide from the Cyclops. The direction is filled with stylish shots from these wide crane shots, dizzying fish-eye lenses, close-ups, and all sorts of things to maintain that sense of whimsy that Caro and Jeunet wants. Even in the way they present funny moments as well as surreal moments where reality and fiction collide such as the climatic scene at the island when One and Miette finally face Krank.

The direction also contains element of darkness in the way dystopia is presented though it’s not overtly bleak. Notably as it features some spectacular action sequences that involves not just some quirky visual effects but also suspense such as face-off between Octopus against Miette and One. There’s also some very strange scenes such as the way an accident is presented where it is this strange mix of humor and action that plays to that world of the whimsical. It’s all part of a world that is very weird that has some element of reality but it is mostly a fantasy. Overall, Jeunet and Caro create a fantastic and adventurous film that plays well to the fantasy genre.

Cinematographer Darius Khondji does brilliant work with the film‘s very stylish photography with its sepia-drenched lighting schemes for many of the film‘s interior and exterior settings in the mainland as well as scenes underwater and some more low-key colors in the island scenes. Editor Herve Schneid does amazing work with the editing by utilizing lots of stylish cuts for some of the film‘s action scenes along with dazzling cuts for some of the dream montages. Production designers Marc Caro and Jean Rabasse do spectacular work with the set pieces created from the look of the mainland with its buildings to the more quirky video cameras at Krank’s island.

Costume designer Jean-Paul Gaultier does excellent work with the costumes as they‘re quite over-the-top in the look of the Cyclops as well as the more colorful clothes most of the characters wear. The visual effects by Pitof and Pierre Buffin are terrific for the way some of the backdrops look as well as the close-ups of Marcello‘s flea that would fly to inject something into a person. Sound designer Jean-Pierre Halbwachs does superb work with the sound to create some unique sound effects in the scenes set in the island as well as other layers of mixing to play up the sense of whimsy that occurs in the film. The film’s music by Angelo Badalamenti is wonderful for its sense of orchestral bombast as well as playfulness in some of the comical moments as it’s one of Badalamenti’s best scores.

The casting by Pierre-Jacques Benichou is incredible for the ensemble that features some notable appearances from Mathieu Kassovitz as a man in the streets, Ticky Holgado as One’s master, Rufus as Octopus’ henchman, Marc Caro as a man becoming a Cyclops, Serge Merlin as the Cyclops leader, and Joseph Lucien as One’s baby brother Denree who is always eating something. Genevieve Brunet and Odile Mallet are great as the conniving Siamese-twin sisters Octopus who are determined to get rid of Miette for rebelling against them. Jean-Louis Trintignant is very funny as the voice of the brain Irvin whom the clones adore and Krank is annoyed by while Jean-Claude Dreyfus is excellent as the former circus performer Marcello who finds himself sympathizing with One and Miette over their situation.

Mirelle Mosse is wonderful as Krank’s diminutive wife Martha who helps Krank out while dealing all of the chaos in the island while Dominique Pinon is amazing as the clones and the mysterious man in the diving bell suit where he brings a lot of humor as the clones while being more quirky as the diver. Daniel Emilfork is terrific as the villainous Krank as he’s a man full of delusions and anger as he is unsure if his experiments will work. Judith Vittet is brilliant as Miette as she’s a determined child who knows how to do things while aiding One in his mission as she realized how important it is. Finally, there’s Ron Perlman in a remarkable performance as the simple-minded strongman One where Perlman gets to show restraint in his role as a man trying to find his baby brother while Perlman doesn’t get to have a lot of dialogue though he does speak French quite adequately. Notably as he makes up for it with his physical presence and ability to be funny and sensitive in his role.

La Cite des enfants perdus is a marvelous film from the duo of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. The film is definitely among one of Jeunet’s great films as it features amazing performances from Ron Perlman, Judith Vittet, Daniel Emilfork, and Dominique Pinon. It’s a film that is among one of the most imaginative and entertaining fantasy films that plays to the world of reality and fiction that is expected in the genre. In the end, La Cite des enfants perdus is a spectacular film from Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Films: Delicatessen - Alien: Resurrection - Amelie - A Very Long Engagment - Micmacs - (The Young and Prodigious Spivet) - The Auteurs #20: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

© thevoid99 2013

Delicatessen

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro and written by Jeunet, Caro, and Gilles Adrien, Delicatessen is the story set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with famine where a butcher kills people to feed his tenants in the apartment above his deli. The film is a black comedy that explores a world where people are hungry as they turn to a butcher for help as he does whatever it takes to feed his friends. Starring Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, and Karin Viard. Delicatessen is a visually-stylish yet zany film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro.

In a post-apocalyptic world covered in a dust storm where there’s a horrible famine and the only currency in the world is grain, a butcher named Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) runs a delicatessen as he feeds the tenants above him as he’s also their landlord. After killing a worker, Clapet sends an ad to get a new whom he plans to kill later as an unemployed circus clown named Louiston (Dominique Pinon) arrives to answer the ad as Clapet lets him in. While Louiston does a lot of the work, he befriends Clapet’s daughter Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac) as many of the tenants realize how resourceful Louiston is as Clapet is reluctant to kill as he waits for Clapet to do screw up.

When Julie learns what her father is planning to do, she reads the newspaper about an underground of vegetarians known as the Troglodistes as she goes underground where she meets them and tells them about the large vault of grain her father has. The Trogolodistes secretly try to go into the building to find where the vault of grain is where an attempted murder on Louiston went wrong since Louiston was nowhere near the incident. On the night when Louiston’s old clown performance is to be on TV, the Trogolodistes make an attempt to get all of the grain while Clapet decides to make one final attempt to kill Louiston as all hell breaks loose.

The film is essentially the story about a former circus clown who answers an ad to be a repairman at an apartment where the main floor is a deli as he is unaware that the people in the building are cannibals desperate to eat meet as their landlord/butcher does all of the killing. Set in this post-apocalyptic world during a famine, it’s a film that is a part-dystopian film but also bends all sorts of genres from slasher films, romance, and black comedy. A lot of which features all sorts of eccentricities such as many subplots such as Clapet’s affair with a seductive woman (Karin Viard), a family with an old lady (Edith Ker), two men trying to recreate old sounds, and a woman trying to kill herself in elaborate presentations.

The screenplay does lay to a traditional structure yet it does enough to establish what is happening in the world with the first ten minutes where a man tries to hide and he eventually gets killed by this butcher and then feed it to his tenants. When the character of Louiston appears, he has no idea what he’s in store yet he is oblivious to what really goes on as he focus his attention towards fixing up the building and falling for the butcher’s daughter who is a vegetarian. Meanwhile, there’s an underground group of vegetarians that are trying to survive in the underground as Caplet’s daughter eventually tells them about the large vault of grain that he has. The second half of the story is about not just the heist but also Caplet trying to kill Louiston in every way he can as things do go out of control yet Louiston is someone who is more than capable of taking care of things.

The direction of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet is definitely stylized in terms of the presentation they create. Largely as it’s set mostly in a building and some of it underground where it’s a world that is on to its own. Notably as Caro and Jeunet maintain an intimacy in this dystopian world where it’s very off as there’s not many people who lurk around outside except for those unfortunate victims that Caplet would kill to feed his tenants. Through some very stylized camera angles as well as quirky montages such as scene where lots of sound is made that almost becomes a musical number. It’s part of the strange world that the film wants to present as it’s definitely not reality but rather a reality that is truly off.

The film also features lots of unique set pieces to establish the different worlds where the apartment building is nearly in ruins as it’s surrounded by buildings that are practically destroyed. There’s lot of spaces where each tenant lives in their own world as the camera is always interested in that environment that includes a basement lived by a man (Howard Vernon) who surrounds himself with frogs and snails where he eats the latter. Eventually, there comes this climax between Louiston and Caplet where there’s so much that happens where it revolves into a lot of stylized scenery and action that would play into the fates of what would happen. Overall, Caro and Jeunet create a dazzling and very entertaining film that does a lot more to keep the audience excited.

Cinematographer Darius Khondji does brilliant work with the film‘s very stylized cinematography that is awash with lots of sepia-drenched colors for most of the film including the exteriors and underground as well as some of the interiors. Editor Herve Schneid does excellent work with the editing from the playful montages that is created to more stylish approaches to cutting to play up the humor and suspenseful moments of the film. Production designer Marc Caro, along with set decorator Aline Bonetto and art director Miljen Kreka Kljakovic, does spectacular work with the set pieces for the film such as the deli, the apartments, and the underground sewers that the Trogolodistes live in.

Costume designer Valerie Pozzo di Borgo does wonderful work with the costumes from the seductive red dresses that Mademoiselle Plusse wears to the more eccentric clothes of Louiston. The visual effects work of Pitof is a delight for the whimsy that it creates from some of the transitions that are created in the pipes to a few smaller things like bubbles that Louiston does to entertain a couple of kids. Sound editor Gerard Hardy does fantastic work with the sound to create an atmosphere as well as to play up the eccentricity of the apartment with its collage of sounds to create a musical number of sorts. The film’s music by Carlos D’Alessio is incredible for its orchestral pieces to play up the suspense as well as some light-hearted moments including the musical duet between Julie and Louiston where they respectively played cello and musical saw.

The casting by Pierre-Jacques Benichou is remarkable for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Pascal Benezech as the unfortunate victim in the film’s beginning, Boban Janevski and Mikael Todde as the two kids in the apartment, Marc Caro as a Trogolodistes, Edith Ker as the grandmother, Chick Ortega as the postman, Jean-Francois Perrier as the husband of the suicidal woman, and Silvie Laguna as the suicidal woman who tries to kill herself in strange yet elaborate presentations. Other memorable small roles include Anne-Marie Pisani as Madame Tapioca, Jacques Mathou as the craftsman Roger, and Howard Vernon as the man who lives with the frogs.

Future Jeunet regulars in Ticky Holgado and Rufus are excellent in their respective roles as the tenants in the pushover Marcel Tapioca and the sound re-creator Robert Kube. Karin Viard is wonderful as the seductive tenant Mademoiselle Plusse who befriends Louiston only to get herself into trouble with the Trogolodistes. Jean-Claude Dreyfus is great as the villainous Clapet who desires to try and kill for his tenants as he meets his greatest challenge in Louiston. Marie-Laure Dougnac is superb as Clapet’s vegetarian daughter Julie who falls for Louiston as she shares her eccentricities with him while doing whatever she cans to defy her father. Finally, there’s Dominique Pinon in a marvelous performance as Louiston where he displays a quirky sense of humor and charm as well as create a character who lives in a world of his own and finds his way to deal with whatever situation he’s going through.

Delicatessen is a spectacular yet whimsical film from the duo of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Featuring some outstanding performances from Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, and Jean-Claude Dreyfus. It’s a film that isn’t afraid to be a dystopian comedy with a mix of slasher and romance as it is also not afraid to not take itself so seriously. In the end, Delicatessen is a phenomenal film from Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Films: The City of Lost Children - Alien: Resurrection - Amelie - A Very Long Engagement - Micmacs - (The Young and Prodigious Spivet) - The Auteurs #20: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

© thevoid99 2012

A Very Long Engagement

Originally Written and Posted on 6/28/08 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

The worldwide success of 2001's Amelie brought recognition and attention to French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet as the film was considered to be one of the finest films ever made. The film also made actress Audrey Tautou an international star as she continued to make films in her native France as well as starring in Stephen Frears' 2002 film Dirty Pretty Things. For their next film, Jeunet and Tautou collaborated again for an adaptation of Sebastian Japrisot's novel about a woman's search for her fiancee who might have been killed in a battle during World War I.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet with an adapted script co-written with Guillaume Laurant, Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles (A Very Long Engagement) is a love story set in World War I about a young woman who makes a desperate search for her fiancee during World War I. A more epic yet dream-like film that is similar to Amelie but more of a mix of different genres. Jeunet creates a film that is evocative as well as harrowing with Audrey Tautou in the role of Mathilde Donnay. Also starring Jeunet regulars Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, and Ticky Holgado, plus an all-star cast that includes Gaspard Ulliel, Marion Cotillard, Julie Depardieu, Andre Dussollier, Tcheky Karyo, and Jodie Foster. Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles is an epic, sweeping film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

It's late in World War I in the dark trences of Bingo Crepescule as five men are set to be executed in no man's land including Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) for acts of cowardice. Yet, their walk into this dark land would have them lost as Manech's fiancee Mathilde Donnay wonders what happened to him three years later. Knowing Manech since childhood, Mathilde longs for his return as she recalls memories as she had dealt with the death of her parents at age three while being with polio as she lives with her Aunt Benedict (Chantal Neuwirth) and Uncle Sylvain (Dominique Pinon). Mathilde's life with Manech was great until the war came as Mathilde wonder what happened to him as she meets a former lieutenant named Esperanza (Jean-Pierre Becker) who reveals what went on in that battle as did Captain Favourier (Tcheky Karyo) who reveals more that involved a report to be sent to Commandant Lavroye (Jean-Claude Dreyfus).

With Mathilde knowing more about other men that included a welder named Six-Soux (Denis Lavant), a soldier named Bastoche (Jerome Kircher), an ex-pimp called Bassignano (Dominique Bettenfeld), and a farmer named Benoit Notre-Dame (Clovis Cornillac). She turns to an investigator in Germaine Pire (Ticky Holgado) and a family friend Pierre-Marie Rouvieres (Andre Dussollier) for help in the search for Manech's status. Pire goes to a town to find Bassignano where he meets a former lover in Tina Lombardi (Marion Cotillard) who is revealed to be a mysterious killer seeking revenge. Mathilde and Rouvieres go through war records where they encounter classified information while learning about Lombardi who encounters Bastoche's girlfriend Veronique (Julie Depardieu). Yet, Mathilde meets Benjamin "Biscuit" Gordes (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) who tells her more which leads her to meet Bastoche's widow Elodie (Jodie Foster).

After hearing Elodie's story where Elodie had an affair with Bastoche as things become more questionable. When an officer named Celestin Poux (Albert Dupontel) reveals Mathilde with revelations about the battle, he reveals what he saw though he was unsure who survived while revealing that Cpt. Favourier had pardon papers for those men during the battle. With Sylvain accompanying both of them to the land, they meet a German woman (Elina Lowensohn) who has clues while news that Lombardi has been captured. Mathilde meets Lombardi, before her execution, who gives final information about someone who knows what might've happened.

For a film that is epic and sweeping with huge images, what Jean-Pierre Jeunet and co-screenwriter Guillaume Laurant create is a film about a woman trying to keep hope alive that her beloved will return. Though it's a story that's been heard before recently in films like Anthony Mingella's adaptation of Cold Mountain back in 2003 and the recent adaptation of Atonement by Joe Wright. This film is different since it takes place after the war and is more about a woman's investigation into finding clues into the possibilities that her lover could be alive though the news of the outcome will be heartbreaking no matter what. While the story is filled with multiple subplots that tell clues of what might happen. Jeunet and Laurant make things interesting for the mystery though at times, it's hard to follow despite the narration by Florence Thomassain. Yet, the emotional outcome in the end makes the story worth it.

Jeunet's direction is truly superb in every frame and presentation he creates. Though his approach to the epic isn't perfect due to its pacing where it feels a bit overlong. Taking a period film with huge canvas and jaw-dropping visuals is truly majestic as he creates a world that is France but from another time. From its grimy, eerie depiction of war to the look and beauty of post World War I France including Paris. The look of the French countryside and sea plus Jeunet's look of the interiors where he takes the camera to create a world that is dream-like. The scope and look of the film and the compositions of where the characters are at and how they're in the frame of the scene. The result is truly magnificent as Jean-Pierre Jeunet creates an epic film that lives up to its richness and scale.

Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel does a wonderful job with the film's dream-like look awashed with yellow, sepia-like colors for the film's 1920 sequences to convey the sense of sunlight and beauty of France. Delbonnel also explores different color schemes for the film's war sequences where everything looks a bit de-saturated and grey to convey the film's bleakness. Delbonnel's work is truly superb for his coloring and look to help emphasize Jeunet's unique vision. Editor Herve Schneid does a great job with the film's stylized editing with the use of dissolves, transitions, and rhythmic jump-cuts. Particularly the film's investigation sequences where scenes are blended together while maintaining a leisurely yet engrossing pacing that goes well throughout though at times, is a bit slow.

Longtime set designer Aline Bonetto with set decorator Veronique Melery does a wonderful job in the recreation of 1920s France with its exteriors as well as the World War I war sequences of the trenches and hospital base during one notable scene. Costume designer Madeline Fontaine does a wonderful job with the film's period look with its hats, underwear, dresses, and suits to convey the look and feel of the film with standout clothing for characters like Mathilde and Tina. Sound editors Marilena Cavola and Gerard Hardy does a great job with the film's war sequences with the sounds of explosions, gun shots, bomb dropping, and such to convey the horror of war as well as other sequences including the busy sound of 1920 Paris. Visual effects supervisor Alain Carsoux does some wonderful visual effects for a few scenes of the war and a great shot of the sky of the lighthouse to emphasize the film's dream-like look.

Music composer Angelo Badalamenti, famous for his work with David Lynch, does an amazing job with the film's dreamlike yet sweeping film score. Filled with huge arrangements, flourishing strings, and a grand atmosphere, Badalmenti's score is full of wondrous melodies and arrangements that sweep up the scenery without overdramatizing or underplaying the film's emotions. Badalamenti’s score is truly one of the film's highlights.

The casting by Pierre-Jacques Benichou, Marie-Sylvie Caillierez, and Valerie Espagne is truly magnificent for its diverse array of actors including appearances from Jeunet regulars Rufus as a man named Breton and Urbain Cancelier as a priest plus notable small appearances from Julie Depardieu, Elina Lowensohn, Francois Levantal as one of the evil officers named Thouvenal, Jean-Paul Rouve as a postman, Michel Robin as an old man showing Mathilde the battlefield, Christian Pereira as an archives officer, and Phillippe Duquesne as the bartender Favart. Tcheky Karyo is great as a captain who tries to get everyone into battle while learning of a betrayal concerning the soldiers who were supposed to be executed. Jean-Claude Dreyfus is excellent as the conniving Commandant Lavrouye as is Jean-Pierre Becker as Esperanza. Denis Lavant, Jerome Kircher, and Dominique Bettenfeld are great as the three of the five soldiers who are to be executed as each actor have an individual moment.

Clovis Cornillac is great as the mysterious yet tough Benoit Notre-Dame who tried to help Manech during their time in no man's land while proving to be the toughest of them all. Jean-Pierre Darroussin is good as Benjamin "Biscuit" Gordes as a man who tries to get out of the war only to have his heart broken until seeing that Bastoche is to be executed. Andre Dussollier and Jeunet regular Ticky Holgado are great as the two men investigating Manech's possible whereabouts and death as Dussollier plays the more serious of the two with Holgado as the more upbeat individual. Albert Dupontel is great as Celeste Poux, the soldier who reveals what he saw at the battle as he raises the hope of Mathilde. Chantal Neuwirth is wonderfully funny as Aunt Benedicte who likes the sound of dog farts and making food for other people. Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon is also funny as Uncle Sylvain who is often annoyed by the arrival of the postman while enjoys having fun with Celeste Poux.

Jodie Foster is brilliant in a rare performance, where doesn't act all frantic in some of her recent films, as she speaks perfect French as a widow who reveals to Mathilde in a letter about her affair with Basconte and the damage it caused to his friendship with her husband. Marion Cotillard is amazing as the mysterious yet sexy Tina Lombardi, an assassin-of-sorts wanting vengeance as she reveals secrets to Mathilde about the men she killed. Cotillard is truly magnificent as he brings a complexity to a woman who might seem evil but her intentions are for the right reasons as she and Tautou, in the lone scene they're in are great consider that they're two of France's finest actresses. Gaspard Ulliel is excellent as Manech, Mathilde's lover who is desperate to be with her as it's the one that's trying to keep him alive while his whereabouts remain unknown.

Finally, there's Audrey Tautou in another powerful performance from the French actress. Though not as whimsical or as lively as her title role in Amelie, Tautou's determined, grand performance is truly spectacular as she delves into her emotions as a woman desperate to try and find the truth. Even in scenes where she's playing a tuba, there's a lot of emotions carried out by doing so little. Tautou breathes a lot of life into the character of Mathilde, even with her limp and flaws, Tautou makes her into a character whose journey is thrilling to watch.

While not as brilliant as Amelie, Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles is still a spectacular epic film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet and star Audrey Tautou. Fans of Jeunet will no doubt enjoy the director's dream-like vision to the sweeping, romantic-epic genre mixed in with the harsh imagery of war. With a superb cast that includes standout performances from Marion Cotilliard and Jodie Foster, this is a film lives up to its grand presentation. In the end, for a film that is romantic, big, and certainly emotional, Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles is the film to see.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Films: Delicatessen - The City of Lost Children - Alien: Resurrection - Amelie - Micmacs - (The Young and Prodigious Spivet) - The Auteurs #20: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

(C) thevoid99 2011