A Very Long Engagement (2004) Un long dimanche de fiançailles (original title)

Director:

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writers:

Sébastien Japrisot (novel)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 October 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | War

Tagline:

Never let go

Plot:

Tells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.

Plot Keywords:

No Man's Land | Soldier | Death | Girl | Court Martial

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Audrey Tautou	...	Mathilde
Gaspard Ulliel	...	Manech
Dominique Pinon	...	Sylvain
Chantal Neuwirth	...	Bénédicte
André Dussollier	...	Pierre-Marie Rouvières
Ticky Holgado	...	Germain Pire
Marion Cotillard	...	Tina Lombardi
Dominique Bettenfeld	...	Ange Bassignano
Jodie Foster	...	Elodie Gordes
Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Benjamin Gordes
Clovis Cornillac	...	Benoît Notre-Dame
Jean-Pierre Becker	...	Esperanza
Denis Lavant	...	Six-Soux
Jérôme Kircher	...	Bastoche
Albert Dupontel	...	Célestin Poux
Jean-Paul Rouve	...	Le facteur
Elina Löwensohn	...	La femme allemande
Julie Depardieu	...	Véronique Passavant
Michel Vuillermoz	...	P'tit Louis
Urbain Cancelier	...	Le curé
Maud Rayer	...	Madame Desrochelles
Michel Robin	...	Le vieil homme sur le champ de bataille
Tchéky Karyo	...	Capitaine Favourier
Jean-Claude Dreyfus	...	Commandant Lavrouye
Philippe Duquesne	...	Favart
Bouli Lanners	...	Chardolot
Stéphane Butet	...	Philippot
Christian Pereira	...	L'officier des archives
François Levantal	...	Thouvenel
Patrick Paroux	...	Le médecin militaire
Solène Le Pechon	...	Mathilde 10 ans
Virgil Leclaire	...	Manech 13 ans
Florence Thomassin	...	Narrator (voice)
Thierry Gibault	...	Lieutenant Estrangin
Myriam Roustan	...	La prostituée du café
Gilles Masson	...	L'officier assassiné
Sandrine Rigault	...	Mariette Notre-Dame (as Sandrine Rigaud)
Michel Chalmeau	...	Le curé de Milly
Marc Faure	...	Le directeur de la prison
Rodolphe Pauly	...	Jean Desrochelles
Xavier Maly	...	Le camarade de Chardolot
Till Bahlmann	...	Le prisonnier allemand
Tony Gaultier	...	Un fossoyeur
Louis-Marie Audubert	...	Un fossoyeur
Jean-Gilles Barbier	...	Le sergent
Marc Robert	...	Un poilu
Pierre Heitz	...	Un poilu
Philippe Maymat	...	Un poilu
Eric Debrosse	...	Un poilu
Michel Gondoin	...	Un poilu (as Mike Gondouin)
Eric Fraticelli	...	Le corse menaçant
Philippe Beautier	...	Le blagueur du train
Gérald Weingand	...	Un soldat floué
Luc Sonzogni	...	Un soldat floué
Xavier Berlioz	...	L'ordonnance
Frankie Pain	...	La maquerelle
Marcel Philippot	...	Le couple bourgeois
Pascale Lievyn	...	Le couple bourgeois
Jean-Claude Lecoq	...	Le mitrailleur allemand
Rufus	...	Un Breton
Esther Sironneau	...	L'infirmière
Stéphanie Gesnel	...	Une fille de joie
Frédérique Bel	...	Une fille de joie
Alexandre Caumartin	...	Un brancardier
Eric Defosse	...	Un brancardier
Gaspar Claus	...	L'Allemand transperçé
Jean-Philippe Bèche	...	Georges Cornu
Anaïs Durand	...	Hélène Pire
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rachel Berger	...	Petite prostitute (uncredited)
Morgan Berthon	...	Un soldat regardant Manech (uncredited)
Xavier Bonastre	...	Un bourgeois (1910) (uncredited)
Vincent Bowen	...	(uncredited)
Marie-Thé Colmagne	...	Une bourgeoise (1910) (uncredited)
Arnaud Klein	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Julien Lecat	...	Un soldat (uncredited)
Arnaud Marciszewer	...	Baptistin 8 ans (uncredited)
Arnaud Mathey-Dreyfus	...	Soldier Hooked in a Tree (uncredited)
Christophe Perie	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Aleksandrs Petukhovs	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Aleksandra Yermak	...	Passante sur la place de l'Opéra (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writing credits
Sébastien Japrisot		(novel)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet		(story and adaptation) and
Guillaume Laurant		(story and adaptation)
Guillaume Laurant		(dialogue)

Produced by
Francis Boespflug	....	associate producer
Bill Gerber	....	executive producer
Jean-Pierre Jeunet	....	producer
Jean-Louis Monthieux	....	executive producer
Fabienne Tsaï	....	creative executive producer

Original Music by
Angelo Badalamenti

Cinematography by
Bruno Delbonnel

Film Editing by
Hervé Schneid

Casting by
Pierre-Jacques Bénichou
Marie-Sylvie Caillierez
Valerie Espagne

Production Design by
Aline Bonetto

Set Decoration by
Véronique Melery

Costume Design by
Madeline Fontaine

Makeup Department
Jean-Charles Bachelier	....	key hair stylist
Avril Carpentier	....	makeup trainee
Christophe Chabenet	....	special makeup effects artist
Sylvie Ferry	....	special makeup effects artist
Dominique Galichet	....	makeup artist
Sylvie Greco	....	makeup artist
Marie-Pierre Hattabi	....	hair stylist
Sébastien Imart	....	special makeup effects artist
Pierre-Paul Jayne	....	special makeup effects artist
Frédéric Lainé	....	special makeup effects artist
Géraldine Lemaire	....	additional hair stylist
Franck Mendoche	....	hair stylist
Pascal Molina	....	special makeup effects artist
Anne Moralis	....	wig maker
Lucie Musci	....	hair stylist
Annabelle Petit	....	special makeup effects artist
Stéphane Robert	....	makeup artist (as Stéphane Lagadic)
Jean-Christophe Roger	....	makeup artist
Miguel Santos	....	additional hairdresser
Erwan Simon	....	special makeup effects artist
Nathalie Tissier	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Laurent Chiomento	....	unit production manager
Nicolas Davy	....	assistant unit manager
Jean-Marc Deschamps	....	production manager
Eric Duchêne	....	unit production manager
David Le Gall	....	assistant unit manager
Alain Mougenot	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Artur	....	assistant director
Sébastien Conche	....	third assistant director
Matthieu de la Mortière	....	second assistant director
Cécile Denis	....	second assistant director
Guilain Depardieu	....	second assistant director
Arnaud Esterez	....	first assistant director
Julien Lecat	....	assistant director
Arnaud Mathey-Dreyfus	....	second assistant director
Thierry Mauvoisin	....	first assistant director
Pascal Roy	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Florian Augereau	....	assistant art director
François Borgeaud	....	props
Pascal Chevé	....	plasterer supervisor
Luc Desportes	....	storyboard artist
Francesca Balestra Di Mottola	....	art department trainee
Franck Gies	....	carpenter
Mathieu Junot	....	production design assistant
Anne Le van ra	....	art department coordinator
Delphine Mabed	....	production design assistant
Emmanuel Maintigneux	....	set designer
Hélène Rey	....	assistant set decorator
Hélène Rey	....	assistant set dresser
Patrick Schmitt	....	assistant art director
Nicolas Vrancken	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Vincent Arnardi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marilena Cavola	....	sound editor
Laurent Chassaigne	....	sound recordist
Sophie Chiabaut	....	sound
Vincent Cosson	....	sound recordist
Cedric Denooz	....	sound effects editor
Gérard Hardy	....	sound editor
Denis Jaillet-Marsigny	....	sound recordist
Laurent Kossayan	....	sound effects editor
Guillaume Leriche	....	assistant sound re-recording mixer
Alexis Place	....	assistant dialogue editor
Jocelyn Robert	....	sound mixer trainee
Igor Thomas-Gerard	....	dialogue editor
Jean Umansky	....	sound
Yannick Vergne	....	assistant sound editor
Alexandre Widmer	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Jean-Baptiste Bonetto	....	special effects
Noel Chainbaux	....	special effects assistant
Yves Domenjoud	....	special effects supervisor
Denis Gastou	....	special effects makeup
Olivier Gleyze	....	special effects supervisor
Olivier Marais	....	special effects technician
Romain Rosier	....	special effects assistant
Jean-Christophe Spadaccini	....	special effects makeup

Visual Effects by
Hugo Arcier	....	3D digital artist
Christophe Belena	....	scan and printing: Duboicolor
Jerome Billet	....	matte painter
Axel Bonami	....	digital compositor
Cyrille Bonjean	....	digital compositor
Lucie Bories	....	digital compositor
Emmanuelle Carlier	....	visual effects coordinator
Alain Carsoux	....	visual effects supervisor
Nicolas Daniel	....	HD coordinator
Séverine De Wever	....	production coordinator
Thierry Delobel	....	digital artist
Stephane Dittoo	....	digital compositor
Ludovic Fouche	....	matchmover
Xavier Fourmond	....	digital compositor
Rip Hampton O'Neil	....	technical director
Abdel Ali Kassou	....	processing: DuboiColor
David Klett	....	3D digital artist
Aurelie Lajoux	....	digital compositor
Emmanuel Le Courbe	....	digital compositor
Bruno Le Provost	....	3D supervisor
Jeremie Leroux	....	compositing supervisor
Olivier Marci	....	digital artist
Benjamin Massoubre	....	2k operator
Frederic Medioni	....	computer graphic designer
Cecile Peltier	....	digital compositor
Benoit Philippon	....	visual effects
Cyril Pichard	....	research and development
Sebastien Rame	....	compositor
Aurore Rousset	....	3D animator
Bruno Sommier	....	3D shooting supervisor
George Tornero	....	digital compositor
Georges Tornero	....	digital compositor
Daniel Trujillo	....	sequence supervisor
Edouard Valton	....	visual effects producer
Jean-Marie Vives	....	digital matte painter

Stunts
Rémi Canaple	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Rémi Canaple	....	stunts
Alexandre Cauderlier	....	stunts
Patrick Cauderlier	....	stunt coordinator
Laurent Coin	....	stunts
Yan Dron	....	stunt rigger
Alexandrine Felquin	....	stunts
Olivier Fornara	....	stunts
Pascaline Girardot	....	stunts
David Grolleau	....	stunts
Vincent Haquin	....	stunts
Enrico Horn	....	stunts
Vladimir Houbart	....	stunts
David Julienne	....	stunts
Mael Lamberton	....	stunts
John Medalin	....	stunts
Pierre Medalin	....	stunts
Jean-Loup Michou	....	stunts
Alain Pedouan	....	stunts
Teddy Pividal	....	stunts
Dominique Ricou	....	stunts
Sebastien Soudais	....	stunts
Philippe Tessier	....	stunts
Michaël Troude	....	stunts
Phil Vitt	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Michel Amathieu	....	director of photography: second unit
Julien Bullat	....	video assistant
Bruno Calvo	....	still photographer
Juliette Castanier	....	second assistant camera
Arthur Cloquet	....	camera operator: second unit
Benoit Dentan	....	aerial camera operator
Robert Dona	....	grip
Bruno Dubet	....	key grip
Michaël Gojon dit Martin	....	electrician
Cédric Guerby	....	electrician
Sophie Lelou Mollard	....	electrician (as Sophie Mollard)
Beatrice Mizrahi	....	director of photography: second unit
Valentin Monge	....	Steadicam operator
Morvan Omnes	....	grip
Steeven Petitteville	....	assistant camera
Yvan Quehec	....	electrician
Ferencz Radnai	....	rigging gaffer
Michel Sabourdy	....	chief electrician
Ludovic Simeon	....	video assistant
Christophe Sournac	....	electrician
James Swanson	....	aerial director of photography
Alexandre Szabo-Fresnais	....	assistant camera: Technospeed
Eric Vallée	....	first assistant camera
Natacha Vautrin	....	camera loader
Richard Weber	....	set lighting technician

Animation Department
Aurore Rousset	....	animator

Casting Department
Camille Brunat	....	casting assistant
Yann Le Boucher	....	extras casting assistant
Marc Robert	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Loïc Barnier	....	costumer
Catherine Boisgontier	....	costume supervisor
Marie Bramsen	....	costume design assistant
Céline Collobert	....	costume trainee
Cédric Grenapin	....	wardrobe
Chloé Lesueur	....	dresser

Editorial Department
Nicolas Criqui	....	digital conformation
Céline De Seyne	....	director of post-production
Mickael Dumontier	....	digital conformation
Élodie Ichter	....	scanner operator
Lionel Kopp	....	post-production advisor
Céline Kélépikis	....	assistant editor
Yvan Lucas	....	colorist: Eclair
Philippe Reinaudo	....	digital intermediate technical director
Philippe Tourret	....	digital intermediate coordinator

Music Department
Angelo Badalamenti	....	orchestrator
Bryan Clements	....	scoring crew
Edouard Dubois	....	music consultant
Mark Eshelman	....	scoring crew
Simon James	....	music contractor
Greg Loskorn	....	scoring technician
Phil Marshall	....	conductor
Phil Marshall	....	orchestrator
Adam Michalak	....	score recordist
Bill Pearson	....	music recordist
Dennis S. Sands	....	music scoring mixer

Other crew
Laure Auger-Robert	....	personal assistant to director
Laure Auger-Robert	....	production secretary
Christine Bodelot	....	production controller
Élizabeth Boorn	....	production coordinator
Jean Brun	....	administrator
Maya Carillon	....	production assistant
Marie Ducret	....	scripte assistante
Jennifer Gay	....	translator
Michaël Gojon dit Martin	....	armorer
Marie Guillon	....	administratrice de production
Sophie Hennard	....	production assistant
Aude Lemercier	....	location scout
Marc Leroyer	....	armorer
Christophe Maratier	....	weapons
Arnaud Mathey-Dreyfus	....	location scout
Frédéric North	....	helicopter pilot
Édith Pavageau	....	production administrator
Peggy Pere	....	aerial coordinator
Christophe Perie	....	stand-in: Gaspard Ulliel
Julien Perrin	....	video conforming
Luc Poullain	....	aerial coordinator
Anne Wermelinger	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Jacques Perrin	....	thanks: "Le Peuple migrateur" footage

Production Companies

• 2003 Productions
• Warner Bros. (co-production)
• Tapioca Films (co-production)
• TF1 Films Production (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)
• Région Poitou-Charentes (participation)
• Région Bretagne (participation)
• Gerber Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (2004-2005) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2004-2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige AB (2005) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2004) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Warner Sogefilms S.A. (2005) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sandrews (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Italy) (all media)
• Warner Home Video Española S.A. (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vidéo (2009) (France) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (all media)

Special Effects

• Duboi
• Duran Duboi
• Les Versaillais
• Éclair Numérique

Other Companies

• Aerial Camera Systems  helicopter gyrostabilized camera system
• Nonesuch Records  soundtrack album published by (as Nonesuch Variété)

Also Known As:

"Un long dimanche de fiançailles" - France (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexuality

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

French | German | Corsican

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Spain:13 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:12 (f) | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Austerlitz Railway Station, Paris 13, Paris, France

Company:

2003 Productions

Trivia:

Jean-Pierre Jeunet originally wanted to cast Dominique Pinon as Germain Pire the private eye and Ticky Holgado as uncle Sylvain. However, Holgado had been diagnosed with cancer and the studio refused to insure him. Therefore, Jeunet decided to switch the actors and did not regret his decision afterward. As Holgado became more and more ill, he began to have trouble concentrating and remembering his lines. Jeunet prepared a rough cut of the movie for Holgado to see, but Ticky passed on before he could do so.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Mathilde was born on January 1, 1900. At least twice in the course of the film we are told that Manech is only 1 year older than her. However, the voiceover at the beginning as Manech is being led through the trench with the other prisoners in January 1917 informs us that Manech is "five months shy of 20," putting his birth date in June of 1897 and making him two and a half years older than Mathilde. On the other hand, he could have lied on his real age in order to be conscripted - the voice-over citing actual records, Manech could have insisted to be sent, and had his age modified on records.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Mathilde:Ashes to ashes. Ashes to ashes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Estrenos Críticos: El episodio que va a contrarreloj (#1.4)" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Peer Gynt: Suite Number 1, Opus 46

Simply great

Well, I've never written an IMDb review before (though I read them all the time), but I feel compelled to write one now.. And don't worry, I won't give any spoilers or mention anything which will ruin the movie in any way. I hate when people do that.

This movie is PURE POETRY. I'm not going to claim I'm some great movie buff although I've seen a fair amount of movies, mostly independent and foreign, but "A Very Long Engagement" is one of the best I've ever seen. The whole film has a very dreamlike aura to it and the colors are great. The only other Jeunet film I've seen was Amelie, and while that movie is one of my favorites, this one is right up there with it.

The subject matter here isn't my forte by any means. Honestly, when I read the comparisons to "Saving Private Ryan", I winced a bit. SPR is a great movie, no doubt, but it's just not my cup of tea. What makes this such a strange paradox is that the war scenes in "A Very Long Engagement" are possibly even more graphic and outrageous than those of SPR, but it works just because Jeunet adds his surreal touch to everything. Of course, I would certainly call this a romance themed movie much more than a war themed movie, but it blends everything very smoothly and naturally. It is a film both men and women will enjoy equally. You really have to see this movie. I mean, I was simply floored. The two and a half hour playtime flew by, not a single dull moment in the entire film.

A few things: Someone mentioned earlier that this movie starts off by throwing out a lot of names and it can be very confusing if you, like me, aren't the best at remembering all these names (especially French names), but it seems the director figured that this confusion might occur so as the movie progresses it's almost impossible to not eventually remember who is who because we are reminded so often (especially with flashbacks) of who is who. It's really not a big problem at all, just try your best to remember the names and which faces they belong to.

Another thing, I found it sort of hard to really care much about the relationship between the two main characters at first simply because Audrey Tautou's character is all alone wondering about her fiancé, but as the movie goes to periodic flashbacks of the two in youth, then in their teenage years, I saw so much beauty in it all. And the way these scenes unfold are incredibly spellbinding... Easily putting anything from Amelie to shame. That's another point I wanted to make. Jeunet's style seems so much more natural and mature here as compared to the somewhat forced 'weirdness' (or quirkiness) of Amelie. This is such a masterful film. If I hadn't seen the last showing of the night I would have seen it again tonight.

The ending was mesmerizing, paralyzing, and when the credits came on not a single person even got up for a few minutes. I left the theater and walked around downtown just thinking about it all. I can't say enough great things about this film. I cannot wait for this to come out on DVD.

And in the event Mr. Jeunet sees this, thank you! Truly a film I'll think about for a long time to come, and one I'll be recommending to everyone.

If you're looking for a full length, meaty film to sink your teeth, heart and brain into for a night and walk out of the theater feeling completely full and satisfied, this is the film. I've read IMDb for years, but this movie was enough to make me register and post my first review. Think about it.