Long Dimanche de Fiançailles

(2004)

RATING:	60%
FORMAT:	Cinema

(Image: http://www.patheos.com)

[Very Long Engagement]

Too gimmicky and overly stylish, this World War I melodrama lacks the emotional punch necessary to make it a classic.

Flawed by trying to be both a gut-wrenching war movie and a love story, the scenes of combat conflict with the more domestic moments to no dramatic effect since neither help us understand the other. Instead, we are presented with a mediocre amour in which sexual love is defined as merely an empathy between people whould could intuit the death of a loved one. The unbelievable coincidences add nothing to the film’s view of fate as random; being more the result of poor screenwriting ability.

The performances are excellent, however, and Audrey TAUTOU, Marion COTILLARD & Jodie FOSTER make clear this film was trying to be a war film told from a feminine perspective rather than just an explicit depiction of combat.

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