A Very Long Wait

The dream team of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Audrey Tautou produced Amelie, one of the best-loved films of recent years. Now they're back together for A Very Long Engagement, a World War I love story, alongside Jodie Foster and Gaspard Ulliel. The story follows Mathilde, a lame girl whose fianc Manech, left for the Battle of the Somme two years before. Despite receiving the telegram informing her that he died, Mathilde refuses to accept his death, and sets off in search of her lost love. Manech's sergeant tells her that Manech and four friends were condemned to death and abandoned in No Man's Land after shooting themselves in the hand in an attempt to escape from the Front. Undeterred, Mathilde continues her search. The official site for the film is now online at this address. It's all in French, but you can easily find the video clip and photos. The video clip shows scenes from the World War I trench set, with some nightmarish battle scenes, as well as the golden-tinged goodbye scene of the couple, and Mathilde's race across the fields, convinced that her fiancé will come home from the War safely if she reaches the turn before he does. A Very Long Engagement is due out in France this October, so with any luck it will reach these fair shores early next year.