A Very Long Engagement was clever mélange between a romance and a war film. Romanticism is built into every bit of the film. A young couple who are deeply in love is separated by a brutal war. She refuses to accept the fate of her soul-mate and a romance with the trail of his death begins.
All things considered, this is a mystery/romance however it was a painfully drawn out version of the genre. The film is great and it is really hard not to be emotionally involved with the characters. That being said, the nature of the film is to frustrate the viewers as poor Matilde runs into dead end after dead end. A well-made film should make people feel things during it or I do not feel like it is worth watching.
This film brought a stark realization of the realities of war. Every person shot has a family who misses and loves them back home. Every person has a background that is effectually erased when their lives are meaninglessly snuffed out. Too often when we talk of wars, we state the death statistics like that is all they are. Each number represents a person. Although we romanticize the idea of war because of the honor and glory it brings.
Ultimately, I feel this film wraps up the storyline as you would expect. The final scene is the bow on top. “Does it hurt when you walk” is the same line he used to first catch Matilde’s attention, and it ties the whole experience together as they are reunited. She watches him as he performs a meaningless task. “Elle le regard” a simple phrase repeated as a smile spreads across her face. I could not help but feel my own heart stir.
Image credit:WW1 Trenches, by bmewett. licensed by cc 2.0 by Pixaby
I loved that the beginning "Does it hurt when you walk" line was tied in at the end, too. It definitely adds to the emotion of the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious: would you find it worth it to watch this movie again? I went to see it last week but it ended up being cancelled due to technical difficulties. I only saw the first six or seven minutes of it, and was slightly disturbed by some of the gruesome images and the over-the-top displays of affection. Did either of these things take away from your appreciation of the film or did they enhance it?
ReplyDeleteI watched Hacksaw Ridge when it was in theaters. It's a rated R movie that I would say helped me to not only better appreciate our military but also increased my testimony in God. There were very disturbing images in the movie (gore and violence) but I feel that these helped the movie to better relay its core messages.