A Very Long Engagement is a gorgeous, visual feast that moves along in a narrative style that recalls Amelie (which is not surprising given that both pictures were directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet), with a tad of Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain thrown in for good measure.

This French epic tale of love and war features the beautiful Audrey Tautou as Mathilde, a young woman who desperately attempts to discover what has become of her true love after he disappears in the trenches of the Somme during World War I. Through letters and discussions with soldiers who were in contact with him, her search proves to be difficult. As Mathilde struggles to maintain her passionate sense of hope while looking for her lost soul mate, we are given glimpses at the awful war that may or may not have taken her love's life.

As always, Jeunet (who also directed City of Lost Children, Delicatessen, and his only true misfire to date - the visually sumptuous but ultimately empty Alien: Ressurrection) injects nearly every frame of this picture with love and care. A Very Long Engagement is huge in scope, recreating battle scenes with meticulous detail, but the carnage is unveiled in a dreamlike (or nightmarish if you will) fashion. Jeunet is also a master at developing sweat inducing tension (watch for a brilliantly conceived zeppelin sequence). But where this amazing visionary really succeeds, is with the romance aspect of the film, particularly the bittersweet but picture perfect finale.

Audrey Tatou just continues to amaze with her sincerity and natural screen presence. When her eyes well with tears it simply breaks the heart. The scenes in which her hopeful nature are tested by moments of absolute chance, are beautifully played and very effective. The entire cast is solid, and I was particularly surprised by Jodie Foster who appears as a soldier's wife who's asked to take part in a most uncomfortable scenario, one that ends with awkward results.

A Very Long Engagement is different in tone from Amelie, but both pictures touch on themes of love, and what one will do to find it again when it's virtually taken from them. Of course, A Very Long Engagement is also about the horrors of war, and it presents it's anti-war message with the best of the genre (i.e. The Deer Hunter, Saving Private Ryan etc.). Yes, this film is quite violent, but not in a gratuitous way.

The love story in A Very Long Engagement is old fashioned but powerful and works far more effectively than a similar such romance in Cold Mountain. Here, the passion feels real whereas in Minghella's film, I never really bought into the bond between Jude Law and Nicole Kidman.

Given that I've showered this movie with quite a bit of praise, you're probably wondering why I haven't given a higher grade. The truth is, as beautiful and grand as the movie is, I would have liked it more had it been a tad tighter. A Very Long Engagement is a little on the long side and unnecessarily so. Still, Jeunet proves once again that he has a distinct style all his own, and that Audrey Tautou is to him what Robert De-Niro is to Martin Scorsese. This is a beautiful film, and one well worth seeking out.