Set in World War I-era France, A Very Long Engagement tells the story of Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) and her search for her fiancée, Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), who was allegedly killed on the frontline at the Somme.

Manech, one of five men court-martialed and sentenced to death for self-mutilation, is sent unarmed out of the allied trenches into “no man’s land” to die.

By all accounts, all five men died in a German attack.

However, Mathilde refuses to accept this and, stubbornly clinging to hope, she begins to investigate the convoluted events of the day her fiancée was “killed.”

Part “horrors of war” film, part film noir, part romance, A Very Long Engagement is an interesting mix of genres. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet juxtaposes scenes of highly contrasting emotions, creating a unique and somewhat uncomfortable tone in the film.

For instance, in the opening scenes, we cut between the trenches, and the gritty, bloody realities of war, and the intimacy of Mathilde and Manech asleep in each other’s arms.

In fact, there are few tender displays in the film that are not followed up closely by some depiction of death or misery.

In this way, the film seems to say that love is constant, even in times of despair.

Certainly, Mathilde represents this idea.

Her love for Manech is so strong that not even death can end it. Her hope keeps him alive in her own mind.

The casting in this film is, as in every Jeunet film, flawless. Jeunet cast some of his favorites, actors like Audrey Tautou and Dominique Pinon who have both appeared in his movies before. There is even a surprising appearance by Jodie Foster, who speaks impeccable French in her role as the wife of one of the condemned soldiers.

However, the most notable performances is that of newcomer Gaspard Ulliel. The 19-year-old has the intensity and consummate professionalism of someone twice his age, and this shows both on the screen and in person.

When asked about working with Jeunet, Ulliel admits the experience was a bit different from the films he had done in the past.

“[Jeunet’s work] is a quite different cinema. A cinema a little more popular, a little more commercial, but evolved, it was very new for me, it was a discovery, an adventure. It’s also a cinema a little more luxurious, Jean-Pierre is someone who likes to work very precisely, he’s a perfectionist, and in that way I had to adapt the way I act to the way he worked,” said Ulliel in an early-November interview with The Daily Campus.

According to Ulliel, the filming was sometimes grueling, especially during the scenes that took place in the trenches. “The hardest part for the team, for me, for the actors, were the scenes in the trenches. It was almost winter when we filmed so it was starting to get a little cold. It was just uncomfortable with all the rain and mud, and I suspect Jean-Pierre kept us in there for a few extra hours before filming to make us feel like real soldiers,” he said.

Chances are, A Very Long Engagement won’t be the last American audiences will see of Ulliel. The young actor does not rule out the possibility of making movies on this side of the Atlantic. “I’m very happy about where I am in my career in France and,” Ulliel said. “There’s always a language barrier, I would need to get a coach to ameliorate my English.”

However, he mentions that he would love to eventually work with some of his favorite American directors like Sophia Copolla and Gus Van Sant.

With A Very Long Engagement, Jeunet succeeds again in making a piece of work that is effortlessly a “feel good movie.” Audiences will surely walk out of this movie with greater hope for the power of love in even the most harrowing situations.