When I say that contrary to the film I can be short about going where I want to, it is obviously sarcastic. Sadly, it is also true. Un long dimanche de fiançailles just has too many flaws. First of all, the film itself and some scenes especially are unnecessarily long. It seemed to me at times as if Jeunet has never heard of the concept of editing to make a film move faster. A technique that would have come in very handy in keeping the Miss Marple like characteristics of the film seem exciting and thrilling in the long run. This immediately brings me to my second point. The whole film just seems to slip from genre to genre, but not as though as incorporating many genres into one whole. Rather the film seems to take bits and pieces from every genre and in the end falls short in generating a whole. I for one cannot say whether this is drama, war, comedy, fantasy, or romance and honestly I feel as if I've seen bits and pieces of everything, with nothing being followed through until the ending.
Another thing that bugged me about this film, was that it was way too complex. While this also made the film longer than it needed to be, it was the interaction of the complex story , the slow pace and the lengthy shots that made the film boring at times. You just didn't care after an hour and a half or so. You just wanted Jeunet and his colleagues to get on with it and end the whole thing.
When I give all this criticism, it almost sounds as if everything about this film is wrong. That is absolutely not true. The things I just criticized, stood in the way of this film being great and made it average. There were however some great moments too. Take for instance the 'match lighting scene'. I thought it was very sweet and funny and truly an example of beautiful film-making. Moments like those didn't last long enough though and got lost in the intricate web that makes up this truly long engagement.
6 out of 10
Another thing that bugged me about this film, was that it was way too complex. While this also made the film longer than it needed to be, it was the interaction of the complex story , the slow pace and the lengthy shots that made the film boring at times. You just didn't care after an hour and a half or so. You just wanted Jeunet and his colleagues to get on with it and end the whole thing.
When I give all this criticism, it almost sounds as if everything about this film is wrong. That is absolutely not true. The things I just criticized, stood in the way of this film being great and made it average. There were however some great moments too. Take for instance the 'match lighting scene'. I thought it was very sweet and funny and truly an example of beautiful film-making. Moments like those didn't last long enough though and got lost in the intricate web that makes up this truly long engagement.
6 out of 10