Now, don’t misunderstand me: When I say “A Very Long Nonsense” I’m not talking about the film I saw yesterday, “A Very Long Engagement“, but rather the war during and after which the film’s story takes place. Which is obviously WWI.

But this isn’t a war movie. Sure, the war’s presence adds something of an “All Quiet On The Western Front” like feel to it, and gives it an extra dimension (this practically goes without saying, as every movie that includes some realistic scenes from the trenches in France gets an anti-war dimension to it), but beyond that, it’s merely setting, there to accomodate the narration of the story.

Because primarily, this is a love story, with some elements of a detective story thrown in the mix. It strongly resembles “Amelié” in many ways (but that’s nothing but natural, what with them being made by the same people and having the same main actress in similar roles), but it is sadder. Compressed into one sentence, the movie is about Mathilde, a young woman, played by Audrey Tautou, whose fianceé is killed in the war, but she refuses to believe this, and sets out to find him. Naturally, she discovers that her beloved was executed for cowardice by being thrown into No Man’s Land along with four others, who are rather excentric people. Through a series of glimpses back to what happened before and after the executions, revealed in the same pace as Mathilde learns of them.

Another of the film’s strengths, in addition to this interesting and captivating story, is the way it’s shot. Like “Amelié” it has bright and clear colours, which gives it a slightly unrealistic atmosphere. This helps to further enhance the viewing experience, by providing a contrast to the gritty and muddy trench scenes.

A great film, all in all. Not quite on level with “Amelié”, but not far from it. I reward it with an extra .5er for it’s reference to Petain’s cruel penal methods. 9.0/10.