I FINALLY got the chance to view A Very Long Engagement for my viewing pleasure. Somehow, I have the feeling Paco saw it 2 years ago as a special screening with Jeunet himself because somehow that's how he rolls. Anyway, it was superb. It seemed to me that it may be a bit more mainstream, which isn't necessarily bad with JPJ because Alien 4 was still pretty good even though it was in English and big and all that. And the Long Engagement was so much more than I had hoped for. JPJ's style definitely was present and is even maturing a bit I think. However, I don't mean mature like when an infant matures into toddler-hood and is more fun to play with. More like when a band like Ozma matures. Their sound may become a bit more complex and intelligent, but the earlier stuff will always be the best no matter what. Nothing JPJ ever does can top Delicatessen or City of Lost Children in my book.
All of this is to say that A Very Long Engagement was an incredibly beautiful and somber film that made me weep like I was back in seventh grade (that's right I cried a lot even as old as seventh grade, leave me alone). It was a totally brilliant dive into the human condition, the twisted ethics in the face of war and love, and all kinds of other great pictorial insight that JPJ can't stop dishing out and I can't stop consuming.
Speaking of crying, I was listening to Ben Folds yesterday (another guy whose incredible prowess at his craft is matched only by his ability to touch my life force) in the car yesterday and Gracie made me cry really hard and I don't even have a daughter. That's what is so magical about Ben Folds.
Speaking of Ben Folds, I heard that he was going to be on the show Love Monkey last night, so I sat through the whole thing for him to be on it for about 21 seconds. That was not awesome.
Oh well, that's the way life goes sometimes when you're representin.
