Un homme et une femme

Sometimes you do not need to hear anyone in order to understand what he/she is saying, and this is the merit of this Claude Lelouch's film. The main actress and actor, i.e. Anouk Aimée and Jean Louis Trintignant, respectively, were able to act in a way that feelings, desires, sadness well were expressed by both without the need of spoken dialogues. The plot is quite simple, but the merit again is here the way to make it coherent. Another interesting characteristic was the successful use of nice soundtrack in several scenes. Similarly the story of each were said with several mute scenes. According to Lelouch the film gained its intensity because of its fast way of realization. It was made in less than three months, and the scenes were taken in three weeks keeping all actors and actresses working tense. Lelouch never expected to have the success and awards the film had and obtained.

It is so refreshing to watch a movie like this one. Those comparing it with Hollywood standards such as the density of the plot, the stunts or 'the sex scene' would be wise to take another look. Such standards cannot be applied here. Lelouch plays with colors, objects, and our natural capacity for associative memory to tell us what is neither written nor spoken. The main actors, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimée master the art of expressing the message. Dialogs are far from poor, but the meaning sometimes has to be found in their tone, their breaks, their pace or, again, the characters' play. What would be cinema for if these were useless ?

This is a movie that resonated to my core. I identified with the main character on numerous levels. First, the way he responded to his feelings about her; the way he took a chance and "went for it." The way he responded to her telegram at the ball. He jumped in his car and drove another few hundred miles to be with her; I have taken an equivalent leap in my own life, and never have regretted it. One doesn't get many such chances in this world. The way he drove again and met her train in Paris. One must grab for the gold ring when it comes around and hang on. One must be willing to risk looking ridiculous on occasion in order to have a shot at winning the Big Prize. I know, I'm a hopeless romantic. I love being a hopeless romantic. I know, most of the heavyweight reviewers have been somewhat lukewarm about this movie. Doesn't bother me a bit.

That night Anne Gauthier (Aimée) missed her train… Jean-Louis Duroc (Trintignant) offered her a ride back to Paris… Both had their children at the Deauville boarding school… She has a girl named Françoise and he has a boy named Antoine… Jean-Louis knew that her husband was a stuntman who had a tragic accident… She knew that he was married and his wife commits suicide…

Claude Lelouch begins his sensitive exploration on that boat ride where there was a completely different energy in the air, where the sea was seen alive in all its many mood and through intentions looks, and lingering hands he let us know that yes, something was beginning to happen between Anne and Jean-Louis… On that wonderful beach—and through long shots—we see the couple with their children walking, playing, running with hundreds of seagulls screaming all around…

There was a great chemistry between Aimée and Trintignant in "A Man and a Woman"… The attraction between the two stars really resonated… Aimée was very sweet and gorgeous as a woman, but her constant incursions into the past left her experience with more sorrow than joy…

Trintignant was charming… His acting extremely natural… When he received Anne's telegram he left his elegant dinner and took his car driving hundreds of kilometers to join Anne and be with the children…

Lelouch captures breathtaking shots of Deauville's spectacular beach… We all remember the unforgettable scene of the man walking alike as his dog…

The film won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film

I saw this film twice when it came out in 1966. The leading characters are quite handsome and appealing to watch. At the time I loved the music soundtrack and even bought the soundtrack album. Seeing it is available on DVD and has some bonus footage, it was a real pleasure to watch this film again, as a bonus, with my second wife. Although it seems a bit dated and many films have copied elements of its style, it still captures and stirs the emotions about the possibility of falling in love and the reality of being a "walking wounded" mid 30's single person. The bonus footage showing how the film was made on the cheap with minimum rehearsing is quite amazing. Films today are often made for hundreds to thousands times the cost, and are as spontaneous as a log pile. I recommend a revisit to this film, but imagine today's young film watchers could be bored with the absence of violence, swearing, kinky sex, and other predictable ingredients of today's formula films. one amusing feature which dates the film is the near chain smoking both stars in the film keep doing on screen. That is mostly not cool these days.