Un homme et une femme

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 ?

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.

This film moved me as a 21-year-old college student with almost no experience in romance, relationships, etc. It has remained a favorite for 34 years now. I think as highly of it with many experiences in life and love as I did with none. It is simply excellent.

I was a film major and saw this movie in a class and it became my No.1 movie immediately and has been ever since. This film is where you think maybe movie can be art and really influence people's life. the storyline is simple but the mood of the film is so deep but natural. I especially like the part when Anne and Jean-Louis walk on the beach in the late afternoon and talk about the story of an artist and his cat. Lelouch did the love story about two mid-age parents when he was 28 and he did a brilliant job. He couldn't afford all colored film but he totally made this film a colored/ black-and-white style classic. The only scene looks bad in color and should be in black-and-white is the scene with Jean-Louis's ex. a great movie and it doesn't age at all.