A Man and a Woman (1966)
"Un homme et une femme" (original title)

A man and a woman meet by accident on a Sunday evening at their childrens' boarding school. Slowly they reveal themselves to each other, finding that each is a widow/widower. Each is slow ... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Lelouch

Writer:

Pierre Uytterhoeven

Stars:

Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Pierre Barouh

Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anouk Aimée	...	Anne Gauthier
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Jean-Louis Duroc (as Jean Louis Trintignant)
Pierre Barouh	...	Pierre Gautier
Valérie Lagrange	...	Valerie Duroc
Antoine Sire	...	Antoine Duroc (as Antoine)
Souad Amidou	...	Françoise Gauthier (as Souad)
Henri Chemin	...	Jean-Louis' Codriver
Yane Barry	...	Mistress of Jean-Louis
Paul Le Person	...	Garage Man
Simone Paris	...	Head Mistress
Gérard Sire	...	Announcer

Storyline

A man and a woman meet by accident on a Sunday evening at their childrens' boarding school. Slowly they reveal themselves to each other, finding that each is a widow/widower. Each is slow to reveal anything personal so that each revelation is hidden by a misperception. They become friends, then close friends, and then she reveals that she can't have a lover because, for her, her husband's memory is still too strong. Much of the film is told wordlessly in action, or through hearing one of their thoughts as they go about their day.

---

Plot Keywords:

deauville | famous theme | love | famous score | paris france

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

12 July 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Man and a Woman

Filming Locations:

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films 13

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The race scene about 53 minutes into the film, is the 1964, 24 Hours of Le Mans. The actor Jean-Louis Trintignant's (Jean-Louis Duroc) uncle is in this race, driving a Maserati Tipo 151/1, #2. He is Maurice Trintignant, a Grand Prix and sports cars racer. He won eleven Grand Prix races (some non-points races) and the 1954, 24 Hours of Le Mans.

---

Quotes

Jean-Louis Duroc: Some Sundays start well and end badly. It's hard to believe- It's crazy to refuse happiness. If I had to go through this again, What would I do? Is there anything else I could do? To see her for months on end as a pal. What happens? You end up being pals, maybe. She wired, 'I love you.' Admit it boy, you just don't understand women.

---

Connections

Referenced in Murphy Brown: A Man and a Woman (1998)

---

Soundtracks

"Plus fort que nous"
Music by Francis Lai
Lyrics by Pierre Barouh
Performed by Nicole Croisille and Pierre Barouh

User Reviews

a good story, well told can be appreciated now and then

`A Man and A Woman (Un homme et une femme)'. ****. (1966, France, Not Rated 102 min. Directed by Claude Lelouch with Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant). I recently watched `Lumière and Company' which celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the movie industry. Forty directors from around the world produced 52-second films using the Lumière camera. The fifty-two second time limit and other constraints follow the construct of the first Lumière movie. Of the 40 films, the by-far-and-away best is the one of two lovers kissing. The man and woman are on a rotating stage so we get a 360-degree view of their kiss. In the background we see photographers each with progressively more modern cameras. The love or passion of the man and the woman don't change only the way we are able to view them now and then.

So what does this have to do with Claude Lelouch's 1996 movie, `A Man and A Woman'? Well he's the director that made the above mentioned film and it reminded me that it has been years since I last watched `A Man and A Woman.' I rented and watched it again.

Jean-Louis Duroc (Trintignant) and Anne Gauthier (Aimée) are a man and woman. They meet incidentally at the boarding school where they visit their children each weekend. He visits his son, she her daughter. She misses her train and he offers her ride back to ride back to Paris in his car. Slowly and cautiously we learn about them as they learn about one another. We learn about their jobs, their former spouses, and other details of their lives that have the movie viewer hoping this man and woman can become a couple.

Lelouch's technique in telling the story is wonderful. The film switches from black and white to color. The switch usually comes on the change from person-to-person conversation to personal thoughts or a recounting of the past. It's like Lelouch is using this change as quotation marks or thought balloons on the screen. We see/hear Jean-Louis' and Anne's thoughts as they question their feelings about beginning a new personnel relationship. I first saw this movie as a college student in 1966. I really liked it then. I wondered if I'd liked it now. The movie hasn't changed but I can assure you I have. `A Man and A Woman' proves that a good story, well told can be appreciated now and then. I highly recommend that you rent and watch `A Man and A Woman.'