A Man and a Woman (1966)

Claude Lelouch directed this masterpiece, his first directorial effort.Despite many attempts, he would never come close to the level of sensitivity, perception, and delicacy that he shows here, not just with the naturalistic performances he extracts from Trintignant and Aimée, but above all with the photography, with the reflections on the vehicle's windshield, the changing hues in keeping with changing moods, scenes along the sea front, and the lovely soundtrack by Francis Lai, including some excellent Bossa Nova tunes. Apart from some moments with the children early in the movie, the race cars are the only outdated things about this movie. The rest remains modern and gripping all the way.The highlights, to me, are the lovemaking scene - the most touching, intimate and heartfelt sexual encounter I can recall watching in movies - and the reunion. I have now rewatched A MAN AND A WOMAN some 10 times, and it has never wasted my time, but I have found new details to savor every time.

A man and a woman meet by accident on a Sunday evening at their children's' 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.Bosley Crowther wrote, "For a first-rate demonstration of the artfulness of a cameraman and the skill at putting together handsome pictures and a strongly sentimental musical score, there is nothing around any better than Claude Lelouch's A Man and a Woman." I know nothing about Calude Lelouch, and had probably never heard the name before seeing this film. What it reminds me of, though, is the style of Richard Linklater, specifically his Paris films. The story driven by the dialogue of two people just getting to know each other. I cannot help but think this film was a big inspiration on Linklater's writing.

Anne Gauthier (Anouk Aimée) misses the train and catches a ride from Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who sends his son to the same boarding school as her daughter. They connect and discuss their lives. She's widowed after her husband died during a movie stunt. He's also a widower when his wife committed suicide after he was in a near-fatal race car crash.It's a slow rambling artistic French romance. Anouk Aimée delivers an intriguing performance. The cinematography switch between black and white and color leaves the movie with a half dream quality. It's an interesting movie but strictly for the art house crowd.

A Man and a Woman depicts two ordinary people falling in love in an ordinary way: with little drama, tension or conflict. They simply meet on a chance day and their relationship steadily blossoms from there on. It's predictable, but contains that truth that exists solely in the domain of Art.Jean-Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimée are perfect in this movie. Each plays their characters with simplicity and tenderness. This is not a deeply psychological movie. These characters exist in the moment, giving themselves to life in the fullest. Perhaps that's why I watched this movie with a smile on my face from the start to finish. Their make this movie so pleasant and seductive. There's never a scene that builds resistance. This movie wants you to fall in love with it. And I think it succeeds.The technical aspects of the movie are perfect too. I loved the cinematography, which alternates from black-and-white to colour. The script is also very good, but not because of its dialogues; in fact the script is great because it tells the story mostly visually. With such two great actors facial expressions are more than enough to display feelings and ideas. But in order not to let silence overtake the movie, Francis Lai has composed one of the greatest scores in cinema for it. Many of the songs in the movie are classics in Europe and my parents, who didn't know the movie, at least recognised the songs from their teen years.Claude Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven have created a masterpiece of cinema, one of its best love stories.