Un Homme Et Une Femme

[charliechaplinfan]

What a sheer delight this film is. I knew I was going to like it when the credits rolled and the music started and I saw the pier before me.

I love everything I've seen with Anouk Aimee in, that's why I searched for this film and it's one of the best films she's done. I confess when the screen started changing between black and white and colour I hoped I wasn't watching an experimental film, I wanted so much to watch the love story promised by the title. However I felt the use of both very well done and enhanced the film and the flashbacks.

SPOILERS AHEAD

It was a beautiful love story albeit with an unconventional ride. A story of two parents, both widowed who's children board at a school in Deauville were they both travel to every weekend whilst living and working in Paris during the week. He is a racing driver (so there's something for the men in this movie) and she is a script girl. Her husband was a stunt man who died when a stunt went wrong, his wife committed suicide when he was badly hurt in a crash. The mother, Anouk Aimee and the father, Jean Louis Trintignant become friends, then close friends then lovers. When they become lovers the anticipation and promise does not work out as planned for one of them. The result is another movie ended perfectly on a railway station.

Both lovers feel very real, in the film we inhabit their thoughts although they don't always go the way we expect but we feel we know them and understand their actions, we want it to work for them too. The love scenes are beautifully and tenderly filmed, showing how sometimes the head and the heart want different things.

The soundtrack, I'm sure I'm going to be humming it for a while now is very sixties, apart from one segment which is used now for our Panorama programme which is a current affairs programme, aside from that it's great.

[knitwit45]

This is one of my favorite movies, Alison. Here in the States it was released as "A Man and a Woman"...same thing, guess the exhibitors didn't want to scare away customers with the sub titles.
This movie was discussed in the college cafeteria for weeks...not in depth, just "wow, what a movie!" type discussion. I remember saying the flashbacks were in color, because that was her reality..her life without her great love was only black and white and gray.
When I hear the music, I always feel about 18 again. I wanted to look like Anouk Aimee, but being short and having curly light hair...well, we all have our dreams.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'm glad it's one of your favorites, I can understand why, it's feels very poetic.

I quite like the actor Jean Louis Trintingnant, I haven't seen him in many films but he's rather good, he and Anouk Aimee add real depth to the couple. I do think Anouk gets more attractive with age, she's softer and gentler in this movie, in other movies she's felt unapproachable and a bit mysterious. I'm no closer to looking like her than you Nancy but we can wish can't we.

[feaito]

I have to watch this one -first I have to get it - It's main Theme is one of my favorite songs of all-time.

[knitwit45]

'Nando, you'll love it. It is a lovely story about surviving the unthinkable, second chances, single parents..and beautiful people to watch.

I really like your new avatar. Is that our 'Nando at a very early age?

[feaito]

Hi Nancy, I think I'll do... My new avatr is Baby Feaito, under 1 year old I think...around 1968...when I was chubby, blond and carefree...Glad you liked it.

[charliechaplinfan]

I think your avatar is really cute, I meant to ask you about it.

I think you'd both really like Un Homme Et Une Femme Fernando. My husband expressed mild interest until the colourt started changing and he guessed it was one of my experimental films and gave up trying to watch it, plus it was in French although there is a choice to have it dubbed. It wasn't experimental at all although it unravels slowly leaving the viewer uncertain of what they are watching in the first few minutes.

Does the theme song have a name, I'd love to download it.

[feaito]

Thanks Alison.

The song's name is "Un Homme et Une Femme", just like the title of the film..."A Man and a Woman".

[charliechaplinfan]

Thanks Fernando, of course it's called Un Homme et Une Femme, that's the perfect title for it.