A MAN AND A WOMAN

France, 1966, 102 minutes, Colour.
Anouk Aimee, Jean- Louis Trintignant.
Directed by Claude Lelouch.

A Man and a Woman is one of the best-known and popular of French films. It won the Oscar for best foreign language film of 1966 and Lelouch and his screenwriter, Pierre Uytterhoeven, won the Oscar for best original screenplay. (Uytterhoeven has been writing films since 1964 and has continued over four decades – frequently collaborating with Lelouch.) Lelouch and Uytterhoeven made something of a commercial mistake in creating a sequel, A Man and a Woman Twenty Years Later in 1986. It was not so popular, critics and the public thinking that it undermined the original film.

The plot is very simple. A widow and a widower meet accidentally at their children’s school. They drive together, explain their lives to each other. (The film also has a racing car background, a theme very popular in the 1960s with such films as Grand Prix.)

Jean- Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimee are very attractive as the couple and helped audiences identify with characters and themes. The film uses both Technicolor and black and white for dramatic effect.

The film’s score also became very popular, especially with the song ‘A Man and a Woman’ composed by Frances Lai who was to go on to create the score and the song for Love Story.

The film won the Golden Palm at Cannes in 1966 as well as the OCIC award.

1. The overall impact of the film, the quality of audience response? The popularity of the film and the reasons for it? Its meriting the Oscar that it won? A film that signified trends and has created trends?

2. The puzzle of the use of colour? the use of monochrome? Any reasons? The effect? Changing of moods?

3. The importance of the music? The heavy dramatic theme, especially for the car on the road? The use of songs, especially for Anne's husband? The song and the memory, song at the and? The visuals that accentuated these two songs? The importance of the main them and its effect? A romantic theme for a romantic film?

4. The place of the title? The focus on the relationship between a man and a woman? The indication of the theme? How well did each character represent men and women? How particularly French? How universal? The ordinary man and woman of the twentieth Century? The film's comments on its own story, the mention of movies and real stories, the opening fairytale and people not liking a sad story? How happy and moving a story was this? How genuine in its happiness and romance?

5. The portrayal of love and audience response to this? Audience response to a love story? How strong was the story? How strong was the power of love? The atmosphere of romance and sentiment? How well presented, how well balanced?

6. The importance of the structure of the film and audience response to this: the introduction of each character, meeting with them and their children, the story as it unfolded - at that point, the dramatic structure for the flashbacks, the growth in meeting and understanding, the importance of the cable and the long drive, the new meeting in love, the culmination of the physical love, Anne's hesitation, the second drive and the finale? How did this keep audience attention and keep the audiences involved with the characters?

7. How attractive a character was Anne, in herself, in relationship to her daughter? The background of the school, her telling stories, the capacity for love? The ordinary meeting with Jean Louis? The strategic presentation of the flashbacks and the gradual build-up of detail? The nature of her love for her husband? How convincing with this, the exotic background of the stunt work? for growth of response to Jean Louis? Travelling with him and the importance of the lunch and the conversation and the naturalness, the walk along the beach, the boat ride? The realization of love? The reason for her sending the cable? The happiness at the reunion, the dramatic significance of her husband not being dead for her? What did she realize during the final train ride? How probing and convincing a character study of a woman?

8. How attractive a character was Jean Louis? Our meeting him with his boy, seeing him at work, the sadness and pathos of his story, his response to Anne's story? His mistress and kissing her? The gradual realization of love? His work at Monte Carlo and Anne's absence? The dramatic impact of the cable and the strength and power of love in his drive? His pursuing Anne to the school? The fulfilment of the love? His disappointment and seeing her off at the train? What happened to him during his final drive? How interesting and accurate a portrait of an ordinary man in love?

9. The strength in the film of such sequences an the lunch, the easy talk, the picture of natural relationships, the enjoyment of the beach and the boat, the discussion about the dog and sculpture and the contrast of the later dog running around the beach in exhilaration?

10. How much insight did the film have into the strength and power of love and its moving people?

11. The importance of the encounter in the bedroom, the memory, Anne's memory and the son, her having to accept her husband's death?

12. The dramatic impact of the final trip and audience response to this? How involved were audiences by this time?

13. Twentieth Century background of filmmaking and car racing and the visualizing of this? How important? The film's reliance on details and charm, beauty? The quality of its insight and feeling?