A Man and a Woman (French: Un homme et une femme) (1966) Director: Claude Lelouch Watched: 1/17/18 Rating: 8/10 Candid love story With minimal dialogue Augmented by subtleties Poignantly honest We fall and feel alongside True love, bad timing Artfully toggles Black and white to sepia And full color shots Capricious collage Fine and distinctive soundtrack Memorable songs Too much racing, rough pacing Lacks cohesion, but that's art Haiku Sonnets are comprised of 4 3-line haiku plus a couplet of either 5 or 7 syllables, adding up to 14 lines, the same number of lines found in a sonnet. (5-7-5, 5-7-5, 5-7-5, 5-7-5, 7-7/5-5) #HaikuSonnet #PoemReview #French #PalmedOr

I don't know whether or not Claude Lelouch was considered part of the French New Wave, but judging by "Un homme et une femme" ("A Man and a Woman" in English), I'd say that he should be. The Oscar-winning movie chronicles a relationship that has arisen following tragic circumstances. The switching back and forth between black-and-white and color adds a mystifying angle to the plot. But most important is the complexity of the characters and subtlety of the plot. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimée put on the performances of a lifetime. I guess that the movie's overall point is that life comes at us fast and can throw in unpleasant surprises, so we need to develop social connections however possible.A masterpiece.

Anne (Anouk Aimée) and rally pilot Jean-Louis (jean-Louis Trintignant) meet in Dauville, in Northern France, where their respective children study in boarding school: both widows, they guess to start a relationship, but their past could be an obstacle.Putting aside the programmatic banality of the mushy plot, "Un homme, une femme" is a very interesting film for the way it's written, then filmed, as the image of memory substitutes word, music denies dialog and oppresses the picture (the famous and frivolous theme by Francis Lai), the sudden editing, the freshness of a style that, by color or b&w print, hand camera or frenetic cuts, has been academic as prototype/stereotype of French cinema, and even, years later, a sample for commercials. Style, of course, isn't enough to make happier a schmaltzy and predictable story – where death, as love, is just anecdote –, but Lelouch has done a good job creating a nice compendium of pictures, music, sounds, faces, and drawing a love mythology – kisses, hugs, doubts, thoughts, stations, trains, telegrams, phone calls, car rides, hotel rooms, dilemmas and confusions – which is banal, gratuitous, partial, but incisive and well kept in rhythm.*** out of 5

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.