A Man and a Woman (1966) (2024)

Popular reviews

• Review by Cam Soutter ★★★★★ 4

  French cinema is truly one of humanity's greatest gifts to the world

• Review by KYK 1

  Woman sends a "U Up?" telegram and man drives 3,000 miles to have sex.

  No but actually... I'm f*ckING WRECKED AFTER THIS MOVIE. Good night.

• Review by theriverjordan ★★★★ 26

  Claude Lelouch takes the Nouvelle Vague on a road trip through the existential with “A Man and a Woman.”

  While the midcentury French auteurs loved to film doomed protagonists driving around in their often equally ill-fated automobiles, Lelouch went one farther and placed his lens of examination inside the head of the person behind the car’s wheel. “A Man” depicts the melancholic romance between a racecar driver and a script girl. The two share tragic pasts in their respective deceased spouses; the sorrowful set of a widow and a widower.

  Lelouch uses varying film stocks and colorings to depict the phases in the lives of each lover leading up to their mutual encounter. The past is full of color and…

• Review by Mousa ;) ★★★½

  Only French films can make a simple
  love story so interesting and beautiful
  forever listening to the soundtrack.

• Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★½

  Another film for which my review rating shifts depending on my specific criticism. Story-wise, I found it tedious and draining, as well as very pretentious and muddled.

  Yet the way it's told, with the cinematography and shifting tones of the visual, the score, and even the performances, makes you feel like you're stuck in a dream that the characters, and you, are unable or don't want to break free of. This is all top-notch, but unfortunately, the length of the film means that even this becomes tedious after a while.

  All in all, an interestingly told romantic movie that sadly could have used a bit of less class and experimental and more energy.

  TODAY SCHEDULE
  The Witcher: Blood Origin
  The Lodger
  A Man and a Woman
  A Man Called Otto

• Review by nora ★★★★½ 1

  god this is so f*cking tender i am dead. just completely lovely. anouk aimée and jean-louis trintignant have this quiet, easy chemistry with each other, meaning that the scenes where they are falling in love are so light and simple, and conversely it makes the sad moments sting all the more. i love how monochromatic film (both black & white and sepia) and those moments that trintignant speaks in voiceover in a low, almost-whisper tone signal moments of intense intimacy. i could listen to anouk aimée and jean-louis trintignant talk quietly to each other while claude lelouch follows that man and his dog on the beach over and over, it's all beautiful.

  also thinking about how trintignant drove his car way too fast irl too so i very much believe him as a racecar driver (& oh my god double feature this with BOBBY DEERFIELD to cry for a week)

• Review by Zeynep ★★★★½

  the sexual tension between me and this movie

• Review by Adam ★★★★½

  The classiest, calmest love story I’ve ever seen. Listen—I love a good romantic comedy, but you always know what’ll happen. And you always dread the tears and yelling with ten minutes to go and a super quick reunion that’s a bit lazy. This film makes a “breakup” so unbelievably classy. There are no dramatic expressions of love. There is tons of passion but nothing over the top. There are tons of montages but they aren’t of cheesy romantic activities. Lelouch captures the simplest acts of love and sets them to Francis Lai’s jazzy, romantic score. The most “lovey” thing that is said in this movie isn’t even said. It’s put through a telegram. Crazy levels of restraint there.

  It’s also one of the most visually appealing movies I’ve seen in a while. Flipping between colour, black and white, and sepia is surprisingly effective. Lovely work all the way around. And Anouk Aimée is gorgeous. Had to add that!

• Review by Sam Meltzer ★★★

  I desperately wanted to love this. It seemed like a staggeringly beautiful and unique depiction of romance boosted by wonderful performances that are filled with tension. And… in some ways it is. The film highly excels in its mellow and unpretentious tone. The love story is simple and not exactly unpredictable with its outcome but the film knows that and simply tries to piece together realism with artistic filmmaking. Anouk Aimée is incredibly striking in her looks which gives her a sense of command when on screen. The emphasis on her hand and hair movements along with her distinctive, gorgeous eyes is compelling.

  I do think that the film’s daring and artistic style can work aesthetically yet it becomes evident…

• Review by phoebe 💫 ★★★★½ 4

  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! yes yes yes!! merci beaucoup monsieur lelouch mwah mwah

• Review by chuzen ★★★★ 2

  she wired, 'i love you.'

  not the best film featuring anouk aimee, but simplythe most beautiful. it's even the banner of my twitter profile, as well as the ending of endings (spoiler alert)

  aimee was in two films i hold most beloved (the other beingfestival in cannes), and these are the only films i'll watch today, on repeat.

  alas, this is my humble way of wiring i love youto anouk aimee.

• Review by sakana1 ★★★½ 4

  The quiet, tentative first half of A Man and a Woman is extraordinary, in both its simplicity and its power. So much of what is built between the title characters (Anouk Aimée as Anne Gauthier and Jean-Louis Trintignant as Jean-Louis Duroc) is done in silence, with threads of connection established through stolen glances and private thoughts. The way that Trintignant looks at people is one of secret weapons as an actor, and just watching Jean-Louis gaze, unblinking, at Anne while the two are at lunch with their children feels like magic. Similarly, Aimée is so breathtakingly beautiful that every reminder of her warm humanity holds extra power. So, Anne doesn't need to speak, all she needs to do is give…