There are several movies about a man and a woman who keep bumping into each other.
"When Harry met Sally" (1989, Rob Reiner) covers a relatively big time span. Harry and Sally keep meeting each other through shared relatives and there are no (really serious) lovers. In this film romance is combined with comedy.
In "Brief encounter" (1945, David Lean) and "Falling in love" (1984, Ulu Grosbard) the man and woman meet each other in a railway station respectively by Christmas shopping. They are both married. These films are pure romance.
"Un homme et une femme" (1966, Claude Lelouch) shows us yet another situation. The man and the woman meet each other at the boarding school of their kids. They are both widow(er).
When they tell each other the story of their lives during a car ride this story is shown in an extensive flashback. I found that rather intrusive and a way of filmmaking that lets only limited room for the imagination of the spectator. Later however it becomes clear how important the deceased still are in the present. "Un homme et une femme" is not only a film about romance but also about nostalgia and bereavement.
I just mentioned the instrusiveness of the flashbacks of the past lives . Director Lelouch also shows in other ways that he has little confidence in the spoken word to clarify feelings as compared to images and music. In some scenes the music even makes the conversation inaudible.
"Un homme et une femme" is beautifully filmed, although rather slow for todays standards. The main characters are played by Anouk Aimée and Jean Louis Trintignant, the absolute top of French actors. Of Jean Louis Trintignant I remembered mostly his role as an old man in "Amour" (2012, Michael Haneke). For me it was a big surprise to see him in this film as a young man with the boyish appearance of a Jacques Brel.
"Un home et une femme" was a big commercial success. Along the lines if the "Up documentaries" of director Michael Apted, Lelouch made sequels with the same actors in 1986 ("Un homme et une femme, 20 ans déjà") and 2019 ("Les plus belles années d'une vie").
"When Harry met Sally" (1989, Rob Reiner) covers a relatively big time span. Harry and Sally keep meeting each other through shared relatives and there are no (really serious) lovers. In this film romance is combined with comedy.
In "Brief encounter" (1945, David Lean) and "Falling in love" (1984, Ulu Grosbard) the man and woman meet each other in a railway station respectively by Christmas shopping. They are both married. These films are pure romance.
"Un homme et une femme" (1966, Claude Lelouch) shows us yet another situation. The man and the woman meet each other at the boarding school of their kids. They are both widow(er).
When they tell each other the story of their lives during a car ride this story is shown in an extensive flashback. I found that rather intrusive and a way of filmmaking that lets only limited room for the imagination of the spectator. Later however it becomes clear how important the deceased still are in the present. "Un homme et une femme" is not only a film about romance but also about nostalgia and bereavement.
I just mentioned the instrusiveness of the flashbacks of the past lives . Director Lelouch also shows in other ways that he has little confidence in the spoken word to clarify feelings as compared to images and music. In some scenes the music even makes the conversation inaudible.
"Un homme et une femme" is beautifully filmed, although rather slow for todays standards. The main characters are played by Anouk Aimée and Jean Louis Trintignant, the absolute top of French actors. Of Jean Louis Trintignant I remembered mostly his role as an old man in "Amour" (2012, Michael Haneke). For me it was a big surprise to see him in this film as a young man with the boyish appearance of a Jacques Brel.
"Un home et une femme" was a big commercial success. Along the lines if the "Up documentaries" of director Michael Apted, Lelouch made sequels with the same actors in 1986 ("Un homme et une femme, 20 ans déjà") and 2019 ("Les plus belles années d'une vie").