UN HOMME ET UNE FEMME | FILM

Do you ever have a sense that something will be truly great? This is the way I felt about this film before watching it. The trailer alone gave me enough information to start building a story in my mind, but not enough so as to fully captivate my interest. The theme song was already very familiar to me, but now I was ready to take on this new meaning.  

The title alone is so simple, “A Man and A Woman”. But really, nothing could be more complex than a man and woman. Seeing the story of Jean-Louis and Anne develop was a very human experience. It felt real. The dialogue was not forced, it all came naturally, the acting was genuine emotion. So much of this film is left to your intelligence – you must fill in the blanks. ‘What are they thinking.?’ you ask throughout, So much is said in the silence. 

I chose to analyze this film in 2 ways. My live reactions to key moments in real-time, and another analysis of the work as a whole at the end. These are my thoughts:

We are introduced to Anne on a pier by the ocean, the camera pans down revealing her little girl. We cut to a man giving orders to his driver, only for the camera to pan once again revealing his little son driving! We cut back and forth between the two, and we already see the parallels in their lives - two single parents, being the best they can be for their child.

They meet at the boarding school; Anne needs a ride. There is an immediate connection. It is almost as if they are afraid to look at each other for too long. She fixes her hair and smiles. He smiles. Now they are smiling. I love how perceptive they are of each other’s thinking. Without delay they inquire if each other has a mate. We start cutting to color scenes of Anne’s husband. He’s a stuntman. He’s funny, lighthearted. Charming. He speaks of and sings Samba. This scene lingers for a bit, I forget that Anne and Jean-Louis were in the car talking. Almost a metaphor for how she thinks about her late husband. This is confirmed with Jean Loui’s next words: “The way you talked about him; I didn’t know he was dead”

Jean-Louis drops Anne off, and she gives him her number before she goes. He almost drives away, but stops to write it down. This small gesture says a lot about this man. I like his attention to detail.  We then find out he’s a racecar driver, and he’s good. He commands the vehicle with such presence. But even then, he stops mid-training to call Anne, just as promised.

We’re now at a moment where everyone is together at the table. Jean-Louis and his son Antoine, Anne and her daughter Francois. It feels normal. It feels like their children already. It doesn’t feel forced. It is organic. The dialogue is so rich in this scene I kept pausing the film to write down everything they were saying. In fact, for this entire film I paused so much I probably tacked on at least half an hour of watch time just to capture these little moments.

 A conversation ensues about why we watch film. Right away, this creates a self-introspection. It’s almost as if the characters are indirectly asking you, “why are you watching this film?” Jean-Louis asks, “Why aren’t films taken so seriously?” Anne responds, “Maybe because we go when everything is okay.” This resonated so deeply with me. I think subconsciously I’ve viewed films as escapism, but perhaps it is the crowing achievement we reward ourselves with once we have already escaped the troubles of our daily lives. Which begs the question, ‘Do we watch films to remind us of conflict? To remind us of who we are and where we have come from?’ I believe it is all of these reasons.

At the table, the kids leave, and they immediately turn to each other. This is another one-on-one moment. They nearly touch hands, but not quite. Tension is built. They are almost there, but not yet. This is also the first time they’ve complemented each other on their looks. He mentions it would be easy for her to be an actress because she’s good looking. She cuts him off to tell him he’s handsome.

We’re back in the car, and this is a turning point in their relationship. He lowers his hand and holds hers for the first time. She stares at him. Not a state of shock, but rather a gaze, she’s taking it all in. It’s at this point when she finally asks about his previous wife. Basically, she wants to know what she’s getting into before things get too serious, and he knows it too. It’s in this long flashback that we learn Jean-Loui’s previous wife had committed suicide. Cutting back to him, he almost seems numb to it. It appears he has moved on. But has she? He drops her off, and we see it in her eyes. She’s thinking.

The next scene cuts beautifully back and forth between their two lives. Him racing in Monte Carlo, her working on the movie set. Has she moved on? Just when I thought she was dismissing the guy from her mind, she goes to get the papers to check on how he’s doing in the race! What a victory for the audience in this moment!

The race is over, and Jean Louis is in a nice suit in a posh dinner party setting when he receives some sort of message. He immediately rushes, practically running to his car. We then learn what has happened as he’s driving away. We hear his inner monologue out loud which is such a brilliant way of revealing exposition. He says, “When a woman sends you a telegram, “I love you” you go see her.” She loves him! This is my favorite scene of the entire film. He begins rehearsing in his mind how the evening will play out. How many times he will ring the bell. How she will feel. What he will say. It’s all very calculated but it’s emotional all the more so. It’s just good.

He races to the beach, and she runs to his arms! Later, they share a moment together. It’s not excessive, but rather graceful. We see her expression begin to change as Anne is reminder of her husband. She can’t help but recall those moments in this vulnerable moment. She has a pained look because she remembers him but realizes that by being with Jean-Louis, she is also choosing to let her husband go. But she can’t. They leave the hotel, and Jean doesn’t seem devastated but rather understanding. Before she goes, he asks, “why did you tell me your husband was dead?” her response is poignant, almost too powerful. “he’s dead, but not yet for me…” 

He stands there as the train leaves the platform, staring out into the distance. He broods it over, “If I had to go through this again, what would I do? Is there anything else I could do?” Possibly my favorite line of this film. It tells so much. He really does love her, and while he accepts resignation in this moment, he also confirms the depth of this love in being willing to experience this pain over all again. In this moment when it seems over, he runs to the car, and we learn that he’s going to the train’s next stop! She gets off! They see each other! They embrace! They really do love each other. Roll the credits.

What a powerful film. I view this as a case study in human behavior. What does it mean to remember the past?  What does it mean to let it go? What does it mean to open the heart once again? To what lengths does one go? This film presents questions for the mind as well as the heart. Magnificently done, with a score that complimented it so well. The theme at the beginning and the end tied it together so nicely, and now I can no longer just listen to this piece without recalling these moments to mind. There was not an overwhelming amount of dialogue, but when it was there it was rich. Each line carried weight and profundity like I haven’t really seen before. The editing was sublime, truly something I took many notes on and would like to incorporate in my future films. “Edit to reveal information and emotion” is what I’m walking away with. The cinematography was expertly done. The tracking shots of the car, of the characters walking, of their eyes – all so deliberate.

Un Homme Et Une Femme is an elegant film, one that I will recommend and revisit in the future. It feels right that this is the first film review in this series. This is a good start.