Not long after my father’s passing, I decided to explore the world of his young adulthood by delving into somewhat forgotten pop culture events. That to-do list included Claude Lelouch’s 1966 ‘A Man And A Woman’ (‘Un Homme Et Une Femme’), a massive international hit in its day that’s not quite obscure but not as known as sixties icons such as Bullit, Psycho or Mary Poppins. As with many European films, this is partly due to lesser distribution networks, not by fault of the film itself.
Let me clarify, I didn’t plan to immerse myself into stuff my father had loved; I knew those well. I had watched The Sound of Music a number of times in his company (and learned some of those lyrics by heart), and had gone through pains to locate Two Women (La Ciociara), an excellent 1960 Italian drama with Sophia Loren in the lead. Sophia deservedly got an Oscar for her performance as the suffering and protecting mother of a teen daughter in the closing days of WWII. The film -for its time- contained some rather stark material, showing the travails civilians faced in an Italian countryside bereft of authority, all displayed with a naturalistic approach for which Italian neorealism became known.
What I wanted, instead, was to experience moments from the 60s I had missed and were not part of the tropes associated with the era. In a sense, the world that had surrounded my father whether he cared about it or not. All periods go through this, with popular events fading away not long after, and obscure ones oddly taking over. As far as my students are concerned the ’80s were the age of Madonna, Depeche Mode and The Cure. This is sort of true, but there’s nary a mention of Hall and Oates or Huey Lewis and The News in their conversations, which were absolutely unavoidable at the time.
Talking about forgotten pop phenomenons, what else figured in 1966’s box office? On top, none other than John Huston’s The Bible, a rather stuffy and stilted epic concoction. Other justly lost-in-time oddities appear, such as Dean Martin’s The Silencers; a period piece I could only recommend to devoted fans of cheesiness and kitsch. Incidentally, The Silencers encapsulated all my father abhorred of the era; sexual liberation turned into exploitation, filled with silly gimmicks, pointless bikinis, and a screenplay typed by teenage hormones.
Pompous Hollywood-Studio extravaganzas were in dying mode by the mid ’60s, clobbered by changing mores and that novel invention, the TV. Such was the world where ‘Un Homme Et Une Femme’ came to be; a low-budget film that wouldn’t have made much of a mark a few years prior, released just at the right time. No aristocratic or nobility shenanigans in this romance, just a straightforward love story between a widower and a widow, navigating through their mutual fears and longings, as they engage cautiously in a new relationship.
The film’s drama was portrayed in a subtle intimate way, told with an austere narrative that benefitted from limited -yet sophisticated- camera play. In general, ‘Un Homme Et Une Femme’ was filled with qualities for which moviegoers had been prepped-for by earlier ‘New-Wave’ French films. ‘Slice of life’ vignettes segued with each other seamlessly, at times portrayed with documentary-style sensibility. The film showed a direct intimacy that audiences had been yearning for.
In hindsight, the images of ‘Un Homme Et Une Femme’ are rather restrained, but must have been rather titillating at a time when few years prior a kiss was followed by a prudish fade out. Possessing a soft approach that transmitted the couple’s connection, the film provided a style of sorts for non-explicit sex scenes to come (I’m looking at you, ’80s TV shows).
Not knowing much about the film, its car-heavy content came as a bit of surprise. While admittedly the film was embued with a ‘naturalistic’ approach, some glamour was still needed for audiences’ sake even in the changing ’60s: Our affable male lead, Jean-Louis Trintignant, played a race driver (not much of a stretch for the actor, as he was an amateur rally driver in real life). Meanwhile, our female lead, Anouk Aimée, played a film script supervisor who had recently lost her husband, a stunt film driver who had died tragically on the job.
The widow’s fear of another loss is ever-present throughout the film; these were the ’60s, when race car drivers just died by the speed-wayside. In memoirs, World Champion Phil Hill told of a period when fear got hold of him before each tarmac outing, certain ‘He would be next to die…’ Not an unusual thought, considering the amount of racing pals he lost in a short few years. To have Trintignant’s character play a race driver was a point of dread not only for poor Anouk Aimée, but for the viewing public, well aware of the dangers -and fascinations- racing entailed.
To be clear, ‘Un Homme Et Une Femme’ is not only car-heavy, it’s Ford-heavy. Being the ’60s, what better car for Trintignant to drive other than a ’65 Mustang? Not even the Europeans could resist the allure of Ford’s earthshaking pony.
A commendation must be given to Lelouch’s filmmaking, who captured shots in ways that in lesser hands would look clichéd and kitschy. Under his eye, the images resulted in postcard-like pieces that anchored the film’s moods.
Talking about the film’s techniques, the stock changes constantly, from muted color, to sepia, and to black and white. A concept that looked rather avant-garde even 30 years later in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers. Necessity being the mother of invention, this particular creative decision was the result of Lelouch’s limited finances, utilizing whatever stock he could purchase on the cheap. To keep it from looking haphazard, a narrative-code of sorts was applied to each stock type.
Note to future filmmakers: being in cahoots with a prominent race car team makes for outstanding footage. The reason for the film’s Ford-heavy content? The backroom dealings of Lelouch (an avowed car and racing diehard) and Jean-Louis Trintignant with Ford, just at the height of its European racing escapade. Jean-Louis must have been key to those dealings, as not only he was an amateur racer, but nephew of race driver Maurice Trintignant, member of Ford France’s team in 1965. Not surprisingly, a Ford GT40 makes a prominent appearance.
With the blessing of Ford, no special effects were needed to get Jean-Louis behind the wheel on the tarmac, just some cleverly placed cameras. The footage is real, the cars and their kinetic display captured lovingly au naturel.
Whatever deal Lelouch and Trintignant got from Ford was certainly a preferential one, and most of Ford’s team makes it into film; trucks, Mustangs, the GT40, and a Brabham BT6.
The Trintignant connection even allowed Lelouch to capture real footage at Le Mans. What year? Jean-Louis’ uncle took part in ’65 at the helm of Ford’s chassis P/1003 GT40. However, Imdb mentions the footage comes from the ’64 race, when Maurice Trintignant drove a Maserati 151 instead.
With ‘New-Wave’ techniques applied to the film’s styling, the documentary racing bits fit rather seamlessly.
In between racing and intimacy, ‘slice of life’ vignettes provided life into the lovers-to-be relationship. Sophisticated in their simplicity, the banal scenes added weight to the developing romance.
On these sequences Anouk Aimée shines as the stoic-yet-vulnerable love interest. Her impassive visage fits her character perfectly.
Midway through the film, racing bits from the ’66 Monte Carlo Rally appear. Yes, Lelouch and Trintignant got a spot on the ’66 event, capturing lots of footage. Note to filmmakers: if filming on a shoestring, a plot revolving around your favorite hobby is a good idea; if the film is never finished, at least you’ll have banging memories of the shoot.
One more Mustang appears for the rally, as Ford just wasn’t going to miss one more promotional-race opportunity. Footage indicates Trintignant acted as the navigator, registry indicates Chemin Henri drove. They finished middle of the pack; a pretty good result, considering they must have been giving priority to film matters.
Lancias, Cortinas, Renaults, Citroens; a varied collection of European metal appears throughout the race.
The vehicles get flogged around from snowy mountains to sweltering desert surroundings. Rallies look like lots of grueling fun, and if reincarnated and given options, I know what I’ll ask for in a future life.
More transport appears during the rally, ancient indeed. Very poor slalom qualities on these, high center of gravity, unpredictable handling. Positives? Low fuel consumption and proven reliability.
Not mentioned until now, a demolition derby of some sort appears early on in the film. The sequence is fairly short, which makes me suspect part of the footage was captured furtively, a common occurrence in French films of the time.
For those who love quirky old European cars, the sequence may prove a bit hard to watch, as these now impossible-to-find machines meet their ends. Still, to add the demolition derby early on was a necessary bit of storytelling, placing the idea of a ‘sudden demise’ in the public’s mind for the rest of the proceedings. L’amour..! L’amour peut etre tragique!
So, do the lovers-to-be reach a happy ending? Considering it’s a European film, it could go either way. I certainly won’t spoil it at this point. According to trivia, the film’s train station closing sequence was partially improvised and shot with a bare-bones crew. If so, the scene doesn’t suffer from the decision, as it fits within the film’s impromptu feel and essence. The postcard-like imagery remaining emotive as ever.
‘Un Homme Et Une Femme’ was released at a time when a different kind of filmmaking could capture a significant audience. The world was ready for change, and a simple-yet-sophisticated film that portrayed the intimacy of love in an uncertain world just clicked with the spirit of the times. Like all artistic creations, it was a product of its time and a window to a gone period; a window I was gladly to visit, for it not only brought me closer to those long-gone days, but to cool images of cars and racing.
Awesome post, Rich. I first watched this movie when they showed car movies on Speedvision 20+ years ago. Being a ’65 Mustang owner and a guy who enjoys foreign films, I loved it. Unfortunately, my shaky VHS copy was dubbed in English, and it wasn’t until later that I viewed a properly subtitled version. To me, it seems like Lelouch wanted to make a car movie and added a romantic element so he’d have a plot; but either way, Trintignant was appropriately cool, Aimee was appropriately gorgeous, the soundtrack was appropriately ’60s, and the racing scenes made the movie for me.
The main theme song of “‘A Man And A Woman” was played often on AM pop radio stations at that time, so seeing the movie (not sure where or when, it was on TV a lot in those days after theatrical release) was already a familiar experience.
Favorite scene – after racing through the snow in the white Mustang and then attending an end-of-race dinner, Man receives a telegram from Woman in which she impulsively writes “I love you”. Man gets up from table, tells his driver goodbye, and drives the Mustang back the way they had just come, now through pouring rain and seemingly going almost as fast as he did in the actual race, to get back to her.
Three little words on a telegram.
Something I did notice on his return drive – the Mustang was different from the one they used in the rally. “His” Mustang was a ’65 coupe and the rally car was (appropriately, as per Rich’s text) a ’66. Hey, they certainly had team cars available for him to use for his rendezvous. 🙂
One of my favorite lines from the movie is when Trintignant’s character says (as an internal monologue), “Face it, you just don’t understand women.” 🙂
In the scene (below) Man flashes his lights from outside the Mustang to get the attention of Woman on the beach (a nice scene).
I’ve never had or [even] driven a Mustang of any vintage, but did American market Mustangs have such a feature back in the mid-1960s or was that a European market (flash-to-pass) feature?
I’ve never driven an early Mustang but I don’t think it had flash-to-pass in US spec models if anywhere it wasn’t legally required. In this scene you can almost see him pushing and pulling the dash knob to flash the lights; note that when he pulls up in his car the lights are off; after blinking them several times the lights remain on, which suggests it was toggled using the dash knob.
There is no flash-to-pass on a ’65 Mustang (for the American market). The car in the film has aftermarket driving lights that a regular Mustang (non-GT) wouldn’t have had (and even the GT’s tucked into the grille surround).
Kind of hard to do flash-to-pass with the dimmer switch on the floor. Gives me another argument against those who say they’d like to see the floor switches return!
That short sequence must’ve sold a few Mustangs in Europe. Better than any commercial Ford could’ve done.
Not sure if the French Mustangs had “flash to pass” The MAN could just as easily pulled/pushed the dash mounted light switch a few times. In fact it looked like that’s what he did, given the way his whole upper body moved.
Great post – I’ve never heard of this film before, but it was great to read about it in such interesting detail.
For a while in the 1990s, I had become interested in European films, and my favorite at the time was Krzysztof Kieslowski’s film Red, in which Jean-Louis Trintignant played a leading role. Trintignant’s character was a stern and reclusive retired judge, and for some reason, one of the lasting images (for me) of that movie is of his character driving his aged green Mercedes – an outstanding bit of automotive casting. I knew nothing about Trintignant or his background before reading this review.
I’ll now add A Man and a Woman to my future watching list. Thanks for this article!
Kieslowski’s ‘Red’ is a great film, my favorite of the trilogy. Thanks for reminding me, I’ll add it to the ‘rewatch’ list for this week.
The theme song for this movie, “A Man & a Woman” was also a big hit and won some awards, I believe. A beautiful song. You can hear it on youtube.
The theme song was actually how I was originally aware of the movie. I gathered in my childhood that ‘Un Homme Et Une Femme’ had been a sensation in its day, as its Francis Lai composed theme appeared in just about every easy-listening record my dad ever owned. Be it Paul Mauriat, or Ferrante & Teicher, the piece was ever present. Francis Lai would go on to create that other perennial tune, the one from ‘Love Story.’
You’re so right about how that song wound up on every easy-listening record just like the Theme from Love Story did later. Hearing this again brings me right back to the easy listening radio station (that was a thing!!) my parents played on the “tuner” connected to the Sears console hifi back in the mid-to-late 60s.
Thanks RL for that video. I like the tune all the much more when it’s associated with the proper visuals.
Yep, the “Un Homme et un Femme” theme song was omnipresent on easy-listening radio, retailer piped-in music systems, and dentist intercoms in the late ’60s and ’70s (as was “Love Story”). My impression as a kid was that the associated films were anything but obscure if the theme songs were so popular; also, “Un Homme et un Femme” won two Oscars, as well as awards from the Golden Globes and Cannes Film Festival. I always thought of it as a ’60s pop-culture touchstone but perhaps it isn’t, as I’ve never seen it and was unaware it featured racing (and haven’t heard the theme song in the wild for decades).
Yep, that’s it. Great song!
Great trip down memory lane of some classic 60’s movies music. Definitely an easy listening radio station mainstay for many years. Now I need to see the movie. Enjoyed this 60’s Curbside Classic!
Rich, what a great post. Your logic around searching out “forgotten” pop culture that provides context to those pieces of culture that are better-remembered is both historically sound and also I’m sure quite gratifying. Excellent.
True to your point about somewhat lesser-known films, I haven’t seen A Man and a Women for many years. I’m going to search it out right now!
Yes, a genuine Cinema Classic of the highest order! What an influential movie it was, in terms of showing us Americans how movies could be so different from the stuff Hollywood was pumping out of its cheese factories. Now I need to go see it again.
Thanks for this most excellent write-up.
As LA673 notes, this movie wasn’t that obscure in the US. I remember my older sister seeing it when released and I saw it a few years later at a local “art house” that showed old movies before there were cable TV stations. And then of course there was the theme song. Along with Grand Prix, LeMans, The Italian Job, It’s a Mad Mad Mad World, and Genevieve, it was one of the great car movies of the sixties and seventies. Though Genevieve was actually from 1953; it was about the London to Brighton vintage car rally, and won a Golden Globe and got two Oscar nominations.
Thanks for the recap and inspiring me to look for it after all these decades.
Wonderful post! I remember the theme song quite well; I was in my high school’s band in the late 60s and it was one of the pop songs in our repertoire.
I have never seen the movie though, and will definitely need to seek it out.
The movie changes from colour to black and white and vice versa at various points in time. Apparently this was just because the director was short of cash and had to use whatever he could get his hands on. A very evocative movie in which not much actually happens, but it made quite an impression on me when I first saw it.
My all time favourite film, well perhaps equal with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. The most wonderful effect is to use black and white where the dialogue is important and to use colour and music when our emotions are to be manipulated. The dinner scene with the children is outstanding. Did the director just explain the situation and said “Go on – improvise!”?
Thanks for posting all this background information.