A Man and a Woman

A Man and a Woman is a 1966 French romantic drama film directed by Claude Lelouch and starring Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Written by Pierre Uytterhoeven and Lelouch, the film concerns a young widow and widower who meet by chance at their children's boarding school and whose budding relationship is complicated by the memories of their deceased spouses. The film is known for its lush photography, which features frequent segues among full color, black-and-white, and sepia-toned shots, and for its music score by Francis Lai. A Man and a Woman sold a total of 4,272,000 cinema tickets in France and was the sixth highest-grossing film of the year. In the United States, the film grossed $14 million. The film won several awards, including the at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival, two Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress – Drama (for Aimée), and two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay. A sequel, A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later, was released in 1986, followed by The Best Years of a Life, which was released in 2019. Plot A young widow, Anne Gauthier, is raising her daughter Françoise alone following the death of her husband who worked as a stuntman and who died in a film set accident that she witnessed. Still working as a film script supervisor, Anne divides her time between her home in Paris and Deauville in northern France where her daughter attends boarding school. A young widower, Jean-Louis, is raising his son Antoine alone following the death of his wife Valerie who committed suicide after Jean-Louis was in a near-fatal crash during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Still working as a race car driver, Jean-Louis divides his time between Paris and Deauville where his son also attends boarding school. One day, Anne and Jean-Louis meet at the Deauville boarding school after Anne misses the last train back to Paris. Jean-Louis offers her a lift and the two become acquainted during the drive home, enjoying each other's company. When he drops her off, he asks if she would like to drive up together the following weekend, and she gives him her phone number. After a busy week at the track preparing for the next race, Jean-Louis calls and they meet early Sunday morning and drive to Deauville in the rain. Clearly attracted to each other, they enjoy a pleasant Sunday lunch with their children who get along well.