New 2K Restoration
A Man and A Woman tells the story of a race car driver (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and a script girl (Anouk Aimée) who meet at their children’s boarding school. What follows is a tender romance, interwoven with poignant flashbacks and set to Francis Lai’s unforgettable love theme. The film became an international sensation, winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and two Academy Awards® (Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay), along with two additional nominations (Best Director and Best Actress).
The film was written, directed, shot, and produced by Claude Lelouch, born in Paris in 1937 to Jewish parents—his mother having converted to Judaism. Lelouch often says that cinema saved his life: “My mother hid me in movie theaters when I was little. We were wanted by the Gestapo.”
After the war, Lelouch’s father gave him a movie camera, which he used to document real life—from clandestine footage of the Soviet Union, shot with a hidden camera under his coat, to major sporting events like the Tour de France. His instinct for blending realism with narrative would later shape his signature filmmaking style.