Un homme et une femme / A Man and a Woman

Un homme et une femme / A Man and a Woman

 Film Retrospective 2018-19: Nouvelle Vague, Revisited

Saturday, February 16 at 1:30 p.m.
$7 Members / $10 Non-Members / Includes a glass of French wine
54 W. Chicago Avenue

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Un homme et une femme / A Man and a Woman by Claude Lelouch (France, 1966, 103 min.)

Hosted by Bailey Holtz and Randy Williams - In French with English subtitles.

Un homme et une femme was a favorite date movie of the mid-sixties, featuring an innocent, slowly blossoming romance that promised good things for lonely and found souls alike. So popular was it, in fact, that a sequel appeared in 1986, subtitled, sensibly, 20 Years Later. Featuring two of the best actors of their generation, the film takes place in Paris and Deauville, where the protagonists Anne (Anouk Aimée) and Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant) reside and send their children to boarding school. Both have recently lost their spouses under tragic circumstances. They meet en route from the boarding school to Paris, and immediately form a connection. Both Anne and Jean-Louis, however, are plagued by the residual pain of their past loves which complicates their relationship. Un homme et une femme eschews the artificiality of blockbuster rom-coms, and keeps with the tenets of the Nouvelle Vague while still tugging at heart-strings. The award-winning soundtrack by Francis Lai, who also composed the soundtrack for Love Story, helps immortalize Lelouche’s gorgeous film.

“This frankly romantic French drama (...) is a beautiful and sometimes breathtaking exposition of visual imagery intended to excite the emotions.” - Bosley Crowther, The New York Times

Un homme et une femme eschews the artificiality of blockbuster rom-coms, and keeps with the tenets of the Nouvelle Vague while still tugging at heart-strings. The award-winning soundtrack by Francis Lai, who also signed Love Story’s, is a big factor in immortalizing the mood set by Lelouch.

Please note : Wine service at 6:00 p.m., program starts at 6:30 p.m.

 

Bailey Holtz is a filmmaker, writer, and performer based in Chicago. She studied French and Film and Media Studies at Georgetown University, and has been fortunate enough to professionally pursue both strains of her education, first in New York, and now in Chicago. She has delved into the worlds of entertainment, film production, and French cultural administration, and is delighted to finally be able to bring her passions together under one roof. Bailey grew up in Zurich, Switzerland, where her love of languages and cultural exchange was first ignited.

Randy Williams holds down a “day job” as a trust and estate lawyer. But the rest of the time he’s free to follow a passion for French language and culture begun as a university undergraduate. A library volunteer almost 23 years ago, he was asked to start a Cine-Club for the Alliance. After protesting that he knew nothing about French film, he was assured that he’d learn. And he has, having conducted film showings ever since. In the meantime, he was elected to the Board of Directors, and was President of the Alliance for three years. He now serves on the Advisory Board, and has been decorated twice by the French government – once in the Order of Arts and Letters, and again in the Order of National Merit.
 
 

Trailer in French only, but film screening will have English subtitles!