Review: Reissued and remastered for the first time, with its original tracklist and cover, Francis Lai's eerie-romantic soundtrack for A Man And A Woman, directed by Claude Lelouch, matches the film's subject. That is, two widowers meet for the first time at their children's school, and find themselves plagued by haunting visions and flashbacks of their former spouses. Netting the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1966, the film has gone on to set the benchmark for French romantic soundtracks, a mark set by the score's rose-tinted sonic scenery, diegesis-breaking narrations and almost automatic singing.
Review: Claude Lelouch's 1966 romantic drama, translated into English as A Man and A Woman, is simultaneously filled with hope and tragedy. It's a passionate story but not one without warnings and lessons about the challenges of getting over loss and learning to trust again. It was also a huge success at the time of its release, grossing $14million at the US box office, which was big bucks back then for a foreign language movie. As the title suggests, the plot follows two single parents - he and she - who lost their spouses in horrible circumstances, namely suicide and an accident, and set about building new lives for themselves, which then cross paths. To complement this, French composer Francis Albert Lai created a sexy, playful, but highly emotional score, which ranges from heartfelt songs to jazz cool and laidback rock 'n' roll.
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