A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later

Twenty years after their affair, the promoter of the Paris-Dakar race Jean-Louis Duroc (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is called by the producer Anne Gauthier (Anouk Aimée) to Paris. After producing a movie that was a complete failure in audience, Anne intends to make a movie about their love. Meanwhile, a serial killer escapes from the hospital, and is found dead, together with the wife of his doctor. "Un Homme et Une Femme" is a delightful and charming classic romantic movie. Unfortunately, director Claude Lelouche decided to make this sequel, using the same cast, twenty years later. I do not dare to say that "Un Homme et Une Femme, 20 Ans Déjà" is a bad movie. However, it kills, for example, the magnificent open end of the original movie, showing what has happened with Jean-Louis Duroc and Anne Gauthier along twenty years. Further, there is a parallel story, and many sub-plots that are completely out of the context, mixing a romantic story with a thriller and a drama. Jean-Louis Trintignant aged too much, and Anouk Aimée is still very beautiful and elegant, but the wonderful chemistry between them is completely lost. My vote is seven because there are some good points, mainly the filming of the romance of Anne and Jean-Louis, like a movie-in-a-movie.

Title (Brazil): "Um Homem. Um Mulher: 20 Anos Depois" ("A Man. A Woman: 20 Years Later")

If you saw "Un Homme et un Femme" and loved it, do yourself a favor and don't watch this one.

I believe Lelouch needed a few extra bucks because this film ruins the story of the first. Did we need to know what happened to Anne and Jean-Louis 20 minutes after the first movie is over? Not really.

And even if you consider this film alone, its still a very boring flick. And pointless. The story makes too many detours with their every day life: what they do now, how they evolved, and constantly needs the support of the first film to make a little sense. At the end of it, one is left with a bitter aftertaste of having betrayed the beautiful first story. Second parts are seldom good, and this movie proves it perfectly.

Often it goes like this - big love come into existence and it is unshared. Often it goes also like this - the feelings between (at least) two lovers are not the same and start at a different point.

People say that is harder for the man to live through separation rather than a woman. He felt it in the beginning weakly but with time the lack becomes a pain and the pain - in crisis. It was absolutely opposite for the woman. In the beginning she felt awfully but with time compared to man she got on her feet in searching another rogue.

For good or for bad this movie makes this stereotype in pieces by showing the more realistic variant of a such possible experience. Was it because of the refinement of a cinema woman and (surprisingly) of a race driver or it was because of the soberness of the producer - this is what I do not know - but the movie was very real, charming, romantic till its end. Was it because of the samba of Vinicius or because the love of a blond - this is what I do not know.

Both protagonists, step back in front of the ambition to take main role in life, find equal language which lead them to the natural end of such adventure. But right then, the feelings which run through us, guiding us as we are their marionettes take part; the feelings of which we are slaves. With them the expected end becomes hard to be predicted.

What about twenty years later? Who knows? Who knows where will lead us our life path. Will it make clear our desires or will present to us new ones. In every case such a try to predict this end grows pale in front of the present intensity of sensual forgetfulness and dottiness but stays very good model of thinking plots, real or not.

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I have a copy of this film and I do watch it from time to time. While I don't think it's so horrible, I could definitely do without the whole crazy patient/doctor/murder storyline. The rest of the movie, I like.

It's interesting to see Jean-Louis and Anne interacting with their now grown up children and to see what paths their lives took after their very brief fling. I think the chemistry is still there between them, and I think they actually look like real middle aged people, not the "perfect plastic botox people" that we so often see in today's films...

I gave this film a 8 out of 10 because(despite it's flaws)it was nice to catch up with the lives of Jean-Louis and Anne.

Having exquisite memories of the first film, "A Man and a Woman", I looked forward to seeing the sequel, "A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later."

Yes, there were the famous faces and superb actors (Aimee and Trintigant), looking very little the worse for wear; in other words, wonderful. So expressive, both of them, in facial expression, mood expressions and fantastic acting. However, they are in a losing vehicle, with this film. It is so unmoving, that it relies on several subplots to impart to it some action. Hardly fair to two such stellar actors! They deserve better. And the viewer, alas, deserves better. I am, however, grateful for small things - and if seeing those two magnetic characters again thrilled and elated me...what's a plot? Yes, I would recommend it to any viewer who feels as I do about great actors. Just don't look for anything more; simply bask in their respective glows. Hence, my title: A Bittersweet Viewing Experience.