Jean-Louis Duroc, a racing driver, and Anne Gauthier, a script girl, first meet one Sunday while visiting their respective children at a school at Deauville. Both are widowed and feel drawn to each other, but Anne's devotion to her dead husband's memory casts a shadow on their growing love, until Jean Louis' participation in the Monte Carlo rally, provides a turning point in their relationship.

While in Une fille des fusils, his previous film, Lelouch was content to elaborate further Godard's relaxed method of film making, in A Man and a Woman, he developed a style very much his own. This is a smart film for smart audiences, which has eye-catching brilliance, warmth and charm. The artistic manipulation of colour filters brings a magic atmosphere to the screen, and the restrained acting of the chief protagonists creates characters of persuasive humanity.

Grand Prix, Cannes Festival; Academy Award for best foreign picture.