THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN /
L'homme qui aimait les femmes
Dramatic comedy • France, 1977
35 mm • 1.66 • Mono • Color • 119 min
Directed by: François Truffaut
Written by: Michel Fermaud, Suzanne Schiffman, François Truffaut
Cinematography: Néstor Almendros
Film Editing: Martine Barraqué
Original Score: Maurice Jaubert
Produced by: Marcel Berbert, François Truffaut
Cast: Charles Denner (Bertr and Morane), Brigitte Fossey (Geneviève Bigey), Nelly Borgeaud (Delphine Grezel), Geneviève Fontanel (Hélène), Leslie Caron (Véra), Nathalie Baye (Martine Desdoits), Valérie Bonnier (Fabienne)
International Sales: mk2 • mk2pro.com
U.S. Distributor: Film Desk • thefilmdesk.com
The funeral of Bertrand is attended by a long line of women in mourning – all the sexual conquests of his life. In a flashback, Bertrand writes a scandalous memoir in which he remembers what he loved about each woman, and struggles to understand why he has never been able to settle down. Targeted by the feminist movement in full swing at the time of its release, Pariscope's Claire Clouot called the film, “an inventory of spare parts exhibiting broads like veal scallops.” But just beneath the surface of this lighthearted and entertaining take on a charming womanizer is a slightly melancholic portrait of a complex man consumed by urges he cannot control. Even as Bertrand rifles through his numerous love affairs dispensing bits of wisdom and humor, some might think of Captain Ahab’s destructive obsession with Moby Dick. For Bertrand, every woman is potentially the white whale, but once conquered, she is just another fish in the sea.
The Man Who Loved Women, the sixteenth feature of writer/director François Truffaut, and co-written with Michel Fernaud and Suzanne Schiffman, is widely considered to be his most autobiographical film. Truffaut’s love of woman was public knowledge thanks to his high-profile affairs with stars like Isabelle Adjani and Fanny Ardant. It was said at the time that Truffaut, upon viewing a first edit, was surprised by the film’s undertone of pessimism, a marked departure from the playful innocence that branded his work up to that point. Truffaut’s name, of course, is synonymous with the French New Wave, an iconoclastic movement of young critics and filmmakers beginning in the late 1950’s that some would argue still shines its light on French cinema today. From his early days as a firebrand critic for Cahiers du cinéma, Truffaut went on to make such iconic films as The 400 Blows (1949), Jules and Jim (1962), Day for Night (1973), and The Last Metro (1980). A panel celebrating Francois Truffaut, who passed away 30 years ago, will follow this special and rare screening of The Man Who Loved Women at COLCOA.
“In the wake of the eternal quest, Truffaut left behind a body of work that will endure--and this film is a worthy token.”
- John Nesbit OLD SCHOOL REVIEWS
“Whilst The Man Who Loved Women is great fun to watch it is also profoundly moving, and that is what most sets it apart from Truffaut's other comic films.”
- James Travers FILMSDEFRANCE
“The Truffaut comedy, in the way it appreciates women in their infinite variety and understands what they're up against, is infinitely more liberated than most liberated films, which reduce women to abstract concepts.”
- Vincent Canby NEW YORK TIMES
