Claude Lelouch’s romantic drama, “And Now My Love” (“Toute une Vie,” which translates into “All of Life”), relates three love affairs spanning during three different generations.
German actress Marthe Keller and Charles Denner portray different members of the families in each of the generations.
The stories concern a cameraman’s son who survives a concentration camp in World War II, and his daughter, who marries a man who begins adulthood as an ex-convict but gradually matures and becomes a well-respected New York director.
Each part of the film, which is way overlong, employs a visual style characteristic with its time period. Sharply uneven, “And Now My Love” is too glossy and sentimental for its own good, not nearly as effective or impressive as “A Man and a Woman,” Lelouch’s 1966 Oscar-winning (and best) film.
Oscar Nominations: 1
Screenplay (Original): Claude Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
It’s unusual for a foreign-language film to be nominated for writing, but Lelouch’s 1975 romantic picture was.
The winner was Frank Pearson for the great Lumet film, “Dog Day Afternoon.”
Credits
Avco Embassy (Rizzoli Film-Les Films 13, France)
Rating: PG
Running time: 140 Minutes
Directed by Claude Lelouch
Released June 1, 1974.
DVD: December 9, 2003