Claude Lelouch is a name usually associated with the misty, romantic streets of Paris or the rain-soaked windshields of 1960s sports cars. But in 1977, he did something weird. He went to the American West. Most people have completely forgotten Another Man Another Chance, or they confuse it with a standard cowboy flick. They shouldn't. It’s a strange, slow, and remarkably tender piece of cinema that feels more like a long sigh than a shootout.
If you're looking for John Wayne, you’re in the wrong place.
Honestly, the movie is a bit of a culture shock. It’s titled Un autre homme, une autre chance in France, and it serves as a spiritual successor—sort of—to Lelouch’s massive hit A Man and a Woman. But instead of the French Riviera, we get 1870s Nebraska. It’s the story of two immigrants, Jeanne (Geneviève Bujold) and David (James Caan), who are both grieving lost partners and trying to survive a landscape that basically wants them dead.
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The Weird History of Another Man Another Chance
The 1970s was a decade of "Revisionist Westerns." Filmmakers were busy deconstructing the myth of the hero. While movies like The Wild Bunch were focused on violence, Lelouch was focused on the mundane. He wanted to know how a French woman would actually react to the dirt and the silence of the frontier.
The production was a genuine international collaboration. It wasn't just a Hollywood movie with a French director; it was a French-American co-production that felt the tug of both worlds. Francis Lai, the legendary composer, provided the score, which immediately gives the film a European, melodic DNA that feels totally "off" when compared to the rugged scores of Ennio Morricone or Elmer Bernstein. It’s softer. It’s more interested in the way the wind hits the grass than the sound of a revolver.
James Caan was at the height of his powers here. He had already done The Godfather and Rollerball. He could have played a tough guy in his sleep. But in Another Man Another Chance, he plays a veterinarian. He’s gentle. He carries a medical bag more often than a gun. Seeing Caan dial back that trademark intensity to play a man who is just... tired... is probably the best reason to revisit the film today.
Why the Pacing Frustrates (and Rewards) Modern Viewers
Let's be real: this movie is slow. Like, really slow.
If you watch it on a streaming service today, you might be tempted to check your phone within the first twenty minutes. Lelouch spends an enormous amount of time establishing the separate lives of Jeanne and David before they even lay eyes on each other. We see Jeanne's life in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. We see her move to the U.S. with her photographer husband. We see David’s domestic life.
It takes nearly an hour for the "Another Man" and "Another Chance" of the title to actually meet.
This is a bold choice. It forces the audience to live through their grief. By the time they finally share a meal together, you feel the weight of everything they've lost. It’s a romance built on the rubble of two previous lives. Most modern scripts would have them meeting in the first ten minutes via some "meet-cute" involving a runaway horse. Lelouch doesn't care about your attention span. He cares about the texture of time.
The cinematography by Jacques Lefrançois is also worth mentioning. It uses a lot of sepia tones and natural lighting. It looks like an old photograph that’s been left in the sun too long. This helps bridge the gap between the European art-house style and the American Western aesthetic. It’s beautiful, but in a dusty, gritty way.
Geneviève Bujold is the Secret Weapon
While Caan is the "star," Geneviève Bujold is the soul of the movie. She has this incredible ability to look fierce and fragile at the exact same time. Her character, Jeanne, isn't a "damsel." She’s an immigrant who has to run a bakery in a town where she barely speaks the language.
There’s a specific scene where she’s dealing with the loss of her husband, and the camera just stays on her. No music. No dramatic monologue. Just her face. It reminds you that Another Man Another Chance is actually a movie about resilience. It’s about the fact that life keeps going even when you really wish it would stop.
Comparing This to the Traditional Western
To understand where this film fits, you have to look at what else was happening in 1977. Star Wars had just come out. The "New Hollywood" era of gritty realism was starting to fade in favor of big blockbusters. A quiet, contemplative Western about a French baker and a vet was almost destined to be a commercial flop.
| Feature | Traditional Western | Another Man Another Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Conflict | Outlaws vs. Lawmen | Grief vs. Hope |
| Lead Male Role | Gunslinger/Sheriff | Veterinarian |
| Pacing | Fast-paced, Action-heavy | Deliberate, Character-driven |
| Visual Style | High Contrast, Epic Vistas | Sepia-toned, Intimate, Grainy |
The film lacks the "black and white" morality of early Westerns. There are no clear villains, only circumstances. The "enemy" is the cold, the disease, and the crushing loneliness of the prairie. It’s a much more honest depiction of what frontier life was probably like for the average person who wasn't involved in a bank heist.
The Francis Lai Influence
You can't talk about a Claude Lelouch film without talking about the music. Francis Lai’s score for Another Man Another Chance is polarizing. Some critics at the time thought it was too "syrupy" for a Western. They wanted grit.
But if you listen closely, the music acts as a bridge. It connects the characters' European pasts to their American futures. It’s a romantic score because, at its heart, this is a movie about the possibility of love after trauma. It’s not supposed to sound like a dusty trail; it’s supposed to sound like a heartbeat.
Common Misconceptions About the Film
Some people call this a remake of A Man and a Woman. It isn't. It’s more of a thematic "rhyme." It uses the same structure—two people with pasts slowly finding each other—but the context changes everything. In the original, the obstacles were psychological. In the Western setting, the obstacles are physical and existential.
Another mistake people make is thinking this is a "Western" in the traditional sense. It’s actually a period drama that happens to be set in the West. If you go in expecting a shootout at the O.K. Corral, you’re going to be disappointed. If you go in expecting a deep dive into the immigrant experience and the process of healing, you’ll find it fascinating.
The film also suffered from various edits. Depending on which version you see—the French theatrical release or the US television cut—the experience can change. The French version tends to let the scenes breathe a bit more, whereas some American edits tried to speed up the "action," which honestly just ruins the vibe Lelouch was going for.
The Legacy of Another Man Another Chance
Does it hold up?
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Yeah, it does. Mostly because it doesn't try to be "cool." It doesn't rely on 1970s tropes that feel dated now. It relies on human emotion, which is pretty much evergreen.
It’s a movie that asks: how do you start over? When you've moved across the world, lost the person you loved, and find yourself in a place that feels alien, where do you find the strength to have "another chance"?
It’s a quiet masterpiece of the "anti-Western" genre. It’s about the people who stayed in the towns while the cowboys were out shooting each other. It’s about the bakers, the vets, and the photographers.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you're going to track down Another Man Another Chance, try to find a high-definition restoration. The sepia tones can look muddy on old DVD transfers or low-res streaming versions. You want to see the texture of the fabric and the dust in the air.
- Watch the backgrounds. Lelouch is famous for using deep focus. Often, there is something happening in the distance that tells a sub-story about the town's development.
- Listen to the silence. The gaps between the dialogue are where the real acting happens, especially between Caan and Bujold.
- Notice the animals. Since Caan’s character is a vet, the treatment of horses and livestock in the film is much more central than in other movies of the era. It adds a layer of realism to the "cowboy" life.
- Research the Franco-Prussian War. Knowing just a little bit about why Jeanne left France makes her arrival in the West much more poignant. She wasn't just looking for adventure; she was escaping a crumbling empire.
This isn't a film that provides easy answers or explosive thrills. It’s a film that provides a mood. It’s a long, beautiful walk through a difficult time, led by two of the best actors of their generation. Give it a chance on a quiet Sunday afternoon when you're in the mood for something that moves at the speed of real life.