With tears in his eyes, his heart heavy with immense sadness, Claude Lelouch pays a last heartbreaking tribute to his lifelong friend, Anouk Aimée. The icon of French cinema died on June 18 at the age of 92, leaving an immeasurable void for the director who owes him a large part of his international fame.
French cinema icon Anouk Aimée died at the age of 92 on Tuesday June 18. His disappearance upset the director Claude Lelouch who owes his immense success to him. “A man and a woman”.
“Anouk, my Nounouk, left us this morning. She left to join Jean-Louis, Pierre, Francis and the others,” Claude Lelouch confided with emotion after the announcement of the death of Anouk Aimée. For the 86-year-old director, himself confronted with his own mortality, it is a real “travel companion” And “always friend” who went away. An immense loss for the one who largely owes the global success of“A man and a woman” in 1966. “Thanks to her and only her, I have become familiar with the light”underlined the moved filmmaker.
A bond born on a legendary shoot
Their meeting dates back to the filming of the cult film “A man and a woman”which will make Anouk Aimée an international star at 35 years old. “Claude was part of my life, of my family” she confided with tenderness. It was Jean-Louis Trintignant, her on-screen partner, who introduced the young actress to the beginning director. “Claude and I had dinner together, he told me about the film with the enthusiasm he always has, and I said yes to him straight away.” remembered the actress in the columns of Elle.
A muse for Claude Lelouch
According to Claude Lelouch, Anouk Aimée was the one “who changed my life forever” by accepting this role. “She was, with Jean-Louis Trintignant, the first star to say yes to me for a film […] In a way, she was a bit like the woman of my life.”, confided the director to Point, even if he specifies that their relationship remained platonic. Touched by the grace and elegance of the actress, her “this silhouette will forever be engraved on a beach in Normandy. After making the whole world dream, now it will make the angels dream.”
