Cinematic cars: Peugeot 404 and Citroën DS in “L’Amour avec des si” (1962)

Before C’était un rendez-vous, before even Un homme et une femme, there was L’Amour avec des si, one of Claude Lelouch’s earliest films, and one of the earliest that hinted at his enthusiast bona fides before he went on to hit the cinematic big time.

And he was pioneering, too, as one might expect from a film that shot moving cars back in 1962. In this clip we recognize shades of cinematography technique that have been incorporated in later years by other directors into their films, not least of all 1998’s “Ronin,” a movie that is celebrated (and rightfully so) for its realistic, thrilling chase scenes. Who knows— had there been no “L’Amour avec des si,” maybe “Ronin” and scores of other spiritual descendants might have looked slightly different than they did when they were released. Far-fetched? We think not.