L'homme qui aimait les femmes (1977)

This was a really good film. I really enjoy Truffaut films more now. When I was watching this film I found many elements that make this film the predecessor of the highly recognized film “Adaptation” which is also a great film.
While the immediate subject matter is not identical, there are many thematic devices that make a parallel reading very easy to do.
For one they are both about men who are writing about love and relationships. While Adaptation is about how flowers are symbols of love, L’homme takes a literal stand on the subject.
There is a scene that reflects this. In L’homme, The writer is describing what he likes about each woman specifically. He describes them as having something unique about themselves that he is drawn to. In Adaptation, the writer uses different flowers as metaphors for each woman that he could be attracted to.
Both writers are also obsessed with how they are writing their books. They admit that they are putting their personal sentiments into their writing because each writer has a personal approach to whatever subject they are dealing with. Both writers want to try to overcome being too narrow viewed, and they regard it as a vice, but they don’t realize that it is not a flaw, but rather a strength to have a unique position.
In both films there is a scene toward the end when they are confronted by a former lover. The lover tells them that they have to learn how to like themselves because their problem is they push people away because they have low self-esteem. They don’t allow themselves to love one single woman because they have trouble metaphorically looking at themselves in the mirror.
There is also a scene in the film where there is a conversation over the phone where the woman just wants to hear the man breath, she doesn’t want him to say anything she just wants to have a sign that he is present and giving her his full attention.
Also a minor detail, Meryl Streep, one of the main women in Adaptation looks uncannily like one of the women in L’homme; I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
Once I realized that these films have so much in common in made L’homme even the more interesting to watch. I found myself looking for more similarities, but I think the other observations I made don’t have much foundation.
The films ended very differently. Adaptation ended with the protagonist feeling free and open to new opportunities about his life. He feels he can move on from his former lover, and the death of his brother. While L’homme ended with the protagonist dying from his weakness; he was reaching for the nurses legs and fell off his hospital bed and died.
Both films are very good stories.