And Now My Love (1974) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The movie spans multiple locations across the 20th century, primarily beginning in Paris, France during the pre-World War I era. The story then travels to the United States, including New York, and on to Israel as characters search for meaning beyond wealth. These global settings reflect the characters' journeys across generations and continents.

• paris
• new york
• israel
• france
• locations
• global settings

The film spans the entire 20th century, beginning in the early 1900s with silent cinema and military life, traversing World War II and its aftermath, and continuing into contemporary times. The narrative moves through multiple generations, with visual color shifts marking key transitions as technology advances and historical events shape the characters' lives.

• 20th century
• historical
• time period
• generations
• world war 2

The film explores three interconnected themes: Love & Legacy, examining how intimate bonds and family lineage echo through generations; Media & Fame, tracing how photography, film, and the commodification of private life reshape truth and power; and Survival & Memory, focusing on trauma, resilience, and how memory guides choices across generations, particularly through Jewish survivors of concentration camps.

• love
• legacy
• media
• fame
• survival
• memory
• themes

Sarah (played by Marthe Keller) is the central protagonist who grows into a wealthy, determined woman navigating multiple generations. Her life spans marriages, motherhood, and a search for meaning beyond wealth. She travels the world, funds causes she believes in, and endures tumultuous relationships that test her resolve, ultimately embodying the film's exploration of resilience and purpose.

• sarah
• protagonist
• marthe keller
• wealth
• philanthropy

David Goldman is the son of the Lumière operator who becomes a successful footwear manufacturer. He shares a deep, complex history with Rachel Stern and Sarah, linking generations through memory and ambition. His character represents the intersection of family legacy, business success, and the personal connections that span across the film's multiple timelines.

• david goldman
• footwear manufacturer
• lumière
• family legacy

Rachel Stern (also played by Marthe Keller) is the daughter of the General's murdered wife and the mother of Sarah. As a survivor, she connects two lineages and anchors the film's emotional core. Her story demonstrates resilience in the wake of war and personal loss, embodying the theme of survival and memory that runs throughout the narrative.

• rachel stern
• survivor
• mother
• concentration camp
• jewish

And Now My Love portrays love as a persistent force that transcends time and distance. The story traces how intimate bonds and family lineage echo through multiple generations, from pre-World War I Paris to contemporary times. Relationships drive choices, from marriage to wealth-driven power, creating connections that ripple through both private lives and society across decades.

• love
• generations
• family
• lineage
• relationships
• romance

The film examines media's transformative power through characters like Simon Duroc, a petty criminal who becomes a film entrepreneur. From the Lumière operator capturing early film to pornographic films and censorship challenges, the story shows how media reshapes truth, reputation, and personal destiny. The narrative demonstrates that media can be both a path to self-expression and a trap for its characters.

• media
• filmmaking
• film industry
• censorship
• lumière
• fame

Memory serves as a guiding force that shapes choices, guilt, and acts of generosity throughout the film. The story emphasizes memory particularly through Jewish survivors of concentration camps who form bonds across generations. Survival becomes a thread connecting past wounds to present ambitions, with characters continuously navigating how their histories inform their decisions.

• memory
• trauma
• survival
• jewish
• concentration camp
• guilt

The film maintains a bittersweet tone throughout, where joy and connection are consistently tempered by loss and disappointment. While it covers profound life events like death, heartbreak, and imprisonment, the epic sweeping scope diffuses the immediacy of any single trauma. The ending feels hopeful as protagonists agree to meet in New York, but this optimism exists within a lifetime of struggle, making it bittersweet rather than purely happy.

• tone
• bittersweet
• emotional
• hope
• loss
• drama

Historical events continuously frame personal decisions and relationships throughout And Now My Love. The narrative is anchored by real historical moments, from pre-World War I era, through World War II and its aftermath, to contemporary times. These periods directly influence character trajectories, particularly through war, displacement, and the social changes that affect family dynamics and individual ambitions.

• world war 2
• history
• historical events
• war
• social change

Simon Duroc is a petty criminal who transforms into a film entrepreneur, representing the film's exploration of media and self-reinvention. He climbs from jail to the film world, creating introspective autobiographical work and later facing censorship challenges. His arc threads through crime, media, and the business of art, illustrating how characters in the film navigate morality and ambition.

• simon duroc
• film entrepreneur
• criminal
• censorship
• autobiographical