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Le cinéma français et francophone
Le cinéma français et francophone
Here is a list of movie recommendations, in no particular order. There are, of course, many, many more French films to explore; the ones listed below just happen to be films I have seen and enjoyed. Film titles are linked to their IMDb (Internet Movie Database) webpage where you can learn more about it. Titles with an asterisk (*) next to it are personal favorites. You may scroll to the bottom of this page to find places where you may find these films. If you have any questions or would like a shorter list of personal recommendations, please feel free to send me an email at myra.lerma@gmail.com
A bout de souffle / Breathless (1960)*
- a classic French New Wave film by Jean-Luc Godard--classic!
De battre mon coeur s'est arreté / The Beat that my Heart Skipped (2005)*
- a recent film about an aspiring pianist-- action/drama
- a humorous film about the life of the 17th Century playwright, Molière--comedy
La petite Jerusalem / Little Jerusalem (2005)
- a great film about a young Jewish woman living in Paris who falls in love with a Muslim man--drama
Les 400 coups / The 400 Blows (1959)
- a French new wave film directed by François Truffaut -- classic!
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain / Amélie (2001)**
- If you haven't already seen this film, do so! It is a wonderful film! There are lots of very beautiful, vivid, colorful scenes--romance
- from the director of Amélie--a very bizarre, yet interesting and colorful surrealist black comedy
La Cité des enfants perdus / The City of Lost Children (1995)
- another wonderfully bizarre film, in the Sci-Fi category, but again, quite interesting
Ne le dis à personne / Tell No One (2006)
- a fast-paced action/thriller about a man who is accused of killing his wife
Le placard / The Closet (2001)
- a fun comedy about a man who spreads a fake rumor about being gay in order to prevent being laid off
Le dîner de cons / The Dinner Game (1998)*
- A hilarious French comedy revolving around a dinner game. This movie was recently re-made in the United States under the title Dinner for Schmucks (2010). In my opinion, the original French version is much better.
Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob / The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973)
- a classic French comedy from the 70s
L'auberge espagnol / The Spanish Apartment (2002)
- a very successful comedy about a French college kid who studies abroad in Barcelona
L'argent de poche / Small Change (1976)*
- a good film where children are the main characters
La Môme / La Vie En Rose (2007)*
- a recent film about the life of the best known French singer, Edith Piaf
- a newer film about a young girl who is mistaken for a boy and tries to live up to this identity to make friends in her new neighborhood
a good, but violent film about life in the Parisian banlieue (ghetto)-- it is directed by Mathieu Kassovitz-- the guy who plays the love interest in Amélie
Jeux d'enfants / Love Me If You Dare (2003)
- a fun romantic comedy à la française!
La fille sur le pont / The Girl on the Bridge (1999)
- another romantic comedy about a girl who goes on the road as a knife thrower's assistant
- a French action film that takes place in Tokyo with well-known French actor, Jean Reno
Coco avant Chanel / Coco Before Chanel (2009)
- a film about the life of the famous designer, Gabrielle "Coco" Bonheur Chanel
Un monstre à Paris / A Monster in Paris (2011)*
- a charming animated drama that takes place in Paris in the year 1910
- a film that shows the Algerian revolution from both sides
J'ai toujours rêvé d'être un gangster / I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster (2007)
- a black and white existential film split up into four vignettes
- A drama about a married couple who is terrorized by surveillance tapes left on their front porch.
- A semi-autobiographical Belgian film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme that takes place in his country of birth, Belgium.
La pacte de loups / The Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
- An action film set in 18th century France.
L'arnacœur / Heartbreaker (2010)
- A fun romantic comedy starring a very popular young French actor, Romain Duris, and a well-known French actress and singer, Vanessa Paradis.
La faute à Fidel / Blame it on Fidel (2006)
- A French drama set in the early 1970s about a little girl whose parents' political views begin to cause a lot of changes in her life.
La bûche / The Yule Log (1999)
- A French drama that takes place around the Christmas holiday.
Le fils de l'épicier / The Grocer's Son (2007)
- A French drama about a young man whose father is hospitalized, forcing him to leave his big city life to return to his roots in the countryside.
Être et avoir / To Be and To Have (2002)
- a documentary about a one-room school in rural France
L'homme de sa vie / The Man of My Life (2006)
- a story of life, love, and relationships - drama
Ma vie en rose /My Life in Pink (1997)
- a French film about a little boy who feels more comfortable as a little girl
Le petit Nicolas / Little Nicholas (2009)*
- a fun children's movie about a little boy who, upon finding out his mother is pregnant, imagines he will be sent away because there will no longer be room for him
Le dernier métro / The Last Metro (1980)*
- set in Paris during World War II, a French actress helps her Jewish husband, a famous playwright, hide from the Nazis
Roman de gare / Crossed Tracks (2007)
- a French drama/thriller about a novelist who uses unconventional methods to find the characters for her next book
Haute tension / High Tension (2003)
- a gory French horror film about a couple of college girls whose vacation in the countryside is disturbed by a mysterious killer
Les choristes / The Chorus (2004)*
- a wonderful film set in the 1940s about a choir teacher who changes the lives of his students at a boarding school in France
Entre les murs / The Class (2008)*
- an award-winning film about a teacher who works in a middle school in a rough neighborhood in Paris
Les invasions barbares / The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
- a French-Canadian film about a man whose dying wish is to be reunited with important people in his life
Interesting non-French films that take place in France:
- A visually appealing American romance film directed by Woody Allen.
- A film made up of 20 or so vignettes made by film directors from around the globe. Each vignette showcases a particular arrondissement (neighborhood) in Paris.
Where to find foreign films:
Netflix-
Netflix is a great way to watch foreign films. You can either have DVDs delivered to your house or you can choose to have them streamed to your computer, TV, or game console. For more information about Netflix, click here.
Amazon Prime Instant Video-
If you are an Amazon Prime customer, you may stream a plethora of television shows and movies, including many in French. For more information about Amazon Prime, click here.
San Diego Public Libraries-
I've actually checked out a lot of foreign films at local libraries in the past few years. They don't typically have a list of films they have available on-line, so the best thing to do is to go see what they have in person. To find a library near you, click here.
Google Sites
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