Favourite French-speaking films
I am French and non-French-speaking people often ask me to recommend films to watch while learning the language and culture.
Here is a list of both comedies and dramas I love, along with a very few series. They're not only French, I'll try to include features from other French-speaking countries as well.
There's no logic in the order in which I've listed them, so just take your pick.
Here is a list of both comedies and dramas I love, along with a very few series. They're not only French, I'll try to include features from other French-speaking countries as well.
There's no logic in the order in which I've listed them, so just take your pick.
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- DirectorMarc CaroJean-Pierre JeunetStarsMarie-Laure DougnacDominique PinonPascal BenezechPost-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants.Wild things happen when two crazy and talented directors make a film together (one ot them made Amelie a few years later).
- DirectorAntonin PeretjatkoStarsVimala PonsGrégoire TachnakianVincent MacaigneHector, who met Truquette at the Louvre on July 14, has only one concern since then: seduce this girl. The best way to do so is by taking her to the sea. Pator, his friend, is accompanying him along with Truquette's girlfriend, Charlotte.If you're in for a cultural shock, this one is packed with absurd jokes about French society. I have no words to summarize how much I love this directorial début.
- DirectorÉtienne ChatiliezStarsBenoît MagimelHélène VincentValérie LalandeA revengeful nurse switches a girl and a boy at birth. They are raised in two radically different families. When the switch is revealed many years later, the now teenagers and families need to cope with their new environments.
- DirectorMichel LeclercStarsSara ForestierJacques GamblinZinedine SoualemA young, extroverted left-wing activist who sleeps with her political opponents to convert them to her cause is successful until she meets her match.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsArlettyJean-Louis BarraultPierre BrasseurThe theatrical life of a beautiful courtesan in 1830s Paris and the four men who love her.Absolute classic and one of the most beautiful dialogues ever written, by poet Jacques Prévert.
The movie was shot during WWII and has quite a story too, go check it out ! - DirectorAntonin PeretjatkoStarsVincent MacaigneVimala PonsPascal LégitimusMarc Châtaigne, a trainee at the Ministry of the Standrard, is sent to French Guyana to prepare the construction of Guyaneige, the first indoor ski station of Amazonia.
- DirectorRémi BezançonStarsJacques GamblinZabou BreitmanDéborah FrançoisFive key days in a family's life.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMichel CôtéMarc-André GrondinDanielle ProulxA young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father's values.
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsVincent CasselHubert KoundéSaïd Taghmaoui24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
- DirectorCédric KlapischStarsRomain DurisJudith GodrècheKelly ReillyA strait-laced French student moves into an apartment in Barcelona with a cast of six other characters from all over Europe. Together, they speak the international language of love and friendship.First opus in Klapish's saga (he's made follow-up films with the same actors every nine years)
- DirectorJacques DemyStarsCatherine DeneuveGeorge ChakirisFrançoise DorléacTwo sisters leave their small seaside town of Rochefort in search of romance. Hired as carnival singers, one falls for an American musician, while the other must search for her ideal partner.I love musicals, and Michel Legrand's score is just perfect. You'll also find a few familiar american faces in it (Gene Kelly and George Chakiris !)
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouMathieu KassovitzRufusDespite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.Not sure I really needed to include this one here, but heck, I still remember that feeling when I got out of the theater as a child...
- DirectorJaco Van DormaelStarsPili GroyneBenoît PoelvoordeCatherine DeneuveDid you know that God is alive and lives in Brussels with his daughter?
- DirectorJan KounenLaurent LafranBruno VatinStarsJean DujardinJocelyn QuivrinPatrick MilleThe life of Octave Parango, a flamboyant ad designer, filled with success, satire, misery and love.
- DirectorBertrand BonelloStarsNoémie LvovskyHafsia HerziCéline SalletteAt an elegant Parisian bordello at the dawn of the 20th century exists a cloistered world of pleasure, pain, hope, rivalries--and, most of all, slavery.
- DirectorCéline SciammaStarsKaridja TouréAssa SyllaLindsay KaramohA girl with few real prospects joins a gang, reinventing herself and gaining a sense of self confidence in the process. However, she soon finds that this new life does not necessarily make her any happier.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsThérèse LiotardValérie MairesseRobert DadièsThe lives of Pomme, an aspiring singer, and Suzanne, a struggling mother, as they search for their own identity in 1970s France.
- CreatorFabrice GobertStarsAnne ConsignyClotilde HesmeFrédéric PierrotIn a small French mountain town where everyone knows each other, the dead begin to inexplicably return as if their death never happened. Forcing the townsfolk to confront their difficult past as they seek to understand this phenomenon.
- DirectorCédric KlapischStarsRomain DurisVincent ElbazNicolas KoretzkyTen years after their Upper Sixth, Bruno, Momo, Leon and Alain meet together in the waiting room of a maternity hospital. The father of the awaited baby is Tomasi, their best friend at that time, who died one month before due to an overdose. They remember their teenage, their laughs, their dreams, their stupid pranks.
- DirectorFrançois OzonStarsFanny ArdantEmmanuelle BéartDanielle DarrieuxA man is murdered in an isolated chalet, and the eight female residents are all suspects; their secrets are revealed as they try to determine who is guilty.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsVincent CasselEmmanuelle DevosOlivier GourmetShe is almost deaf and he lip-reads. He is an ex-convict. She wants to help him. He thinks no one can help except himself.
- DirectorOlivier Van HoofstadtStarsMarion CotillardDominique PinonJean-Luc CouchardA womaniser, the titular big mouth, helps his introvert best friend find true love.
- DirectorVincent ParonnaudMarjane SatrapiStarsChiara MastroianniCatherine DeneuveGena RowlandsA precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.
- DirectorMichel OcelotRaymond BurletStarsDoudou Gueye ThiawMaimouna N'DiayeAwa Sene SarrKirikou, an unusual little boy, must search the wisdom of the forbidden mountain in order to save his village from a spell cast by the evil sorceress KarabaWatch it with kids, or with adults, doesn't matter, still great.
- StarsAlba Gaïa BellugiOulaya AmamraLéa RougeronThe fate of Manon, 15 years, before her final judgment, after trying to stab her mother. During six months, the life of the adolescent, locked up in a specialized center, can switch to the encounters.
- DirectorAlbert DupontelStarsAlbert DupontelClaude PerronNicolas MariéThe story of a glue-sniffing homeless person who stumbles upon a policeman committing suicide and decides to put his abandoned uniform to good use. Initially this means using it to steal food from the police canteen but soon Roland discovers that wearing the uniform gives him certain powers and responsibilities, particularly tracking down the kidnapped child of a former porn star whose picture he had fallen in love with.
- DirectorMarc CaroJean-Pierre JeunetStarsRon PerlmanDaniel EmilforkJudith VittetA scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
- DirectorNicolas BaryStarsRaphaël PersonnazBérénice BejoGuillaume de TonquédecThere's something odd about the Malaussène tribe; something fishy, some might even say abnormal...I never thought Daniel Pennac's book could be adapted for the screen, and a lot of people criticized it, but I was pleasantly suprised, and still found some magic in it.
- DirectorJoann SfarStarsEric ElmosninoLucy GordonLaetitia CastaA glimpse at the life of French singer Serge Gainsbourg, from growing up in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris through his successful song-writing years in the 1960s to his death in 1991 at the age of 62.
- CreatorJacques OuanicheStarsAnne CharrierJemima WestValérie KarsentiIn 1871 Paris, young Rose's quest for missing mother leads her into Paradise brothel. Forced into sex work, she befriends experienced prostitute Vera, aiming to pay debt through rich patron. Brothel madam shields girls from extortionist.
- DirectorColine SerreauStarsColine SerreauVincent LindonJames ThierréeOn a distant planet, rural vegans master telepathy and mental power to travel interstellar etc. Mila is sent to Earth to report back. She lands in Paris - quite a cultural shock. Earthlings are strange.
- DirectorAbdellatif KechicheStarsHabib BoufaresHafsia HerziFarida BenkhetacheIn southern France, a Franco-Arabic shipyard worker along with his partner's daughter pursues his dream of opening a restaurant.
- DirectorAbdellatif KechicheStarsLéa SeydouxAdèle ExarchopoulosSalim KechioucheAdèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.
- DirectorYves RobertStarsJacques DufilhoYvette EtiévantMichel GalabruThe school boys of two villages in France are fighting. Their trophy are the buttons they will snatch from the enemy. This fight will bring those kids to everlasting friendship...eventually.
- DirectorStéphane BerlaMathias MalzieuStarsMathias MalzieuOlivia RuizGrand Corps MaladeA 19th-century drama about a man whose heart was replaced with a clock when he was born. The situation dictates that he should avoid feeling strong emotions -- love, most of all -- but he just can't keep his feelings under wraps.
- DirectorPhilippe LioretStarsMélanie LaurentKad MeradIsabelle RenauldLili returns from holidays and learns that her twin brother left the house after a violent argument with their father.
- DirectorKen ScottStarsPatrick HuardJulie LeBretonAntoine BertrandAs his lover announces her pregnancy, a fortysomething slacker receives other life-changing news: 142 people, all of them the result of artificial insemination, have filed a class action lawsuit against him, their biological father.
- DirectorChristophe BarratierStarsGérard JugnotFrançois BerléandJean-Baptiste MaunierPierre, a successful orchestra conductor, returns home when his mother dies. He stumbles upon an old diary and recollects the childhood school memories and his music teacher Clement Mathieu.
- DirectorLaurent CantetStarsFrançois BégaudeauAgame Malembo-EmeneAngélica SancioTeacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsÉtienne BeckerJean NégroniHélène ChatelainThe story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III's devastation, told through still images.
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsMathieu AmalricEmmanuelle SeignerMarie-Josée CrozeThe true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.
- DirectorArnaud DesplechinStarsEmmanuelle DevosGeoffrey CareyThierry BoscParallel storylines tell the current state of affairs for two ex-lovers: Nora's a single mother who comes to care for her terminally ill father; holed in up in mental ward, Ismael, a brilliant musician, plots his escape.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJeanne MoreauOskar WernerHenri SerreDecades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman.
- DirectorJérémy ClapinStarsHakim FarisVictoire Du BoisPatrick d'AssumçaoA story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsCatherine DeneuveGérard DepardieuJean PoiretIn occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Germans while doing both of their jobs.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudAlbert RémyClaire MaurierA young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsIrène JacobJean-Louis TrintignantFrédérique FederA model discovers a retired judge is keen on invading people's privacy.If you want to watch the full trilogy, start with Bleu. But this one's my personnal favourite
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsJean-Louis TrintignantEmmanuelle RivaIsabelle HuppertGeorges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.
- CreatorBenjamin DupasIsaure Pisani-FerryStarsKate MoranMounir AmamraJuliette CardinskiA Parisian teenager who is half human, half vampire grapples with her emerging powers, and family turmoil as she is pursued by a secret vampire community.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsMelvil PoupaudEmmanuel SchwartzSuzanne ClémentA drama that charts ten years in a transgender woman's relationship with her lover.
- CreatorYaël FogielLaetitia GonzalezHagai LeviStarsFrédéric PierrotElsa LepoivreClémence PoésyParis, autumn 2015. In Philippe Dayan's analysis office, a surgeon in disarray in love, a couple in crisis, a suicidal teenager follow one another day after day. On a November evening, killers enter Paris.
- DirectorOlivier NakacheÉric ToledanoStarsJean-Paul RouveMarilou BerryOmar SyAs they spend three weeks in a summer camp in the south of France, not only the children but also the monitors learn a little more about happiness, love, and most importantly themselves.
- DirectorEric JudorStarsEric JudorBlanche GardinYoussef HajdiWhen a pandemic strikes the world, Victor and his family get stuck within a hippie community.
- CreatorGiulio CallegariFranck GastambideXavier LacailleStarsBrahim BouhlelSaïdou CamaraSabrina OuazaniSupported by his two childhood friends, a talented young rapper finds himself "validated" overnight by one of the stars of the industry, who soon becomes a rival.
- StarsEric JudorHafid F. BenamarArnaud HenrietWell known comedian in France, Éric is about to start a new TV show with his long-time friend Ramzy. One night, drunk, he drives his car into a tree and falls in a 2 year-long coma. When he wakes up, lots have changed, and Eric decides to give his career a new and different start.
- DirectorJean-Paul SaloméStarsIsabelle HuppertYann SundbergMichaël LouchartA translator working for the police gets involved in the other side of drug dealing.
- DirectorSantiago MitreStarsDaniel HendlerVimala PonsSergi LópezJosé and Lucie live a beautiful marriage together, however, one day, boredom sets in and Lucie goes to see a therapist to save their marriage, while her husband goes to see Jean-Claude, their neighbour.
- StarsJonathan CohenGérard DarmonJulia PiatonLearning that cannabis will be legalized, Joseph, a failed entrepreneur, decides to transform, with the help of his family and friends, the kosher butcher shop of his father and open the first marijuana coffeeshop in France.
- DirectorOlivier NakacheÉric ToledanoStarsJean-Pierre BacriJean-Paul RouveGilles LelloucheA hectic wedding party held in an 17th century French palace comes together with the help of the behind-the-scenes staff.
- DirectorZabou BreitmanStarsJulie-Marie ParmentierNina RodriguezAntonin ChalonThirteen-year-old Lou Bertignac is a gifted but lonely child. At high school she is already in fifth grade, two years ahead of the other students, but she has no friends. At home, she does not feel too good between a father who is a stickler over principles and a deeply depressed asthenic mother. When the French teacher asks the class to write an essay and to make a presentation about a subject of their choice, Lou chooses homelessness. She hopes to be helped by a homeless girl she has noticed at the Gare d'Austerlitz, who begs and asks for cigarettes there. Nora, nicknamed No, reluctantly accepts to be interviewed by the serious-minded child. They meet several times at the café and although No is intemperate and unpredictable, a little frightening in fact, Lou soon cannot do without her any more...
- StarsJonathan CohenJérôme CommandeurJonathan LambertMarc sets out again on an adventure on a desert island: Chupacabra. Alongside former contenders and new candidates, he will have to face the mental manipulations, the physical tests and the betrayals of his teammates.
- DirectorJeanne HerryStarsBirane BaLeïla BekhtiAnne BenoîtVictims of violent crime and perpetrators meet up in a restorative justice group in order to have a dialogue and heal from their trauma.
- DirectorBruno PodalydèsStarsDenis PodalydèsBruno PodalydèsSandrine KiberlainAlexandre is unemployed and his bank account has been frozen. His wife is on a two-month top secret nuclear submarine mission. While she's away, he has to prove that he can take care of the children and find a job. Following a surreal interview, he is hired at The Box on a trial basis - and thus Alexandre enters the 24-7 world of a greenwashed start-up with a strict no-child policy. He meets Arcimboldo, who juggles different jobs and apps and offers to look after the kids in exchange for accommodation. Between Alexandre's killer colleague Severine, incessant conference calls and endless team building sessions, keeping his secret is no easy challenge.
- DirectorBrigitte SyStarsLeïla BekhtiReda KatebEsther GarrelL'Astragale is a 2015 French drama film directed by Brigitte Sy. It is the second film adaptation of the 1965 semi-autobiographical novel L'Astragale by Albertine Sarrazin, after Guy Casaril's L'Astragale.
- DirectorLéa MysiusStarsAdèle ExarchopoulosSwala EmatiSally DraméVicky lives with her mother Joanne and father Jimmie. When Vicky's aunt Julia arrives after being released from prison, her presence brings back the past in a violent, magical way.
- DirectorJustine TrietStarsSandra HüllerSwann ArlaudMilo Machado-GranerA woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.
- DirectorStéphan CastangStarsKarim LeklouVimala PonsFrançois ChattotIt follows Vincent who finds himself under attack for no apparent reason overnight. When the phenomenon intensifies, he must run and change his way of life completely.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsLucie ZhangMakita SambaNoémie MerlantÉmilie meets Camille who is attracted to Nora, who crosses paths with Amber. Three girls and a boy - they're friends, sometimes lovers and often both.
- CreatorClémence DargentMartin DouaireStarsMelvil PoupaudMichel VuillermozGéraldine PailhasA light-hearted comedy drama centred on Didier Mathure, a brilliant space engineer whose aspirations are shattered when the rocket he's spent a decade building explodes on take-off.