Hidden Gems From French Speaking Cinema ✓
by SeventhAr7 | created - 11 Jan 2019 | updated - 24 Mar 2019 | PublicIt's a fact that popularity doesn't define the quality of a movie. There are movies that are big hits in their country but don't make that impact when they cross borders.
This list is composed of some of the best hidden gems of French language chosen by the users of the IMDb Poll Board.
Which one do you consider the best?
Discuss here
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1. Marius (1931)
Not Rated | 130 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Marius is faced with a choice whether to fulfill his passion by sailing the seas or stay and marry the woman he loves.
Director: Alexander Korda | Stars: Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Fernand Charpin, Alida Rouffe
Votes: 2,016
Suggested by: Patrick Salbaing
2. Four Bags Full (1956)
80 min | Drama
Two men carry at night four suitcases of contraband meat across German-occupied Paris during WWII. Their opposite personalities and strange encounters provoke different adventures - until they are arrested by the police.
Director: Claude Autant-Lara | Stars: Jean Gabin, Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Jeannette Batti
Votes: 3,581 | Gross: $0.02M
Suggested by: Patrick Salbaing
3. The Two of Us (1967)
Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Drama
In Nazi-occupied France, a Jewish child is sent away from his family and conceals his religious affiliation from the anti-Semitic elderly man that takes care of him.
Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Michel Simon, Roger Carel, Paul Préboist, Luce Fabiole
Votes: 2,030 | Gross: $0.05M
Suggested by: albstein
4. The Collector (1967)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A womanizing art dealer and a painter find the serenity of their Riviera vacation disturbed by a third guest, a vivacious bohemian woman known for her long list of male conquests.
Director: Éric Rohmer | Stars: Patrick Bauchau, Haydée Politoff, Daniel Pommereulle, Alain Jouffroy
Votes: 7,127
Suggested by: Patrick Salbaing
5. Very Happy Alexander (1968)
G | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
Alexandre, a young and honest farmer, is oppressed by an authoritarian wife, who makes him work like a dog. When she dies in a car crash, he decides to stay in bed, absolutely free and ... See full summary »
Director: Yves Robert | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Françoise Brion, Marlène Jobert, Paul Le Person
Votes: 1,968
Suggested by: Patrick Salbaing
6. The Things of Life (1970)
GP | 89 min | Drama, Romance
A highway engineer is involved in a car crash, after which, near death, he remembers his life leading up to the accident.
Director: Claude Sautet | Stars: Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Gérard Lartigau, Jean Bouise
Votes: 4,060
Suggested by: Patrick Salbaing
7. Lucky Luke (1971)
71 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When the members of a caravan of pioneers find a daisy growing in the middle of the desert they decide to stop there and to build their town on this very spot. Houses soon spring up like ... See full summary »
Director: René Goscinny | Stars: Marcel Bozzuffi, Pierre Trabaud, Jacques Balutin, Jacques Jouanneau
Votes: 1,526
Suggested by: albstein
8. Going Places (1974)
R | 117 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two whimsical, aimless thugs harass and assault women, steal, murder, and alternately charm, fight, or sprint their way out of trouble. They take whatever the bourgeois characters value: ... See full summary »
Director: Bertrand Blier | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Patrick Dewaere, Christian Alers
Votes: 8,369 | Gross: $0.77M
Suggested by: Patrick Salbaing
9. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Not Rated | 202 min | Drama
A lonely widowed housewife does her daily chores, takes care of her apartment where she lives with her teenage son, and turns the occasional trick to make ends meet. However, something happens that changes her safe routine.
Director: Chantal Akerman | Stars: Delphine Seyrig, Jan Decorte, Henri Storck, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze
Votes: 7,624 | Gross: $0.02M
Suggested by: leavey-2
10. The Old Gun (1975)
R | 103 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During World War II, a peaceful French surgeon is forced to ruthlessly exterminate the Nazis because of their atrocities.
Director: Robert Enrico | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Romy Schneider, Jean Bouise, Joachim Hansen
Votes: 3,835
Suggested by: Patrick Salbaing
11. The Toy (1976)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
A poor journalist finds himself as a toy of a boss' son. Making friends with a naughty child, he tries to save him from the cruel power of his father.
Director: Francis Veber | Stars: Pierre Richard, Michel Bouquet, Fabrice Greco, Jacques François
Votes: 4,795
Suggested by: MAthePA
12. Santa Claus Is a Stinker (1982)
88 min | Comedy
Two neurotics, working for a suicide hotline on the night of Christmas Eve, get caught up in a catastrophe when a pregnant woman, her abusive boyfriend, and a transvestite visit their office.
Director: Jean-Marie Poiré | Stars: Anémone, Josiane Balasko, Marie-Anne Chazel, Christian Clavier
Votes: 8,643
Suggested by: MAthePA
13. So Long, Stooge (1983)
100 min | Crime, Drama
Lambert, a burned-out case, works the night shift at a gas station, rarely speaking, living alone, drinking. Bensoussan, raised in foster homes, now a small-time pusher for a bar owner ... See full summary »
Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Coluche, Richard Anconina, Agnès Soral, Mahmoud Zemmouri
Votes: 2,478
Suggested by: albstein
14. Camille Claudel (1988)
R | 175 min | Biography, Drama, History
Camille Claude impresses already-famous sculptor Auguste Rodin. He hires her as an assistant, but soon Camille begins to sculpt for herself and she also becomes his mistress. But after a while, she would like to get out of his shadow.
Director: Bruno Nuytten | Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Madeleine Robinson, Laurent Grévill
Votes: 6,267 | Gross: $0.20M
Suggested by: rubyfruit76
15. The Hairdresser's Husband (1990)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Antoine has always been fascinated with a hairdresser's delicate touch, the beguiling perfume and the figure of a woman with an opulent bosom, moreover, he knew that he would marry one, fulfilling his dream of a perfect and idealised love.
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Jean Rochefort, Anna Galiena, Roland Bertin, Maurice Chevit
Votes: 9,144 | Gross: $1.16M
Suggested by: MAthePA
16. Toto the Hero (1991)
PG-13 | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Thomas and Alfred were born around the same time; a fire in the nursery had nurses scrambling to save the newborns. Because he felt that he deserved Alfred's good fortune at being born into... See full summary »
Director: Jaco Van Dormael | Stars: Michel Bouquet, Mireille Perrier, Jo De Backer, Thomas Godet
Votes: 5,471 | Gross: $1.23M
Suggested by: leavey-2
17. The Beautiful Troublemaker (1991)
Unrated | 238 min | Drama
The former famous painter Frenhofer revisits an abandoned project using the girlfriend of a young visiting artist. Questions about truth, life, and artistic limits are explored.
Director: Jacques Rivette | Stars: Michel Piccoli, Jane Birkin, Emmanuelle Béart, Marianne Denicourt
Votes: 7,332 | Gross: $0.41M
Suggested by: MAthePA
18. Indochine (1992)
PG-13 | 160 min | Drama, Romance, War
Eliane adopts Camille, whose Vietnamese parents were friends. In 1930, a French navy officer is interested in Eliane (owns 60km2 plantation) and later in Camille. There's an uprising in Vietnam against French colonial power.
Director: Régis Wargnier | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Vincent Perez, Linh Dan Pham, Jean Yanne
Votes: 9,398 | Gross: $5.73M
Suggested by: MAthePA
19. Fear City: A Family-Style Comedy (1994)
93 min | Comedy, Horror
A second-class horror movie has to be shown at Cannes Film Festival, but, before each screening, the projectionist is killed by a mysterious fellow, with hammer and sickle, just as it happens in the film to be shown.
Director: Alain Berbérian | Stars: Chantal Lauby, Alain Chabat, Dominique Farrugia, Gérard Darmon
Votes: 8,586
Suggested by: ElM.
20. Ridicule (1996)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, History
To get royal backing on a needed drainage project, a poor French lord must learn to play the delicate games of wit at court at Versailles.
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fanny Ardant, Judith Godrèche
Votes: 7,214 | Gross: $2.50M
Suggested by: Patrick Salbaing
21. The Eighth Day (1996)
118 min | Comedy, Drama
An unusual and wonderful friendship develops between a busy but unhappy salesman and a resident of a mental asylum.
Director: Jaco Van Dormael | Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne, Miou-Miou, Henri Garcin
Votes: 9,066 | Gross: $0.33M
Suggested by: leavey-2
22. The Promise (1996)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Roger uses his son Igor to ruthlessly traffic and exploit undocumented immigrants. When one of the immigrants is killed, Igor is guilt-ridden and wants to care for the dead man's family against his father's orders.
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | Stars: Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo, Jean-Michel Balthazar
Votes: 7,356 | Gross: $0.45M
Suggested by: leavey-2
23. Lorna's Silence (2008)
R | 105 min | Drama
Sokol and Lorna, two Albanian emigrants in Belgium, dream of leaving their dreary jobs to set up a snack bar. They need money, and a permanent resident status. Claudy is a junkie - he needs... See full summary »
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | Stars: Arta Dobroshi, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Alban Ukaj
Votes: 8,344 | Gross: $0.34M
Suggested by: leavey-2
24. In the Beginning (2009)
130 min | Drama
France, present day. A professional conman passes himself off as the boss of a construction site building a highway extension. He cons the whole region, hires dozens of workers and ... See full summary »
Director: Xavier Giannoli | Stars: François Cluzet, Emmanuelle Devos, Gérard Depardieu, Soko
Votes: 2,272
Suggested by: albstein
25. The Measure of a Man (2015)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
An unemployed factory worker is trying to make ends meet in working-class France.
Director: Stéphane Brizé | Stars: Vincent Lindon, Karine de Mirbeck, Matthieu Schaller, Yves Ory
Votes: 5,750 | Gross: $0.11M
Suggested by: albstein
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