French cinema is such a massive business and it moves so quickly that films stay in the cinema for very little time in France. Luckily, thanks to streaming services, we can access French films easily from wherever we want.
Watching a film in French doesn’t have to be a linguistic pursuit, especially in the early days of your learning, where you may find it hard to work out where one word starts and another ends. French’s liaison structure can leave learners feeling completely discombobulated when watching a French film, but the key is not to panic. You’ll gradually pick key words out. Stick the English subtitles on and just enjoy the film for what it is. Upping your cultural curiosity is as much part of the learning process as focusing on the mechanics of the language. Once you’ve watched a film, on your next watch of it, try using my techniques for becoming an active listener. You’ll be amazed at how much more you understand second time around.
Here are my favourite French films of all time!
Les Choristes (The Chorus) (2004)
This film is sooooo beautiful! In 1949, protagonist Pierre is a student at a boarding school for troubled boys in France. Failed musician Clément Mathieu arrives at the school to teach music. The story focuses on the positive effect Mathieu has on the boys. You’ll be on the verge of tears by the end.
Available on Amazon Prime.
La Môme (La Vie en Rose) (2007)
If you want to know the story behind the song Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, watch La Môme, it’s so beautiful, and Marion Cotillard is wonderful as Édith Piaf.
Available on Amazon Prime.
Jusqu’à toi (Every Jack has a Jill) (2009)
This film is in both French and English is sooooo funny. It takes the concept of an American in Paris and turns it on its head; showing the city in a less than flattering light, it follows the antics of a very conventional American guy and a quirky Parisian woman.
Available on Amazon Prime.
Intouchables (Untouchable) (2011)
Feel-good to the core! François Cluzet will always be a French Dustin Hoffman to me, and he and Omar Sy are great in it.
I would say however, that it hasn’t aged particularly well… The supposedly humorous rapport between Omar’s character Driss and Magalie, his employer’s secretary, from today’s perspective is simply sexual harassment.
Available on Amazon Prime.
Les Saveurs du Palais (Haute Cuisine) (2015)
This film is based on the true story of the professional accomplishments of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch – in the film called Hortense Laborie – a renowned chef from Périgord, who was appointed as François Mitterrand’s personal chef at the Élysée Palace.
The film is a feminist classic, considering the horrendous misogyny the main character faces as she supposedly invades a male space – the professional kitchen. It’s really empowering seeing a woman succeed despite the naysayers, allowing her passion for her craft to guide her.
Available on Amazon Prime.
Nous trois ou rien (All Three of Us) (2015)
This is an incredible film starring and directed by Iranian-born French comedian, actor and director Kheiron (real name Manouchehr Tabib). It’s the true story of Kheiron’s father, Hibat Tabib, who was convicted for his political opinions under the Shah, and who later continues to fight for democracy in Iran. It’ll have you laughing out loud one minute and with goosebumps the next.
Available on Netflix.
Le Brio (The Brilliance) (2017)
This film features Cours d’Éloquence (public speaking and debate) which are hugely popular in most educational institutions in France; the most prestigious are broadcast on TV. The story follows a French law professor and a student from a deprived suburb of Paris; Professor Mazard is forced to tutor and mentor Neïla after targeting her in a bigoted and judgemental rant.
Available on Netflix.
L’Ascension (The Climb) (2017)
I love this film so much, which is all the more enjoyable because it tells the real-life story of Nadir Dendoune. Unemployed Samy Diakhaté is a young man of Senegalese origin, who tells his long time childhood crush that he would climb Mount Everest for her. She thinks he’s joking but he sets about planning the adventure, garnering attention and support from the local community, who follow his trek there and back. It’s really inspiring.
Available on Netflix.
Un sac de billes (A bag of marbles) (2017)
This 2017 film is the latest adaptation of Joseph Joffo’s 1973 autobiographical novel of the same name. The story tracks Jewish Joffo and his older brother as they flee German-occupied France during WW2.
Available on Amazon Prime.
This story is also available to read for learners at A2 level, so it’s really accessible. Access it here for the paper book or read how to get it on the Black Cat Cideb app. I was so captivated by this book when I read it that I did some research upon finishing the book, which led me to this film. The cast is stellar and the viewing palpable. I was keen to see the journey the boys took in geographical terms, which you can see in the map below:
Colette (2018)
This isn’t a French film but is based on the life of a French woman! French author and woman of letters Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette is best known in the anglophone world for her novella Gigi, and she lived many lives not just as a writer, but also as a mime, actress and journalist.
The film, starting its story in 1893, depicts Colette’s fiery resistance against her husband Henry “Willy” Gauthier-Villars, as well as her relationships with women.
Available on Amazon Prime.
Le Retour du Héros (Return of the Hero) (2018)
This is a spoofy-style period drama and Jean Dujardin and Mélanie Laurent are both really funny in this.
I could watch this again and again.
Available on Amazon Prime.
Une Fille Facile (An Easy Girl) (2019)
I first heard about French film director Rebecca Zlotowski when she appeared in feminist podcast La Poudre. I found that Une Fille Facile made more sense to me once I’d researched the background of Zahia Dehar, who plays the lead.
Back in 2009 she was caught up in a sex scandal involving French footballers Franck Ribéry and Karim Benzema, and knowing how Dehar was treated in the press, the film’s plot reads like a rejigging of power and thus it becomes an interesting commentary on women’s sexuality through an intersectional lens.
Available on Netflix.
Angèle (2021)
I lovedddddddd this! It’s a documentary film following Belgian singer Angèle (so is really a Belgian film in French…). It’s great for informal French, and it’s a really interesting insight into what it’s like being a woman in the public eye. I’d definitely watch it again.
Available on Netflix.
Simone (2022)
Actress Elsa Zyblerstein, having given an incredible performance as Joffo’s mother in Un sac de billes, triumphs again in this film that follows the life of French magistrate and politician Simone Veil. Key to the story is the time she spent at Auschwitz with her mother and sister.
I watched Simone at the CGR Cinema in Bordeaux, which my French host mother later told me was “the German soldiers’ cinema” during WW2, pictured below:
This is just one remind of many of the presence of German soldiers on French soil during WWII, something that the British never had the horror of experiencing. It’s significant that Simone Veil only died in 2017 and yet in her lifetime, she spent time in a concentration camp and later successfully campaigned for women’s right to abortion. In one lifetime. What a woman.
Next on my watchlist:
- Blue is the Warmest Colour
- Au Revoir, Les Enfants
Which Francophone films have you seen and really enjoyed? Comment below!
Leave a comment