Favourite French Films
by dhrpil | created - 02 Aug 2014 | updated - 30 Dec 2022 | PublicSelection of the best french movies that exists. So enjoy, pop a baguette under your arm, wear a baret, pop a cigarette or croissant in your mouth and practice your french, while getting a taste of the French 'joie de vivre'.
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1. Rise (2022)
117 min | Comedy, Drama
Elise, a very promising classical dancer, is injured during a performance at 26 years old. Although she's told she will no longer be able to dance, she will try to find a new direction in contemporary dance.
Director: Cédric Klapisch | Stars: Marion Barbeau, Hofesh Shechter, Denis Podalydès, Muriel Robin
Votes: 3,207
Beautiful drama on a ballet dancer, what happens when you can no longer dance.
2. Persepolis (2007)
PG-13 | 96 min | Animation, Biography, Drama
A precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.
Directors: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi | Stars: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, Danielle Darrieux
Votes: 100,233 | Gross: $4.45M
Auto-biographical animation of an Iranian girl growing up during the revolution. First came out in 2000 as a book and due to its large success made into a movie.
3. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite 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.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,647 | Gross: $33.23M
A joy to watch, quirky and fun. If you like Wes Anderson you will like this. For me this is the best movie ever made, since I can watch it over and over without ever finding myself being bored
4. C'est la vie! (I) (2017)
117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A hectic wedding party held in an 17th century French palace comes together with the help of the behind-the-scenes staff.
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Macaigne
Votes: 12,144
Comedy. Follow an event planning company behind the scenes as they prepare for a feast.
5. To Be and to Have (2002)
Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary, Family
A documentary portrait of a one-room school in rural France, where the students (ranging in age from 4 to 11) are educated by a single dedicated teacher.
Director: Nicolas Philibert | Stars: Georges Lopez, Alizé, Axel Thouvenin, Guillaume
Votes: 8,419 | Gross: $0.78M
A documentary on a french teacher in the countryside that is managing children 4 to 11 years old by himself. Released at the Cannes film festival
6. It's Only the End of the World (2016)
97 min | Drama
Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), a terminally ill writer, returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he is dying.
Director: Xavier Dolan | Stars: Gaspard Ulliel, Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux, Vincent Cassel
Votes: 25,210
Family drama movie. You don't get to choose your family
7. Heaven Will Wait (2016)
105 min | Drama
Director: Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar | Stars: Noémie Merlant, Naomi Amarger, Sandrine Bonnaire, Clotilde Courau
Votes: 1,033
8. I Lost My Body (2019)
16+ | 81 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A 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.
Director: Jérémy Clapin | Stars: Hakim Faris, Victoire Du Bois, Patrick d'Assumçao, Alfonso Arfi
Votes: 36,638
A beautiful original animation. Don't think animations are only for kids, this is a joy to watch
9. Louise by the Shore (2016)
Not Rated | 75 min | Animation, Drama
In a wonderfully sweet yet poignant story, Louise, an old lady, finds herself stranded in a seaside resort after the last train of the holiday season has left the station. But far from ... See full summary »
Director: Jean-François Laguionie | Stars: Diane Dassigny, Piera Degli Esposti, Dominique Frot, Antony Hickling
Votes: 1,234
Touching animation of an old lady stuck in her beach house during the winter
10. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
NC-17 | 180 min | Drama, Romance
Adèle'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.
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, Aurélien Recoing
Votes: 163,153 | Gross: $2.20M
This drama won the palm at the Cannes festival. Great acting with an even better plot.
11. I've Loved You So Long (2008)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.
Director: Philippe Claudel | Stars: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grévill
Votes: 20,716 | Gross: $3.17M
An absolute masterpiece; A person returns home after spending 15 years in prison.
12. In the House (2012)
R | 105 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A high school French teacher is drawn into a precocious student's increasingly transgressive story about his relationship with a friend's family.
Director: François Ozon | Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Vincent Schmitt, Ernst Umhauer, Kristin Scott Thomas
Votes: 34,325 | Gross: $0.35M
Intriguing movie about a teacher at the end of his career, who finally found a pupil that is promising.
13. The Piano Teacher (2001)
R | 131 min | Drama, Music
A young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel, Susanne Lothar
Votes: 71,895 | Gross: $1.90M
A romance between a teacher and her pupil. Isabelle huppert is insanely great in this movie.
14. 8 Women (2002)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical
A 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.
Director: François Ozon | Stars: Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve
Votes: 34,353 | Gross: $3.08M
Hilarious muder-mistery with a killer cast
15. Welcome to the Sticks (2008)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Romance
A French public servant from Provence is banished to the far North. Strongly prejudiced against this cold and inhospitable place, he leaves his family behind to relocate temporarily there, with the firm intent to quickly come back.
Director: Dany Boon | Stars: Kad Merad, Dany Boon, Zoé Félix, Lorenzo Ausilia-Foret
Votes: 44,986 | Gross: $1.48M
An instant classic about the cultural difference between the North and South of France
Very easy to comprehend, since it is comical and exaggerated. Most European students probably saw this in French class.
16. I Killed My Mother (2009)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Romance
A semi-autobiographical story about Hubert as a young homosexual at odds with his mother.
Director: Xavier Dolan | Stars: Anne Dorval, Xavier Dolan, François Arnaud, Suzanne Clément
Votes: 31,424
A story about a gay teenager who clashes with his mother
17. The Page Turner (2006)
Unrated | 85 min | Drama, Music, Thriller
After failing the audition to a prestigious music school because of the rude behavior of one of the testers, a girl takes revenge by gaining the trust of the same woman some years later and becoming indispensable for her.
Director: Denis Dercourt | Stars: Catherine Frot, Déborah François, Pascal Greggory, Clotilde Mollet
Votes: 7,382 | Gross: $0.21M
An amazing psychological thriller, go watch it
18. Paris, I Love You (2006)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Through the neighborhoods of Paris, love is veiled, revealed, imitated, sucked dry, reinvented, and awakened.
Directors: Olivier Assayas, Frédéric Auburtin, Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Gérard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Alexander Payne, Bruno Podalydès, Walter Salles, Oliver Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant | Stars: Juliette Binoche, Leonor Watling, Ludivine Sagnier, Fanny Ardant
Votes: 74,568 | Gross: $4.86M
Paris, the city of love. This Movie has several scenes by different directors and actors. the main theme is on love and all the scenes are set in Paris. Easy to watch, also when you don't comprehend French.
19. The Midwife (2017)
Unrated | 117 min | Drama
Claire is a wonderfully gifted midwife, with a natural talent to deliver babies with the most gentle touch. One day she receives a strange phone call. Béatrice, the extravagant mistress of her deceased father, wants to see her again.
Director: Martin Provost | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Catherine Frot, Olivier Gourmet, Quentin Dolmaire
Votes: 3,046 | Gross: $0.60M
A drama. Great acting by Catherine Deneuve
20. Elle (I) (2016)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A successful businesswoman gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse as she tracks down the unknown man who raped her.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling
Votes: 71,184
Isabelle Huppert shows of what a great actress she is in this pshychological thriller
21. The Class (2008)
PG-13 | 128 min | Drama
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Director: Laurent Cantet | Stars: François Bégaudeau, Agame Malembo-Emene, Angélica Sancio, Arthur Fogel
Votes: 36,447 | Gross: $3.77M
Movie that won 'le palme d'or' on Cannes and you'll understand why.
The story is set between the walls of a classroom and tells of the relationship a teacher has with his pupils. Conflict soon arises and the teacher deals with it in his manor.
22. April and the Extraordinary World (2015)
PG | 105 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
It's 1941 but France is trapped in the nineteenth century, governed by steam and Napoleon V, where scientists vanish mysteriously. Avril, a teenage girl, goes in search of her missing scientist parents.
Directors: Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Marc-André Grondin, Philippe Katerine, Jean Rochefort
Votes: 8,445 | Gross: $0.29M
Sci-fi animation of a an alternative Paris in which resources are losts and trees are no longer growing.
23. The Chorus (2004)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Music
Pierre, 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.
Director: Christophe Barratier | Stars: Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Kad Merad
Votes: 67,211 | Gross: $3.64M
A movie that almost everyone has viewed in French class. Although not really intriguing, it is enjoyable to watch.
24. Heartbeats (2010)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Romance
The story of three close friends who are involved in a love-triangle.
Director: Xavier Dolan | Stars: Xavier Dolan, Monia Chokri, Niels Schneider, Anne Dorval
Votes: 30,343 | Gross: $0.06M
A story of two best friends that both fall in love with the same person.
25. The Intouchables (2011)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot
Votes: 930,380 | Gross: $13.18M
A man from the ghettos of Paris brings joy in the live of the handicapped aristocratic Phillipe. Enjoyable and accessible to watch.
26. Mood Indigo (2013)
Not Rated | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Wealthy, inventive bachelor Colin endeavors to find a cure for his lover Chloe after she's diagnosed with an unusual illness caused by a flower growing in her lungs.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Omar Sy
Votes: 16,726 | Gross: $0.30M
Feels like Amelie (see above in this list) on acid, amazing
27. Mommy (I) (2014)
R | 139 min | Drama
A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.
Director: Xavier Dolan | Stars: Anne Dorval, Antoine Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clément, Patrick Huard
Votes: 61,870 | Gross: $3.49M
A drama by Xavier Dolan on the complicated relationship between mom and son.
28. Potiche (2010)
R | 103 min | Comedy
A housewife and grandma takes over the family business 1977, after her husband is hurt during a strike.
Director: François Ozon | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini, Karin Viard
Votes: 11,364 | Gross: $1.62M
An instant classic with Catherine Deneuve
29. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)
Not Rated | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Secret agent OSS 117 foils Nazis, beds local beauties, and brings peace to the Middle East.
Director: Michel Hazanavicius | Stars: François Damiens, Jean Dujardin, Khalid Maadour, Youssef Hamid
Votes: 23,128 | Gross: $0.30M
A paradoy on classic spy movies such as James Bond. Loved by all and you can see why.
30. OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009)
Not Rated | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Another mission of world-known French secret agent leads him to exotic Brazil.
Director: Michel Hazanavicius | Stars: Jean Dujardin, Louise Monot, Rüdiger Vogler, Alex Lutz
Votes: 16,523 | Gross: $0.09M
Sequel, the story of OSS 117 continues in Rio. Another parody on classic spy movies.
31. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
PG-13 | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him.
Director: Sylvain Chomet | Stars: Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Monica Viegas
Votes: 57,100 | Gross: $7.00M
Beautiful animation taking you on a quest from Paris to New York.
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