• Gérard Depardieu, favorite French actor
     
    54 FRENCH FILMS RECOMMENDED
    FOR BEGINNING STUDENTS 
     
    ------------------------ FRENCH CULTURE AND HISTORY ------------------------
     
    Les Adventures de Rabbi Jacob. (1973). Comedy based on ethnic humor. Accent Cinema. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 100 minutes.
      
    Asterix et Obelix aux Jeux Olympiques. (2008).  The dynamic duo have to win the Olympic Games to enable a young Gaul to marry the Greek princess, Ariana and beat the fearsome Brutus who is determined to win and beat his father, Julius Caesar.  French w/ French or English subtitles. Tri Pictures SA.  Color.  117 minutes. 
     
    Asterix et Obelix Contre Cesar. (2006). This dynamic duo, aided by a magic potion, battles Julius Cesar and the Romans, trying to get them to leave Gaul.  Very popular French cartoon, using live characters.  Gerard Depardieu as Obelix.  French w/ English or French subtitles.  Color. 105 minutes.
     
    Au Revoir Les Enfants.  (1987).  A heart-breaking story of friendship and devastating loss between two boys living in Nazi-occupied France.  Based on events from the writer's childhood.  French w/ English subtitles.  Janus Films.  Color. 
    181 minutes.   
     
    Babette's Feast. (1987).  Two elderly Dutch sisters agree to take in a French refugee, who agrees to work as a servant.  When the French woman wins the lottery, she pays back the sisters and reveals her true identity.  Dutch and French w/ English subtitles.  Nordisk Film.  Color.  102 minutes.      
     
    Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis. (Welcome to the Sticks, 2007). Philippe is a post office manager in the south of France, married to a difficult woman who makes his life miserable. To please her, he tries to cheat his way into a transfer to the French Riviera. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 106 minutes.
     
    Bon Voyage. (2003). An actress, a writer, a student, and a government worker band together in an effort to escape Paris as Nazis enter the city. Multi-award winner. ARP Selection. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 114 minutes.
     
    C'est Pas Moi, Je le Jure.  (It's Not Me, I Swear, 1997.)  10-year-old Leon is many things, but normal is not one of them.  He and his mother share a gift: they are both terrific liars.  When his mother abandons him, he becomes even more bizarre for revenge.  Gagnant Films.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  Quebec. 110  minutes. 
     
    La Chevre (The Goat, 1987). The clumsy daughter of a wealthy industrialist disappears from a Mexican resort. The several attempts to find her provide the basis for the movie. European Classics Release. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 91 minutes.
     
    Les Choristes. (The Chorus, 2004). Orphan child prodigy gets help in a most unexpected place. Vega Pictures. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 96 minutes.
     
    Congorama.  (2006).  Michel is a Belgian inventor married to a Congolese woman.  At age 41, he learns he is adopted and that he was born on a Québec farm.  He goes looking for his family, when an accident changes his life.  French with English subtitles. Christal films (Canada). Color.  105 minutes. 
     
    Conte of Monte Cristo.  (2005).  Gérard Depardieu.  Dramatic story of Edmond Dantes, a young French sailor who is falsely denounced as a traitor and unjustly imprisoned for 18 years without a trial.  He escapes prison and devises a plan to seek vengeance on all who betrayed him.  GMT Productions.  Color.  8 hours (2 discs).  also available on youtube. 
     
    Cyrano de Bergerac. (1990). Gérard Depardieu. A love story of deception and mystique. MGM. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 138 minutes.
     
    The Dinner Game. (1998). Comedy based on a social game. Lions Gate Films. French w/ French or English subtitles. Color. 72 minutes
     
    L'Enfant.  (2006).  Bruno, a down-and-out petty thief, reaches rock bottom when he sells his newborn son on the black market.  Sony Classics Pictures.  French w/ English or French subtitles.  Color.  96 minutes.
     
    Entre les Murs.  (The Class, 2009).  At a tough inner-city middle school in Paris, a dedicated teacher name Mr. Marin begins the new term.  Taking on a class comprised of a melting-pot of modern-day French society, he pushes and prods his pupils while striving to gain their respect.  And as each side challenges the other over issues both academic and personal, Mr. Marin and his students are about to get an education they'll never forget.  Ony Classics.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  130 minutes.   
     
    Le Fils de l'Épicier.  (The Grocer's Son, 2008). The coming-of-age of a man re-discovering life and love in the countryside.  Film Movement.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  96 minutes.   
     
    French Kiss.  (2001).  When her fiancé, smitten by a French woman, calls to cancel the wedding, Kate flies to Paris, determined to win him back.  She was not prepared for what came next.   Polygram.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.    111 minutes.   
     
    La Grande Seduction. (2004).  The fish around Sainte-Marie-La-Moderne in northern Quebec have been depleted and this town has no means of financial support.  To keep the town alive, the town seeks to attract a factory, which means it must first attract a doctor. Max Films, Inc.  French w/ French or English subtitles.  Color.  109 minutes. 
     
    Heartbreaker.  (2010.)  Alex is in business to end relationships,  He convinces women to split, before breaking their heart.  He only works if the woman is unhappy, and he never falls in love.  Until now.  Quad Films.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  105 minutes.
     
    Hors de Pris.  (Priceless, 2008).  When it comes to men, Irene has very rich taste.  One very confusing night, she is duped at her own game.  First Look Studios.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  102 minutes. 
     
    I'm Going Home.   (2003.)  Piccoli is a successful actor who has lost his wife, daughter, and son-in-law in a car accident.  He learns to cope and to care for his young surviving son, until he is confronted with a theatrical role that challenges his deepest feelings.  Milestone Film.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  83 minutes.   
     
    Inch'Allah Dimanche.  (2006).  Passionate immigrant story of a woan struggling against old-world traditions.  Zouina leaves her homeland with her three children to join her husband in France, where he's been living for the past ten years.  In a land and culture foreign to her, Zouina struggles against her mother-in-law's tyrannical hand and her husband's distrustful bitterness in an attempt to adjust to her life in exile.  Film Movement.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  98 minutes.
     
    The Intouchables.  (2013).  When Driss,an ex-con from the projects, is hired to take care of an eccentric French aristocrat name Philippe, his newfound job quickly becomes an unpredictable adventure.  French w/ English subtitles.  Golden Globe nominee.  Sony Pictures.  Color. 112 minutes.  
     
    Jean de Florette (1986). Story of greed and tragedy. Orion Pictures. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 121 minutes.
     
    Joyeux Noël.  (Merry Christmas, 2006).  True-life story of spontaneous Christmas Eve truce declared by Scottish, French, and German troops in the trenches of World War I.  Sony Pictures Classics.  French and German w/ English subtitles.  Color.  116 minutes.
     
    The King of Hearts.   A Scottish soldier makes an unexpected discovery in German-occupied France.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  102 minutes. 
     
    Les Miserables.  (1998). Victor Hugo's stirring novel of redemption and revolution.  Columbia Pictures.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  134 minutes. 
     
    Les Petits Mouchoirs.  (Little White Lies, 2010).  Following a motorcycle accident that leaves a charismatic member of their group in an intensive care unit, a close-knit circle of friends embark on their annual summer getaway without him.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.   154 minutes.     
     
    Man on the Train.  (2003.)  Milan, a criminal intent on robbing a small rural bank, is the lone passenger on a train.  He meets Manesquier, a retired poetry teacher.  Through their unexpected friendship, they both look back on their lives.  Paramount Pictures.  Winner, Best Picture, Venice Film Festival.  French w/English subtitles.  Color.  90 minutes.   
     
    Manon of the Spring (1986). Part II of Jean de Florette. Orion Pictures. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 114 minutes.
     
    Marie Antoinette  (2007).  The turbulent history of France's favorite villainess, the ill-fated princess who married the young and indifferent Louis XVI.  Marie defied both royalty and commoner by living like a rock star, which served only to seal her fate.  Columbia Pictures.  French or English w/ French or English subtitles.   Color.  123 minutes. 
     
    Mr. Bean's Holiday. (2008) Mr, Bean wins a trip to Cannes, where he unwittingly separates a boy from his father and must help the two come back together. On the way, he discovers France, bicycling, and true love, among other things. Universal Pictures. French, English, and Russian, w/ English subtitles. Color. 90 minutes.
     
    Molière.  (2007). Fictional-factual history of the career of one of France's most celebrated playwriters. Set in 17th century France, it involves a love triangle and speaks to the life of an artist. Sony Pictures. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 121 minutes.
      
    My Afternoons with Margueritte.  (2012).  A story of random encounters.  Germain, a nearly illiterate man, happens to sit beside Margueritte, an elderly woman who is reading excerpts aloud from her novel, on a bench in the park.  Germain's life is changed by his new friendship with this woman.  France 3 Cinema.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  83 minutes.
     
    Napoleón.  (2002).  Eight-hour A&E miniseries on the rise and fall of Napoleon.  This 4-VHS volume charts the course of the man who defied centuries of tradition and forced his will upon a continent.  A&E Television Networks.  English only.  Color.  8 hours total. 
     
    O Tahiti E. (1997). Video of Te Tiaoro, the grand prize winning dance troupe in the annual Heiva Tahitian dance competitions held in Papeete each year in July. OTAC. French and Tahitian. Color. 45 minutes.   
     
    Paris. (2007.)   The story of a young Moulin Rouge dancer awaiting a heart transplant, leading to an examination of the many and varied types of people whose lives cross in the City of Lights.  IFC Films.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color. 
    129 minutes. 
     
    Paris 36.  (2010).  1936 France is in turmoil and so is the life of a theatre stage manager anemd Pigoil.  His theatre has been shut down by hard times and his performing company decides to occupy and reopen it.  In the process a new star is born.  Sony Pictures.  Color.  French with English subtitles.  120 minutes. 
     
    Paris, Je T'Aime. (Paris, I Love You, 2007). Life in the 20 arrondissements of Paris: each district is represented by a short, independent story, featuring the top stars of French film. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 140 minutes.
     
    Le Petit Nicholas.  (2009).  This comedy is based on a little boy called Nicolas that gets up to all sorts of mischief with his friends. Some are unintentional while others are intended. French w/ English subtitles. Color.  87 minutes. 
     

    Prête-Moi Ta Main.  (I Do, 2006.)  Luis, a bachelor, is pressured by his family to get married.  He hatches a plan to have the "perfect" woman stand him up at the altar.  Of course, his plan goes wrong.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  89 minutes. 


    Rien à Déclarer.  (2010).   Sequel to Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis.  A border post disappears with the advent of the European Union and results in an unlikely love affair.  eonefilms.com  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  108 minutes.

    Romantics Anonymous.  (2010).  The story of Angélique, a gifted chocolate-maker whose uncontrollable shyness prevents her from acknowledging her talents.  Struggling choclatier Jean-René who also suffers from a similar case of awkward bashfulness that threatens to drown his company, hires Angélique as his new sales associate.  French w/ English subtitles.  Tribeca Film.  Color. 78 minutes. 

     
    Sarah's Key.  (2010).  A decades-old mystery unsolved.  A courageous life unknown.  A family's secrets untold, until now.  Set in German-occupied France, 1942.  French w/ English subtitles.  The Weinstein Company.  Color. 111 minutes. 
     
    The Scarlet Pimpernell. (1982). A master of disguise falls in love. London Film Productions. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 136 minutes.    
     

    Séraphine.   (2006.)  The true story of a simple housekeeper who began painting brilliant canvases at age 41, and was discovered by an art critic, who was also her landlord.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  125 minutes.


    Small Change. (1976).  The joys, yearnings, pains, and wonders of childhood in France.  United Artists.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color. 105 minutes. 

    A Tale of Two Cities. (1980). Based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Image Entertainment. English. Fictional story set in the French Revolution. Color. 156 minutes.
      
    The Three Muskateers. Three loyal swordsmen, joined by a fourth, eager to protect the King of France. Walt Disney Pictures. French w/ English subtitles. Color. 105 minutes.
     
    La Vie en Rose.  (1997).  Life story of Edith Piaf, famous French singer.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  89 minutes.
     
    Les Visiteurs.  (1992).  After a wizard gets a spell muddled up, the 12th century knight, Count Godefroy, and his servant Jacquoille, are accidentally propelled into the future, ending up in 1992.  Arrowfilms (UK).  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  105 minutes. 
     

    The Well-Digger’s Daughter.  (2012.)  Pascal, a poor well-digger, is a single father raising several girls.  One of his daughters falls in love with a rich air force pilot.  Her affair with the pilot puts her entire family at risk.  Difficult decisions must be made.  A.S.Films.  French w/ English subtitles.  Color.  107 minutes. 


    The Women on the Sixth Floor.  (2010).  Jean-Louis lives a bourgeois existence with his neurotic socialite wife, Suzanne, while their children are away at boarding school.  The couple's world is turned upside-down when they hire Maria, a Spanish maid who introduces Jean-Louis to an alternative reality a few stories up on the sixth floor servants' quarters.  France2 Cinéma.  French and Spanish w/ English subtitles.  Color.  104 minutes. 
     
    ------------------------ COUNTRIES THAT SPEAK FRENCH ------------------------
     
    Belgium and Luxembourg. (2007). Cultural information on two French-speaking countries located on France's northern border. Globe Trekker series. Pilot Productions. English, with some French. Color. 60 minutes.
     
    France. (2003). Highlights of Northern and Southern France (2 programs), except Paris. Globe Trekker series. Pilot Productions. English, with some French.
     
    The Caribbean. (2002). Visits to Martinique, St. Martin island, St. Kitts, Antigua, and the US Virgin Islands. Video Visits series. Mostly English. Color. 78 minutes.
     
    Montréal.  (?). Tour of the second-largest French-speaking city in the world. Daval Productions. English, French. Color. 25 minutes.
     
    Tahiti and Samoa. (2004). Highlights of French Polynesia, especially Tahiti, and Samoa. Globe Trekker series. Pilot Films. English, with some French. Color. 60 minutes.
     
    Western Africa. (2009). Cameroon, Benin, Burkino Faso, Mali, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Cape Verde Islands. Globe Trekker series introducing the cultures of many countires. Pilot Films and TV Productions. English, with some French. Color. 240 minutes total for four programs.
     
     
    ----------------------------------YOUTUBE INSTRUCTIONAL SITES--------------------------------------- 
     
    Améliorer le Français.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnOerSCk2Qs
     
    Cathedral of Notre Dame history.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ux4LC1kdQI 
     
    Differences Between French in Québec and France.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw5Re7k1KBA 
     
     
     
    Josephine Baker: Biography.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHnOfKwAga0
     
    LILA school.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9pXly26-0k 
     
    La Maison.  Vocabulaire.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V2srYL1VC0 
     
     
    Le Tour de France Explained in Animation.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7wPa1Hl5ZA
     
    Les Vêtements.  Vocabulaire.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT8DjcW_HTU
     
     
    Le Cirque de Soleil: History.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIlpyhJpugk
     
    La Fête de la Musique (first day of summer).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiuLPfm-B3o
     
     
    ---------------------------------------------------- SHORT VIDEOS (+ OR - 5 MINUTES) ----------------------------
     
    Bonjour, Monsieur.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ5zj3YQ0Tg  
       (song to learn body parts)

    Cyprien:  L'école.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL7grUEo960

    Cyprien: Noël.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8IQhMMlpnY
     
    The Egyptian Pyramids.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6PbonHsqW0 
     
    French Food: Le Petit Déjeuner.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MjG3mw9afs
     
    French Food:  Les Grandes Bananes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjU3YhaM_50

    Dans la Tête    .  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqgAw4tJqqc    (short)
     
     
     
    French Restaurant.  (animation)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0uQa7I85FY  
     
     
    The History and Traditions of Mardi Gras: New Orleans.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo5ClQDKnqk 
     
     
    La Crêpe Est Dans La Maison.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2l3oChN8bI 
     
    Matt, le Magnifique, Episode 1.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLh8KJib78A 
     
    Matt, le Magnifique, Episode 2.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KE24-XvtiY 
     
    Matt, le Magnifique, Episode 3.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ly9wR5CBLw 
     
    Matt, le Magnifique, Episode 4.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X41g5GWI4n8 
     
     
     
     
    Noël en France.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwAnG8k1bC4
     
    Parapente en France.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37OLw9brQV0 
     
    Replay.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-cFHeoXAw8 
     
    Teach Me How to Passé.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3QDZkhvKpA 
     
     
    What Not to Do in France.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RQvzBtBKQQ 
     
    What the French Think of American Tourists.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3KD0opfIUI 
     
     
     
     
Last Modified on May 13, 2015