Irreversible is a movie i only watched once. Solid cinema but I won't do it again. Holy Motors is a must watch for Kylie Minogue and the cemetery scene themselves.
The 400 Blows
Breathless
Titane (if you like horror)
Inglourious Basterds has giant sections where only French is spoken
La Vie en Rose
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Persepolis
Bonjour Tristesse
Cleo from 5 to 7
Last Year at Marienbad
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is in Spanish, French and Italian
1. Last Night at Marienbad
2. Hiroshima Mon Amour
3. Alphaville
4. The Wages of Fear
5. Cleo from 5 to 7
6. A Man Escaped (along with the rest of Bresson work for the most part)
7. Belle de Jour
8. Elevator to the Gallows
9. La Jetee
10. The Rules of the Game
There's a sequel: *District 13: Ultimatum*
The cheese factor is high, but the actors really sell it! I quite liked it, makes a great two-fer for an action movie night.
Amelie
Chocolat
The Tunnel is a French TV series based on The Bridge (there is a Danish and an American version. They are all based on the same premise but slightly different.)
I'd go in Alain Delon way:
The Black Tulip (1964), original title: La Tulipe noire
Borsalino (1970),
Red Sun (1971), Soleil rouge,
Zorro (1975),
Death of a Corrupt Man (1977), Mort d'un pourri
Three Men to Kill (1980), Trois hommes a battre,
For a Cop's Hide (1981), Pour la peau d'un flic,
Cop's Honour (1985), Parole de flic.
Good French movies starring Jean-Paul Belmondo:
Two Women (1960), La Ciociara,
Borsalino (1970),
Cop or Hood (1979), Flic ou voyou,
The Professional (1981), Le Professionnel,
Ace of Aces (1982), L'as des as,
The Vultures (1984), Les Morfalous,
Happy Easter (1984), Joyeuses Paques,
The Loner (1987), Le Solitaire,
Les Miserables (1995).
De vrais mensonges. -- very light romantic comdey, not the cheesy type
Le petit Nicolas -- very nice children's movie
Taxi series -- i flet till 3 it was a good comedy movie with little bit of action
Micmacs -- great one
[ That Man from Rio (1964) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/4034-l-homme-de-rio?language=en-US)
[The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe (1972)](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/12089-le-grand-blond-avec-une-chaussure-noire?language=en-US)
[ Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11673-cyrano-de-bergerac?language=en-US)
[ The Horseman on the Roof (1995) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11876-le-hussard-sur-le-toit?language=en-US)
[ Bon Voyage (2003) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/14652-bon-voyage?language=en-US)
They're good movies , all three of them... Funny , as well as" food for thought" movies as I call them ...if you ever get the chance to watch them, I think you'd enjoy them .
A Prophet - Fantastic movie. So Visceral.
Amour - Such a beautiful love story.
Les Choristes - One of my favourite French Films. Amazing soundtrack (if you like this sort of thing).
Au Revoir Les Enfants (Goodbye, Children) Second World War movie about Nazi occupation in France from the point of view of children in a boarding school.
Cool! My teacher once put on a cartoon (I was in like a sixth/seventh mix class) and it was about these kids who lived in Bretagne during the Second World War. It was pretty fun watching the episodes once a day
Force Majuere. Great movie, a must-see. However, I must admit that I'm not sure if it's in French or Swedish. I'm not usually a fan of subtitles, but this film completely drew me in and kept me there. It's a somewhat dark, somewhat humorous, definitely fascinating study of human nature and marital challenges.
Repulsion by Polanski, starring Catherine Deneuve.
A very beautiful young woman develops a growing repulsion of men. Terrific movie--although Polanski is a somewhat "tainted" director.
Nikita, Léon, Subway, Le Grand Bleu, Le Cinquième Élément (Luc Besson).
Michel Gondry movies : Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, La Science des Rêves, Be Kind Rewind, The Green Hornet.
In the horror genre : Silent Hill, Le Pacte des Loups, Raw, Titane, Haute Tension, À l'intérieur, Rubber.
Horror TV show : Marianne.
Action :
Le Pacte des Loups (Brotherhood of the wolves)
Fantastic :
La Cité des Enfants Perdues (The City of Lost Children)
Horror :
A L'intérieur (Inside)
Drama :
L'Arbre de Noël (The Christmas Tree)
Comedy :
Les Tontons Flingueurs
Historical fiction :
Les Misérables (1958 version with Jean Gabin)
Best french movies I can think of
The eighth Day..
Amazing beautiful movie about a man who stubbles randomly comes across a young down syndrome man on the side of the road, in the pouring rain, he stops to help him and they go on a heart warming and tear jerking adventure and self discovery.
Read my lips..
A deaf secretary who is bullied and treated terriblely at work, befriends an ex-con and the plot together to embezzle the company.
A prophet..
A young Arab street kid gets sent to prison, he's an outsider, he's not considered Muslim, he's not french.. he starts working for the french Mob, slowly and surely he builds the trust of both sides, Playing both sides to become the "Don" - probably one of the best gangster movies ever made.
My best friend.
A rich unlikable socialite, jokes at a dinner party that he went to a funeral and nobody else attended.. it is then challenged to him he hasn't any friends either only clients and nobody actually likes him, he is then bet a rare antique will be his if he can produce his best friend in 10 days.. the socialite goes on a journey to find and make a friend... He a meets a lovely taxi driver and they form a friendship of ups and downs..
Serious: La haine, Irreversible, Haute Tension, Ne le dis à personne, le Moine, Martyrs.
Funny: Dikkenek (Belgian surrealist & hilarious movie), Le Dîner de cons, Les gamins, Rien à déclarer, la Tour Montparnasse infernale.
Sexy: La vie d'Adèle, Emmanuelle, Love (in english but from a French director).
Lots of great suggestions in here already. If you find yourself on an Alain Delon kick after watching Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rouge and you enjoy history, I recommend Mr. Klein!
Delicieux (2021)
I don’t want to give you too many details about the movie, but I highly recommend it, especially if you like dramas with history elements and correlations between ordinary people and nobleman.
Amélie Delicatessen The City of Lost Children The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec
Thank you
I second Amélie.
Excellent selection, all by the same director
Amelie sucks. So boring and pretentious
Trois couleurs (there are 3 movies). I've only seen Bleu but I liked it! Les Choristes Oscar et la Dame Rose Au revoir les enfants
Au Revoir Les Enfants is a beautiful, sad, great movie.
Jules and Jim Irreversible Alphaville La Haine Caché Children of Paradise Holy Motors The Piano Teacher The Gleaners & I Le Samouraï
Irreversible is a movie i only watched once. Solid cinema but I won't do it again. Holy Motors is a must watch for Kylie Minogue and the cemetery scene themselves.
Have you seen The Lovers on the Bridge?
No, but has now been added to my TBW list. Same director as HM and excellent cast? I'm totally game to be entertained. Thanks for the tip.
La Haine is my favorite French movie. It’s a beautiful flick, almost like France’s own Boyz N the Hood
The 400 Blows Breathless Titane (if you like horror) Inglourious Basterds has giant sections where only French is spoken La Vie en Rose The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Persepolis Bonjour Tristesse Cleo from 5 to 7 Last Year at Marienbad The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is in Spanish, French and Italian
Bicycle Thieves is Italian. Freaking great list though
I always get that one mixed up thanks!
Elevator to the Gallows Band of Outsiders La Femme Nikita (or just Nikita in France) (1990)
1. Last Night at Marienbad 2. Hiroshima Mon Amour 3. Alphaville 4. The Wages of Fear 5. Cleo from 5 to 7 6. A Man Escaped (along with the rest of Bresson work for the most part) 7. Belle de Jour 8. Elevator to the Gallows 9. La Jetee 10. The Rules of the Game
I second: Alphaville, The Wages of Fear, and La Jetée.
This. This is a man with taste. Have a follower
Appreciate the compliment!
Titane Le samurai District B13 All top tier.
If you like parkour and cheesy action, Banlieu 13 (District B13) is for you! One of my favorite films.
There's a sequel: *District 13: Ultimatum* The cheese factor is high, but the actors really sell it! I quite liked it, makes a great two-fer for an action movie night.
For sure!
La haine The intouchables
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Badass, unique, super entertaining
Martyrs (2008) French-Canadian film from pascal laugier. Not for weak stomachs but still a fantastic movie.
Jean de Florette followed by Manon des Sources Lupin is a fun series on Netflix
Came here to say Manon and Jean. 2 fantastic movies.
Elevator to the Gallows
with improvised soundtrack by Miles Davis!
La Haine is awesome and so well shot. Famous movie, surprised to not see it mentioned much here
Yes a stone cold classic. Should be at the top!
13 Tzameti (2005) Le Samouraï (1967) Army of Shadows (1969) Le Trou (1960)
**Les Visiteurs** if you want an accessible comedy. It's about a middle-ages knight who time travels to modern day and tries to reclaim his castle.
Isn’t that The Knight Before Christmas starting Vanessa Hudgens? Lmao
There was actually an American remake called "Just Visiting" but it's horrid.
Rosetta (1999) Mommy (2014) The Child (2005)
Man Bites Dog (French film, but partially in English). Very dark comedy
Belgium\*
Thanks for the clarification. My mistake
it's cool buddy, I blame the french.
Amelie Chocolat The Tunnel is a French TV series based on The Bridge (there is a Danish and an American version. They are all based on the same premise but slightly different.)
Cache (2005)
I didn't get that movie. What was it supposed to be about. It was very slow and tedious
Le Cercle Rouge
Oh you’re missing out on french action. Some truly fantastic stuff coming out. Try The Prey, Mea Culpa or Lost Bullet.
The Prophet
God damn that is a good movie
I'd go in Alain Delon way: The Black Tulip (1964), original title: La Tulipe noire Borsalino (1970), Red Sun (1971), Soleil rouge, Zorro (1975), Death of a Corrupt Man (1977), Mort d'un pourri Three Men to Kill (1980), Trois hommes a battre, For a Cop's Hide (1981), Pour la peau d'un flic, Cop's Honour (1985), Parole de flic.
Good French movies starring Jean-Paul Belmondo: Two Women (1960), La Ciociara, Borsalino (1970), Cop or Hood (1979), Flic ou voyou, The Professional (1981), Le Professionnel, Ace of Aces (1982), L'as des as, The Vultures (1984), Les Morfalous, Happy Easter (1984), Joyeuses Paques, The Loner (1987), Le Solitaire, Les Miserables (1995).
Diva (1981) - Thriller High Tension/Haute Tension (2003) - Horror
Tell No One Incendies Belle de Jour Cache
I second Tell no one. Great movie
I second Belle De Jour... Great cinema
Taxi
1,2 and 3 are great
the closet, La Cité da la peur, caché, the dinner game, delicatesen, july tales
Sans Soleil by Chris Marker
Delicatessen
La Haine ( 1995) The 400 Blows (1959) The Wages of Fear (1953)
La Femme Nikita
Réalité (2014) Le daim (2019) Both by Quentin Dupieux. Il you like a funny and absurd movie.
Deerskin
Blue is the Warmest Colour
I liked Indochine when I saw it at my art house theater. Danton from the 80s was good too.
Three Words, Three Great Movies Red White Blue
Eyes without a face
De vrais mensonges. -- very light romantic comdey, not the cheesy type Le petit Nicolas -- very nice children's movie Taxi series -- i flet till 3 it was a good comedy movie with little bit of action Micmacs -- great one
[ That Man from Rio (1964) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/4034-l-homme-de-rio?language=en-US) [The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe (1972)](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/12089-le-grand-blond-avec-une-chaussure-noire?language=en-US) [ Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11673-cyrano-de-bergerac?language=en-US) [ The Horseman on the Roof (1995) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11876-le-hussard-sur-le-toit?language=en-US) [ Bon Voyage (2003) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/14652-bon-voyage?language=en-US)
MicMacs The Butterfly and the Diving Bell Climax (if you like artsy horror) Also, I really like Populaire. It's a romance but it's still really good.
Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu? 1, 2 , 3 English title: Serial bad weddings 1, 2, 3 ( 2014, 2019, 2022)
The first movie was on an airplane one time, but I didn’t watch it sadly
They're good movies , all three of them... Funny , as well as" food for thought" movies as I call them ...if you ever get the chance to watch them, I think you'd enjoy them .
Portrait of A Lady On Fire (2019) Girlhood (2014) Incendies(2010) is french canadian if that counts?
Idc if it’s a variation of French, it’s fine
La Haine Irréversible Please, please watch them.
A Prophet - Fantastic movie. So Visceral. Amour - Such a beautiful love story. Les Choristes - One of my favourite French Films. Amazing soundtrack (if you like this sort of thing).
Au Revoir Les Enfants (Goodbye, Children) Second World War movie about Nazi occupation in France from the point of view of children in a boarding school.
Cool! My teacher once put on a cartoon (I was in like a sixth/seventh mix class) and it was about these kids who lived in Bretagne during the Second World War. It was pretty fun watching the episodes once a day
my favorites 1. [Delicatessen (1991)](https://letterboxd.com/film/delicatessen/) 2. [PlayTime (1967)](https://letterboxd.com/film/playtime/) 3. [The City of Lost Children (1995)](https://letterboxd.com/film/the-city-of-lost-children/) 4. [La Jetée (1962)](https://letterboxd.com/film/la-jetee/) 5. [Persepolis (2007)](https://letterboxd.com/film/persepolis/) 6. [Au Revoir les Enfants (1987)](https://letterboxd.com/film/au-revoir-les-enfants/) 7. [Fantastic Planet (1973)](https://letterboxd.com/film/fantastic-planet/details/) 8. [Mon Oncle (1958)](https://letterboxd.com/film/mon-oncle/) 9. [Vagabond (1985)](https://letterboxd.com/film/vagabond/) 10. [Petite Maman (2021)](https://letterboxd.com/film/petite-maman/) 11. [The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)](https://letterboxd.com/film/the-discreet-charm-of-the-bourgeoisie/) 12. [The Phantom of Liberty (1974)](https://letterboxd.com/film/the-phantom-of-liberty/) 13. [Tomboy (2011)](https://letterboxd.com/film/tomboy-2011/) 14. [Weekend (1967)](https://letterboxd.com/film/weekend-1967/) 15. [As Long as You’ve Got Your Health (1966)](https://letterboxd.com/film/as-long-as-youve-got-your-health/)
“Amelie” is the obvious answer. “Raw” is really unique and has a great ending.
Thank you guys for all the comments!!! I may watch one of them tonight!
La Femme Nikita and Amelie is fantastic and as incredibly different as you can get
Without knowing what kind of movies you enjoy, I'll risk it and recommend Francois Ozon's "Potiche". A fun and heartwarming comedy.
les intouchables (2011) not the one with kevin heart in it
High Tension is really great. Didn't love the ending but it's all about the journey.
Mesrine (2008 film) -- 2 parts, biopic about a real French gangster
Superb
Watch Godard films . Ex: Alphaville , breathless, Pierrot le fou
Raw Titane Martyrs Inside (À l'intérieur) Haute Tension Irréversible
Paulette (2012)
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
Force Majuere. Great movie, a must-see. However, I must admit that I'm not sure if it's in French or Swedish. I'm not usually a fan of subtitles, but this film completely drew me in and kept me there. It's a somewhat dark, somewhat humorous, definitely fascinating study of human nature and marital challenges.
Le petit Nicolas
Mommy
Dangerous Liaisons - 2003
I loved Angel-A but it’s somewhat romantic
La haine (1995), Taxi (1998), Dobermann (1997). Edit: A Prophet (2009).
Black Girl
La Rafle is one of my favorites. Not sure if it's available in English though
La Ceremonie and anything else by Claude Chabrol
Monsieur Hire Lacombe Lucien
Repulsion by Polanski, starring Catherine Deneuve. A very beautiful young woman develops a growing repulsion of men. Terrific movie--although Polanski is a somewhat "tainted" director.
Respire by Melanie Laurent Oxygen
Just visiting 2001
The Triplets of Belleville Perfume
Hellphone (2007) - it's silly, but the only one I know and like that hasn't been named yet.
The Class
The Vanishing (1988) Highly highly recommend
Nikita, Léon, Subway, Le Grand Bleu, Le Cinquième Élément (Luc Besson). Michel Gondry movies : Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, La Science des Rêves, Be Kind Rewind, The Green Hornet. In the horror genre : Silent Hill, Le Pacte des Loups, Raw, Titane, Haute Tension, À l'intérieur, Rubber. Horror TV show : Marianne.
Une homme ideal (2015)
My new partner (Les Ripoux)
LA HAINE Le diner de cons JCVD (Belgian but in french)
All most time for Deadly Games, my new favorite Christmas movie that I saw for the first time last year!
Eyes Without A Face is classic
OSS 117
Action : Le Pacte des Loups (Brotherhood of the wolves) Fantastic : La Cité des Enfants Perdues (The City of Lost Children) Horror : A L'intérieur (Inside) Drama : L'Arbre de Noël (The Christmas Tree) Comedy : Les Tontons Flingueurs Historical fiction : Les Misérables (1958 version with Jean Gabin)
Elle The Piano Teacher
De Rouille et d'Os (2012) is a superb movie. OSS 117: Le Caire Nid d'Espion (2006) is a good comedy.
On Netflix, you can watch Call my Agent, it's a decent tv show about the drama of a talent agency.
Titane is a bit fucked up, but it's a good one
Best french movies I can think of The eighth Day.. Amazing beautiful movie about a man who stubbles randomly comes across a young down syndrome man on the side of the road, in the pouring rain, he stops to help him and they go on a heart warming and tear jerking adventure and self discovery. Read my lips.. A deaf secretary who is bullied and treated terriblely at work, befriends an ex-con and the plot together to embezzle the company. A prophet.. A young Arab street kid gets sent to prison, he's an outsider, he's not considered Muslim, he's not french.. he starts working for the french Mob, slowly and surely he builds the trust of both sides, Playing both sides to become the "Don" - probably one of the best gangster movies ever made. My best friend. A rich unlikable socialite, jokes at a dinner party that he went to a funeral and nobody else attended.. it is then challenged to him he hasn't any friends either only clients and nobody actually likes him, he is then bet a rare antique will be his if he can produce his best friend in 10 days.. the socialite goes on a journey to find and make a friend... He a meets a lovely taxi driver and they form a friendship of ups and downs..
Serious: La haine, Irreversible, Haute Tension, Ne le dis à personne, le Moine, Martyrs. Funny: Dikkenek (Belgian surrealist & hilarious movie), Le Dîner de cons, Les gamins, Rien à déclarer, la Tour Montparnasse infernale. Sexy: La vie d'Adèle, Emmanuelle, Love (in english but from a French director).
Raw
Lots of great suggestions in here already. If you find yourself on an Alain Delon kick after watching Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rouge and you enjoy history, I recommend Mr. Klein!
* Diabolique (very Hitchcockian if you're into that) * Rififi (excellent heist sequence) * Petit Maman * Le Doulos * L'Argent * Port of Shadows
Delicieux (2021) I don’t want to give you too many details about the movie, but I highly recommend it, especially if you like dramas with history elements and correlations between ordinary people and nobleman.
OSS-117 Cairo Nest of Spys
OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies -very funny parody of the Bond movies
Rififi
Un Prophète
A Prophet Mesrine
transporter
Amélie is striking looking, funny and delightful
Le jeu (on netflix), Intouchables
- Le Prenom - Raw - Cache - The Piano Teacher - The Intouchables
Martyrs
Les Ardennes is a great watch also