INTL Department - Partner Schools

List of BEST FRENCH FILMS

French Cinema
France is the birthplace of cinema and has been responsible for many innovations in cinematography. Important cinematic movements, including the New Wave (Nouvelle Vague) began in France. France is proud its strong film industry which is distinctively French. Notable features of typical French cinema include:

slow, subtle and ambiguous plot-lines
strong character development
no expectation of happy, predictable, neat or conclusive endings
an emphasis on art rather than revenue – partly assisted by state subsidies
These elements characterise a product that is noticeably different from the typical output of Hollywood and Bollywood. A few French films have become popular in the English speaking world, but most are completely unknown except to art-house and Francophone audiences. Many successful French films are remade for English speaking audiences who are generally unaware of the fact. Aficionados familiar with both the French original and the English remake rarely regard the remake as remotely as good as the French original. Le Retour de Martin Guerre was remade as Summersby, La Cage Aux Folles,remade as Birdcage Cyrano de Bergerac, ill-advisedly remade with the same name featuring Steve Martin, and Les Visiteurs remade as The Visitors. La Femme Nikita somehow morphed into a US television series!

The French are particularly good at historical dramas such as Le Retour de Martin Guerre, La Controverse de Valladolid, La Reine Margot, Ridicule andJean de Florette / Manon Des Sources.

Best French Films Ever.

Top Rated French Movies: popular, classic, famous “must watch” Cinema Français

(Great Movie Pictures Old and New)

The titles (in the US) of the best French films, sorted by title

Title Year
Genre

Director
1 8 Women 2001
Music, Comedy, Crime, Mystery

François Ozon
2 A Heart in Winter 1992
Romance, Drama, Music

Claude Sautet
3 Beauty and The Beast 1946
Fantasy Drama, Romance

Jean Cocteau
4 Belle de Jour 1967
Erotic Drama

Luis Buñuel
5 Betty Blue 1986
Romace, Drama

Jean-Jacques Beineix
6 Birds Of A Feather 1978
Comedy

Edouard Molinaro
7 Bitter Moon 1992
Sado-masochistic Erotic Drama

Roman Polanski
8 Breathless 1960
Drama, Romance

Jean-Luc Godard
9 Children of Paradise 1945
Drama, Romance

Marcel Carne
10 Cyrano de Bergerac 1990
Romance, Drama

Jean-Paul Rappeneau
11 Delicatessen 1991
Sci-Fi Comedy

Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet
12 Diva 1981
Action Thriller, Drama

Jean-Jacques Beineix
13 French Twist 1995
Comedy

Josiane Balasko
14 Hidden 2005
Drama

Michael Haneke
15 Hiroshima, Mon Amour 1959
Romance, Drama

Alain Resnais
16 Jean de Florette 1986
Drama, Modernised Greek Tragedy

Claude Berri
17 Jesus of Montreal 1989
Drama

Denys Arcand
18 Jules et Jim 1961
Romance, Drama

François Truffaut
19 La Controverse de Valladolid 1992
History (16thC), Drama

Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe
20 La Femme Nikita 1990
Crime, Thriller, Romance, Drama

Luc Besson
21 Manon of the Spring 1986
Drama, Romance, modernised Greek Tragedy

Claude Berri
22 Monsieur Hire 1989
Crime Thriller, Romance, Drama

Patrice Leconte
23 My Life in Pink 1997
Comedy Drama

Alain Berliner
24 One Swallow Brought Spring 2001
Comedy, Romance, Drama

Christian Carion
25 Queen Margot 1994
History (16thC) Drama, Biography, History, Romance

Patrice Chéreau
26 Ridicule 1996
History (18thC) Drama

Patrice Leconte
27 Swimming Pool 2003
Psychological Thriller, Mystery Drama

François Ozon
28 The 400 Blows 1959
Crime Drama

François Truffaut
29 The Big Blue 1988
Drama, Romance

Luc Besson
30 The City of Lost Children 1995
Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro
31 The Closet 2001
Comedy Drama

Francis Veber
32 The Discrete Charm of the Bougoisie 1972
Surreal Black Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Luis Buñuel
33 The Dominici Affair 1972
Crime Drama Mystery

Claude Bernard-Auberti
34 The Double Life of Veronique 1991
Music, Fantasy, Romance, Psychological Drama

Krzysztof Kieslowsk
35 The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain 2001
Comedy, Romance, Drama

Jean-Pierre Jeunet
36 The Girl On The Bridge 1999
Comedy, Romance, Fantasy, Drama

Patrice Leconte
37 The Hate 1995
Crime, Drama

Mathieu Kassovitz
38 The Last Metro 1980
Romance, History (WW2) Drama

François Truffaut
39 The Piano Teacher 2001
Drama, Music

Michael Haneke
40 The Reader 1988
Mildly Erotic Comedy Fantasy

Michel Deville
41 The Return of Martin Guerre 1982
History (16thC) Drama, Biography, Crime, Mystery,

Daniel Vigne
42 The Visitors 1993
Fantasy, Comedy

Jean-Marie Poiré
43 Three Colors: Blue 1993
Drama, Music, Mystery, Romance

Krzysztof Kieslowski
44 Three Colors: Red 1994
Drama, Mystery, Romance

Krzysztof Kieslowski
45 Three Colors: White 1994
Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Bonne Chance

Team Frehindi

Author: Haru MEHRA

Namasté / Bonjour / Hello, I am Harbinder Singh MEHRA ( Haru ), the President, author & principal blogger & trainer for the LAF's project Inde-Contemporaine under the patronage of the Indian Embassy in Paris. Apart from that, I am also the CEO of Paris & Lyon based Le Frehindi which is an Indo-French organisation licensed by ATOUT-France with associate offices in New Delhi, Mumbai & Dubai in the Middle East. Something about LAF ( L'Association Frehindi ) : The objective of the L'Association Frehindi ( English ) To promote global understanding with special focus on youth of France & Francophone countries with the youth from Indian subcontinent by showcasing a contemporary aspect of both regions in areas of cultural & linguistic integration, appreciating of heritage & getting to know the importance of natural wellbeing via online & offline activities such as workshops, fairs, events, meet-ups, counselling sessions, intercultural workshops in partnerships/collaborations with local institutions, cultural organisations, embassies & companies in both the regions. The association seeks to work in the following areas : I. Events/fairs/conferences/workshops under the patronage of the Indian Embassy in France. 1)To celebrate & promote contemporary India & France with today's youth. 2)To let discover the traditional historic Indo-French strengths, economic opportunities & partnership possibilities. 3)To promote arts & artists from either region. 4) To jointly host events & fairs every year in France, Francophone countries & the Indian subcontinent to promote friendship/partnerships between different regions linking the general population with a special focus on youth. II. Alps-Himalayas Project 1) To increase cultural & economic affinity of youth & businesses between Rhone-Alps & Himalayas regions of India, Bhutan & Nepal. 2) To conduct & promote joint Indo-French expeditions & excursions. 3) To help the tribals & locals in Himalayan regions to preserve the environment by sustainable means. III. Intercultural Activités 1) To conduct linguistic-based inter cultural activités with the help of virtual tours & offline sessions between youth & teachers for both French, Hindi & various other regional languages. 2) To conduct sessions / classes on inter-cultural understanding, ways of doing business, dances & letting discover the rich heritage. 3) To conduct fundraising activities for all such cultural & heritage discovery exchanges. IV. Indo-French youth club : 1) To help the Indian students coming to France to integrate culturally, logistically & linguistically by providing pre & post landing counselling workshops & vice-versa for French students going to the Indian subcontinent. 2) To help the youth discover skill development programs, internships & recruitment opportunities available in all the regions. 3) To work in partnership with local SME'S for supporting & training of the youth of India & France. 4) To enable students & teachers in France to help online & offline the underprivileged children in the Indian subcontinent by imparting training based on languages & soft skill development. 5) To conduct Indo-french youth camps in all Francophone regions with a special focus on Rhone-Alps regions, Himalayas & Auroville in Pondicherry. V. Promoting Natural Wellbeing & boosting immunity naturally : 1) The association will seek to promote the benefits of Yoga & Ayurveda in France among youth & conduct awareness sessions with experts from India & Srilanka. 2) The association will celebrate World Yoga Day & World Ayurveda day by conducting events & workshops for the youth. 3) The association will produce both online & offline content like blogs, books, broachers etc to Promote yoga & Ayurveda. 4) The association will work closely with Bio-shops to promote vegan & vegetarian food among the youth. Come be a part of the LAF growing team & become ambassadors for the Indian subcontinent & its ability to take modernity with traditional values and ethos. Write to us at haru@frehindi.com. All the best. Harbinder Singh MEHRA, President, L'Association Frehindi Lyon VILLETTE GARE IMMEUBLE LE BONNEL 20 rue de la Villette 69003 Lyon Tel : +330601360996