French: your favourite films

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Re: French: your favourite films

Postby Ug_Caveman » Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:05 am

My first exposure to French films came in end-of-semester school lessons where all the teaching had been done and our teachers needed to think of a way to shut us up for the last few hours of term :D as a result, most of the films I've seen haven't exactly been what one might deem cinematic and might be somewhat... childish compared to other suggestions. Nonetheless, if you're looking for that sort of material:

Taxi (1 and 2 - not seen 3 and 4) - the standard go to for most French teachers who needed to shut us up for a few lessons, a ridiculous slapstick comedy series about (funnily enough) a taxi-driver (starring a young Marion Cotillard)

Neuilley Sa Mere - teenage romantic comedy film about a young boy from a poor area of France who moves in with his more affluent aunt and uncle. My favourite French film which I've watched more times than any other (I'm rather sad there isn't an English-subtitled version of it's sequel.)

Balineu 13 - action film focused primarily on parkour and free running. Had a (slightly less good) sequel and English language remake called Brick Mansions (starring Paul Walker in his last completed film role prior to his untimely death.)

I've also seen La Haine, Les Choristes and bits of Amelie (although the latter was in primary school and my memories of it are virtually non-existent.)
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Re: French: your favourite films

Postby AroAro » Tue Jul 13, 2021 10:12 am

There are excellent recommendations in this thread, I'd just like to mention:

La Vie Rêvée des Anges - first movie in French that I've ever watched with fabulous Elodie Bouchez and Natascha Régnier

La Pianiste, Amour - two masterpieces by Michael Haneke

Les Blessures Assassines - true crime story with intriguing Sylvie Testud (you may like her as well in Lourdes, an Austrian movie shot in French)

Black Venus - I'm not a big fan of Abdel Kechiche but this one is excellent (though it did not gain as much traction as it should do)

Sans toit ni loi, Cléo de 5 à 7 - two wonderful movies by Agnès Varda

I guess Denis Villeneuve is the most famous director from Québéc, I really liked his Maelstrom and Incendies. And from Suisse romande, the one to watch is Ursula Meier, her Sister was very promising.
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Re: French: your favourite films

Postby FeoGringo » Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:23 pm

Le Samouraï (1967) neo noir directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. It was basically remade in the U.S. as The Driver (1978) starring Ryan O'Neal. The French film has a bit more depth to it in my opinion.

De Battre Mon Cœur S'est Arrêté (2005) a crime drama directed by Jacques Audiard. This film is based on the U.S. film Fingers (1978) starring Harvey Keitel.

Another vote for La Haine (1995) with a young Vincent Cassel.
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Re: French: your favourite films

Postby einzelne » Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:35 am

Watching Godard (especially Week-End and later works) was a transformative experience to me.
Jean Epstein, Abel Gance are visionaries.
Jean Renoir is the best explorer of the human condition.
Robert Bresson, obviously.
Oneiric, mesmerising explorations of memory by Alain Resnais from 1960s (up to his underappreciated masterpiece Je t'aime, je t'aime).
Chris Marker is the Descartes of cinema, nobody can beat him in the film essay genre (may be Farocki but he's German) - Sans Soleil is a good place to start.
Luis Malle's Le feu follet is the best film about depression.
Philippe Garrel's Les Amants réguliers is the most romantic movie of the failure of May 68.
Another important post Mai 68 movie is, of course Estauche's Le Maman et la putain.
Raúl Ruiz, although a Chilean by descent, made his best surrealist movies in France (he's a prolific filmmaker so I just highlight his most impressive works: La vocation suspendue, L'hypothèse du tableau volé, La ville des pirates, Trois vies et une seule mort). Also, he made something impossible, namely, a congenial film adaptation of Proust (Le temps retrouvé).
Truffault is well known but his hidden masterpiece L'Enfant sauvage is usually underappreciated.
Jacques Rivette is another famous Nouvelle Vague filmmaker who is famous for his playful, improvisational experiments but I personally prefer his historical dramas — Suzanne Simonin, la Religieuse de Diderot and Ne touchez pas la hache (based on a Balzac's story)
Eugène Green (Toutes les nuits, Le Pont des Arts) — pretentious and baroque, full of mannerism but Le Pont has the best HIP performance of Monteverdi's Lamento della Ninfa, so I forgive him everything.
Éric Rohmer—the major ethnologists of the French society—is the best filmmaker for French learners since his films are full of sophisticated dialogues (Six Moral Tales is a good place to start).
Arnaud Desplechin's dyptich Comment je me suis disputé... (ma vie sexuelle) and Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse.
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Re: French: your favourite films

Postby David27 » Wed Jul 14, 2021 12:19 pm

I enjoy French comedies: OSS-117 and le dîner de cons come to mind
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Re: French: your favourite films

Postby thelazyoxymoron » Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:53 pm

einzelne wrote:Chris Marker is the Descartes of cinema, nobody can beat him in the film essay genre (may be Farocki but he's German) - Sans Soleil is a good place to start.
So much this! I watched it a few weeks ago and I was just blown away. I've also noted down all of your suggestions as it seems right up my alley. Thanks for the list!

There's an excellent website which curates critically acclaimed films of all time from numerous sources, called They Shoot Pictures, Don't They. As I use Letterboxd to keep track of everything I watch, I filtered all the French language films from the TSPDT's 1000 greatest films list and created a ranked list.

Sharing the link here in case somebody finds it useful :)
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Re: French: your favourite films

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:18 pm

thelazyoxymoron wrote:
einzelne wrote:Chris Marker is the Descartes of cinema, nobody can beat him in the film essay genre (may be Farocki but he's German) - Sans Soleil is a good place to start.
So much this! I watched it a few weeks ago and I was just blown away. I've also noted down all of your suggestions as it seems right up my alley. Thanks for the list!

There's an excellent website which curates critically acclaimed films of all time from numerous sources, called They Shoot Pictures, Don't They. As I use Letterboxd to keep track of everything I watch, I filtered all the French language films from the TSPDT's 1000 greatest films list and created a ranked list.

Sharing the link here in case somebody finds it useful :)

Thanks a bunch. This saves hours and hours of time looking for a decent French film to watch. :)
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Re: French: your favourite films

Postby Le Baron » Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:26 pm

Maybe it's worth noting here that the once 'king' of French cinema in the 70s and 80s, Jean-Paul Belmondo, died today aged 88.

A number of his films rank among French films I still re-watch. Peur Sur La Ville, Borsalino, Le Professionel, Le Casse, Cartouche, L'Homme de Rio.

He had an excellent career.
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