Comments on: What recent French films would you recommend?

Question: What recent French films would you recommend?

MoonOrb — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:04:22 -0800

What are your favorite French films of the last fifteen years?

I feel like almost every time I watch a French film, I like it. I have no idea why this is. It doesn't matter the genre, either. I've seen a number of older French films, but for the purpose of this question, I'll just focus on films of the last decade and a half.

It would be too tedious for me to list every French film I've seen, but to give you an idea of a few I really liked: Roman de gare, The Class, Amelie, The Nest, Largo Winch, Tell No One, A Prophet, Mesrine, I've Loved You So Long, District B13.

By: vac2003

vac2003 — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:12:35 -0800

You could try L'homme du train (Man on the Train). Saw it several years ago and was thoroughly charmed by it. Roger Ebert liked it a lot, as did A.O. Scott of the New York Times, if that helps.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301414/

By: zoomorphic

zoomorphic — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:15:09 -0800

I really enjoyed Summer Hours, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Triplets of Belleville (though there is vitally no language in it, it's still quite french), and Elles

By: raztaj

raztaj — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:17:55 -0800

La Faute à Fidel/Blame it on Fidel
Monsieur Ibrahim - an excellent and touching (relatively unknown) film starring Omar Sharif

By: mimi

mimi — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:18:37 -0800

OSS117: Cairo, Nest of Spies. The sequel isn't -quite- as great but is still very funny.

By: mleigh

mleigh — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:20:31 -0800

Even though it's 20 years old - Delicatessen. A Very Long Engagement. Both of these are by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie).

By: phonebia

phonebia — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:27:32 -0800

I love Jacques Audiard! A Prophet is great. The other two I've seen and LOVED are Read My Lips and The Beat My Heart Skipped.

La Haine (17 years old, so squeaking by)!

Catherine Breillat's Bluebeard.

I wouldn't say I enjoyed White Material, but I respect it.

And oh! I just saw Le Havre. If you like older French films, you'll probably enjoy this one immensely.

By: beaucoupkevin

beaucoupkevin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:27:52 -0800

La Haine is 17 years old, but was a galvanizing film.

By: maryr

maryr — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:32:49 -0800

MicMacs à tire-larigot was cute in a very Amélie-~~like~~esque way, as it is yet another Jean-Pierre Jeunet film. It's not a grand masterpiece, but it's fun.

By: phonebia

phonebia — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:33:31 -0800

Though, a note on Le Havre --- it's actually a Finnish film set in France, in French, etc. But it definitely made me think of French New Wave.

By: la petite marie

la petite marie — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:34:58 -0800

I really like The Butterfly, To Be and To Have, My Best Friend, the Grocer's Son, Madamoiselle Chambon, and The Valet (pure silliness). Forbidden Games is a classic and will tear your heart out.

By: deanc

deanc — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:35:25 -0800

Crimson Rivers

Priceless

By: la petite marie

la petite marie — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:35:53 -0800

Sorry -- just re-read your question and you said the last 15 years -- Forbidden Games is definitely not in that time period...

By: devymetal

devymetal — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:37:01 -0800

Welcome is really heart-breaking. I liked The Grocer's Son as well.

By: Lettuce_Leaves

Lettuce_Leaves — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:39:46 -0800

A Christmas Tale (2008). Rather dark, about a dysfunctional family, but very cool (added coolness: features both Catherine Deneuve and the daughter she had with Marcello Mastroianni: Chiara Mastroianni).

By: msk1985

msk1985 — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:42:09 -0800

Bienvenue chez les Ch'Tis, l'Arnacoeur, Jeux d'Enfants, Viva l'Aldjerie, Incendies. The last two are in the French languages, though not from the country of France.

By: looli

looli — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:45:32 -0800

Caché

Monsieur Lazhar is Canadian, but in French, and has a very French sensibility. It was also an Academy Award nominee for best foreign film.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Barbarian Invasions (also Canadian, it is a sequel to The Decline of the American Empire from 1986)

Le Confessional is my favourite French language film. Also Canadian, 1995, very 90s.

By: gudrun

gudrun — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:54:20 -0800

I second Summer Hours, definitely. I liked Look At Me/Comme une Image quite a bit.

By: Currer Belfry

Currer Belfry — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:56:36 -0800

Seconding Summer Hours, which I saw right after it became clear that my mom needed assisted living and I had to prepare to clear out the stuff in her condo (much of which was part of my childhood) and sell it. Timing could not have been better; I think it's a film that many people of a certain age will "get" regardless of their nationality or language. I also liked Carlos quite a bit (Assayas again).

By: lizbunny

lizbunny — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:58:29 -0800

Angel-A
Les Adventures D'Adele Blanc-Sec

By: lizbunny

lizbunny — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:05:03 -0800

Oh, and Seducing Doctor Lewis (aka La Grande Seduction) - french canadian

By: kettleoffish

kettleoffish — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:13:44 -0800

The Dreamlife of Angels. Unmissable, so so good. Any words to describe it are lame by comparison, this one has to be seen to believe movies like this exist- all the things I love about French movies.

By: agentmitten

agentmitten — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:17:19 -0800

Another vote for MicMacs, and also La fille sur le pont. Skip the plot summary on that page, though! Gives away too much. It's not your usual romance, it's wry and witty and touching - and very very good.

By: theBigRedKittyPurrs

theBigRedKittyPurrs — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:23:38 -0800

Peresepolis, Ensemble, c'est tout (Guillaume Canet in so amazing), Un secret, Vénus beauté (institut)

By: bongo_x

bongo_x — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:27:40 -0800

I liked La Moustache and Time Out (L'emploi du temps).

By: stereo

stereo — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:28:16 -0800

Le dîner de cons is a classic.

By: the young rope-rider

the young rope-rider — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:41:56 -0800

I also liked Blame It On Fidel.

By: Bokmakierie

Bokmakierie — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:41:58 -0800

L'adversaire
13 Tzameti

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:42:44 -0800

Code inconnu, more than most films I've ever seen, has stayed with me. I couldn't analyse exactly why, but it lives in my head like few other films, even though at the time that I saw it, I didn't realize how greatly it affected me.

It's also worth going back in time. Modern French cinema stems from the New Wave, and Truffaut is the best entrance point into that, I feel. Jules et Jim is a great film (a scene from it appears in Amelie) but 400 Blows is great too.

By: saucysault

saucysault — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:44:10 -0800

French horror films have been fantastic, the French/Canadian film Martyrs especially is a standout. (if you can avoid reading about the plot ahead of time it is better).

By: Flashman

Flashman — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:51:43 -0800

Not really a 'favourite' (they've already been covered), but I watched Gregoire Moulin contre l'humanité recently and it was great fun - it's a Parisian After Hours.

By: datarose

datarose — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:52:48 -0800

Le Dîner de Cons and Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis are my favorite recent French comedy movies. For movies that are a bit more serious and thought-provoking, I would recommend Le scaphandre et le papillon and La Fille sur le pont mentioned above, as well as a very realistic film called Entre les murs, which a semi-autobiographical account of a young teacher at an inner-city middle school in Paris dealing with "problem students" in his French classroom.

By: stoneandstar

stoneandstar — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:28:56 -0800

Chantal Akerman has made some charming and challenging films (Demain on déménage being the former, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles being of the more critically acclaimed latter).

I recently saw 2 Days in Paris and it was really one of the best movies about contemporary relationships that I have ever seen-- it's in English, but written, directed by and starring the French-American Julie Delpy.

By: shakespeherian

shakespeherian — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:32:02 -0800

Love Me If You Dare

Son frère

By: Nibbly Fang

Nibbly Fang — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:46:30 -0800

I really liked 8 Women, though be advised that while it looks all cute and cheeky on the box, it's actually a pretty dark film. Triplets of Belleville is fantastic. I also enjoyed Moliere, and I've heard many, many good things about Beau Travail.

By: Felicity Rilke

Felicity Rilke — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:51:53 -0800

I thought Ricky was pleasant and whimsical. For that matter, I think I also enjoyed Ozon's Sous la sable, but it's been a long time since I saw it. I liked A ma soeur! Not from the last 15 years, but the last 20 is Leolo, which is one of my favourite movies ever (Quebecois, in French but narrated in English). I'll second Barbarian Invasions.

By: quadog

quadog — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:20:05 -0800

I know you asked for the past 15 years, but I just watched Rififi last night and it holds up really well. It was made in '56, I think.

Mick LaSalle is a film critic/historian for the San Francisco Chronicle. He frequently references French cinema. Dig through the archives to find his recommendations.

By: These Birds of a Feather

These Birds of a Feather — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:57:03 -0800

La gloire de mon père and Le château de ma mère and Les Choristes.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:46:07 -0800

If you liked Amelie, you'll love Le Petit Nicolas. Its really funny and set in that same nostalgic French atmosphere.

By: MuffinMan

MuffinMan — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:49:57 -0800

It's 21 years old, and Belgian (but French language): but if you can get over those things, Toto le Héros is a good film that should have got wider acclaim, IMHO.

I haven't seen it yet, but a friend of mine raves about it: Luc Besson's 1998 movie Taxi. Also notable for an early sighting of Marion Cotillard.

Also: a user-created list of the best French films of the last 20 years and a much longer list of all time French films.

By: melizabeth

melizabeth — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:56:14 -0800

Amelie!!

By: Theiform

Theiform — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:20:44 -0800

Seconding A Christmas Tale. The director Arnaud Desplechin's earlier film Rois et Reine had awesome characters.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:42:55 -0800

36 Quai des Orfèvres is a great crime thriller, Dobermann is an insane crime thriller

Seconding Caché and 13 Tzameti (that's one of those films you want to know as little about as possible before seeing)

By: Mister Bijou

Mister Bijou — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:51:12 -0800

Erich Rohmer's Conte d'automne (Autumn Tale) (1998)
Patrice Leconte's La fille sur le pont (Girl on the Bridge) (1999)
Agnes Varda's Les glaneurs et la glaneuse (The Gleaner) (2000)
Jacques Audiard's Sur mes lèvres (Read my Lips) (2001)
Olivier Marchal's 36 Quai des Orfèvres (36th Precinct) (2004)
Olivier Assasyas's L'heure d'été (Summer Hours) (2008)
Dany Boon's Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (Welcome to the Sticks) (2009)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Micmacs à tire-larigot (Micmacs) (2009)
Jacques Audiard's Un prophète (A prophet) (2009)
Olivier Assasyas's Carlos (the life and times of Carlos the Jackal) (2010)
Rachid Bouchareb's Hors la loi (Outside the Law) (2010)
Christophe Barratier's La nouvelle guerre des boutons (War of the Buttons) (2011)

By: Right On Red

Right On Red — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:42:16 -0800

Sarah's Key

By: brianogilvie

brianogilvie — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 05:56:28 -0800

The two I've saw last fall in Paris are worthwhile: The Artist (yes, a lot of hype, but it was fun), and Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro.

Some earlier films I've enjoyed:

Just outside of your time frame is Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe, by Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou. It is about insect behavior.

10e chambre - Instants d'audience, by Raymond Depardon, a documentary about civil and misdemeanor cases before a judge in Paris.

Être et avoir, by Nicolas Philibert, a documentary about a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in the Auvergne. It was a surprise success at the box office. The teacher unsuccessfully sued the production company for a share of the profits.

If you like suspense, Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien, by Dominik Moll, is good.

L'Équipier, by Philippe Lioret, set on the island of Ouessant off the coast of Brittany.

And finally, since Étienne Chatiliez hasn't been mentioned yet: Tanguy, about a young man who refuses to leave home after finishing school; his increasingly desperate parents try all sorts of things to get him to go.

By: hnnrs

hnnrs — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 06:49:31 -0800

Seconding Les Adventures D'Adele Blanc-Sec. I've never really liked Luc Besson films, but it's wildly fun and indulgent in just the right way.

By: triggerfinger

triggerfinger — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 07:46:17 -0800

Seconding With a Friend Like Harry (Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien).

Also Fat Girl (A ma soeur! from above) is probably worth a watch. I don't remember it too well, but I do remember that it was pretty disturbing.

Every French movie I've seen has been good. They know how to do their movies.

By: mimi

mimi — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 08:31:16 -0800

Oh and I also liked Potiche. It's cute. Denevue is gorgeous as always and Depardieu, big as a mountain, has somehow still got it.

By: brianogilvie

brianogilvie — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:56:13 -0800

Oh, and for anyone who thinks the French can't make a bad movie: try Les Portes de la gloire, about a group of traveling encyclopedia salesmen (if you can find it). It's absolutely awful. I will never have those two hours of my life back.

By: furtive

furtive — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:15:38 -0800

Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2003) is an epic film, by the same director as Amélie and featuring the same star.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:30:53 -0800

L'ecole.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:31:10 -0800

Oh yeah, and def. nthing Catherine Breillat's stuff.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:32:12 -0800

And it's not for everything, but Eric Rohmer put out some stuff right before he died. I didn't love it as much as other work he's done--Love in the Afternoon is one of my favorite movies ever--but I still enjoyed it.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:33:38 -0800

And I've loved what Chantal Akerman I've seen, but can't personally vouch for anything she's made more recently, but she has done stuff.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:35:54 -0800

Realizing L'ecole doesn't give you much to work with search terms-wise...it was released in English as Innocence, and sadly was apparently marketed as gross lolibait in markets like Japan, but I loved it, and thought the bonus feature interview with the filmmaker sealed the deal and reassured me she was on the same (non-pedo!) page as me.

Haven't seen Gaspar Noe's newer stuff like Enter the Void, but it comes to mind to consider.

By: humph

humph — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:43:20 -0800

All my favourites have already been suggested so I'll suggest another Audrey Tatou film, À la folie... pas du tout (He loves me... he loves me not) (it's much darker than the poster would suggest).

For silly but very funny I'd recommend Le Placard/The Closet.

And here are two outside the 15 year limit in case you've not seen them:
- Romuald et Juliette (1989) - much of it is on YouTube.

- 37°2 le matin (Betty Blue)

By: MuffinMan

MuffinMan — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 11:26:36 -0800

Seconding brianogilvie: Être et avoir is fab. It is such a lovely, gentle film. It promises so little and gives so much.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 11:40:53 -0800

Intouchables is a great 2011 film about a tetraplegic aristocrat and the Senegalese young offender from the banlieues who becomes his assistant. It had the second best box office figures of all time in France (after Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis).

By: hydatius

hydatius — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:09:50 -0800

Nthing 36th Precinct and Caché (and La Haine too).

By: costanza

costanza — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:53:38 -0800

Monsieur Lazhar
C.R.A.Z.Y.
Ensemble, c'est tout
La Vie en Rose
Coco avant Chanel
La Grande Seduction

and a couple of silly comedies
De Pere en Flic
Bon Cop Bad Cop

By: JJ86

JJ86 — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:46:58 -0800

I just saw Farewell a few months ago. It was a good take on the cold war from a French perspective. Very well done, with Fred Ward playing Reagan.

If you are looking for one you may not like, try Film Socialisme by Godard. That film was interesting on some levels but also tedious and not much of a narrative film but it is Godard and he travels uncharted art-film territory like the artist that he is.

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:34:11 -0800

My favorite film director, Bertrand Tavernier, is still making great films. Some of his best of the last 15 years have been:
Holy Lola. Safe Conduct, It All Starts Today and Captain Conan.

In the Electric Mist was not especially French, and it was a bit problematic.
I haven't seen The Princess of Montpensier, but I'm sure it's amazing.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:24:55 -0800

And it's a little older than you want, but the Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White, Red) comes to mind.

By: BeBoth

BeBoth — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:21:32 -0800

La Femme Nikita is now 22 years old (!!!) but I feel it stands the test of time.

By: dracomarca

dracomarca — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:27:17 -0800

Un Prophete

La Vie En Rose

Paris, Je T'aime

Entre Les Murs

By: shakespeherian

shakespeherian — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:45:06 -0800

And it's a little older than you want, but the Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White, Red) comes to mind.

What defines the nationality of a film is up for discussion, but Kieślowski was Polish.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:53:13 -0800

true (and i always find that jarring now that i've seen the decalogue!), but it's in french, the stories' settings are in france, and the general overarching theme/symbolic schema of the trilogy is supposed to be the french flag and the french national principles of liberty, egality, and fraternity--granted, not in straight up political or overt ways at all (which is great and one of kieslowski's great strengths in all his work, i find, making things humane, not generalized/political/doctrinaire), but still, supposedly the springboard motif is as french as french can be.

By: Flashman

Flashman — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:41:53 -0800

What defines the nationality of a film is up for discussion, but Kieślowski was Polish.

It's surely a credit to the quality of Quebecois film-making that quite a few of the titles listed above are not French, but Canadien.

By: storybored

storybored — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:25:00 -0800

Seconding Sur Mes Levres, a tight suspense noir film. And Carlos which is a large tableau film, not just about terrorism but about a certain time in the 1970s...

By: severinseverin

severinseverin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:00:18 -0800

Check out Copie Conforme, where Abbas Kiarostami channels Juliette Binoche into something out of this world. Technically not 100% French, the texture is still quite European.