Amélie is the delightful story of a painfully shy
waitress working at a tiny Paris café who makes a surprising discovery
that changes her life forever, with a ripple effect that helps her to
help others in sometimes unexpected ways. (DVD In French with English
and Spanish subtitles, 122 minutes, Rated R.)
Argent de Poche (Small Change) is François Truffaut's tribute to the joys, yearnings, pains and wonders of childhood. In the quaint town of Thiers, children deal with issues as simple as puppy love and school and as complex as hunger and crime. When the truth behind one little boy's petty thievery is revealed, a shockwave is sent through this picturesque town that helps everyone to finally see the children for who they truly are. (DVD In French or Spanish with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 105 minutes, Rated PG.)
L'Auberge espagnole (The Spanish Apartment) A straight-laced French college senior moves to Barcelona as part of a student exchange program, much to the dismay of his beautiful girlfriend. But sharing cramped quarters with students from all over Europe quickly leads to multi-cultural chaos as he gets a hilarious, eye-opening lesson on how to live, love, laugh ...... and party! (DVD or Video in French with English subtitles [DVD also has Spanish subtitles], 122 minutes, Rated R.)
Au revoir les enfants (Good-bye, Children) This outstanding and touching movie tells the heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss between two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie -- until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Louis Malle's own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening. (DVD in French with English subtitles. Rated PG; 101 minutes.)
The Barbarian Invasions 2003 Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Barbarian Invasions is a provocative look at the many ties that bind a group of friends and lovers! It's not easy for a narrow-minded professor to reconcile with his equally stubborn son. But soon, father and son find themselves gathering with their wide and colorful circle of family and friends to confront their differences, confess their secrets, and celebrate life! (DVD in French with English subtitles. Rated R; 99 minutes.)
The Beat that My Heart Skipped is a haunting thriller that fuses two unlikely worlds to create a stunning portrait of a young gangster. Tom is a 28 year-old who seems destined to follow in his father's footsteps as a Parisian property shark working in a sleazy and brutal world. However, a chance encounter with his late mother's music agent leads him to believe that he can become, like his mother, a concert pianist. He prepares for the audition with the help of a lovely young virtuoso from China. But the pressures from the ugly world of his day job soon become more than he can handle. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 107 minutes, not rated.)
La Belle et la Bête, Cocteau's classic live version of "Beauty and the Beast" recognized for its breathtaking imagery which draws viewers into the enchanted realm of the magnificent beast and the gentle beauty who discovers the sensitive soul beneath his monstrous exterior. (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles, black & white, 93 minutes, Not Rated.)
La Belle et la Bête, Disney's animated version of "Beauty and the Beast," dubbed in French, is the timeless story of the power of love to overcome evil. (Video in French with no subtitles, 90 minutes, Rated G.)
Bon Voyage is a romantic comedy about a motley group of Parisians who head south to escape the imminent German occupation. Among them is an under-cover Nazi spy who's intent on stealing a top-secret formula from a pretty physics student, who has her eye on a handsome murder suspect, who is hot on the trail of the real killer, a celebrated mistress of a spineless government minister. Upon arrival in Bordeaux, they all check into the glamorous Hotel Splendide, where they soon beome hopelessly entangled in a madcap misadventure filled with intrigue, mystery, romance and suspense. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 115 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
Caché Georges, who hosts a literary TV show, receives packages containing videos of himself with his family -- shot secretly from the street -- and gruesome drawings whose meaning is obscure. Gradually, the footage on the tapes becomes more personal, suggesting that the sender has known Georges for some time. Georges believes he knows who the culprit is, but refuses to let his wife in on the secret. Clearly, more is hidden here than the identity of their stalker. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 118 minutes, Not Rated.)
Camille Claudel is the true story of creative prodigy Camille Claudel and legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin ... and their passionate obsession with art. Both an inspiring saga of artistic vision and the haunting portrayal of a doomed romance, this is a historically accurate depiction of one of the most important collaborations in the history of modern art. (DVD In French with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 159 minutes, Rated R.)
La Chèvre is a slapstick comedy in which a private eye is grudgingly teamed with an accident-prone accountant in hopes that the bumbling accountant will lead him to find the missing daughter of a French tycoon. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 91 minutes, Not Rated)
Chocolat depicts a family's struggle during the final years of French colonialism in Africa, taking a profound look at the intricate nature of relationships in a racist society. (DVD In French with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 106 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
Chocolat. The arrival of Vianne and her daughter Anouk in a small old-fashioned rural French town creates quite a stir. When she opens her unusual chocolaterie across the street from the church on the first day of Lent, she makes an instant enemy of the town's mayor and leading citizenry. When she further befriends the outcast and downtrodden, the townspeople must take sides, and Vianne finds herself in situations beyond her control. (DVD in English. 122 minutes; Rated PG-13.)
Les choristes. On 15 January 1949, the former music teacher Clément Mathieu arrives in Fond de l'Etang, a boarding school for orphans and problematic boys, to work as an inspector. The place is administrated with iron fist by the cruel director Rachin, and most of the boys have severe punishments for their faults. Clément decides to teach the boys to sing in a choir in their spare time, and identify the musical potential of the rebel Pierre Morhange, the son of a beautiful single mother for whom he feels a crush. He also has a special feeling for the young Pépinot, a boy that expects the visit of his father every Saturday near the gate, but indeed lost his parents in the war. With his methods, Clément changes the lives of the boys, of the other employees and his own. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 96 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
Un Coeur en Hiver (A Heart in Winter) is a moving portrait of love and loss. A man and a woman are locked in a slow, sensual game of seduction that threatens to destroy them both. (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated)
Comedy of Innocence is part ghost story and part psychotic case study. Shortly after his 9th birthday, Camille tells his mother Ariane that he is really Paul, and he would like to return to his "real" mother, Isabella, who lives on the other side of town. Alarmed at first, but willing to humor him, Ariane takes him there and is startled to find out that he knows Isabella's apartment intimately. It turns out that Isabella's own son drowned two years earlier ... is Camille the reincarnation of her dead son? (DVD In French with English subtitles, 98 minutes, Not Rated.)
Les Compères. An infectious comedy! When her 16-year-old son runs away from their Paris home, Christine sidesteps her husband and separately convinces two former lovers that they are each the boy's father. Duped into a sense of responsibility for a son they never knew, each man follows the boy's trail to Nice. After they find Tristan, the two men search for themselves in the boy while packing a decade's worth of dubious parenting into a few manic days battling Riviera bikers, casino racketeers and, most often, each other. (DVD in French with English subtitles. Not Rated; 88 minutes.)
Conseil de famille is an ironic comedy about a family of burglars done in by its own double standards of morality. (Video in French with English subtitles, 111 minutes, Not Rated)
Côte d'Azur. For summer vacation, Marc (Gilbert Melki) and Béatrix (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) take their two kids to the seaside house of Marc's youth, where their daughter takes up with a biker and their sons roams the beach with his best friend, who is in love with him. Things get steamier when Béatrix's lover Mathieu shows up, and Marc's old flame appears. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 93 minutes, Not Rated.)
The Count of Monte Cristo is a tale of betrayal, adventure and revenge. When Edmond Dantes is betrayed by his best friend and wrongly imprisoned, he is consumed by thoughts of revenge. After a miraculous escape, Dantes transforms himself and insinuates himself into the French nobility to exact his revenge. (DVD in English, 131 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
Cyrano de Bergerac. The famous adaptation of Rostand's play set in 17th-century Paris. Cyrano is a long-nosed poet, philosopher, and buffoon. He loves the Lady Roxanne, but his insecurities will not allow him to show his love for her, so he writes beautiful love letters from the heart to enable his friend to win her. (Video in English, 112 minutes; Not rated, but would be PG.)
Delicatessen is a blend of dark humor and satire set in a post-apocalyptic world where food is so scarce that the residents of an apartment house have taken to hiring handymen, killing them and supplying the bodies to the landlord, a butcher, for "processing." Complications arise when the butcher's daughter falls for the latest hapless arrival. (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles. 95 minutes; No Rating.)
Le Dernier Métro (The Last Metro) is Truffaut's poignant film about Jewish director Lucas Steiner, who is forced to hide in the basement of his theater during the Nazi occupation while his wife stars in its latest production. Romantic tensions mount when she and her leading man begin to fall in love. At the same time, a pro-Nazi theater critic ensconces himself in the theater causing stress to the entire cast. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 131 minutes, Rated PG.)
The Dinner Game is an outstanding comedy in which poetic justice reigns supreme. The premise of the movie centers around a twisted game in which elite Frenchmen compete to invite the most idiotic people they can possibly find to a weekly dinner party. This film is a mixture of cultural and situational comedy. The humor is definitely French, and will probably appeal more to people who've spent some time dealing with the stereotypes portrayed in this movie (intellectual elitists / tax collectors / bureaucrats). (DVD in French with English subtitles, 87 minutes)
Dirty Pretty Things is a harrowing tale of struggle and survival for two immigrants who learn that everything is for sale in London's secret underworld! Part of an invisible working class, Nigerian exile Okwe and Turkish chambermaid Senay toil at a west London hotel that is full of illegal activity. Then, late one night, Okwe makes a shocking discovery which creates an impossible dilemma and tests the limits of all they know. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Rated R.)
Le Divorce is the story of two American sisters in Paris. The day Isabel Walker comes to visit her pregnant sister Roxy is the day Roxy's French husband leaves her. The divorce proceedings end up centering around a painting, long owned by the Walkers, that the husband's family would like to claim--but their maneuverings are complicated when Isabel begins an affair with a diplomat who just happens to be Roxy's uncle-in-law. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 115 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
East/West. This film follows the plight of a young couple and their child as they choose to go back to the Soviet Union in 1946. The young Russian doctor, his beautiful French bride and their son return to Russia when Stalin takes over after the war. The doctor feels that his talents are appreciated in post-war Soviet Union, but the wife feels the need to rebel against the circumstances and must make a decision about leaving her family behind to regain freedom. (Video in French and Russian with English subtitles. 125 minutes; Rated PG-13.)
La Fête de Babette. Babette is a master French chef working inexplicably in a remote village of Denmark as a servant and cook for two spinsters who don't understand or appreciate her culinary talents. When Babette wins 10.000 francs, she decides to spend her winnings preparing a glorious French feast for the entire village! The film shows an incredible insight into French cuisine. (Video in Danish and French with English subtitles. 109 minutes; No Rating.)
Five by Two (5x2) is a haunting and realistic evocatioon of the evanescence of love and how adult relationships evolve over time. This drama is an anatomy of a failed marriage told in reverse chronology, starting with the finalization of the couples' divorce and concluding, literally, as they walk off into the sunset for their first encounter. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 90 minutes, Rated R.)
The Flower of Evil tells the story of a seemingly perfect family whose distinguished façade starts to crack when the wife ventures into local politics and the prodigal son returns from overseas. On the eve of the local election, a corpse appears, and the long dormant seeds of a past family crime begin to bloom. It's not long before three generations of scandal explode, burying the family under the weight of mysterious deaths, incest and patricide. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 101 minutes, Rated R for brief language.)
Germinal tells the story of a miner's strike which destroys one family, yet plants the seeds of change for future generations. (Two Videos in French with English and Spanish subtitles, Part One: 87 minutes, Part Two: 77 minutes, Total: 164 minutes, Rated R.)
Happenstance is a charming and clever story about the "what ifs" of life and love. What if ... everything happened for a reason? What if ... love came knocking at your door? What if ... the slightest twist of fate changed your life? A coincidental romance about six complete strangers affected by chance encounters during the course of one event-filled day. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Rated R for one scene of nudity.)
He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not This romantic thriller about love and obsession starts with a single rose, which Angelique (Audrey Tautou) has delivered to her handsome lover, Loic (Samuel LeBihan). Deeply in love and on the brink of success in her career as an artist, Angelique's bliss conveys a woman who has it all. But through a startling series of events, her enchanted life -- and our understanding of it -- begins to unravel in front of our eyes. Is Loic the object of her desire or only a delusion? (DVD in French with English subtitles, 96 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
The Horseman on the Roof. Angelo is an exceptionally gallant, Italian soldier-in-exile hiding out from his Austrian enemies in rural France, where a cholera epidemic is sweeping the countryside. Helped in a tough spot by a countess, Angelo swears his unyielding protection to her as she searches for her missing husband. The nobler virtues hold sway as Martinez suppresses his own deepening love and desire for the lady, an admirable posture that has ironic consequences when the countess herself becomes deathly ill. Filmed on location in southern France in Aix-en-Provence, Forcalquier, Manosque, Relais Saint-Pons, and Tarascon. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 119 minutes.)
The Housekeeper. Set in Paris and the majestic beaches of Normandy, this comedy follows Jacques, a forlorn bachelor living alone after his wife left him. Deciding to get his life back in order, he hires a housekeeper, Laura, to plow through the mess that's overtaken his apartment. He soon learns that she's never done a day of housework in her life, but her presence adds a joyful spark to his life that he's been missing for too long. (DVD In French with English subtitles; 86 minutes, Rated R for some sexuality, nudity, and brief language.)
Indochine (Indochina). This Oscar-winning movie (Best Foreign Film, 1992) takes place in French Indochina --Vietnam-- during the end of the French colonial days. Catherine Deneuve portrays a seemingly-repressed owner of a prosperous rubber plantation whose steely exterior masks a torrid love affair with a young man of a lower social class. But when her adopted Indochinese daughter innocently falls in love with the same man, the lovers' triangle threatens to destroy the entire family. The photography and scenes of Vietnam are beautiful, but the story depicts the passionate love story against the historically-accurate background of violence that led to the bloody Communist uprising. (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles. 156 minutes; Rated PG-13.)
Je suis vivante et je vous aime. In occupied France, a young woman is shoved into a car by Germans, then loaded into a boxcar. At the Bussières station, a railway worker, Julien, hears voices inside one of the sealed boxcars of the stopped train. A note slips through a crack. "I'm alive and I love you. Sarah." Julien visits the address on the note and finds a family of Hungarian Jews: two grandparents, and Sarah's young son Thibault. Julien offers to help with forged papers. They give him Sarah's diary for safekeeping. Later, when he returns, he finds the house ransacked, the grandparents gone. Julien takes Thibault home. His girlfriend Lucie senses something is wrong, and she's right. Julien has fallen for the personality he finds in Sarah's diary. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 92 minutes)
Jean de Florette. Set in Provence, this is the story of Jean, a city dweller who has inherited his mother's farm. He leaves the city and hopes to live a peaceful life in the countryside, but greedy neighbors want his land, and will do anything to get it. (Video in French with English subtitles. 121 minutes; Rated PG.)
Une Liaison d'Amour. A thoughtful adult romance about two people who share a completely impersonal sexual fantasy, not even wanting to know each other's name. It was the perfect relationship-- until they fell in love. (Video in French with English subtitles. 78 minutes; Not Rated, but would be R.)
Les Liasons Dangereuses. A classic tale of seduction, betrayal and revenge set in the world of 1960s Parisian high society. (DVD and Video In French with English substitles, 200 minutes, Not Rated.)
Life is a Dream. Loosely based on the classic play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, this is a baroque mix of revolutionary politics, pop culture and semiotics features a Chilean revolutionary using Calderón's play as a mnemonic device. (Video in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated.)
The Lover is the story of a poor French teenager who engages in an illicit affair with a wealthy Chinese heir in 1920s Saigon. For the first time in her young life she has control, and she wields it deftly over her besotted lover throughout a series of clandestine meetings and torrid encounters. But though the lovers are able to transcend their differences in age, race, and class . . . theirs is a future that French colonial Vietnamese society will never allow. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 115 minutes, Not Rated.)
Lust for Life. Kirk Douglas plays the role of the tormented artist, Vincent Van Gogh. The film explores Van Gogh's troubled relationships with his brother Theo, and artist Paul Gauguin, and the excitement of 19th-century Paris when the Impressionist movement was born. (Video in English. 123 minutes; Not Rated.)
Man on the Train. A mysterious stranger, Milan, is the lone passenger disembarking from a train in a sleepy French village. Milan, a criminal intent on knocking over the local bank, is befriended by Manesquier, a retired poetry teacher. Through their unexpected friendship, both men realize that they have been given the opportunity to reflect on their lives -- complete with dashed hopes and unfulfilled dreams. At the same time, both are given the momentary chance to explore the road not taken. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 90 minutes; Rated R for some language and brief violence.)
Manon of the Spring. In this sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon learns how she and her father was cheated out of their land, and she seeks revenge against her greedy neighbors. (Video in French with English subtitles. 113 minutes; Rated PG.)
Mon Oncle. A chain of brilliantly inventive sight and sound gags, Mon Oncle follows the gangly-legged Monsieur Hulot from the quaint squalor of this boarding house to the antiseptic home of his gadget-obsessed sister. The film follows Hulot's escapades as he wrestles valiantly with an automated - almost dictatorial - modern kitchen and his very different friends and family. A classic comic vision of 20th-century technology. (Video in French with English subtitles. 110 minutes; Not Rated.)
My Father's Glory is based on the memoirs of French novelist/film-maker Marcel Pagnol recalling his life in turn-of-the-century south of France and the unforgettable summer holiday when he comes to understand and respect his father. (DVD In French with English, French, and Spanish subtitles, 110 minutes, Rated G.)
My Mother's Castle is the sequel to My Father's Glory in which Marcel Pagnol continues his childhood memories of living in southern France. (DVD In French with English, French, and Spanish subtitles, 99 minutes, Rated PG.)
The Necklace (dubbed into French), from a story by Guy de Maupassant, has been made into a short film about a borrowed necklace, a grand ball, and tragedy. The necklace is lost and, to replace it, a couple are forced to mortgage ten years of their life ...... and condemn themselves to early aging ...... all for a diamond necklace. ("The Necklace" is one of two short films on this VHS video. Together with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," the video is 40 minutes in length. The Poe film does not qualify for credit for your French class.)
Not on the Lips (Pas sur la bouche). A frothy 1925 operetta, performed by a glittering cast, Not on the Lips is a musical farce that follows a wife trying to keep her husband from learning that she was actually married once before--to an American who is about to become hubby's business partner. Awkward. Audrey Tautou, in a distinctly supporting role, navigates the trickery of flirtation as she tries to attract lounge lizard-y Jalil Lespert. Lambert Wilson stands out as the tall, cigar-smoking American businessman, who disdains the un-hygenic dangers of kissing on the lips. Wilson's delivery of English phrases and his American-accented French is spot-on; you can hear the joke even if you don't speak French. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 117 minutes; Not Rated.)
Notre Dame de Paris. A musical concert version of Victor Hugo's classic story of love and acceptance. This is the story of the gypsy girl, Esmeralda, and of the three men who love her: the hunchback Quasimodo, the Captain of the Guard Phoebus, and the priest Frollo. The poet, Gringoire, narrates the tragic tale. Music by Richard Cocciante; lyrics by Luc Plamandon. (Video in French with English subtitles. 2-1/2 hours; Rated PG-13.)
Notre Musique. Part poetry, part journalism, part philosophy, master film-maker Jean-Luc Godard's Notre Musique is a witty and lyrical reflection on war through the ages. The film is structured into three Dantean Kingdoms: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The journey begins in Hell, represented by modern war, and then moves to Purgatory, set in Sarajevo. Finally, Paradise is conceived as a small beach guarded by Marines from the United States. At the same time, the film also follows the parallel stories of two Israeli Jewish women, one drawn to the light and one drawn towards darkness. (DVD in French and other languages with English subtitles; 80 minutes; Not Rated.)
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). Filmed in the 1960s in France, this is a unique and interesting movie: all of the dialog is sung. It's a great way to improve comprehension; the pronunciation is very clear and well-articulated. You may recognize some of the songs which later became popular hits in English. (Video in French with English subtitles. 90 minutes; No Rating.) Two copies of this video are available.
Le Placard (The Closet). An engaging comedy about a lonely accountant in a condom factory who hears rumors that he is about to be fired. Then another rumor spreads, that he is "in the closet," and surprisingly changes his life for the better. (Video in French with English subtitles. 85 minutes; Rated R.)
Ponette is the story of a child sent to live with her relatives where she experiences the hopes, dreams and fears following the death of a parent. Ultimately, it is her faith, love and strength of character that enable Ponette to triumphantly overcome her tragedy. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 92 minutes, Not Rated)
Sade. It is the year 1794, and the Reign of Terror has entered its bloodiest phase. Deemed immoral and unworthy of society, the Marquis de Sade faces execution by Robespierre's regime, but finds temporary respite at a sanitarium for aristocrats awaiting the guillotine. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated.)
School of Flesh. An erotically-charged, critically-acclaimed tale of an intense love affair complicated by money, secrets and betrayals. (DVD, French language track/English subtitles, 102 minutes, Rated R for nudity and explicit sexual content.)
Sugar Cane Alley. This story, set in 1930s Martinique, is both lyrical and powerful. Writer-director Euzhan Palcy tells the story of a young boy who is orphaned at the age of 11 and sent to live with his grandmother, who works on one of the island's sugar cane plantations. She realizes he has no future if he stays on the plantation. So she does what she can to keep him in school and away from the back-breaking labor to which she's devoted her life. Can he rise above his humble beginnings? (DVD, French with English subtitles, 107 minutes, Not Rated.)
A Tale of Winter is a delightful romantic comedy about the triumph of lover over the longest odds, with missed opportunities and lucky rediscoveries. (Video in French with English subtitles, 114 minutes, Not Rated.)
The Taste of Others. A sexy comedy about good taste ... and bad manners! The lives and loves of several completely opposite men and women artfully intersect in what becomes a delightfully funny web of romantic entanglements. (Video in French with English subtitles. 112 minutes, Rated R for language and drug content.) Two copies of this video are available.
Three Colors Trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski:
Bleu (Blue). Juliette Binoche stars as a young woman left devastated by the unexpected death of her husband and child. She retreats from the world around her, but is soon reluctantly drawn into an ever-widening web of lies and passion as the dark secret of her husband's life begins to unravel. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 98 minutes, Rated R)
Blanc (White). Starring Julie Delpy, White is the mysterious tale of a man whose life disintegrates when his wife of six months deserts him. Forced to begin anew, he rebuilds his life, only to plan a dangerous scheme of vengeance against her. (DVD In French and Polish with English subtitles, 92 minutes, Rated R)
Rouge (Red). Red stars Irène Jacob as a young model whose chance meeting with an unusual stranger leads her down a path of intrigue and secrecy. As her knowledge of the man deepens, she discovers an astonishing link between his past ... and her destiny. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 99 minutes, Rated R)
Time Regained tells the story of the life of Marcel Proust, intermingled with the stories of his literary characters, until reality and fiction become intertwined. (Video in French with English subtitles. Not Rated; 158 minutes.)
Va Savoir (Who Knows?). A comedy about the romantic misadventures of a theatre director and his leading lady, whose already-complicated relationship becomes even more difficult when they become entangled in the lives of four other people. (Video in French with English subtitles. 154 minutes; Rated PG-13.) Les Vacances de M. Hulot (M. Hulot�s Holiday). Pipe-smoking Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati's endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati's wildly funny satire of vacationers determined to enjoy themselves includes a series of precisely choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats and firecrackers. This is a superior work that ranks among all-time classic comedies. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 87 minutes.)
Les Visiteurs (The Visitors). A hilarious time-travel comedy about a medieval knight and his faithful servant who find themselves zapped to the present day. In their quest to return to their own time, they launch an assault on their former castle, now a luxury hotel! (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles. 107 minutes; Rated R.)
With a Friend Like Harry. A suspenseful psychological thriller about a couple on vacation who meet up with a man who claims to have known the husband in high school. In a series of unexpected twists, the man's motives become suspect and the trip becomes more and more dangerous. (Video in French with English subtitles. 116 minutes, Rated R for language, some violence, and a scene of nudity.)
The Widow of Saint-Pierre. A story of revenge, fear, and redemption. A convict on the isolated island of Saint-Pierre becomes a political pawn while awaiting the arrival of a guillotine and an executioner from France. (Video in French with English subtitles. 108 minutes; Rated R.)
Women. Five international stars of the cinema portray professionally and emotionally intense women whose secrets, fears and desires are woven into their close web of friendship. Never simple, and always intriguing, these women's lives are filled with confrontation, love and loss. In the end they form a kind of safety net for each other, where emotional maturity and honesty become the fabric of their collective lives. (Video in French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Not Rated)
FRENCH MOVIES
Keep in mind also that these are foreign films. Content of a violent or sexual nature may be different from American films with which you are familiar.
Argent de Poche (Small Change) is François Truffaut's tribute to the joys, yearnings, pains and wonders of childhood. In the quaint town of Thiers, children deal with issues as simple as puppy love and school and as complex as hunger and crime. When the truth behind one little boy's petty thievery is revealed, a shockwave is sent through this picturesque town that helps everyone to finally see the children for who they truly are. (DVD In French or Spanish with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 105 minutes, Rated PG.)
L'Auberge espagnole (The Spanish Apartment) A straight-laced French college senior moves to Barcelona as part of a student exchange program, much to the dismay of his beautiful girlfriend. But sharing cramped quarters with students from all over Europe quickly leads to multi-cultural chaos as he gets a hilarious, eye-opening lesson on how to live, love, laugh ...... and party! (DVD or Video in French with English subtitles [DVD also has Spanish subtitles], 122 minutes, Rated R.)
Au revoir les enfants (Good-bye, Children) This outstanding and touching movie tells the heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss between two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie -- until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Louis Malle's own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening. (DVD in French with English subtitles. Rated PG; 101 minutes.)
The Barbarian Invasions 2003 Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Barbarian Invasions is a provocative look at the many ties that bind a group of friends and lovers! It's not easy for a narrow-minded professor to reconcile with his equally stubborn son. But soon, father and son find themselves gathering with their wide and colorful circle of family and friends to confront their differences, confess their secrets, and celebrate life! (DVD in French with English subtitles. Rated R; 99 minutes.)
The Beat that My Heart Skipped is a haunting thriller that fuses two unlikely worlds to create a stunning portrait of a young gangster. Tom is a 28 year-old who seems destined to follow in his father's footsteps as a Parisian property shark working in a sleazy and brutal world. However, a chance encounter with his late mother's music agent leads him to believe that he can become, like his mother, a concert pianist. He prepares for the audition with the help of a lovely young virtuoso from China. But the pressures from the ugly world of his day job soon become more than he can handle. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 107 minutes, not rated.)
La Belle et la Bête, Cocteau's classic live version of "Beauty and the Beast" recognized for its breathtaking imagery which draws viewers into the enchanted realm of the magnificent beast and the gentle beauty who discovers the sensitive soul beneath his monstrous exterior. (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles, black & white, 93 minutes, Not Rated.)
La Belle et la Bête, Disney's animated version of "Beauty and the Beast," dubbed in French, is the timeless story of the power of love to overcome evil. (Video in French with no subtitles, 90 minutes, Rated G.)
Bon Voyage is a romantic comedy about a motley group of Parisians who head south to escape the imminent German occupation. Among them is an under-cover Nazi spy who's intent on stealing a top-secret formula from a pretty physics student, who has her eye on a handsome murder suspect, who is hot on the trail of the real killer, a celebrated mistress of a spineless government minister. Upon arrival in Bordeaux, they all check into the glamorous Hotel Splendide, where they soon beome hopelessly entangled in a madcap misadventure filled with intrigue, mystery, romance and suspense. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 115 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
Caché Georges, who hosts a literary TV show, receives packages containing videos of himself with his family -- shot secretly from the street -- and gruesome drawings whose meaning is obscure. Gradually, the footage on the tapes becomes more personal, suggesting that the sender has known Georges for some time. Georges believes he knows who the culprit is, but refuses to let his wife in on the secret. Clearly, more is hidden here than the identity of their stalker. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 118 minutes, Not Rated.)
Camille Claudel is the true story of creative prodigy Camille Claudel and legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin ... and their passionate obsession with art. Both an inspiring saga of artistic vision and the haunting portrayal of a doomed romance, this is a historically accurate depiction of one of the most important collaborations in the history of modern art. (DVD In French with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 159 minutes, Rated R.)
La Chèvre is a slapstick comedy in which a private eye is grudgingly teamed with an accident-prone accountant in hopes that the bumbling accountant will lead him to find the missing daughter of a French tycoon. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 91 minutes, Not Rated)
Chocolat depicts a family's struggle during the final years of French colonialism in Africa, taking a profound look at the intricate nature of relationships in a racist society. (DVD In French with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 106 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
Chocolat. The arrival of Vianne and her daughter Anouk in a small old-fashioned rural French town creates quite a stir. When she opens her unusual chocolaterie across the street from the church on the first day of Lent, she makes an instant enemy of the town's mayor and leading citizenry. When she further befriends the outcast and downtrodden, the townspeople must take sides, and Vianne finds herself in situations beyond her control. (DVD in English. 122 minutes; Rated PG-13.)
Les choristes. On 15 January 1949, the former music teacher Clément Mathieu arrives in Fond de l'Etang, a boarding school for orphans and problematic boys, to work as an inspector. The place is administrated with iron fist by the cruel director Rachin, and most of the boys have severe punishments for their faults. Clément decides to teach the boys to sing in a choir in their spare time, and identify the musical potential of the rebel Pierre Morhange, the son of a beautiful single mother for whom he feels a crush. He also has a special feeling for the young Pépinot, a boy that expects the visit of his father every Saturday near the gate, but indeed lost his parents in the war. With his methods, Clément changes the lives of the boys, of the other employees and his own. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 96 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
Un Coeur en Hiver (A Heart in Winter) is a moving portrait of love and loss. A man and a woman are locked in a slow, sensual game of seduction that threatens to destroy them both. (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated)
Comedy of Innocence is part ghost story and part psychotic case study. Shortly after his 9th birthday, Camille tells his mother Ariane that he is really Paul, and he would like to return to his "real" mother, Isabella, who lives on the other side of town. Alarmed at first, but willing to humor him, Ariane takes him there and is startled to find out that he knows Isabella's apartment intimately. It turns out that Isabella's own son drowned two years earlier ... is Camille the reincarnation of her dead son? (DVD In French with English subtitles, 98 minutes, Not Rated.)
Les Compères. An infectious comedy! When her 16-year-old son runs away from their Paris home, Christine sidesteps her husband and separately convinces two former lovers that they are each the boy's father. Duped into a sense of responsibility for a son they never knew, each man follows the boy's trail to Nice. After they find Tristan, the two men search for themselves in the boy while packing a decade's worth of dubious parenting into a few manic days battling Riviera bikers, casino racketeers and, most often, each other. (DVD in French with English subtitles. Not Rated; 88 minutes.)
Conseil de famille is an ironic comedy about a family of burglars done in by its own double standards of morality. (Video in French with English subtitles, 111 minutes, Not Rated)
Côte d'Azur. For summer vacation, Marc (Gilbert Melki) and Béatrix (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) take their two kids to the seaside house of Marc's youth, where their daughter takes up with a biker and their sons roams the beach with his best friend, who is in love with him. Things get steamier when Béatrix's lover Mathieu shows up, and Marc's old flame appears. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 93 minutes, Not Rated.)
The Count of Monte Cristo is a tale of betrayal, adventure and revenge. When Edmond Dantes is betrayed by his best friend and wrongly imprisoned, he is consumed by thoughts of revenge. After a miraculous escape, Dantes transforms himself and insinuates himself into the French nobility to exact his revenge. (DVD in English, 131 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
Cyrano de Bergerac. The famous adaptation of Rostand's play set in 17th-century Paris. Cyrano is a long-nosed poet, philosopher, and buffoon. He loves the Lady Roxanne, but his insecurities will not allow him to show his love for her, so he writes beautiful love letters from the heart to enable his friend to win her. (Video in English, 112 minutes; Not rated, but would be PG.)
Delicatessen is a blend of dark humor and satire set in a post-apocalyptic world where food is so scarce that the residents of an apartment house have taken to hiring handymen, killing them and supplying the bodies to the landlord, a butcher, for "processing." Complications arise when the butcher's daughter falls for the latest hapless arrival. (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles. 95 minutes; No Rating.)
Le Dernier Métro (The Last Metro) is Truffaut's poignant film about Jewish director Lucas Steiner, who is forced to hide in the basement of his theater during the Nazi occupation while his wife stars in its latest production. Romantic tensions mount when she and her leading man begin to fall in love. At the same time, a pro-Nazi theater critic ensconces himself in the theater causing stress to the entire cast. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 131 minutes, Rated PG.)
The Dinner Game is an outstanding comedy in which poetic justice reigns supreme. The premise of the movie centers around a twisted game in which elite Frenchmen compete to invite the most idiotic people they can possibly find to a weekly dinner party. This film is a mixture of cultural and situational comedy. The humor is definitely French, and will probably appeal more to people who've spent some time dealing with the stereotypes portrayed in this movie (intellectual elitists / tax collectors / bureaucrats). (DVD in French with English subtitles, 87 minutes)
Dirty Pretty Things is a harrowing tale of struggle and survival for two immigrants who learn that everything is for sale in London's secret underworld! Part of an invisible working class, Nigerian exile Okwe and Turkish chambermaid Senay toil at a west London hotel that is full of illegal activity. Then, late one night, Okwe makes a shocking discovery which creates an impossible dilemma and tests the limits of all they know. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Rated R.)
Le Divorce is the story of two American sisters in Paris. The day Isabel Walker comes to visit her pregnant sister Roxy is the day Roxy's French husband leaves her. The divorce proceedings end up centering around a painting, long owned by the Walkers, that the husband's family would like to claim--but their maneuverings are complicated when Isabel begins an affair with a diplomat who just happens to be Roxy's uncle-in-law. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 115 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
East/West. This film follows the plight of a young couple and their child as they choose to go back to the Soviet Union in 1946. The young Russian doctor, his beautiful French bride and their son return to Russia when Stalin takes over after the war. The doctor feels that his talents are appreciated in post-war Soviet Union, but the wife feels the need to rebel against the circumstances and must make a decision about leaving her family behind to regain freedom. (Video in French and Russian with English subtitles. 125 minutes; Rated PG-13.)
La Fête de Babette. Babette is a master French chef working inexplicably in a remote village of Denmark as a servant and cook for two spinsters who don't understand or appreciate her culinary talents. When Babette wins 10.000 francs, she decides to spend her winnings preparing a glorious French feast for the entire village! The film shows an incredible insight into French cuisine. (Video in Danish and French with English subtitles. 109 minutes; No Rating.)
Five by Two (5x2) is a haunting and realistic evocatioon of the evanescence of love and how adult relationships evolve over time. This drama is an anatomy of a failed marriage told in reverse chronology, starting with the finalization of the couples' divorce and concluding, literally, as they walk off into the sunset for their first encounter. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 90 minutes, Rated R.)
The Flower of Evil tells the story of a seemingly perfect family whose distinguished façade starts to crack when the wife ventures into local politics and the prodigal son returns from overseas. On the eve of the local election, a corpse appears, and the long dormant seeds of a past family crime begin to bloom. It's not long before three generations of scandal explode, burying the family under the weight of mysterious deaths, incest and patricide. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 101 minutes, Rated R for brief language.)
Germinal tells the story of a miner's strike which destroys one family, yet plants the seeds of change for future generations. (Two Videos in French with English and Spanish subtitles, Part One: 87 minutes, Part Two: 77 minutes, Total: 164 minutes, Rated R.)
Happenstance is a charming and clever story about the "what ifs" of life and love. What if ... everything happened for a reason? What if ... love came knocking at your door? What if ... the slightest twist of fate changed your life? A coincidental romance about six complete strangers affected by chance encounters during the course of one event-filled day. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Rated R for one scene of nudity.)
He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not This romantic thriller about love and obsession starts with a single rose, which Angelique (Audrey Tautou) has delivered to her handsome lover, Loic (Samuel LeBihan). Deeply in love and on the brink of success in her career as an artist, Angelique's bliss conveys a woman who has it all. But through a startling series of events, her enchanted life -- and our understanding of it -- begins to unravel in front of our eyes. Is Loic the object of her desire or only a delusion? (DVD in French with English subtitles, 96 minutes, Rated PG-13.)
The Horseman on the Roof. Angelo is an exceptionally gallant, Italian soldier-in-exile hiding out from his Austrian enemies in rural France, where a cholera epidemic is sweeping the countryside. Helped in a tough spot by a countess, Angelo swears his unyielding protection to her as she searches for her missing husband. The nobler virtues hold sway as Martinez suppresses his own deepening love and desire for the lady, an admirable posture that has ironic consequences when the countess herself becomes deathly ill. Filmed on location in southern France in Aix-en-Provence, Forcalquier, Manosque, Relais Saint-Pons, and Tarascon. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 119 minutes.)
The Housekeeper. Set in Paris and the majestic beaches of Normandy, this comedy follows Jacques, a forlorn bachelor living alone after his wife left him. Deciding to get his life back in order, he hires a housekeeper, Laura, to plow through the mess that's overtaken his apartment. He soon learns that she's never done a day of housework in her life, but her presence adds a joyful spark to his life that he's been missing for too long. (DVD In French with English subtitles; 86 minutes, Rated R for some sexuality, nudity, and brief language.)
Indochine (Indochina). This Oscar-winning movie (Best Foreign Film, 1992) takes place in French Indochina --Vietnam-- during the end of the French colonial days. Catherine Deneuve portrays a seemingly-repressed owner of a prosperous rubber plantation whose steely exterior masks a torrid love affair with a young man of a lower social class. But when her adopted Indochinese daughter innocently falls in love with the same man, the lovers' triangle threatens to destroy the entire family. The photography and scenes of Vietnam are beautiful, but the story depicts the passionate love story against the historically-accurate background of violence that led to the bloody Communist uprising. (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles. 156 minutes; Rated PG-13.)
Je suis vivante et je vous aime. In occupied France, a young woman is shoved into a car by Germans, then loaded into a boxcar. At the Bussières station, a railway worker, Julien, hears voices inside one of the sealed boxcars of the stopped train. A note slips through a crack. "I'm alive and I love you. Sarah." Julien visits the address on the note and finds a family of Hungarian Jews: two grandparents, and Sarah's young son Thibault. Julien offers to help with forged papers. They give him Sarah's diary for safekeeping. Later, when he returns, he finds the house ransacked, the grandparents gone. Julien takes Thibault home. His girlfriend Lucie senses something is wrong, and she's right. Julien has fallen for the personality he finds in Sarah's diary. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 92 minutes)
Jean de Florette. Set in Provence, this is the story of Jean, a city dweller who has inherited his mother's farm. He leaves the city and hopes to live a peaceful life in the countryside, but greedy neighbors want his land, and will do anything to get it. (Video in French with English subtitles. 121 minutes; Rated PG.)
Une Liaison d'Amour. A thoughtful adult romance about two people who share a completely impersonal sexual fantasy, not even wanting to know each other's name. It was the perfect relationship-- until they fell in love. (Video in French with English subtitles. 78 minutes; Not Rated, but would be R.)
Les Liasons Dangereuses. A classic tale of seduction, betrayal and revenge set in the world of 1960s Parisian high society. (DVD and Video In French with English substitles, 200 minutes, Not Rated.)
Life is a Dream. Loosely based on the classic play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, this is a baroque mix of revolutionary politics, pop culture and semiotics features a Chilean revolutionary using Calderón's play as a mnemonic device. (Video in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated.)
The Lover is the story of a poor French teenager who engages in an illicit affair with a wealthy Chinese heir in 1920s Saigon. For the first time in her young life she has control, and she wields it deftly over her besotted lover throughout a series of clandestine meetings and torrid encounters. But though the lovers are able to transcend their differences in age, race, and class . . . theirs is a future that French colonial Vietnamese society will never allow. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 115 minutes, Not Rated.)
Lust for Life. Kirk Douglas plays the role of the tormented artist, Vincent Van Gogh. The film explores Van Gogh's troubled relationships with his brother Theo, and artist Paul Gauguin, and the excitement of 19th-century Paris when the Impressionist movement was born. (Video in English. 123 minutes; Not Rated.)
Man on the Train. A mysterious stranger, Milan, is the lone passenger disembarking from a train in a sleepy French village. Milan, a criminal intent on knocking over the local bank, is befriended by Manesquier, a retired poetry teacher. Through their unexpected friendship, both men realize that they have been given the opportunity to reflect on their lives -- complete with dashed hopes and unfulfilled dreams. At the same time, both are given the momentary chance to explore the road not taken. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 90 minutes; Rated R for some language and brief violence.)
Manon of the Spring. In this sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon learns how she and her father was cheated out of their land, and she seeks revenge against her greedy neighbors. (Video in French with English subtitles. 113 minutes; Rated PG.)
Mon Oncle. A chain of brilliantly inventive sight and sound gags, Mon Oncle follows the gangly-legged Monsieur Hulot from the quaint squalor of this boarding house to the antiseptic home of his gadget-obsessed sister. The film follows Hulot's escapades as he wrestles valiantly with an automated - almost dictatorial - modern kitchen and his very different friends and family. A classic comic vision of 20th-century technology. (Video in French with English subtitles. 110 minutes; Not Rated.)
My Father's Glory is based on the memoirs of French novelist/film-maker Marcel Pagnol recalling his life in turn-of-the-century south of France and the unforgettable summer holiday when he comes to understand and respect his father. (DVD In French with English, French, and Spanish subtitles, 110 minutes, Rated G.)
My Mother's Castle is the sequel to My Father's Glory in which Marcel Pagnol continues his childhood memories of living in southern France. (DVD In French with English, French, and Spanish subtitles, 99 minutes, Rated PG.)
The Necklace (dubbed into French), from a story by Guy de Maupassant, has been made into a short film about a borrowed necklace, a grand ball, and tragedy. The necklace is lost and, to replace it, a couple are forced to mortgage ten years of their life ...... and condemn themselves to early aging ...... all for a diamond necklace. ("The Necklace" is one of two short films on this VHS video. Together with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," the video is 40 minutes in length. The Poe film does not qualify for credit for your French class.)
Not on the Lips (Pas sur la bouche). A frothy 1925 operetta, performed by a glittering cast, Not on the Lips is a musical farce that follows a wife trying to keep her husband from learning that she was actually married once before--to an American who is about to become hubby's business partner. Awkward. Audrey Tautou, in a distinctly supporting role, navigates the trickery of flirtation as she tries to attract lounge lizard-y Jalil Lespert. Lambert Wilson stands out as the tall, cigar-smoking American businessman, who disdains the un-hygenic dangers of kissing on the lips. Wilson's delivery of English phrases and his American-accented French is spot-on; you can hear the joke even if you don't speak French. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 117 minutes; Not Rated.)
Notre Dame de Paris. A musical concert version of Victor Hugo's classic story of love and acceptance. This is the story of the gypsy girl, Esmeralda, and of the three men who love her: the hunchback Quasimodo, the Captain of the Guard Phoebus, and the priest Frollo. The poet, Gringoire, narrates the tragic tale. Music by Richard Cocciante; lyrics by Luc Plamandon. (Video in French with English subtitles. 2-1/2 hours; Rated PG-13.)
Notre Musique. Part poetry, part journalism, part philosophy, master film-maker Jean-Luc Godard's Notre Musique is a witty and lyrical reflection on war through the ages. The film is structured into three Dantean Kingdoms: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The journey begins in Hell, represented by modern war, and then moves to Purgatory, set in Sarajevo. Finally, Paradise is conceived as a small beach guarded by Marines from the United States. At the same time, the film also follows the parallel stories of two Israeli Jewish women, one drawn to the light and one drawn towards darkness. (DVD in French and other languages with English subtitles; 80 minutes; Not Rated.)
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). Filmed in the 1960s in France, this is a unique and interesting movie: all of the dialog is sung. It's a great way to improve comprehension; the pronunciation is very clear and well-articulated. You may recognize some of the songs which later became popular hits in English. (Video in French with English subtitles. 90 minutes; No Rating.) Two copies of this video are available.
Le Placard (The Closet). An engaging comedy about a lonely accountant in a condom factory who hears rumors that he is about to be fired. Then another rumor spreads, that he is "in the closet," and surprisingly changes his life for the better. (Video in French with English subtitles. 85 minutes; Rated R.)
Ponette is the story of a child sent to live with her relatives where she experiences the hopes, dreams and fears following the death of a parent. Ultimately, it is her faith, love and strength of character that enable Ponette to triumphantly overcome her tragedy. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 92 minutes, Not Rated)
Sade. It is the year 1794, and the Reign of Terror has entered its bloodiest phase. Deemed immoral and unworthy of society, the Marquis de Sade faces execution by Robespierre's regime, but finds temporary respite at a sanitarium for aristocrats awaiting the guillotine. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated.)
School of Flesh. An erotically-charged, critically-acclaimed tale of an intense love affair complicated by money, secrets and betrayals. (DVD, French language track/English subtitles, 102 minutes, Rated R for nudity and explicit sexual content.)
Sugar Cane Alley. This story, set in 1930s Martinique, is both lyrical and powerful. Writer-director Euzhan Palcy tells the story of a young boy who is orphaned at the age of 11 and sent to live with his grandmother, who works on one of the island's sugar cane plantations. She realizes he has no future if he stays on the plantation. So she does what she can to keep him in school and away from the back-breaking labor to which she's devoted her life. Can he rise above his humble beginnings? (DVD, French with English subtitles, 107 minutes, Not Rated.)
A Tale of Winter is a delightful romantic comedy about the triumph of lover over the longest odds, with missed opportunities and lucky rediscoveries. (Video in French with English subtitles, 114 minutes, Not Rated.)
The Taste of Others. A sexy comedy about good taste ... and bad manners! The lives and loves of several completely opposite men and women artfully intersect in what becomes a delightfully funny web of romantic entanglements. (Video in French with English subtitles. 112 minutes, Rated R for language and drug content.) Two copies of this video are available.
Three Colors Trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski:
Bleu (Blue). Juliette Binoche stars as a young woman left devastated by the unexpected death of her husband and child. She retreats from the world around her, but is soon reluctantly drawn into an ever-widening web of lies and passion as the dark secret of her husband's life begins to unravel. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 98 minutes, Rated R)
Blanc (White). Starring Julie Delpy, White is the mysterious tale of a man whose life disintegrates when his wife of six months deserts him. Forced to begin anew, he rebuilds his life, only to plan a dangerous scheme of vengeance against her. (DVD In French and Polish with English subtitles, 92 minutes, Rated R)
Rouge (Red). Red stars Irène Jacob as a young model whose chance meeting with an unusual stranger leads her down a path of intrigue and secrecy. As her knowledge of the man deepens, she discovers an astonishing link between his past ... and her destiny. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 99 minutes, Rated R)
Time Regained tells the story of the life of Marcel Proust, intermingled with the stories of his literary characters, until reality and fiction become intertwined. (Video in French with English subtitles. Not Rated; 158 minutes.)
Va Savoir (Who Knows?). A comedy about the romantic misadventures of a theatre director and his leading lady, whose already-complicated relationship becomes even more difficult when they become entangled in the lives of four other people. (Video in French with English subtitles. 154 minutes; Rated PG-13.) Les Vacances de M. Hulot (M. Hulot�s Holiday). Pipe-smoking Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati's endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati's wildly funny satire of vacationers determined to enjoy themselves includes a series of precisely choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats and firecrackers. This is a superior work that ranks among all-time classic comedies. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 87 minutes.)
Les Visiteurs (The Visitors). A hilarious time-travel comedy about a medieval knight and his faithful servant who find themselves zapped to the present day. In their quest to return to their own time, they launch an assault on their former castle, now a luxury hotel! (DVD and Video in French with English subtitles. 107 minutes; Rated R.)
With a Friend Like Harry. A suspenseful psychological thriller about a couple on vacation who meet up with a man who claims to have known the husband in high school. In a series of unexpected twists, the man's motives become suspect and the trip becomes more and more dangerous. (Video in French with English subtitles. 116 minutes, Rated R for language, some violence, and a scene of nudity.)
The Widow of Saint-Pierre. A story of revenge, fear, and redemption. A convict on the isolated island of Saint-Pierre becomes a political pawn while awaiting the arrival of a guillotine and an executioner from France. (Video in French with English subtitles. 108 minutes; Rated R.)
Women. Five international stars of the cinema portray professionally and emotionally intense women whose secrets, fears and desires are woven into their close web of friendship. Never simple, and always intriguing, these women's lives are filled with confrontation, love and loss. In the end they form a kind of safety net for each other, where emotional maturity and honesty become the fabric of their collective lives. (Video in French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Not Rated)
FRENCH MOVIES
THAT COULD BE VIEWED
AT HOME OR IN A MOVIE THEATER
Keep in mind also that these are foreign films. Content of a violent or sexual nature may be different from American films with which you are familiar.
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A Nous la Liberté Around Midnight (directed by Bertrand Tavernier) Beau Père (directed by Bertrand Blier) La Bête Humaine (directed by Jean Renoir) Bondé sauvé des eaux Buffet Froid (directed by Bertrand Blier) La Cage aux Folles Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie Cousin, Cousine Les Diaboliques La Femme Nikita (the original French film directed by Luc Besson, not the American TV series) Les Fugitifs Gazon Maudit Le Genou de Claire Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (directed by Bertrand Blier) Going Places (directed by Bertrand Blier) Le Grand Blond avec une Chaussure Noire |
The Grand Illusion (directed by Jean Renoir) Hiroshima, Mon Amour (directed by Alain Resnais) Un Indien dans la Ville Jules and Jim (directed by François Truffaut) My Dinner with André (directed by Louis Malle) My Man (directed by Bertrand Blier) La Nuit de Varenne Orpheus (directed by Jean Cocteau) Les Quattre Cents Coups Rendez-vous in Paris (directed by Eric Rohmer) La Retour de Martin Guerre Rules of the Game (directed by Jean Renoir) Shoot the Piano Player (directed by FrançoisTruffaut) Sunday in the Country (directed by Bertrand Tavernier) Too Beautiful For You (directed by Bertrand Blier) La Totale! Tous les Matins du Monde Trois Hommes et un Couffin Un Homme et un Femme |