Since I started trying to learn French intensively, I've been watching a lot of French language media on the basis that it has been helping my French comprehension skills a lot (Although I'm still not that great when people talk fast) - especially TV on DVD and online.
But I'd love to find some new movies to watch, so if anyone has any ideas...
I've probably got some of the French films which are most well known in the Anglophone world: 'La Môme/La Vie En Rose', 'Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelié Poulain', 'Cyrano de Bergerac', 'Indochine'.
I'd love to branch out a bit, but I'd prefer movies that weren't too explicit if possible, as I'd like to be able to watch them in polite company! Comedy, action, sci-fi (is there such a thing as a French sci-fi movie?) would all be very much appreciated.
[ March 31, 2008, 03:17 PM: Message edited by: Bella Bee ]
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I can't remember the French title, but I really like the movie "The Dinner Game." It's a comedy.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Anything with Gerard Depardieu. Links from his filmography should give hint about whether you'd be interested in a particular film.
Posted by Risuena (Member # 2924) on :
I enjoy The Horseman on the Roof - it's an epic set during a cholera epidemic in the 19th century with Juliette Binoche and Olivier Martinez.
I also liked With a Friend Like Harry, which is an homage to Hitchcock and can be pretty creepy.
There have been some other French films I've enjoyed, but I can't remember their titles right now.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
Amelie? Red, White, Blue? City of Lost Children?
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
Les Choristes is a) really cute and b) a movie that stars mostly children, so the conversation isn't terribly complex.
And I love it. Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Le huitieme jour.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I enjoyed the movie and as an added bonus it stars the Chairman himself, Mark Dacascos, in all his martial artsy glory.
Allez Cuisine!
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
You can also get movies that are filmed in English (or a third language) but have French audio and/or caption tracks on the DVD. I frequently watch anime this way, since for some reason French dubs often seem to be of higher quality than English ones (perhaps just because I'm not as capable of discerning nuance in French.)
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
I'd recommend the animated move the Triplets of Belleville, the french name is probably just Triplettes de Belleville or some such, with the warning that it's really, really weird, and there's no dialouge I don't think, but it's kind of funny, and the music is really good.
I also liked a movie I can't remember the name of, but I'll go look it up later. It's about four French Algerian soldiers fighting for France during World War II.
Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
Is it "dobbie" or "dobie"? I've seen it both ways, and it's frustrating that we can't spell our own made-up words consistently.
Posted by divaesefani (Member # 3763) on :
quote:Originally posted by SenojRetep: Some of my favorite French films are:
I second these two films. I loved them.
Posted by xnera (Member # 187) on :
quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: Is it "dobbie" or "dobie"? I've seen it both ways, and it's frustrating that we can't spell our own made-up words consistently.
Dobie, and it's not a made up word--it's the name of a former member who started the tradition (and, IMO, was the best at it).
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
We had to watch the movie Au revoir les enfants in my French class last year. It was a pretty decent film. And they definitely speak French.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Dramas are the best. The actors tend to pause and speak more slowly, because it's, y'know, more dramatic that way. ("Claude -- je n'aime pas toi!" "Oh, ma cherie, non! Non! Mon coeur -- c'est fricassee!")
[ March 30, 2008, 11:29 PM: Message edited by: plaid ]
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Try some Luis Bunuel movies. He's made some great films. I enjoyed La Voie lactée/ The Milky Way but it's anti-Christian.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
400 Blows is a very good movie. Ma Vie en Rose, which is the story of a boy who wants to be a girl. Why it got an R rating is beyond me.It really isn't that bad a movie in terms of cussing and stuff. I'll think of more later. I forgot most of the movies I watched in French Movie Class.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
quote:'La Môme/La Vie En Rose', 'Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelié Poulain', 'Cyrano de Bergerac', 'Indochine'.
I've lived in France for quite a while and haven't seen any of those... Oops. I do want to see 'La Môme' and 'Amélie', don't know about the others.
As for suggestions: - Un long dimanche de fiançailles with Audrey Tautou from 'Amélie', Marion Cotillard from 'La Môme' in a smaller role, and even Jodie Foster (small role too). About a girl whose fiancé leaves for war and disappears during the fights - Hors de prix with Tautou and Gad Elmaleh (a very good comedian), about a woman who makes a profession out of going out with rich guys, and a not so rich guy who falls for her. - Jeux d'enfants, quite a cynical comedy/drama... With Cotillard and Guillaume Canet (don't know much about him), who as children start a game that never seems to get old... - the Taxi comedy series (four movies, I only saw the first three). About a "simple" taxi guy whose car is a bit more costumized than you'd expect. Light comedy. - Il y a longtemps que je t'aime about a 40-something woman who's getting out of prison (after 15 years) and trying to adjust to living her life again. Just out here in the cinemas, you'll have to wait a bit to see it. With Kristin Scott Thomas. - Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, a recent comedy set in the North of France (usually it's "comedies in the sunny South, dramas in the rainy North". I've yet to see it but everyone who did said it's well worth it. - La fille sur le pont with Vanessa Paradis and Daniel Auteuil, about a girl who's about to kill herself, and a knife thrower (performer, not killer ) who needs a target. Filmed in black and white. Very moving story. - Ronin, a very good English/French action movie with Robert De Niro & Jean Reno. - Tais-toi!, excellent comedy with Jean Reno & Gérard Depardieu. - Nikita, the spy movie that sparked the Canadian series with the same name. - Le Grand Bleu, a French/English/Italian story of two divers who don't really compete for the same thing... Some explicit sex scenes. With Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno and Rosanna Arquette.
[ March 31, 2008, 04:57 AM: Message edited by: Corwin ]
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Good list, Corwin.
I liked La fille sur le pont, Nikita and Ronin. Your others I haven't seen except for Le Grand Bleu--I thought it was so-so.
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
"Trois couleurs: Bleu", and also "Betty Bleu".
Nikita is good too - especially if you've seen the Hollywood version, which was not half as good.
"Delicatessen" is also great.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
When I saw Nikita, the series, I was an adolescent. You can't be an adolescent male and not like it.
Also, Morbo, try having a brother obsessed with water, underwater swimming, etc. and then you'll see "Le Grand Bleu" in a different light. Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: Is it "dobbie" or "dobie"? I've seen it both ways, and it's frustrating that we can't spell our own made-up words consistently.
Both spellings are accepted. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
No. "Dobie" is correct. "Dobbie" is only "accepted" by people with low standards.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Merci beaucoup! What a wonderful (and huge) variety of films. Most of them look like just what I'm looking for, especially the comedies and light dramas. I have watched the dubbed French tracks on English movies sometimes, but it's a bit weird because you have to avoid looking at the actor's lips... It'll be lovely not to have to do that anymore. Although I think I'm going to have to sign up to Blockbuster rentals or something.
As for the dobie/dobbie debate - I hav enuf troubl spelin reel werdz corectli! But I've edited the opening post just for you. Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
You're welcome. The thing is, that's pretty much all the French movies I've seen (with maybe 4-5 additions?!). I gotta see more.
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I do want to see 'La Môme' and 'Amélie', don't know about the others.![[Razz]](tongue.gif)