Bonjour à toutes à et tous,
As has been discussed with a few students, watching films in French, even with English subtitles, is an efficient and entertaining way to tune in to the language and improve your listening skills.
In Europe, you can purchase French films through amazon.fr. In the US, go to amazon.ca.
For the UK, Londoners can also purchase dvds at the bfi bookshop in South Bank,and all UK residents can find quite a few on lovefilm.com, Tesco rentals, or even at the public library. Check our films listings at your local cinemas, because if you live in a large city, you're likely to find French speaking films regularly.
Therefore please find 3 lists below, it's a start, but if you like a particular genre or theme, please email me and I'll suggest more.
List #1: films to watch with English subtitles, hopefully not being glued to them: some of those are more advanced as far as language goes, but most are either action or slapstick, so they should be easier to follow visually:
1.Taxi (1998 comedy/action written by Luc Besson) a cop and a taxi driver are thrown together
to fight crime in Marseille
2. La Cage Aux Folles (1978, comedy), the son of a drag club owner is to marry the daughter of a very conservative French MP....
3. Ma femme est une actrice (2001 comedy starring Charlotte Gainsbourg), a man struggles to deal with his wife's profession.
4. La Grande Vadrouille (1966 comedy classic by Gerard Oury with Louis de Funes and Bourvil). Two French Joe blogs are forced to aid English soldiers in the midst of WW2.
5. Papi Fait de La Resistance (1983 comedy), another WW2 slapstick
6. Le Diner de Cons (1998, comedy), a group of men make fun of idiots as a regular dinner game, until one chosen idiot tears his host's life apart.
7. Le Bossu (1997 period drama/action/comedy with Fabrice Luchini, Vincent Perez and Daniel Auteuil) a street urchin with a gift for swords and theater avenges the death of his friend and master.
8. Les Visiteurs (1993 slapstick comedy/fantasy): to save his one true love, a medieval knights goes back in time with his servant. Unfortunately the spell fails and they land in 20th century France instead.
9. L'Aile ou La Cuisse (1976 slapstick comedy classic starring Louis de Funes and Coluche): a famous Food critic loses his sense of taste just before an important television duel.
10. Rabbi Jacob (1973 Gerard Oury/Daniele Thompson comedy classic with Louis de Funes): a bigoted dentist is forced to team up with an arab as they disguise themselves as rabbis to escape from terrorists and the police.
11: OSS 117: Le Caire, Nid d'Espions (2006 action/comedy starring Jean DuJardin): the French answer to the Naked Gun films...need I say more? Definitely a solid intro to French humor.
12. Mensonges et trahisons... et plus si affinite (2004) a ghostwriter has to write the biography of a vapid football star who is also dating the woman he desires.
List #2: these are films with a slower pace (or fewer dialogues) and a more "general" French, with good diction, so you can try them with French subtitles (or no subtitles at all) before switching to English:
1. Paris (2008, Cedric Klapish, with Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, and Juliette Binoche): the lives of various Parisians: comedy,tragedy, romance...
2. Paris, Je T'aime (2006, various directors and stars), various short films set in Paris.
3. L'Auberge Espagnole (2002 comedy with Romain Duris): the life of a few students living together in Barcelona during the Erasmus program.
4. Tanguy (2001, comedy): a 28 year old PhD student still lives with his parents, who can no longer stand it.
5. Ne le dis a personne (2006 thriller directed by Guillaume Canet): A pediatrician receives a mysterious and overwhelming message years after his wife's murder.
6. Les Invasions Barbares (2003 French Canadin comedy-drama): a group of friends reunite for a dying man's last days.
7. Le Placard (2001 comedy starring Daniel Auteuil): a man pretends to be gay in order to keep his job.
8. Les Chansons d'Amours (Christophe Honore musical, 20007): the lives of family and friends after someone's death.
9. 8 Femmes (Francois Ozon Musical, 2001): murder mystery with music by the director of Potiche and starring Catherine Deneuve
10. Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train (1998 Drama by Patrice Chereau, drama): a group of friends, relatives and lovers take the train to Limoges to bury a painter.
11. Pour Elle (2008 action/drama with Vincent Lindon and Diane Krueger): a French teacher tries everything to free his wife, after she is sent to prison for a murder she hasn't committed.
List 3: films which may be tough to understand, so definitely with english subtitles, but which are either classics, or insightful when it comes to French culture:
1. Des Hommes et des Dieux (2010, drama): threatened by fundamentalists, a group of monks working in Algeria must decide whether to stay or leave.
2. La Mariee etait en Noir (1968 Truffaut classic with Jeanne Moreau) A woman avenges her groom's sudden death
3. Coco Avant Chanel (2009 biopic starring Audrey Tautou): the life of Gabrielle Chanel before she became a reknown designer
4. Nikita (1990, Luc Besson action): the original story of a junkie turned hitman.
5. L'Histoire d'Adele H (1975 Truffaut, starring Isabelle Adjani) The life of Victor Hugo's mentally ill daughter.
6. Le Comte de Monte Cristo (1998 mini series starring Gerard Depardieu), the most faithful adapation to the Dumas novel I know, though the end isnt' faithful to it at all.
7. Cyrano de Bergerac (1991, adventure, also starring Gerard Depardieu): a great adapation of the Rostand tale of a man doted with a terrible nose, yet as skilled with words as he is with swords.
8. La Chinoise (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967): a group of students want a social revolution and read Mao.
9. Indochine (1992, starring Catherine Deneuve, romance etc): story centers on a woman as France is losing Indochina.
10. 3 colors trilogy (Krzysztof Kieslowski drama, 1990s) centers on 3 women (Juliette Binoche,Julie Delpy, Irene Jacob)
11. Un Prophete (Jaques Audiard 2009): the life of a young French Arab during his years in a prison...and his assent as a kingpin.
12. Mesrine (biopic/action, starring Vincent Cassel, 2008): the life of one of France's most infamous gangsters.
For more information, check out film titles at www.imdb.com
Enjoy!
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