Excellent Films in French
There is life after the Nouvelle Vague.
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| rhadynascimento's Rating | My Rating | |
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| 1 |
With A Friend Like Harry (2001, R)
It takes a very intelligent director to find a proper place for an actor as overwhelmingly intense as Sergi López. I mention this because this film is so much more than a hitchcockian thriller - it is rather what Hitchcock would be watching these days. Harry is as obsessed as Bruno Anthony in "Strangers in a Train", and predictability is an illusion in this ironic portrait of the benefits of inaction. |
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| 2 |
Martyrs (2008, R)
I'm neither a French cinema buff nor an enthusiast of gore for gore's sake, but "Martyrs", "Haute Tension" and "À L'intérieur" share more than the mere power to disturb: they add a certain sense of transgression to modern horror, taking it to new extremes. |
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| 3 |
The Tenant (1976, R)
A specialist in the art of confining paranoid protagonists inside their own apartments, Polanski delivers one of the creepiest films ever made. The "mummy in the bathroom" sequence damaged my poor little mind forever. |
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| 4 |
The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville, Belleville Rendez-vous) (2003, PG-13)
An unforgettable tale about the need for true passion and individuality in a world where values and pleasures are either empty, mean or prescribed. |
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| 5 |
Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) (2007, PG-13)
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| 6 |
Genealogies of a Crime (1998, Unrated)
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| 7 |
Assassin(s) (1997, Unrated)
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| 8 |
Persepolis (2007, PG-13)
More than merely a political film, this adaptation of Satrapi's graphic novel is about a young woman's bittersweet journey towards self-acceptance. |
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| 9 |
Entre les Murs (The Class) (2008, PG-13)
Don't turn away from this one just because it's full of teenagers - they're annoying of course, but that's their role. Great as a film, outstanding as a cinematic achievement. |
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| 10 |
La Cérémonie (A Judgement in Stone) (1996, Unrated)
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| 11 |
The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (2001, R)
Makes no concessions in its surgical analysis of a masochistic personality. Huppert is superb. |
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| 12 |
La Vie en Rose (La Mome) (2007, PG-13)
Perfectly merges technical excellence with emotional depth. Cotillard made everyone shout "hand that Oscar to that French chick" way before she actually got it. |
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| 13 |
Jules and Jim (1962, Unrated)
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| 14 |
Leolo (1992, Unrated)
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| 15 |
C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog) (It Happened in Your Neighborhood) (1992, NC-17)
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| 16 |
La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game) (1950, Unrated)
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| 17 |
The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares) (2003, R)
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| 18 |
Le Silence de Lorna (The Silence of Lorna) (Lorna's Silence) (2008, R)
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| 19 |
La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) (1994, R)
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| 20 |
Ma Vie En Rose (My Life in Pink) (1997, R)
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| 21 |
La Nuit Américaine (Day for Night) (The American Night) (1973, PG)
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| 22 |
Amelie (Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain) (2001, R)
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| 23 |
Camille Claudel (1988, R)
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| 24 |
Comme une Image (Look at Me) (Like an Image) (2005, PG-13)
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| 25 |
Belle de Jour (1968, R)
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| 26 |
Une liaison pornographique (An Affair of Love) (A Pornographic Affair) (1999, R)
This particular film possesses enough enchantment to join "Shortbus" in the pole of those rare films that dare approach sex with a frank, healthy attitude. |
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| 27 |
Blue (Trois Couleurs: Bleu) (, R)
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| 28 |
Swimming Pool (2003, R)
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| 29 |
La demoiselle d'honneur (The Bridesmaid) (2004, Unrated)
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| 30 |
High Tension (Switchblade Romance) (2004, R)
No subtitles needed in this action-packed horror film in which the visuals tell it all. |
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| 31 |
Three Colors: Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu) (1993, R)
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| 32 |
The Girl on the Bridge (La Fille sur le pont) (1999, R)
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| 33 |
L'Enfant (The Child) (2006, R)
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| 34 |
Du Rififi Chez les Hommes (Rififi) (1956, Unrated)
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| 35 |
L'Adversaire (The Adversary) (2002, Unrated)
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| 36 |
Angel-A (2005, R)
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| 37 |
37°2 le Matin (Betty Blue) (37.2 Degrees in the Morning) (1986, Unrated)
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| 38 |
Diabolique (Les Diaboliques) (1955, Unrated)
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| 39 |
Merci Pour le Chocolat (2000, R)
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| 40 |
La Haine (Hate) (1996, R)
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| 41 |
De Battre mon Coeur s'est Arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) (2005, Unrated)
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| 42 |
Code Unknown (Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages) (2000, Unrated)
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| 43 |
C.R.A.Z.Y. (Crazy) (2005, Unrated)
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| 44 |
La Peau blanche (White Skin) (Cannibal) (2004, R)
Very watchable and well made Canadian horror which forms a respectable pair with teen wolf flick "Ginger Snaps". Modernizing old legends with unpretentious budgets is one tough challenge, and that's something in which both pictures succeed. |
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| 45 |
La Cité des Enfants Perdus (The City of Lost Children) (1995, R)
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| 46 |
Love Me If You Dare (Jeux d'enfants) (2004, R)
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| 47 |
Le Déclin de l'Empire Américain (The Decline of the American Empire) (1986, R)
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| 48 |
Alphaville (1965, Unrated)
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| 49 |
Le Couperet (2005, Unrated)
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| 50 |
Three Colors: Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge) (1994, R)
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| 51 |
Ne le Dis à Personne (Tell No One) (2006, Unrated)
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| 52 |
À l'Intérieur (Inside) (, Unrated)
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| 53 |
Le Cercle Rouge (1990, Unrated)
A delicious introduction to Melville and his unique crime-thriller approach. And Delon, God Almighty... |
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| 54 |
Nuit et Brouillard (Night and Fog) (1955, Unrated)
There's no such thing as "enough films about the Holocaust". |
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| 55 |
The Closet (Le Placard) (2001, R)
Unpretentious and highly entertaining! |
sanjurosamurai posted 196 days ago
you should check out some melville. he's my favorite of all french directors. nice list.