Movies - French (Top Rated), a list by fuzi0n

8.7

/11433/

81

/278/

82

/214/

4.5

/16063/

100

/37/

97

/117/

99

/4/

4.0

age 15+

Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three categories – survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators – Lanzmann presents testimonies from survivors of the Chelmno concentration camp, an Auschwitz escapee, and witnesses of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as well as a chilling report of gas chambers from an SS officer at Treblinka.

89

8.3

/22309/

79

/345/

80

/442/

4.3

/23283/

98

/42/

95

/480/

96

/20/

4.0

In a chaotic 19th-century Paris teeming with aristocrats, thieves, psychics, and courtesans, theater mime Baptiste is in love with the mysterious actress Garance. But Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: pretentious actor Frederick, conniving thief Lacenaire, and Count Edouard of Montray.

89

8.1

/115945/

78

/1658/

79

/1507/

4.3

/168895/

100

/62/

94

/1327/

100

/11/

Part-time model Valentine unexpectedly befriends a retired judge after she runs over his dog. At first, the grumpy man shows no concern about the dog, and Valentine decides to keep it. But the two form a bond when she returns to his house and catches him listening to his neighbors’ phone calls.

89

8.0

/124712/

81

/4680/

81

/2833/

4.4

/994684/

97

/338/

92

/98/

95

/48/

4.0

age 15+

On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.

89

8.1

/28715/

78

/690/

79

/714/

4.4

/54052/

97

/77/

94

/535/

99

/24/

4.0

Betrayed by an informant, Philippe Gerbier finds himself trapped in a torturous Nazi prison camp. Though Gerbier escapes to rejoin the Resistance in occupied Marseilles, France, and exacts his revenge on the informant, he must continue a quiet, seemingly endless battle against the Nazis in an atmosphere of tension, paranoia and distrust.

89

8.1

/67307/

79

/1163/

80

/1048/

4.4

/119726/

98

/63/

93

/953/

98

/21/

4.0

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

88

8.1

/30285/

80

/599/

79

/589/

4.3

/63121/

100

/43/

93

/288/

4.0

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

88

8.1

/39085/

78

/708/

77

/614/

4.3

/42109/

92

/53/

95

/536/

97

/13/

4.0

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

88

8.1

/72709/

78

/1143/

80

/1040/

4.3

/60837/

100

/54/

94

/694/

85

/15/

4.0

In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.

88

8.5

/23015/

82

/594/

82

/538/

4.5

/47250/

95

/19/

96

/114/

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

88

8.0

/133405/

79

/2254/

80

/2260/

4.3

/248873/

99

/72/

94

/2056/

4.0

age 13+

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.

87

8.0

/104422/

79

/2457/

79

/2066/

4.2

/208467/

96

/163/

92

/7559/

90

/31/

4.0

age 15+

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

87

8.1

/33544/

78

/555/

77

/594/

4.3

/43874/

94

/51/

93

/387/

86

/19/

4.0

A prominent politician is murdered during a demonstration. The government and army are trying to suppress the truth. But, a tenacious magistrate is determined to not to let them get away with it.

87

7.9

/33132/

75

/607/

74

/643/

4.1

/55542/

97

/62/

89

/704/

99

/21/

4.0

A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances.

87

7.8

/28866/

76

/894/

77

/631/

4.2

/98185/

98

/55/

89

/577/

99

/19/

4.0

Clumsy Monsieur Hulot finds himself perplexed by the intimidating complexity of a gadget-filled Paris. He attempts to meet with a business contact but soon becomes lost. His roundabout journey parallels that of an American tourist, and as they weave through the inventive urban environment, they intermittently meet, developing an interest in one another. They eventually get together at a chaotic restaurant, along with several other quirky characters.

87

8.1

/40776/

77

/698/

79

/751/

4.2

/45920/

97

/74/

92

/622/

4.0

A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein, who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu.

86

7.9

/29638/

75

/538/

75

/650/

4.1

/47423/

96

/67/

90

/756/

92

/7/

4.0

The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. She is unable to return the key on time, but it is revealed that the Beast is the genuinely handsome one. A simple tale of tragic love that turns into a surreal vision of death, desire, and beauty.

86

8.0

/38179/

78

/673/

75

/705/

4.2

/49189/

97

/36/

93

/731/

88

/18/

4.0

age 12+

Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning 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 Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.

86

8.0

/14049/

75

/293/

77

/338/

4.1

/13032/

100

/20/

92

/223/

4.0

Orphaned after a Nazi air raid, Paulette, a young Parisian girl, runs into Michel, an older peasant boy, and the two quickly become close. Together, they try to make sense of the chaotic and crumbling world around them, attempting to cope with death as they create a burial ground for Paulette's deceased pet dog. Eventually, however, Paulette's stay with Michel's family is threatened by the harsh realities of wartime.

86

7.7

/24561/

73

/457/

75

/486/

4.1

/60215/

100

/45/

85

/385/

98

/20/

4.0

The story of a donkey Balthazar as he is passed from owner to owner, some kind and some cruel but all with motivations beyond his understanding. Balthazar, whose life parallels that of his first keeper, Marie, is truly a beast of burden, suffering the sins of humankind. But despite his powerlessness, he accepts his fate nobly.

86

8.0

/64765/

78

/1616/

78

/1201/

4.2

/188240/

92

/51/

93

/1101/

90

/21/

4.0

After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.

86

8.0

/5258/

82

/145/

77

/134/

4.3

/29389/

96

/72/

88

/96/

86

/19/

4.0

Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda, the award-winning director regarded by many as the grandmother of the French new wave, turns the camera on herself with this unique autobiographical documentary. Composed of film excerpts and elaborate dramatic re-creations, Varda's self-portrait recounts the highs and lows of her professional career, the many friendships that affected her life and her longtime marriage to cinematic giant Jacques Demy.

86

8.0

/26113/

76

/486/

78

/637/

4.2

/45887/

98

/40/

91

/423/

4.0

A committed filmmaker struggles to complete his latest project while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.

86

7.9

/12052/

79

/404/

75

/247/

4.1

/11320/

97

/33/

91

/237/

87

/26/

4.0

age 6+

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

86

7.9

/31277/

76

/775/

76

/697/

4.2

/60151/

96

/67/

92

/419/

92

/19/

4.0

When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.

86

8.0

/112545/

77

/1686/

75

/1232/

4.1

/51456/

94

/176/

92

/7604/

92

/36/

4.0

age 16+

Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French fashion bible Elle magazine, has a devastating stroke at age 43. The damage to his brain stem results in locked-in syndrome, with which he is almost completely paralyzed and only able to communicate by blinking an eye. Bauby painstakingly dictates his memoir via the only means of expression left to him.

86

7.8

/106760/

77

/2185/

76

/1668/

4.2

/85545/

96

/163/

89

/2109/

90

/31/

4.0

Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.

85

7.8

/3800/

75

/162/

76

/56/

4.1

/34555/

97

/65/

97

/27/

91

/19/

3.5

Jazz and decolonization are intertwined in a powerful narrative that recounts one of the tensest episodes of the Cold War.

85

7.7

/722/

72

/37/

71

/13/

4.0

/5012/

100

/56/

89

/7/

91

/20/

4.0

Founded in 1930, Troisgros has held three Michelin stars for 55 years. The children of the fourth generation, Marie-Pierre and Michel's sons are continuing the family business: César runs the Michelin-starred restaurant, "Le Bois sans feuilles" ("The Leafless Wood"), and Léo is in charge of one of the other two Troisgros restaurants, "La Colline du colombier" ("The Dovecote Hill"). From the daily market to the cheese maturing cellars, via the vineyard, the cattle farm and the vegetable garden adjacent to the restaurant, Menus-Plaisirs is an intimate, sensory journey through the kitchens of one of the world's most prestigious restaurants.

85

7.8

/14363/

76

/290/

76

/278/

4.1

/32181/

97

/33/

89

/209/

4.0

A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. Seeking inspiration, the poet becomes obsessed and follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead.

85

7.6

/46577/

74

/776/

75

/1029/

3.9

/83325/

94

/51/

89

/1072/

97

/18/

4.0

In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim and both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine.

85

7.7

/50041/

73

/918/

74

/877/

4.0

/97285/

98

/60/

88

/744/

93

/12/

4.0

In Luis Buñuel’s deliciously satiric masterpiece, an upper-class sextet sits down to dinner but never eats, their attempts continually thwarted by a vaudevillian mixture of events both actual and imagined.

85

7.7

/93855/

74

/1819/

75

/1951/

3.9

/269777/

95

/81/

90

/2243/

96

/24/

4.0

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

85

7.8

/30852/

78

/838/

76

/749/

4.2

/212739/

93

/54/

89

/321/

87

/22/

4.0

Agnès Varda eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy. A chronicle of the minutes of one woman’s life, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a spirited mix of vivid vérité and melodrama, featuring a score by Michel Legrand and cameos by Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.

85

8.1

/221431/

82

/5040/

80

/4394/

4.5

/906491/

96

/73/

95

/2372/

3.0

age 16+

After a chaotic night of rioting in a marginal suburb of Paris, three young friends, Vinz, Hubert and Saïd, wander around unoccupied waiting for news about the state of health of a mutual friend who has been seriously injured when confronting the police.

85

8.2

/9672/

78

/209/

77

/211/

4.2

/18926/

87

/68/

90

/109/

4.0

A biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing the Corsican's career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign) to his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant invasion of Italy in 1797.

85

7.8

/14347/

77

/446/

76

/404/

4.2

/46592/

99

/144/

89

/56/

94

/23/

3.5

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

85

7.9

/11992/

74

/219/

75

/250/

4.1

/22148/

97

/36/

90

/154/

4.0

In late 19th century France, the Countess Louise, wife of a wealthy general, sells the earrings her husband gave her on their wedding day to pay off her secret debts, then claims to have lost them. Her husband quickly learns of the deceit, which is the beginning of many tragic misunderstandings, all involving the earrings, the general, the countess, and her new lover, the Italian Baron Donati.

85

7.8

/15811/

74

/336/

77

/345/

4.2

/41090/

96

/23/

87

/155/

4.0

The Catholic Jean-Louis runs into an old friend, the Marxist Vidal, in Clermont-Ferrand around Christmas. Vidal introduces Jean-Louis to the modestly libertine, recently divorced Maud and the three engage in conversation on religion, atheism, love, morality and Blaise Pascal's life and writings on philosophy, faith and mathematics. Jean-Louis ends up spending a night at Maud's. Jean-Louis' Catholic views on marriage, fidelity and obligation make his situation a dilemma, as he has already, at the very beginning of the film, proclaimed his love for a young woman whom, however, he has never yet spoken to.

85

8.1

/72722/

78

/1292/

79

/1057/

4.2

/80528/

95

/88/

93

/869/

3.5

The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.

85

7.7

/7574/

73

/155/

73

/192/

4.2

/19290/

94

/35/

91

/96/

89

/18/

4.0

Aimless young Alexandre juggles his relationships with his girlfriend, Marie, and a casual lover named Veronika. Marie becomes increasingly jealous of Alexandre's fling with Veronika and as the trio continues their unsustainable affair, the emotional stakes get higher, leading to conflict and unhappiness.

85

8.4

/25090/

81

/704/

81

/655/

4.3

/31835/

94

/95/

90

/118/

83

/29/

3.5

During the last forty years, the photographer Sebastião Salgado has been travelling through the continents, in the footsteps of an ever-changing humanity. He has witnessed the major events of our recent history: international conflicts, starvations and exodus… He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of the wild fauna and flora, of grandiose landscapes: a huge photographic project which is a tribute to the planet's beauty. Salgado's life and work are revealed to us by his son, Juliano, who went with him during his last journeys, and by Wim Wenders, a photographer himself.

85

7.9

/109875/

77

/2063/

77

/1728/

4.2

/137277/

93

/219/

82

/1470/

95

/45/

4.0

age 16+

Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.

85

8.3

/243819/

82

/5389/

81

/3114/

4.4

/499818/

91

/124/

92

/1357/

80

/42/

3.5

A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults' voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love.

84

7.8

/5287/

76

/99/

73

/132/

4.0

/5966/

100

/8/

85

/16/

4.0

The vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia, knowing he's being watched and followed, is one day arrested and put into solitary confinement.

84

7.8

/37306/

75

/670/

77

/680/

4.0

/133025/

91

/35/

91

/436/

4.0

Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.

84

7.8

/32398/

78

/1965/

78

/1470/

4.2

/232514/

99

/136/

89

/148/

85

/28/

3.5

age 11+

After his mother’s death, Zucchini is befriended by a kind police officer, Raymond, who accompanies him to his new foster home filled with other orphans his age. There, with the help of his newfound friends, Zucchini eventually learns to trust and love as he searches for a new family of his own.

84

7.6

/2678/

78

/67/

75

/90/

3.9

/3580/

94

/16/

91

/47/