5 Fantastic French Films You Should Watch

A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece about some of my favourite foreign films. I enjoyed writing that piece immensely and was delighted to hear from people who discovered, experienced and enjoyed watching movies they had never even heard of before, through it.

If there’s something I enjoy as much as watching films, it is talking about them; so, I wanted to write a similar piece, this time dedicated to French cinema, to recommend to anyone reading five striking and stylish films that stay with you long after the credits roll.

I have chosen to include in this piece varied films that centre around relevant and powerful themes, present memorable and nuanced characters, and embody excellent filmmaking prowess, all of which underpin the distinctively raw and avant-grade essence of French cinema.

La Vie d’Adèle (Blue is the Warmest Colour)

Starting this list off with one of the greatest films I have ever seen, a coming-of-age film that centres microscopically on the life of Adèle, a teenage girl, who navigates through adulthood, her circumstances and her sexuality through Emma, a blue-haired girl she encounters, to come to terms with who she really is.

Adèle’s character is brought to life by the breakthrough performance of one of our generation’s finest actors — Adèle Exarchopolous, starring alongside Léa Seydoux, who is alluring and brilliant, as always, in her performance as Emma. Such is the sheer magnitude of their performances that they were both unanimously awarded, alongside director Abdellatif Kechiche, the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival — the only time in the 77-year history of the Cannes Film Festival that this prestigious award was shared by a film’s lead actors and director.

What immediately stands out about La Vie d’Adèle is the delicate and affectionate way Adèle’s story is told. Abdellatif Kechiche’s directorial decision to retain Adèle’s perspective at all times by utilising continuous shots alongside an exceptional soundtrack heightens the impact of the film as Adèle navigates through the best and worst of adolescence and adulthood; which is indispensable in bringing the tenderness, intimacy and humanity of the story to life — also making Exarchopoulous’ phenomenal performance stand out even more.

When I watched La Vie d’Adèle, I was utterly beguiled for the three hours I spent with Adèle. The film has an inimitable way of resolutely captivating and immersing you in its story, themes and characters.

La Vie d’Adèle is one of the most indelible and mesmerising films I have ever seen. One that embodies within it an almost unparalleled mastery in its filmmaking and vision — which has been stylistically influential on many films that have since released.

It is a terrific example of the unique, alluring and incomparably powerful position movies hold as storytelling mediums.

La Haine

A black-and-white cult classic from 1995, Matthieu Kassovitz’s La Haine is a timeless story about class, oppression, marginalisation, police brutality and hate; told through the perspectives and personalities of three teenagers — Saïd, Vinz, and Hubert — relegated to council estates and the fringes of society, and left to fend for themselves in an unforgiving world, with no future ahead of them.

The film is forceful in its raw depiction of the complex themes that it explores. It is perhaps more effective than any other in depicting and presenting marginalisation with nuance and complexity, also shattering the myth and façade of the equality of opportunity and circumstances, echoed by many.

La Haine is shot conspicuously well, which amplifies its beauty. The colour gradient, coupled with the creative, stylish and immersive filmmaking techniques, are indispensable in captivating the viewer throughout the events that take place during the time we spend with Saïd, Vinz and Hubert — with Matthieu Kassovitz also brilliantly utilising music to depict La Haine’s themes and criticisms of society.

What’s more is that the film culminates with a hauntingly memorable final scene, which forcefully encapsulates the essence of the film — La haine attire la haine.

In fact, La Haine and its challenging themes and forceful presentation remain controversial within various communities within France, despite the overwhelmingly progressive attitude towards art and filmmaking in France.

It is interesting, yet unsurprising, that Kassovitz’s masterpiece retains, even now, apathy from many. Despite releasing in 1995, La Haine is perhaps even more relevant to and representative of today’s increasingly fractured, unequal and prejudiced world. A world where we have finally begun to look deeper into the foundational elements of systematic disparities and police brutality.

This sensationally opprobrious and timeless masterpiece becomes more relevant with each passing day.

L’événement (Happening)

Speaking of films that are relevant today, let me introduce you to another — L’événement.

This remarkable film, directed by Audrey Diwan, exposes the façade of liberalism in 60s France through the story of Anne, a teenage girl who finds herself pregnant and at a crossroads between a life she envisions and one where she is confined to her home with a child she doesn’t want or know how to take care of, with no legal access to abortion.

L’événement intensely explores various complex ideas, predominantly liberty and access to abortion, as it candidly presents viewers with the melancholic reality of the consequences limiting access to abortions entails, regardless of our personal views. That driven by desperation, people look for unsafe and painstakingly difficult ‘solutions’. That all restricting access to abortion does is increase the physical, reputational and financial risk to pregnant women, who will continue to seek illegal abortions — to be able to simply live.

Further, this film stands out in how it comprehensively explores the general themes of adolescence, isolation, desperation and class, alongside the central theme and plot surrounding the consequences pregnancies entail on a woman’s world, liberties and ambitions; therefore establishing itself as a far-reaching and relatable story for anyone that watches it.

Anamaria Vartolomei’s excellent and critically acclaimed performance is spectacular in captivating even the most apprehensive of viewers, to make us all sympathise with and understand Anne’s circumstances. To demonstrate why and how people are driven to seemingly unimaginable extremes. That even though they may seem unimaginable, they really are not.

Like La Haine, L’événement is a salient and relevant film, as even though it explores the hypocrisies and illiberalism in 60s France, the circumstances of its story are as applicable to today’s world — if not more so.

The reversal of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. and the ever-increasing misogynistic and anti-abortion sentiment in Western Europe present a disconcertingly chilling backdrop to the events that take place in L’Événement, making you think about just how many women around the world are currently going through the harrowing circumstances Anne goes through in this film, simply because they are not allowed liberty over their own bodies.

L’événement’s sheer impact, through its accomplished technical filmmaking and writing, as well as Anamaria Vartolomei’s brilliant performance, play a sizable role in further elucidating what the aforementioned La Vie d’Adèle and La Haine already demonstrate — that films are the most potent form of art and have the capacity to make viewers see the perspectives and understand the things they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to.

These films do so emphatically, in visceral ways that are often uncomfortable yet undeniably compelling to witness.

Les Olympiades (Paris 13th District)

Continuing with another excellent black and white film, Jacques Audiard’s Les Olympiades, or as it is more commonly known, Paris 13th District.

Paris 13th District differs from the three films that I have recommended, as it is, at its core, a light-hearted and feel-good ‘slice of life’ film, yet it is one that manages to present within it nuance, fantastic filmmaking and memorable characters.

The film focuses on the interconnected lives and circumstances of characters Émilie and Nora, and their relationship with two other characters, Camille and Amber, all of whom live in the Olympiades, in the 13th Arrondissement of Paris — which is where the film’s English and French titles both come from.

This film’s characters are brought to life by exceptional acting performances, particularly from the debuting Lucie Zhang, who plays Émilie, a young woman purposelessly living in her grandmother’s apartment while working at a call centre, and Noémie Merlant, who plays Nora, a middle-aged woman who enrols herself for an undergraduate course at university — before their paths inevitably intertwine.

Paris 13th District does not embody a traditional plot, instead taking us on a journey through the perspectives of Émilie and Nora, to make us feel what they feel; to revel in their joy and sulk in their sadness, and for the 106 minutes we spend with them, be privy to the highs and lows of living in the 21st century — the beauty of contemporary life.

Paris 13th District presents just what a good slice of life should, a stylistically rich experience where you can sit back and get lost in the drama of its memorable characters and their circumstances.

At its core, Paris 13th District is a feel-good drama, yet one that carries within it a depth and nuance that few other such films do. A film that lets you lose yourself in the Olympiades of Paris’ 13th Arrondissement, in the lives of four very well-written characters, coming from the minds of filmmaking titans Jacques Audiard and Céline Sciamma.

Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)

Lastly, let me finish this list by recommending yet another phenomenal film — a period piece that tells a tender story about forbidden love between two women — Héloïse and Marianne — in 19th century France.

Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu tells its story through its vast scope, fantastic filmmaking and brilliant performances by Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel, who has since retired from acting. These aspects are poignantly utilised with subtlety by director Céline Sciamma to present the film’s wistful story.

This excellent film takes advantage of its setting, empty stretches of land in Brittany, to maintain the focus on Héloïse and Marianne’s circumstances, perspectives and lives, also adding to the subtle nature of its cinematography, thematic depth, scope and nuance.

Additionally, Merlant and Haenel’s tremendous performances go a long way to encapsulate the individual feelings and circumstances of Marianne and Héloïse, as well as women who are confined to circumstances where they are required to conform to what is expected of them — even in their privilege.

On top of everything I’ve already mentioned, Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu also utilises music exceptionally well, especially in its final moments, to add to the impact of the culmination of its story.

I have also chosen to write about Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu last because I feel it is the perfect film to culminate this list. It is a quintessentially French film. A stylistically rich film that embodies within it everything that makes the avant-garde and distinctive style of French cinema so alluring to me and so many others.

The five films I have briefly written about are all excellent, varied, and compelling experiences that lustrously present what I love most about cinema — memorable stories and characters, excellent social commentary and thematic depth.

These films are, in particular, excellent in both the raw portrayal of their stories and unique styles, as well as the use and significance of the setting and surroundings they operate within. Even more importantly, however, they all act as excellent films to introduce any film fan to the enthralling world of French cinema.

I would urge you to give these films a watch. They embody within them excellent, varied, and relatable stories, which will make you feel and learn a lot — about yourself, about the power of cinema, about the beauty of global cinema, and most importantly, about the communities and parts of the world that feel most alien to us.

Thank you for reading, it means a lot to me! 🫶🫶