(Return to Foreign Language Resource Center page.)

These movies qualify as full-length feature films
that can be used for the personal response paper requirement
for the French 1L or 2L lab courses.


This is a list of movies available in the Foreign Language Center, to be used in the FLC by students enrolled in French classes at Mission College. Keep in mind that these are foreign films. Content of a violent or sexual nature may be different from American films with which you are familiar. For your information, the film's rating has been listed whenever possible.

Amélie is the delightful story of a painfully shy waitress working at a tiny Paris café who makes a surprising discovery that changes her life forever, with a ripple effect that helps her to help others in sometimes unexpected ways. (DVD In French with English and Spanish subtitles, 122 minutes, Rated R.)

Après vous Antoine, a restaurant headwaiter; takes a shortcut through a park one night and spots Louis, a despondent, lovelorn stranger, attempting to kill himself. Antoine intervenes -despite Louis’s vehement protests- and hustles him home to his apartment. And it isn’t long before Antoine has decided to fix all that is wrong in Louis’s life. But an unexpected twist of fate upsets Antoine’s grandiose plans for Louis’s "rehabilitation." (DVD In French with English subtitles, 110 minutes, Rated R.)

Argent de Poche (Small Change) is François Truffaut's tribute to the joys, yearnings, pains and wonders of childhood. In the quaint town of Thiers, children deal with issues as simple as puppy love and school and as complex as hunger and crime. When the truth behind one little boy's petty thievery is revealed, a shockwave is sent through this picturesque town that helps everyone to finally see the children for who they truly are. (DVD In French or Spanish with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 105 minutes, Rated PG.)

L'Auberge espagnole (The Spanish Apartment) A straight-laced French college senior moves to Barcelona as part of a student exchange program, much to the dismay of his beautiful girlfriend. But sharing cramped quarters with students from all over Europe quickly leads to multi-cultural chaos as he gets a hilarious, eye-opening lesson on how to live, love, laugh ...... and party! (DVD in French with English subtitles, 122 minutes, Rated R.)

Au revoir les enfants (Good-bye, Children) This outstanding and touching movie tells the heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss between 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 Louis Malle's own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening. (DVD in French with English subtitles. Rated PG; 101 minutes.)

Babette's Feast (La Fête de Babette). Babette is a master French chef working inexplicably in a remote village of Denmark as a servant and cook for two spinsters who don't understand or appreciate her culinary talents. When Babette wins 10.000 francs, she decides to spend her winnings preparing a glorious French feast for the entire village! The film shows an incredible insight into French cuisine. (DVD in Danish and French with English subtitles. 103 minutes; No Rating.)

The Barbarian Invasions 2003 Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Barbarian Invasions is a provocative look at the many ties that bind a group of friends and lovers! It's not easy for a narrow-minded professor to reconcile with his equally stubborn son. But soon, father and son find themselves gathering with their wide and colorful circle of family and friends to confront their differences, confess their secrets, and celebrate life! (DVD in French with English subtitles. Rated R; 99 minutes.)

The Beat that My Heart Skipped is a haunting thriller that fuses two unlikely worlds to create a stunning portrait of a young gangster. Tom is a 28 year-old who seems destined to follow in his father's footsteps as a Parisian property shark working in a sleazy and brutal world. However, a chance encounter with his late mother's music agent leads him to believe that he can become, like his mother, a concert pianist. He prepares for the audition with the help of a lovely young virtuoso from China. But the pressures from the ugly world of his day job soon become more than he can handle. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 107 minutes, not rated.)

La Belle et la Bête, Cocteau's classic live version of "Beauty and the Beast" recognized for its breathtaking imagery which draws viewers into the enchanted realm of the magnificent beast and the gentle beauty who discovers the sensitive soul beneath his monstrous exterior. (DVD in French with English subtitles, black & white, 93 minutes, Not Rated.)

Bon Voyage is a romantic comedy about a motley group of Parisians who head south to escape the imminent German occupation. Among them is an under-cover Nazi spy who's intent on stealing a top-secret formula from a pretty physics student, who has her eye on a handsome murder suspect, who is hot on the trail of the real killer, a celebrated mistress of a spineless government minister. Upon arrival in Bordeaux, they all check into the glamorous Hotel Splendide, where they soon beome hopelessly entangled in a madcap misadventure filled with intrigue, mystery, romance and suspense. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 115 minutes, Rated PG-13.)

Caché Georges, who hosts a literary TV show, receives packages containing videos of himself with his family -- shot secretly from the street -- and gruesome drawings whose meaning is obscure. Gradually, the footage on the tapes becomes more personal, suggesting that the sender has known Georges for some time. Georges believes he knows who the culprit is, but refuses to let his wife in on the secret. Clearly, more is hidden here than the identity of their stalker. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 118 minutes, Not Rated.)

Camille Claudel is the true story of creative prodigy Camille Claudel and legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin ... and their passionate obsession with art. Both an inspiring saga of artistic vision and the haunting portrayal of a doomed romance, this is a historically accurate depiction of one of the most important collaborations in the history of modern art. (DVD In French with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 159 minutes, Rated R.)

Changing Times. Antoine has held a torch for his first love Cécile for 30 years. Traveling to Tangiers, he hopes to rekindle their romance but is discouraged to learn that she is now married to a Morrocan doctor several years her junior. Determined to have her fall in love with him again, Antoine ignores her protests and continues his pursuit. But can true love be enough to withstand the passage of time? (DVD In French & Arabic with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated.)

La Chèvre is a slapstick comedy in which a private eye is grudgingly teamed with an accident-prone accountant in hopes that the bumbling accountant will lead him to find the missing daughter of a French tycoon. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 91 minutes, Not Rated)

Chocolat depicts a family's struggle during the final years of French colonialism in Africa, taking a profound look at the intricate nature of relationships in a racist society. (DVD In French with English, French and Spanish subtitles, 106 minutes, Rated PG-13.)

Chocolat. The arrival of Vianne and her daughter Anouk in a small old-fashioned rural French town creates quite a stir. When she opens her unusual chocolaterie across the street from the church on the first day of Lent, she makes an instant enemy of the town's mayor and leading citizenry. When she further befriends the outcast and downtrodden, the townspeople must take sides, and Vianne finds herself in situations beyond her control. (DVD in English. 122 minutes; Rated PG-13.)

Les choristes. On 15 January 1949, the former music teacher Clément Mathieu arrives in Fond de l'Etang, a boarding school for orphans and problematic boys, to work as an inspector. The place is administrated with iron fist by the cruel director Rachin, and most of the boys have severe punishments for their faults. Clément decides to teach the boys to sing in a choir in their spare time, and identify the musical potential of the rebel Pierre Morhange, the son of a beautiful single mother for whom he feels a crush. He also has a special feeling for the young Pépinot, a boy that expects the visit of his father every Saturday near the gate, but indeed lost his parents in the war. With his methods, Clément changes the lives of the boys, of the other employees and his own. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 96 minutes, Rated PG-13.)

Un Coeur en Hiver (A Heart in Winter) is a moving portrait of love and loss. A man and a woman are locked in a slow, sensual game of seduction that threatens to destroy them both. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated)

Comedy of Innocence is part ghost story and part psychotic case study. Shortly after his 9th birthday, Camille tells his mother Ariane that he is really Paul, and he would like to return to his "real" mother, Isabella, who lives on the other side of town. Alarmed at first, but willing to humor him, Ariane takes him there and is startled to find out that he knows Isabella's apartment intimately. It turns out that Isabella's own son drowned two years earlier ... is Camille the reincarnation of her dead son? (DVD In French with English subtitles, 98 minutes, Not Rated.)

Les Compères. An infectious comedy! When her 16-year-old son runs away from their Paris home, Christine sidesteps her husband and separately convinces two former lovers that they are each the boy's father. Duped into a sense of responsibility for a son they never knew, each man follows the boy's trail to Nice. After they find Tristan, the two men search for themselves in the boy while packing a decade's worth of dubious parenting into a few manic days battling Riviera bikers, casino racketeers and, most often, each other. (DVD in French with English subtitles. Not Rated; 88 minutes.)

Conseil de famille is an ironic comedy about a family of burglars done in by its own double standards of morality. (Video in French with English subtitles, 111 minutes, Not Rated)

Côte d'Azur. For summer vacation, Marc (Gilbert Melki) and Béatrix (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) take their two kids to the seaside house of Marc's youth, where their daughter takes up with a biker and their sons roams the beach with his best friend, who is in love with him. Things get steamier when Béatrix's lover Mathieu shows up, and Marc's old flame appears. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 93 minutes, Not Rated.)

The Count of Monte Cristo is a tale of betrayal, adventure and revenge. When Edmond Dantes is betrayed by his best friend and wrongly imprisoned, he is consumed by thoughts of revenge. After a miraculous escape, Dantes transforms himself and insinuates himself into the French nobility to exact his revenge. (DVD in English, 131 minutes, Rated PG-13.)

Cyrano de Bergerac. The famous adaptation of Rostand's play set in 17th-century Paris. Cyrano is a long-nosed poet, philosopher, and buffoon. He loves the Lady Roxanne, but his insecurities will not allow him to show his love for her, so he writes beautiful love letters from the heart to enable his friend to win her. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 138 minutes; Rated PG.)

Danton. A dramatic metaphor for the revolutionary events unfolding in his native Poland, Andrzej Wajda's adaptation of Stanislawa Przybyszewska's play is a brilliant account of the struggle of the two leaders of the French Revolution to control the country's future. Gérard Depardieu stars as Danton, who has retired to his country estate after having been supplanted as head of the Committee for Public Safety by Robespierre (Wojciech Psoniak). But with the commencement of the Reign of Terror, Danton returns to Paris in November 1793 in the hope that he can stem the tide of bloodshed unleashed by his former ally. Confident that his rhetorical skills and the high esteem in which he is held by the French people will cause them to rise up against the brutal ruling regime, Danton is stunned to find them pauperised by the recent war with Austria and cowed by the ubiquity of Robespierre's minions. Behind closed doors, Danton's attempts to act as a mediator between warring factions are met with cold indifference by the rigidly obsessive Robespierre. (Video in French with English subtitles, 130 minutes; Rated PG.)

Daughter of Keltoum A 19-year-old Swiss woman travels to her birthplace -- an isolated, barren Berber settlement in the mountainous desert landscape of Algeria -- to find her biological mother, whom she has never met. The perilous journey immerses her in a world virtually untouched by contemporary society, one that still clings to tribal morés and strict religious codes of conduct, offering emotional insights into the plight of Algerian women. (DVD in French and Arabic with English subtitles, 101 minutes, Not Rated.)

Delicatessen is a blend of dark humor and satire set in a post-apocalyptic world where food is so scarce that the residents of an apartment house have taken to hiring handymen, killing them and supplying the bodies to the landlord, a butcher, for "processing." Complications arise when the butcher's daughter falls for the latest hapless arrival. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 95 minutes; No Rating.)

Le Dernier Métro (The Last Metro) is Truffaut's poignant film about Jewish director Lucas Steiner, who is forced to hide in the basement of his theater during the Nazi occupation while his wife stars in its latest production. Romantic tensions mount when she and her leading man begin to fall in love. At the same time, a pro-Nazi theater critic ensconces himself in the theater causing stress to the entire cast. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 131 minutes, Rated PG.)

The Dinner Game is an outstanding comedy in which poetic justice reigns supreme. The premise of the movie centers around a twisted game in which elite Frenchmen compete to invite the most idiotic people they can possibly find to a weekly dinner party. This film is a mixture of cultural and situational comedy. The humor is definitely French, and will probably appeal more to people who've spent some time dealing with the stereotypes portrayed in this movie (intellectual elitists / tax collectors / bureaucrats). (DVD in French with English subtitles, 87 minutes)

Dirty Pretty Things is a harrowing tale of struggle and survival for two immigrants who learn that everything is for sale in London's secret underworld! Part of an invisible working class, Nigerian exile Okwe and Turkish chambermaid Senay toil at a west London hotel that is full of illegal activity. Then, late one night, Okwe makes a shocking discovery which creates an impossible dilemma and tests the limits of all they know. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Rated R.)

Diva Modern noir meets high opera in the French suspense flick Diva. Delivery boy Jules has an opera obsession. He spends his small disposable income on sophisticated sound equipment and manages to bootleg a live performance of his favorite diva, Cynthia Hawkins (played by real-life opera singer Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez). But Jules is spotted making the recording by shady investors who want the tape. As if that weren't enough, when that tape becomes confused with a cassette of murder evidence, Jules also finds himself hunted by a team of ruthless assassins. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 118 minutes, Not Rated.)

Le Divorce is the story of two American sisters in Paris. The day Isabel Walker comes to visit her pregnant sister Roxy is the day Roxy's French husband leaves her. The divorce proceedings end up centering around a painting, long owned by the Walkers, that the husband's family would like to claim--but their maneuverings are complicated when Isabel begins an affair with a diplomat who just happens to be Roxy's uncle-in-law. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 117 minutes, Rated PG-13.)

East/West. This film follows the plight of a young couple and their child as they choose to go back to the Soviet Union in 1946. The young Russian doctor, his beautiful French bride and their son return to Russia when Stalin takes over after the war. The doctor feels that his talents are appreciated in post-war Soviet Union, but the wife feels the need to rebel against the circumstances and must make a decision about leaving her family behind to regain freedom. (DVD in French and Russian with English subtitles. 125 minutes; Rated PG-13.)

The Flower of Evil tells the story of a seemingly perfect family whose distinguished façade starts to crack when the wife ventures into local politics and the prodigal son returns from overseas. On the eve of the local election, a corpse appears, and the long dormant seeds of a past family crime begin to bloom. It's not long before three generations of scandal explode, burying the family under the weight of mysterious deaths, incest and patricide. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 101 minutes, Rated R for brief language.)

Germinal tells the story of a miner's strike which destroys one family, yet plants the seeds of change for future generations. (Two Videos in French with English and Spanish subtitles, Part One: 87 minutes, Part Two: 77 minutes, Total: 164 minutes, Rated R.)

The Girl from Paris Sandrine, a 30-something Parisienne, tires of her job in the rat race and yearns for a life that is more fulfilling and simple. Deciding upon a radically different direction, she enrolls in a two-year course to become a farmer and buys an isolated farm in the Rhône-Alpes from Adrien, an older, embittered farmer ready to retire. Sandrine buys the farm with the provision that Adrien remain onsite for a period of time. The next 18 months find the pair living more in conflict than harmony, with Adrien's pessimism threatening to overcome Sandrine's hopeful innocence. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 103 minutes, Not Rated.)

Happenstance is a charming and clever story about the "what ifs" of life and love. What if ... everything happened for a reason? What if ... love came knocking at your door? What if ... the slightest twist of fate changed your life? A coincidental romance about six complete strangers affected by chance encounters during the course of one event-filled day. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Rated R for one scene of nudity.)

He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not This romantic thriller about love and obsession starts with a single rose, which Angelique (Audrey Tautou) has delivered to her handsome lover, Loic (Samuel LeBihan). Deeply in love and on the brink of success in her career as an artist, Angelique's bliss conveys a woman who has it all. But through a startling series of events, her enchanted life -- and our understanding of it -- begins to unravel in front of our eyes. Is Loic the object of her desire or only a delusion? (DVD in French with English subtitles, 96 minutes, Rated PG-13.)

The Horseman on the Roof. Angelo is an exceptionally gallant, Italian soldier-in-exile hiding out from his Austrian enemies in rural France, where a cholera epidemic is sweeping the countryside. Helped in a tough spot by a countess, Angelo swears his unyielding protection to her as she searches for her missing husband. The nobler virtues hold sway as Martinez suppresses his own deepening love and desire for the lady, an admirable posture that has ironic consequences when the countess herself becomes deathly ill. Filmed on location in southern France in Aix-en-Provence, Forcalquier, Manosque, Relais Saint-Pons, and Tarascon. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 119 minutes.)

The Housekeeper. Set in Paris and the majestic beaches of Normandy, this comedy follows Jacques, a forlorn bachelor living alone after his wife left him. Deciding to get his life back in order, he hires a housekeeper, Laura, to plow through the mess that's overtaken his apartment. He soon learns that she's never done a day of housework in her life, but her presence adds a joyful spark to his life that he's been missing for too long. (DVD In French with English subtitles; 86 minutes, Rated R for some sexuality, nudity, and brief language.)

Indochine (Indochina). This Oscar-winning movie (Best Foreign Film, 1992) takes place in French Indochina --Vietnam-- during the end of the French colonial days. Catherine Deneuve portrays a seemingly-repressed owner of a prosperous rubber plantation whose steely exterior masks a torrid love affair with a young man of a lower social class. But when her adopted Indochinese daughter innocently falls in love with the same man, the lovers' triangle threatens to destroy the entire family. The photography and scenes of Vietnam are beautiful, but the story depicts the passionate love story against the historically-accurate background of violence that led to the bloody Communist uprising. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 156 minutes; Rated PG-13.)

Is Paris Burning? The explosive courage-filled story of the Allied Resistance and the Paris Liberation of 1944. As the Nazis march through Europe, the freedom fighters of Paris mount a brave resistance. An insane and desperate Hitler sends a top general to determine if the Nazis can hold the city. If not, Paris will be burned to the ground. Is Paris Burning? is a staggering portrait of heroism and brotherhood, and one of the most riveting stories to come out of World War II. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 172 minutes; Not Rated.)

Je suis vivante et je vous aime. In occupied France, a young woman is shoved into a car by Germans, then loaded into a boxcar. At the Bussières station, a railway worker, Julien, hears voices inside one of the sealed boxcars of the stopped train. A note slips through a crack. "I'm alive and I love you. Sarah." Julien visits the address on the note and finds a family of Hungarian Jews: two grandparents, and Sarah's young son Thibault. Julien offers to help with forged papers. They give him Sarah's diary for safekeeping. Later, when he returns, he finds the house ransacked, the grandparents gone. Julien takes Thibault home. His girlfriend Lucie senses something is wrong, and she's right. Julien has fallen for the personality he finds in Sarah's diary. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 92 minutes)

Jean de Florette. Set in Provence, this is the story of Jean, a city dweller who has inherited his mother's farm. He leaves the city and hopes to live a peaceful life in the countryside, but greedy neighbors want his land, and will do anything to get it. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 121 minutes; Rated PG.)

Les Liasons Dangereuses. A classic tale of seduction, betrayal and revenge set in the world of 1960s Parisian high society. (DVD In French with English substitles, 200 minutes, Not Rated.)

Life is a Dream. Loosely based on the classic play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, this is a baroque mix of revolutionary politics, pop culture and semiotics features a Chilean revolutionary using Calderón's play as a mnemonic device. (Video in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated.)

The Lover is the story of a poor French teenager who engages in an illicit affair with a wealthy Chinese heir in 1920s Saigon. For the first time in her young life she has control, and she wields it deftly over her besotted lover throughout a series of clandestine meetings and torrid encounters. But though the lovers are able to transcend their differences in age, race, and class . . . theirs is a future that French colonial Vietnamese society will never allow. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 115 minutes, Not Rated.)

Man on the Train. A mysterious stranger, Milan, is the lone passenger disembarking from a train in a sleepy French village. Milan, a criminal intent on knocking over the local bank, is befriended by Manesquier, a retired poetry teacher. Through their unexpected friendship, both men realize that they have been given the opportunity to reflect on their lives -- complete with dashed hopes and unfulfilled dreams. At the same time, both are given the momentary chance to explore the road not taken. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 90 minutes; Rated R for some language and brief violence.)

Manon of the Spring. Less a sequel than a seamless continuation of its predecessor, Jean de Florette, Manon of the Spring brings with it a more epic scope as it depicts the growth to womanhood of the daughter (Emmanuelle Béart) of the doomed farmer of the first film. As she discovers the truth of what happened to her father as a result of the scheming of their neighbor (Yves Montand), who took the land for himself, she vows revenge, realizing that the neighbor's deeds have irrevocably shaped the course of her life. Her moves toward avenging her father's demise provide an ironic twist to this harsh and thought-provoking saga, and French director Claude Berri perfectly illustrates the lasting consequences of deceit, greed, and revenge. Manon of the Spring is a very special foreign film choice, destined to be revered for years to come. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 113 minutes; Rated PG.)

Merci pour le chocolat. Intricate plots wend their way through the elegant homes of several well-heeled French-Swiss, in the environs of Lausanne, Switzerland. Mika is the couture-attired head of a company that manufactures chocolate; André is her suave, concert pianist husband whose first wife died years ago in a mysterious car accident. When a beautiful young woman unexpectantly enters Mika and André's life, long-held secrets are revealed and façades fall away. A delectable psychological thriller. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 99 minutes; Not Rated.)

A Model for Matisse is a warm portrait of the little-known and tender relationship between one of the 20th century's greatest artists, Henri Matisse, and the woman who inspired him to create the masterpiece of his life's work: The Chapel of the Rosary in the French Mediterranean village of Vence. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 67 minutes, Not Rated.)

Mon Oncle. A chain of brilliantly inventive sight and sound gags, Mon Oncle follows the gangly-legged Monsieur Hulot from the quaint squalor of this boarding house to the antiseptic home of his gadget-obsessed sister. The film follows Hulot's escapades as he wrestles valiantly with an automated - almost dictatorial - modern kitchen and his very different friends and family. A classic comic vision of 20th-century technology. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 110 minutes; Not Rated.)

Monsieur N. After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoléon Bonaparte was exiled to the south Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he died a few years later. Or did he? Using a combination of historical record and creative speculation, renowned director Antoine de Caunes has created a fascinating portrait of the Emperor's exile. However, what lends Monsieur N its power is the implication that Napoléon escaped St. Helena so cleverly that his disappearance has remained undiscovered to this day. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 127 minutes, Not Rated.)

My Father's Glory is based on the memoirs of French novelist/film-maker Marcel Pagnol recalling his life in turn-of-the-century south of France and the unforgettable summer holiday when he comes to understand and respect his father. (DVD In French with English, French, and Spanish subtitles, 110 minutes, Rated G.)

My Mother's Castle is the sequel to My Father's Glory in which Marcel Pagnol continues his childhood memories of living in southern France. (DVD In French with English, French, and Spanish subtitles, 99 minutes, Rated PG.)

Not on the Lips (Pas sur la bouche). A frothy 1925 operetta, performed by a glittering cast, Not on the Lips is a musical farce that follows a wife trying to keep her husband from learning that she was actually married once before--to an American who is about to become hubby's business partner. Awkward. Audrey Tautou, in a distinctly supporting role, navigates the trickery of flirtation as she tries to attract lounge lizard-y Jalil Lespert. Lambert Wilson stands out as the tall, cigar-smoking American businessman, who disdains the un-hygenic dangers of kissing on the lips. Wilson's delivery of English phrases and his American-accented French is spot-on; you can hear the joke even if you don't speak French. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 117 minutes; Not Rated.)

Notre Dame de Paris. A musical concert version of Victor Hugo's classic story of love and acceptance. This is the story of the gypsy girl, Esmeralda, and of the three men who love her: the hunchback Quasimodo, the Captain of the Guard Phoebus, and the priest Frollo. The poet, Gringoire, narrates the tragic tale. Music by Richard Cocciante; lyrics by Luc Plamandon. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 2-1/2 hours; Rated PG-13.)

Notre Musique. Part poetry, part journalism, part philosophy, master film-maker Jean-Luc Godard's Notre Musique is a witty and lyrical reflection on war through the ages. The film is structured into three Dantean Kingdoms: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The journey begins in Hell, represented by modern war, and then moves to Purgatory, set in Sarajevo. Finally, Paradise is conceived as a small beach guarded by Marines from the United States. At the same time, the film also follows the parallel stories of two Israeli Jewish women, one drawn to the light and one drawn towards darkness. (DVD in French and other languages with English subtitles; 80 minutes; Not Rated.)

Le Placard (The Closet). An engaging comedy about a lonely accountant in a condom factory who hears rumors that he is about to be fired. Then another rumor spreads, that he is "in the closet," and surprisingly changes his life for the better. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 85 minutes; Rated R.)

Ponette is the story of a child sent to live with her relatives where she experiences the hopes, dreams and fears following the death of a parent. Ultimately, it is her faith, love and strength of character that enable Ponette to triumphantly overcome her tragedy. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 92 minutes, Not Rated)

La Promesse, a film from Belgium, is the extraordinary story of a boy's ascendance to grace. Under the conscienceless guidance of his father, 15-year-old Igor appears destined to a life of petty crime. All changes, however, when Igor delivers an uncompromising promise to Hamidou, an immigrant who accidentally falls to his death while working for Igor's father, Roger. As Roger scrambles to cover up the accident, Igor suddenly finds himself torn between his loyalty to Roger and the agreement he had made with Hamidou. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 93 minutes, Not Rated.)

Ridicule is an entertaining tale of passion and deceit. In a desperate quest to save his hometown, a young man quickly learns that a sharp wit is the key to open any door in the Versailles court of Louis XVI. But his mission is complicated when he finds himself locked in a dangerous triangle with two very seductive ladies. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 103 minutes, Rated R.)

Ruby and Quentin (Tais-toi) Quentin is a troubled prisoner who likes talking to the other prisoners, yet he always ends up offending others and starting fights. But Quentin is gifted with the extraordinary power where no one can beat him up. None of the other prisoners is willing to room with him, except the killer Ruby, who never says a word or gets mad. The two prisoners hit if off and escape from the prison ... with unexpected results. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 84 minutes, Not Rated)

Sade. It is the year 1794, and the Reign of Terror has entered its bloodiest phase. Deemed immoral and unworthy of society, the Marquis de Sade faces execution by Robespierre's regime, but finds temporary respite at a sanitarium for aristocrats awaiting the guillotine. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 100 minutes, Not Rated.)

School of Flesh. An erotically-charged, critically-acclaimed tale of an intense love affair complicated by money, secrets and betrayals. (DVD, French language track/English subtitles, 102 minutes, Rated R for nudity and explicit sexual content.)

Sugar Cane Alley. This story, set in 1930s Martinique, is both lyrical and powerful. Writer-director Euzhan Palcy tells the story of a young boy who is orphaned at the age of 11 and sent to live with his grandmother, who works on one of the island's sugar cane plantations. She realizes he has no future if he stays on the plantation. So she does what she can to keep him in school and away from the back-breaking labor to which she's devoted her life. Can he rise above his humble beginnings? (DVD, French with English subtitles, 107 minutes, Not Rated.)

The Taste of Others. A sexy comedy about good taste ... and bad manners! The lives and loves of several completely opposite men and women artfully intersect in what becomes a delightfully funny web of romantic entanglements. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 112 minutes, Rated R for language and drug content.)

Three Colors Trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski:
Bleu (Blue). Juliette Binoche stars as a young woman left devastated by the unexpected death of her husband and child. She retreats from the world around her, but is soon reluctantly drawn into an ever-widening web of lies and passion as the dark secret of her husband's life begins to unravel. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 98 minutes, Rated R)
Blanc (White). Starring Julie Delpy, White is the mysterious tale of a man whose life disintegrates when his wife of six months deserts him. Forced to begin anew, he rebuilds his life, only to plan a dangerous scheme of vengeance against her. (DVD In French and Polish with English subtitles, 92 minutes, Rated R)
Rouge (Red). Red stars Irène Jacob as a young model whose chance meeting with an unusual stranger leads her down a path of intrigue and secrecy. As her knowledge of the man deepens, she discovers an astonishing link between his past ... and her destiny. (DVD In French with English subtitles, 99 minutes, Rated R)

Three Men and a Cradle/Trois hommes et un couffin. Three clueless and hedonistic bachelors are forced to trade dames for diapers when an infant is left on their doorstep. This hilarious farce was one of the most popular French comedies of the 1980s, and it inspired the blockbuster American re-make Three Men and A Baby. (DVD in French with English subtitles. Not Rated; 106 minutes.)

Time Regained tells the story of the life of Marcel Proust, intermingled with the stories of his literary characters, until reality and fiction become intertwined. (DVD in French with English subtitles. Not Rated; 158 minutes.)

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg). Filmed in the 1960s in France, this is a unique and interesting movie: all of the dialog is sung. It's a great way to improve comprehension; the pronunciation is very clear and well-articulated. You may recognize some of the songs which later became popular hits in English. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 90 minutes; No Rating.)

Va Savoir (Who Knows?). A comedy about the romantic misadventures of a theatre director and his leading lady, whose already-complicated relationship becomes even more difficult when they become entangled in the lives of four other people. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 154 minutes; Rated PG-13.)

Les Vacances de M. Hulot (M. Hulot’s Holiday). Pipe-smoking Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati's endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati's wildly funny satire of vacationers determined to enjoy themselves includes a series of precisely choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats and firecrackers. This is a superior work that ranks among all-time classic comedies. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 87 minutes.)

La Vie en Rose. The unflinching true story of the life of France's "Little Sparrow," Edith Piaf. She came from the streets of Paris and survived using the only gift she had. From a very difficult childhood, Piaf became a legendary icon of 20th-century France; she embodied the voice of a nation and captivated the world. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 141 minutes, Rated PG-13.)

La Vie Promise (The Promised Life). Isabelle Huppert stars as Sylvia, a weary prostitute who suddenly makes contact with her estranged teenage daughter. Fleeing the French Mediterranean, they head north. Hounded by memory lapses and desperate not to see her daughter repeat her own mistakes, Sylvia tries to re-discover her once promising past. (DVD in French with English subtitles, 94 minutes, Not Rated.)

Les Visiteurs (The Visitors). A hilarious time-travel comedy about a medieval knight and his faithful servant who find themselves zapped to the present day. In their quest to return to their own time, they launch an assault on their former castle, now a luxury hotel! (DVD in French with English subtitles. 107 minutes; Rated R.)

With a Friend Like Harry. A suspenseful psychological thriller about a couple on vacation who meet up with a man who claims to have known the husband in high school. In a series of unexpected twists, the man's motives become suspect and the trip becomes more and more dangerous. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 116 minutes, Rated R for language, some violence, and a scene of nudity.)

The Widow of Saint-Pierre. A story of revenge, fear, and redemption. A convict on the isolated island of Saint-Pierre becomes a political pawn while awaiting the arrival of a guillotine and an executioner from France. (DVD in French with English subtitles. 108 minutes; Rated R.)

Women. Five international stars of the cinema portray professionally and emotionally intense women whose secrets, fears and desires are woven into their close web of friendship. Never simple, and always intriguing, these women's lives are filled with confrontation, love and loss. In the end they form a kind of safety net for each other, where emotional maturity and honesty become the fabric of their collective lives. DVD in French with English subtitles, 97 minutes, Not Rated)


FRENCH MOVIES
THAT COULD BE VIEWED
AT HOME OR IN A MOVIE THEATER

Here is a partial list of French movies that will also qualify for your French 1L or 2L Lab requirement, if you watch them at home or at a movie theater. We do not have these films in our Foreign Language Center collection yet, but most of these may be found at video rental stores (such as Blockbuster or NetFlix). This is not a definitive list; if you find another film that you want to use, please clear it with your instructor. Even though some of these films have English titles, to qualify for the requirement, the spoken dialogue for all films MUST be in the French language, unless otherwise approved by your lab instructor. It is OK if they have subtitles in English (or your native language other than French).

Keep in mind also that these are foreign films. Content of a violent or sexual nature may be different from American films with which you are familiar.

A Nous la Liberté
Around Midnight (directed by Bertrand Tavernier)
Beau Père (directed by Bertrand Blier)
La Bête Humaine (directed by Jean Renoir)
Bondé sauvé des eaux
Buffet Froid (directed by Bertrand Blier)
La Cage aux Folles
Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie
Cousin, Cousine
Les Diaboliques
La Femme Nikita (the original French film directed
      by Luc Besson, not the American TV series)
Les Fugitifs
Gazon Maudit
Le Genou de Claire
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (directed by Bertrand Blier)
Going Places (directed by Bertrand Blier)
Le Grand Blond avec une Chaussure Noire
 The Grand Illusion (directed by Jean Renoir)
Hiroshima, Mon Amour (directed by Alain Resnais)
Un Indien dans la Ville
Jules and Jim (directed by François Truffaut)
My Dinner with André (directed by Louis Malle)
My Man (directed by Bertrand Blier)
La Nuit de Varenne
Orpheus (directed by Jean Cocteau)
Les Quattre Cents Coups
Rendez-vous in Paris (directed by Eric Rohmer)
La Retour de Martin Guerre
Rules of the Game (directed by Jean Renoir)
Shoot the Piano Player (directed by FrançoisTruffaut)
Sunday in the Country (directed by Bertrand Tavernier)
Too Beautiful For You (directed by Bertrand Blier)
La Totale!
Un Homme et une Femme


(Return to Foreign Language Resource Center page.)