TOP 10 FEEL-GOOD FRENCH MOVIES TO WATCH OVER & OVER

If you are a student at Rendezvous en Francais in Avalon, you have access to these movies for free.

Watching French movies is a great way to be immersed into the French language as it will help you tune your ear to the French “accent” and also help you ( with the subtitles on) to connect the words ( you might already know) to their exact context.

1- La Grande Vadrouille / The big Runaround – (1966)

Un grand classique du cinema francais. A battu tous les records d’entree dans les salles de cinema. Il faudra attendre la sortie des Chit’s en 2008 pour battre ce record!

Mes enfants l’on vu et revu et ca riglole toujours autant!

During World War II, two French ordinary French civilians (Bourvil & Louis de Funes) help the crew of a Royal Air Force bomber shot down over Paris to make their way through the German occupied France to escape arrest.

2- La chevre / The goat (1981)

Deux tres bons acteurs du cinema francais.

When the accident-prone daughter of a French businessman (Gerard Depardieu) disappears in Brazil and the detective sent down to find her returns empty-handed, the businessman’s company psychologist comes up with an unusual plan – send someone equally accident-prone to find her. Despite detective Campana’s objections and disbelief in bad luck, he and Francois Perrin (Pierre Richard), the accident-prone man in question, are teamed up and head back down to Brazil to pick up the girl’s.

 

3-Le diner de cons / The Dinner game – (1998)

Excellent! et je vous conseille de voir la version anglaise tres bien faite aussi ( version anglaise = en doublage, donc en gardant nos acteurs francais – attention! pas le remake americain!).

Each week, Pierre ( Thierry Lhermitte) and his friends organize what is called as “un dîner de cons”. Everyone brings the dumbest guy he could find as a guest. Pierre thinks his champ -François Pignon (Jacques Villeret), an humble accountant and its matchsticks buildings- will steal the show.

 

4- Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain / Amelie (2001)

Mes eleves ont adore ce film. Il respire le bonheur! tres facile a suivre en sous-titre.

Bursting with imagination and having seen her share of tragedy and fantasy, Amelie ( Audrey Tautou) is not like the other girls. When she grows up she becomes a waitress in a Montmartre bar. Amelie enjoys simple pleasures until she discovers that her goal in life is to help others. To that end, she invents all sorts of tricks that allow her to intervene incognito into other people’s lives, including an imbibing concierge and her hypochondriac neighbor. But Amelie’s most difficult case turns out to be Nino Quicampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz), a lonely sex shop employee who collects photos abandoned at coin-operated photo booths.

The actors talk really fast so be ready to use your remote control to replay some section. It is rich in vocabulary and is full of great word play.

5- Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis  / Welcome to the Sticks – (2008)

A French public servant who lives in Provence is unexpectedly banished to the armpit of the far North. Strongly prejudiced against this cold and inhospitable place, he leaves his family behind to relocate temporarily there, with the firm intent to come back South as soon as possible…

Accent et vocabulaire.. attention! accrochez-vous! sous-titre conseilles // Accent and vocabulary! ouch! subtitles needed for beginners// but a great film to learn from and extend comprehension.

 

6- L’arnacoeur / The heartbreaker – (2010)

Alex (Romain Duris) and his sister run a business designed to break up relationships. They are hired by a rich man to break up the wedding of his daughter (Vanessa Paradis). The only problem is that they only have one week to do so.

Stylish, good-looking, the perfect romantic -comedy! Easy to understand, beginner will learn valuable vocabulary.. for everyday life practice!

 

7- Le corniaud / The Sucker (1965)

In this Franco-Italian gangster parody, a shop keeper (Bourvil) on his way to an Italian holiday suffers a crash which totals his 2CV car. The culprit (Louis de Funes) can only compensate his ruined trip by driving an American friend’s car from Napels to Bordeaux, but as it happens to be filled with such contraband as stolen money, jewelry and drugs, the involuntary and unwitting companions in crime soon attract all but recreational attention from the “milieu”

Classic comedy. Pun and classic comic sentences.. for intermediate to advance students

8 – Les intouchables / The Intouchables (2011)

An irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust and human possibility, The Intouchables has broken box office records in its native France and across Europe. Based on a true story of friendship between a handicap millionaire (Francois Cluzet) and his street smart ex-con caretaker (Omar Sy), The Intouchables depicts an unlikely camaraderie rooted in honesty and humor between two individuals who, on the surface, would seem to have nothing in common.

Great success in Australia, this movie is available in English. Best to put the french subtitles for acute learning.

 

9 – Tatie Danielle (1990)

Danielle Billard, aged 82, is a childless widow of an army colonel. She lives in a small-town home in Auxerre with her faithful housekeeper. Things are not as they appear. Danielle is mean, cruel and malicious. When Odile “accidentally” dies, Danielle divides her estate between her grand-niece and grand-nephew, Jeanne and Jean-Pierre. She then goes to live in Paris with Jean-Pierre and his family. Although the family believes her to be an agreeable elderly lady, they soon discover her true colours! The family goes on an extended vacation leaving their aunt in the care of a young woman, Sandrine. Little does Danielle know, she has finally met her match! Through many turbulent episodes these two women develop an ostensibly mutual love-hate “respect”.

We all know one! but we won’t say who! keep it for yourself and watch this movie. Best to use English subtitles. For advance students, as always, watch French version with french subtitles.

 

10- Tanguy (2001)

When he was a newborn baby, Edith Guetz thoughtlessly told her son Tanguy : “If you want to, you can stay at home forever.” 28 years later, overgraduated student and efficient teacher in Asian languages at the university, this womanizer leads his own successful wealthy life… while still living at his folks’ bourgeois place. For years, Paul Guetz longs to see his son finally emptying the nest ; alas, his desire isn’t shared by his wife. But when Edith too can’t bear her son’s omnipresence anymore, they decide to join their forces making Tanguy’s life a living hell. But they don’t know that Tanguy isn’t the type of guy who gives up too easily…...

He is the opposite of #9! we don’t want one! how? watch and beware.. Great french comedy, easy to understand for all levels. I recommend intermediate and advance to use English subtitles for best enjoyment.