My Top 30 French Movies (over 202 I've seen so far)
by jmurseli-1 | created - 16 Apr 2011 | updated - 12 May 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,080 | Gross: $33.23M
2. A Very Long Engagement (2004)
R | 133 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Tells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster, Dominique Pinon
Votes: 75,949 | Gross: $6.17M
3. Léon: The Professional (1994)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello
Votes: 1,245,483 | Gross: $19.50M
4. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 911,877 | Gross: $32.57M
5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
PG-13 | 112 min | Biography, Drama
The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.
Director: Julian Schnabel | Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny
Votes: 110,422 | Gross: $5.99M
6. A Prophet (2009)
R | 155 min | Crime, Drama
A delinquent Muslim man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss. But his gradual rise through the mob's ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb
Votes: 102,173 | Gross: $2.08M
7. Paris, I Love You (2006)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Through the neighborhoods of Paris, love is veiled, revealed, imitated, sucked dry, reinvented, and awakened.
Directors: Olivier Assayas, Frédéric Auburtin, Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Gérard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Alexander Payne, Bruno Podalydès, Walter Salles, Oliver Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant | Stars: Juliette Binoche, Leonor Watling, Ludivine Sagnier, Fanny Ardant
Votes: 74,547 | Gross: $4.86M
8. Persepolis (2007)
PG-13 | 96 min | Animation, Biography, Drama
A precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.
Directors: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi | Stars: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, Danielle Darrieux
Votes: 100,148 | Gross: $4.45M
9. Love Me If You Dare (2003)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
As adults, best friends Julien and Sophie continue the odd game they started as children -- a fearless competition to outdo one another with daring and outrageous stunts. While they often act out to relieve one another's pain, their game might be a way to avoid the fact that they are truly meant for one another.
Director: Yann Samuell | Stars: Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard, Thibault Verhaeghe, Joséphine Lebas-Joly
Votes: 72,449 | Gross: $0.55M
10. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (2008)
R | 133 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life and death as France's Public Enemy No. 1 in the 1970s.
Director: Jean-François Richet | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Ludivine Sagnier, Mathieu Amalric, Samuel Le Bihan
Votes: 31,233 | Gross: $0.28M
11. La Vie En Rose (2007)
PG-13 | 140 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.
Director: Olivier Dahan | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner
Votes: 90,733 | Gross: $10.30M
12. The Chorus (2004)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Music
Pierre, a successful orchestra conductor, returns home when his mother dies. He stumbles upon an old diary and recollects the childhood school memories and his music teacher Clement Mathieu.
Director: Christophe Barratier | Stars: Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Kad Merad
Votes: 67,138 | Gross: $3.64M
13. The Secret of Kells (2009)
Not Rated | 75 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids is beckoned to adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives with an ancient book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers.
Directors: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey | Stars: Evan McGuire, Brendan Gleeson, Mick Lally, Christen Mooney
Votes: 38,278 | Gross: $0.69M
14. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
PG-13 | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him.
Director: Sylvain Chomet | Stars: Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Monica Viegas
Votes: 57,070 | Gross: $7.00M
15. Russian Dolls (2005)
Not Rated | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Five years after their summer together in Barcelona, Xavier, William, Wendy, Martine and Isabelle reunite.
Director: Cédric Klapisch | Stars: Romain Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France
Votes: 21,316 | Gross: $0.32M
16. Welcome (I) (2009)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
Bilal sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe and wants to get to England to see his love who lives there.
Director: Philippe Lioret | Stars: Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi, Audrey Dana, Derya Ayverdi
Votes: 7,616 | Gross: $0.01M
17. Paris (I) (2008)
R | 130 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A ex-dancer has a heart problem and even with a transplant, he may still only have a few months to live. Time's spent looking at people/life in Paris from his balcony. His single mom sister moves in with her 3 kids to look after him.
Director: Cédric Klapisch | Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Romain Duris, Joffrey Platel, Mélanie Laurent
Votes: 12,873 | Gross: $1.01M
18. I've Loved You So Long (2008)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.
Director: Philippe Claudel | Stars: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grévill
Votes: 20,709 | Gross: $3.17M
19. Le Dîner de Cons (1998)
PG-13 | 80 min | Comedy
A few friends have a weekly fools' dinner, where each brings a fool along. Pierre finds a champion fool for next dinner. Surprise.
Director: Francis Veber | Stars: Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret, Francis Huster, Daniel Prévost
Votes: 44,334 | Gross: $4.07M
20. The Day of the Jackal (1973)
PG | 143 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In the aftermath of France allowing Algeria's independence, a group of resentful military veterans hire a professional assassin codenamed "Jackal" to kill President Charles de Gaulle.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Edward Fox, Terence Alexander, Michel Auclair, Alan Badel
Votes: 44,911 | Gross: $16.06M
21. The Professional (1981)
Not Rated | 108 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Victim of a plot which has resulted in his imprisonment in a Central African jail for two years, a French secret agent arrives in Paris to settle accounts.
Director: Georges Lautner | Stars: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Desailly, Cyrielle Clair, Marie-Christine Descouard
Votes: 17,264
22. Incendies (2010)
R | 131 min | Drama, Mystery, War
Twins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.
Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Mustafa Kamel
Votes: 200,149 | Gross: $6.86M
23. Goodbye, Children (1987)
PG | 104 min | Drama, War
A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. Occupying the next bed in the dormitory to the top student in his class, the two young boys begin to form a bond.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette, Stanislas Carré de Malberg
Votes: 36,113 | Gross: $4.54M
24. La haine (1995)
Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama
24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui, Abdel Ahmed Ghili
Votes: 196,351 | Gross: $0.31M
25. The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
During his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.
Director: Denys Arcand | Stars: Rémy Girard, Dorothée Berryman, Stéphane Rousseau, Marie-Josée Croze
Votes: 30,031 | Gross: $3.43M
26. Irreversible (2002)
Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Philippe Nahon
Votes: 147,613 | Gross: $0.75M
27. The Closet (2001)
R | 84 min | Comedy
A man spreads the rumor of his fake homosexuality with the aid of his neighbor, to prevent his imminent firing at his work.
Director: Francis Veber | Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte, Michèle Laroque
Votes: 18,328 | Gross: $6.68M
28. Anything for Her (2008)
96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
With no legal means left to him, a high school teacher devises a daring plan to rescue his wrongfully imprisoned wife from jail.
Director: Fred Cavayé | Stars: Vincent Lindon, Diane Kruger, Lancelot Roch, Olivier Marchal
Votes: 9,767
29. Certified Copy (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Romance
In Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged British writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. While there, a chance question reveals something deeper.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, Jean-Claude Carrière, Agathe Natanson
Votes: 26,885 | Gross: $1.34M
Tell Your Friends