French Cinema
The influence of France on the world screen is undeniable. From early inventors and pioneers such as the Lumiere Brothers, George Melies and Alice Guy Blache, the birth of cinema can virtually be traced back to French shores. Cinematic innovators such as Jean Renoir and Michael Carne followed. By the 1960s New Wave directors like Truffaut, Godard and Chabrol had an indelible impact on fledgling American film makers such as Scorsese, Coppola and Bogdanovich who revolutionised the way films were made in the US; studios fell, auteurs ruled. With the advent of television, French film budgets shrank but thanks to government intervention and a good deal of imagination, French cinema is still going strong with contemporary talents like Jean-Jaques Beineix, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Luc Besson and the controversial Gaspar Noe.
At Alice we're very proud of our extensive French collection, covering all genres from French farce to period drama, magical realism to mystery and suspense. Viva la France!
First Name: Carmen (1983)
6.6/10
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Maruschka Detmers, Jacques Bonnaffe
A.k.a. 'Prenom: Carmen'. Jean-Luc Godard's irreverent satire of 'Carmen' stars Maruschka Detmers as a femme fatale who plans to rob a bank while prete... Read more
Five Times Two ( 5 x 2 ) (2004)
Director: Francois Ozon
Starring: Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Stephane Freiss, Geraldine Pailhas, Francoise Fabian, Mi...
Gilles and Marion have just filed for divorce. As the judge declares their marriage over we follow the couple through five flashbacks, reversing thro... Read more
Fly Me to the Moon ( Un plan parfait ) (2012)
5.5/10
Director: Pascal Chaumeil
Starring: Etienne Chicot, Diane Kruger, Dany Boon, Alice Pol, Robert Plagnol
A.k.a. "Un plan parfait". Breezy French rom-com starring Diane Kruger and Dany Boon. In Isabelle's (Kruger) family, every first marriage has ended in... Read more
Folies Bergere (2014)
6.7/10
Director: Marc Fitoussi
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Michael Nyqvist, Marina Fois, Audrey Dana, Pio Marmai, Anais D...
The endlessly versatile (and perennially youthful) Isabelle Huppert brings a funny and touching dreaminess to her role in this comedy of empty-nest up... Read more
Forbidden Games (1952)
8/10
Director: Rene Clement
Starring: Brigitte Fossey, Georges Poujouly
A timeless evocation of childhood innocence corrupted, Rene Clement's ("Purple Noon") undisputed masterpiece tells the story of a young girl orphaned... Read more
Francofonia (2015)
6.6/10
Director: Alexander Sokurov
Aleksandr Sokurov, best known for Russian Ark, his historical fantasia shot in the galleries of the Hermitage, moves his cameras now to the Louvre. Pr... Read more
Frantz (2016)
7.5/10
Director: Francois Ozon
Starring: Pierre Niney, Paula Beer, Ernst Stotzner
Anna is a bereft young German woman whose fiance, Frantz, was killed in the trenches of World War I. Adrien, a French veteran of the war, makes a myst... Read more
French Cancan (1954)
7.5/10
Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Jean Gabin, Francoise Arnoul, Maria Felix
Nineteenth-century Paris comes vibrantly alive in Jean Renoir's exhilarating tale of the opening of the world-renowned Moulin Rouge. Jean Gabin plays... Read more
Friends from France ( Les interdits ) (2013)
6/10
Director: Anne Weil, Philippe Kotlarski
Starring: Soko , Jeremie Lippmann
Summer 1982, Leningrad. Jerome and Carole are waiting in line to go through the customs service in order to enter the USSR. They are cousins and both... Read more
Frontier(s) (2007)
6.3/10
Director: Xavier Gens
Starring: Karina Testa, Aurelien Wiik, Patrick Ligardes, David Saracino, Maud Forget, Samu...
Following the election of an extreme right wing political party, there is rioting and chaos on the French streets. Ghetto kid Yasmina sees an opportun... Read more