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!
Full Time (2021)
7.4/10
Starring: Laure Calamy
Julie finally gets an interview for a job where she can raise her children better only to run into a national transit strike. Read more
Gabrielle (2005)
6.3/10
Director: Patrice Chereau
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Greggory, Claudia Coli
Inspired by Joseph Conrad's short story 'The Return', this French period drama chronicles the deterioration of the marriage of a successful publisher... Read more
Gainsbourg (2010)
6.9/10
Director: Joann Sfar
Starring: Sara Forestier, Lucy Gordon, Eric Elmosnino
AKA "Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life" A glimpse at the life of French singer Serge Gainsbourg, from growing up in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris through his succ... Read more
Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti (2017)
6.5/10
Director: Edouard Deluc
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Malik Zidi, Tuhei Adams, Pernille Bergendorff
In 1891 Gauguin settles down in Tahiti, where he hopes to find inspiration for his work as an artist and live as a free man in the wild, far from all... Read more
Germinal (1993)
7.1/10
Director: Claude Berri
Starring: Anny Duperey, Bernard Fresson, Gerard Depardieu, Judith Henry, Laurent Terzieff,...
A sprawling adaptation of the classic 1884 Emile Zola novel, this manages to tell both the epic tale of a bleak rural community and the personal story... Read more
Get Well Soon (2014)
5.8/10
Director: Jean Becker
Starring: Gerard Lanvin, Fred Testot, Jean-Pierre Darroussin
AKA: Bon Rétablissement! From Jean Becker, director of My Afternoons with Margueritte, comes a heart-warming tale of finding friends (and hope) in the... Read more
Girlhood (2014)
6.9/10
Director: Celine Sciamma
Starring: Marietou Toure, Karidja Toure, Lindsay Karam, Assa Sylla
Bursting onto the screen in a blast of buzzing power pop, Girlhood from Céline Sciamma (Water Lilies, Tomboy) is marked from the outset by its energet... Read more
Goal Of The Dead (2014)
5.5/10
Director: Benjamin Rocher
A professional football team arrives at their lowly rivals stadium to find a zombie apocalypse has turned the hostile fans into rabid undead hooligans... Read more
God Is Great, I'm Not (2001)
Director: Pascale Bailly
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Edouard Baer, Julie Depardieu, Catherine Jacob, Philippe Laudenba...
AKA "Dieu Est Grand, Je Suis Toute Petite". Audrey Tautou stars as Michele, a 20-year-old model, whose recent break-up has sent her into a tailspin. O... Read more
Golden Marie ( Casque d'or ) (1952)
7.8/10
Director: Jacques Becker
Starring: Serge Reggiani, Simone Signoret, Claude Dauphin
Jacques Becker lovingly evokes the belle epoque Parisian demimonde in this classic tale of doomed romance. When gangster's moll Marie (Simone Signoret... Read more