5 French Movies For When You’re Craving A Foreign Film
For no reason, in particular, I find myself wanting to watch a foreign film and nearly every single one has been French. I’ll be sharing my favorites so far.
- Raw (2016)
For horror and gore lovers, Raw is the perfect movie for you. A coming-of-age movie about a young woman being hazed into veterinarian school. She accidentally picks up an undesirable habit and learns a scary family secret.
With a theatrical U.S. release in 2017, it almost immediately received critical acclaim and controversy for the graphic scenes. Unlike American films, where the plot easily gets covered up by blood, Raw delivers an amazing performance with the same amount of blood if not more. But do brace yourself, it’s extremely shocking.
2. Climax (2019)
Gaspar Noe does it again with a mind-altering, panic-inducing thriller like no other. His signature style to keep you worried until the next day comes is unmistakable. Cinematographer, Benoit Debie keeps those Dutch angles moving, and you’ll never get a break. Just like our desperate friends in the movie.
The psychological thriller, Climax follows a French dance troupes’ spiral into madness after someone’s spiked the punch… It’s truly inexplicable to all who have not seen it.
3. Nothing to Hide (Le Jeu) (2018)
One of many adaptations from the 2016 Italian film, Perfect Strangers by Paolo Genovese, this movie certainly is a fun watch. Don’t wanna watch it in French? It’s available in Korean, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and many more. The original film currently holds the world record for remakes.
A group of friends decide to play a game: share all messages that come to their phones with the group for the night. The game quickly proves to be disastrous.
4. My life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de courgette) (2018)
A somber story about Icare, nicknamed Courgette, and his journey to and from the orphanage. Rather than only sharing the harsh story of how the children got there, they share how the kids interact with one another.
Stop-motion never lets us down. Stylistically, story-wise, voice acting. All aspects of it fall short of perfect. It’s not surprising with the dedication, as it takes 3 years on average to get a full-length stop motion feature done. Swiss director, Claude Burras, wanted to show an orphanage experience that is not always abusive and traumatic.
5. Amélie (2001)
Amélie has been picked 7 ways to Sunday since its release in 2001, but there’s a chance you may not have heard of it. Winning nearly half of all awards it was nominated for, this movie has a legacy. Its screencaps ran rampant on Tumblr for a decade, rightfully so. It is absolutely beautiful.
This movie follows Amelie, a quirky waitress, and her silly ideas about love. The peculiar nature of the people she encounters every day gives her an adventure like no other.