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!
The Kitchen Brigade (2022)
Starring: Audrey Lamy, Francois Cluzet
Cathy is a sous-chef wanting to open a restaurant. With financial difficulties, Cathy accepts a job at a shelter for young migrants. At first she hate... Read more
The Last Diamond (2014)
6.3/10
Director: Eric Barbier
Starring: Yvan Attal, Berenice Bejo, Jean-Francois Stevenin
The 'Florentin', a fabled, 137-carat yellow diamond last seen in 1918, has resurfaced and is up for sale at an exclusive Antwerp auction house. Simon,... Read more
The Last Metro (1980)
7.4/10
Director: Francois Truffaut
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Jean Poiret
Truffaut's poignant, compelling drama, set in Nazi-occupied Paris, unfolds in the Theatre Montmartre, as a group of actors rehearse. But everyone harb... Read more
The Life Coach (2009)
6.6/10
Director: Olivier Doran
Starring: Didier Bezace, Richard Berry, Jean-Paul Rouve, Anne Marivin, Melanie Bernier, Je...
A.k.a. "Le coach". Under pressure from mounting gambling debts, and with his wife with leaving him, life coach Maximilien Chene is at his wits end. Wh... Read more
The Light (2004)
7.1/10
Director: Philippe Lioret
Starring: Sandrine Bonnaire, Philippe Torreton, Gregori Derangere, Emilie Dequenne, Anne C...
Camille returns to the small island off the Brittany coast where she was born in order to sell her parents' cottage and comes across the diary of a st... Read more
The Little Gangster ( Le Petit Criminel ) (1990)
7.1/10
Director: Jacques Doillon
Starring: Richard Anconina, Clotilde Courau, Gerald Thomassin, Jocelyne Perhirin
The 'petit criminel' of the title is an unhappy child to an alcoholic mother who sees a glimmer of hope in the news of a missing discovered older sist... Read more
The Little Soldier ( Le Petit Soldat ) (1962)
7/10
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Anna Karina, Michel Subor, Paul Beauvais, Henri-Jacques Huet, Laszlo Szabo
Director Jean-Luc Godard's controversial look at the French-Algerian War stars Michel Subor as an army deserter recruited by right-wing forces to assa... Read more
The Magnificent Tati (2009)
6.9/10
Director: Michael House
Starring: Jacques Tati
Director Michael House explores the life and work of the magnificent Tati through clips and interviews with those who know his work best. Tati is foll... Read more
The Man from London (2007)
7.2/10
Director: Bela Tarr
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Janos Derzsi, Erika Bok, Gyula Pauer, Istvan Lenart, Miroslav Kro...
Four years in the making, the new film from the acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr is an adaptation of a novel by thriller writer Georges Simenon... Read more
The Man In The Basement (2021)
5.6/10
Director: Philippe Le Guay
Starring: Francois Cluzet, Jeremie Renier, Berenice Bejo, Jonathan Zaccai, Patrick Descamp...
Simon and Helen live in Paris together, they decide to sell a basement in their building. The man who buys it has a troubled past and the couple's lif... Read more