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!
A Cat in Paris (2010)
7/10
Director: Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli
By day, a childs beloved companion& by night, a rooftop-roaming thief! Meet Dino, a common house cat who lives a double life. Hes the loyal pet of Z... Read more
The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
7.7/10
Director: Denys Arcand
Starring: Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Marie-Josee Croze, Dorothee Berryman
Reuniting the characters first introduced in his 1986 "The Decline of the American Empire," director Denys Arcand's Oscar-winning (Best Foreign Langua... 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
Happy End (2017)
6.8/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz, Toby Jones, Laura V...
Although a middle-class family living in Calais deal with a series of setbacks, they pay little attention to the grim conditions in the refugee camps... Read more
Jesus Of Montreal (1989)
7.5/10
Director: Denys Arcand
Starring: Catherine Wilkening, Lothaire Bluteau
The marvellous, emotional and humourous story of modern day hypocrisy, as experienced by a group of actors who stage a radical interpretation of the l... Read more
The Hedgehog (2010)
7.4/10
Director: Mona Achache
Starring: Anne Brochet, Josiane Balasko, Ariane Ascaride, Wladimir Yordanoff, Garance Le G...
Eleven-year-old Paloma Josse is bored beyond belief. Despite living in a gorgeous apartment in the legendary city of Paris, young Paloma feels no conn... Read more
Elles (2011)
5.7/10
Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Anais Demoustier, Joanna Kulig
The most provocative film of the year, "Elles" stars Juliette Binoche as Anne, a well-off Parisian journalist investigating the lives of two student p... Read more
Cleo from 5 to 7 (1961)
8/10
Director: Agnes Varda
Starring: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dorothee Blanck, Michel Legrand, Anna Kar...
This intimate film chronicles two hours in the life of a French singer who is waiting to hear if she has terminal cancer. The beautiful but spoiled Cl... Read more
Taken (2008)
7.8/10
Director: Pierre Morel
Starring: Maggie Grace, Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley, Leland Orser, Jon Gri...
Liam Neeson plays a former CIA operative who needs all his super-spy skills when his daughter is kidnapped by slave traders in Paris. Produced and co-... Read more
The Grocer's Son (2007)
7/10
Director: Eric Guirado
Starring: Nicolas Cazale, Clotilde Hesme, Daniel Duval, Jeanne Goupil, Stephan Guerin-Till...
Thirty-year-old Antoine thought he had left the family business far behind when he moved to the big city, but after his father suffers a heart attack... Read more