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!
OSS 117 - From Africa With Love (2001)
7/10
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Pierre Niney, Natacha Lindinger, Wladimir Yordanoff
The third entry in secret agent OSS 117's parodic spy adventures. Read more
The Wedding Speech (2020)
Director: Laurent Tirard
Starring: Benjamin Lavernhe, Julia Piaton, Kyan Khojandi
A recently dumped man awaits a reconciliation text message from his ex during a seemingly never-ending family dinner. Read more
Close (2022)
7.8/10
Director: Lukas Dhont
Starring: Emilie Dequenne, Lea Drucker
The intense friendship between two thirteen-year old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approa... Read more
Anatomy Of A Fall (2023)
7.7/10
Starring: Sandra Huller, Samuel Theis, Milo Machado Graner
A woman is suspected of her husband's murder, and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the sole witness. Read more
Night Shift (2001)
6.5/10
Director: Philippe Le Guay
Starring: Gerald Laroche, Bastien Le Roy
A tense psychological thriller set during the night shift in a small bottle factory. When Pierre takes on a second job at the factory, he is initially... Read more
Jour De Fete ( Blu-ray ) (1949)
7.4/10
Director: Jacques Tati
Starring: Guy Decomble, Paul Frankeur
In his enchanting debut feature, Jacques Tati stars as a fussbudget of a postman who is thrown for a loop when a traveling fair comes to his village.... Read more
Testament of Orpheus / The Blood of a Poet (1959)
Director: Jean Cocteau
Starring: Jean Cocteau, Henri Cremieux, Edouard Dermithe
In his last film, legendary writer/artist/filmmaker Jean Cocteau portrays an 18th-century poet who travels through time on a quest for divine wisdom.... Read more
The Wild Boys (Blu-ray) (2017)
6.8/10
Director: Bertrand Mandico
Starring: Sam Louwyck, Nathalie Richard
The tale of five adolescent boys enamored by the arts but drawn to crime and transgression. After committing a brutal crime aided by Trevor, a deity o... Read more
Une Femme Mariee ( A Married Woman ) (Blu-ray) (1964)
7.6/10
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Macha Meril, Bernard Noel, Philippe Leroy
New Wave master Jean-Luc Godard focuses on a day in the life of a wife who is forced to decide between her pilot husband and her actor lover. Subtitle... Read more
Le Plaisir ( Pleasure ) (Blu-ray) (1952)
7.7/10
Director: Max Ophuls
Starring: Mila Parely, Madeleine Renaud, Ginette Leclerc, Gaby Morlay, Claude Dauphin
Adapted from three short stories by Guy de Maupassant, each segment revels in the ecstasy of pleasure: an old man regains his youth with the aid of a... Read more