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!
Certified Copy (2010)
7.3/10
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Starring: Juliette Binoche, William Shimell
From the acclaimed Iranian director of 'Taste of Cherry' comes the story of a couples apparent chance meeting in beautiful Tuscany which provocativel... Read more
Artemisia (1997)
6.8/10
Director: Agnes Merlet
Starring: Michel Serrault, Valentina Cervi, Maurice Garrel
A powerful biographic study of a talented Italian woman artist, Artemisia Gentileshi, struggling against the narrow mindedness of Renaissance attitude... Read more
Nathalie... (2003)
6.4/10
Director: Anne Fontaine
Starring: Fanny Ardant, Gerard Depardieu, Emmanuelle Beart
Aka "Nathalie X". A psychological drama from the writer of "A Pornographic Affair" in which a middle-aged woman fears that her husband is cheating on... Read more
A Few Days in September (2006)
5.4/10
Director: Santiago Amigorena
Starring: Juliette Binoche, John Turturro, Sara Forestier, Tom Riley, Nick Nolte
An international tale of intrigue with more than a hint of satire has Juliette Binoche as a French agent on the trail of a missing CIA operative with... Read more
How Much Do You Love Me? (2005)
5.7/10
Director: Bertrand Blier
Starring: Monica Bellucci, Gerard Depardieu, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Bernard Campan
The voluptuous Monica Bellucci stars as a prostitute hired to play wife to a lonely lotto winner in a role specifically written for her. Bumbling Fran... Read more
I've Loved You So Long (2008)
7.6/10
Director: Philippe Claudel
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grevill, Fre...
An intricate and intriguing French film that stars Kristin Scott Thomas as Juliette, a woman who has just been released from prison. Lea, her much you... Read more
Le Boucher ( The Butcher ) (1969)
7.6/10
Director: Claude Chabrol
Starring: Stephane Audran, Jean Yanne, Antonio Passallia
'The Butcher'. An intense psychological thriller about a schoolteacher who begins an affair with the town butcher, but the affair is interrupted when... Read more
Amour (2012)
7.9/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Emmanuele Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant
Examining the close bond shared by an elderly couple when one of them begins to suffer from an illness, "Amour" tells a heart-rending story of sacrifi... Read more
Hidden ( Cache ) (2005)
6.4/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Maurice Benichou, Annie Girardot
George (Daniel Auteuil) and his wife Anne (Juliette Binoche) seem to have the perfect middle-class lifestyle until one day mysterious videotapes and d... Read more
And God Created Woman (1956)
6.3/10
Director: Roger Vadim
Starring: Brigitte Bardot, Curt Jurgens, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Christian Marquand
Brigitte Bardot's best known film. She plays a man teasing 18-year-old whose lustful encounters with the irresistible opposite sex are enacted out ami... Read more