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!
Lost in Paris (Paris pieds nus) (2016)
6.3/10
Director: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon
Starring: Fiona Gordon, Emmanuele Riva, Dominique Abel
Fiona is a Canadian librarian who flies to Paris and discovers that her 88-year-old aunt is missing. As Fiona scours the city looking for her, she enc... Read more
Slack Bay (2016)
6/10
Director: Bruno Dumont
Starring: Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
Inspectors Machin and Malfoy investigate after tourists vanish from beaches on the Channel Coast, near the Van Peteghem family's mansion. Read more
Frantz (2016)
7.5/10
Director: Francois Ozon
Starring: Pierre Niney, Paula Beer, Ernst Stotzner
Anna is a bereft young German woman whose fiance, Frantz, was killed in the trenches of World War I. Adrien, a French veteran of the war, makes a myst... Read more
The Red Turtle (Blu-Ray) (2016)
7.5/10
Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
If one day Studio Ghibli decides to produce an animator from outside the studio, it will be him, was Miyazakis pronouncement after watching Dudok de... Read more
Les hommes de l'ombre: Season 3 ( aka The Shadow Men, aka Spin ) (2016)
Starring: Philippe Magnan, Gregory Fitoussi, Bruno Wolkowitch
Six months before the Presidential elections, the leader of the extreme right party who is ahead in the opinion polls, is assassinated before the eyes... Read more
Penny Pincher! (Radin!) (2016)
5.8/10
Director: Fred Cavaye
Starring: Dany Boon, Laurence Arne, Noemie Schmidt
François' problems mount when a 16-year-old girl shows up and claims to be his daughter. Read more
Polina ( Polina, danser sa vie ) (2016)
6.8/10
Director: Angelin Preljocaj, Valerie Muller
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Anastasia Shevtsova, Alexsey Guskov
A young girl studies classical ballet. As a young woman she turns to modern dance and choreography. A modern dance piece like Fred Astaire and Gene Ke... Read more
The Odyssey (2016)
6.7/10
Director: Jerome Salle
Starring: Lambert Wilson, Audrey Tautou, Pierre Niney
Summer, 1946. The Cousteau family - Jacques, his wife Simone and their two children Philippe and Jean-Michel - live in their beautiful house by the Me... Read more
Un village francais: Volume 5 (A French Village) (2016)
8.4/10
Starring: Robin Renucci, Fabrizio Rongione, Nade Dieu, Audrey Fleurot, Richard Sammel, Emm...
Its August 1944. Much of France is liberated, but the Germans remain in Villeneuve. The abuses by the militia continue, and this swells the ranks of t... Read more
Things to Come (2016)
7/10
Director: Mia Hanson-Love
Starring: Andre Marcon, Isabelle Huppert, Roman Kolinka
Nathalie (2017 Golden Globe-winner Isabelle Huppert) teaches philosophy at a college in Paris. Shes passionate about her work and particularly enjoys... Read more