France has been at the forefront of cinema since the dawn of movies. With the most successful film industry outside of the United States, the country continues to turn out hundreds of feature-length titles every year. From easy comedies to Cannes-winning oeuvres, many of the releases over the past two decades have been sensations on the world stage. Here, we present the best contemporary movies – all or partly in the French language – that are now streaming on Netflix.
The 7 Best French Movies on Netflix
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7.
Phantom Thread (2018)
A flawless Daniel Day‑Lewis stars in this thought-provoking romance. He plays a successful dressmaker in post-second-World-War London who falls for a waitress while on an excursion to the countryside. It's hard to tell you what this movie is about without ruining the story for you but I can tell you how it made me feel: it kept me guessing the whole time. Day-Lewis' character is so masterfully played that I felt that every move he made was calculated and that every line meant something. Plus, expect stunning dresses, beautiful country-side sequences, and an all-around gorgeous aesthetic experience.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Brian Gleeson, Camilla Rutherford, Daniel Day-Lewis, Dave Simon, Emma Clandon, Evie Wray, Gina McKee, Harriet Sansom Harris, Jane Perry, Julia Davis, Lesley Manville, Lujza Richter, Michael Gabbitas, Philip Franks, Silas Carson, Tim Ahern, Vicky Krieps
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Go to Netflix
6.
Shéhérazade (2018)
A gritty and realistic thriller set in France’s notorious capital city of crime - Marseille.
Zachary is released from Juvenile prison to learn that his mother has abandoned him. He finds kinship in an underage sex worker by the name of Shéhérazade.
This seems like the set-up for a tough watch, but Shéhérazade plays like a romance when it’s slow, and a crime thriller when it’s fast (it’s mostly fast). Everything about the story and two leads’ relationship rings true. Added to the fact that it has no interest in emotionally manipulating you, the movie is more gripping and thought-provoking than sad.
A great story, fantastic acting from the cast of first-timers, and outstanding direction give the feeling that Shéhérazade is bound to become a modern classic. If you liked City of God, you will love this.
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Actor: Dylan Robert, Idir Azougli, Kader Benchoudar, Kenza Fortas, Lisa Amedjout, Nabila Ait Amer, Nabila Bounad, Sofia Bent
Director: Jean-Bernard Marlin
Go to Netflix
5.
I Am Not Your Negro (2017)
In a stunning and vivid (re-) introduction to the Black intellectual, author, and social critic, James Baldwin, this movie digs very deep into the American subconscious and racial history. It tells the story of America by telling the story of “the negro” in America, based on a book Baldwin started to write, which would have studied the famous assassinations of three of Baldwin's friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. He wrote about 30 pages before he passed away in 1987. Haitian director and activist Raoul Peck picked up the project and made it into a movie, earning him an Academy Award nomination. Narrated by none other than Samuel L. Jackson, I Am Not Your Negro highlights, at the same time, Baldwin's genius, his unique eloquence, and the beauty of his soul as a human being. It is a sad truth that Baldwin's denouncements feel as relevant today as they did 50 years ago. As such, this movie serves as a sobering reminder of how far America still has to go. A mesmerizing experience!
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Bob Dylan, Dick Cavett, H. Rap Brown, Harry Belafonte, James Baldwin, Joey Starr, Malcolm X, Marlon Brando, Martin Luther King, Ray Charles, Robert F. Kennedy, Samuel L. Jackson, Sidney Poitier
Director: Raoul Peck
Go to Netflix
4.
Virunga (2014)
Orlando von Einsiedel's epic documentary is at once a stunning natural film, an intimate human drama, and an intense political thriller slash investigative report. The titular Virunga National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site in Eastern Congo, serves as the magnifying glass through which we witness the natural, human, and political crisis of this embattled and volatile region. There are poachers killing endangered gorillas, the bloody business of Big Oil companies, government forces fighting a myriad of militias, and, lastly, the three individuals struggling to protect Virunga and its mountain gorillas from death and destruction. The result is a snap-crackle-pop-type situation, like sitting on a powder keg. The film captures all this superbly with great editing, compelling real-life material, and gripping action. Virunga's intensity can rival a well-made fictional thriller any day of the week.
Genre: Documentary, War
Actor: André Bauma, Emmanuel de Merode, Mélanie Gouby, Orlando von Einsiedel, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo
Director: Orlando von Einsiedel
Go to Netflix
3.
Divines (2016)
Winner of a Camera d'Or, the debutant's prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Director Houda Benyamina's first feature film is fast-paced and full of energy. Deep in the impoverished suburbs of Paris, the infamous banlieues, it tells the story of Dounia (played by Oulaya Amamra), a mouthy teenager who is not content with what society is prepared to hand out to her. She's angry; she wants more. And so, together with her best friend Maimouna (Déborah Lukumuena), she decides to finally make some cash as a runner for a drug dealer. While there's obviously some feminism in there somewhere, that's not at the heart of what this film is about. It's about the economic reality in a world of poverty and about two friends and their desire for freedom—no matter what the cost. An exhilarating and thought-provoking debut helped along by Amamra's amazing acting.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Déborah Lukumuena, Houda Benyamina, Jisca Kalvanda, Kevin Mischel, Majdouline Idrissi, Oulaya Amamra, Yasin Houicha
Director: Houda Benyamina, Uda Benyamina
Go to Netflix
2.
Senna (2010)
If you're not a fan of F1 racing, you might not know who Ayrton Senna is. If you are, there is no way you don't know. However, this 2010 British-French documentary packs so much thrill and emotion, you don't have to be a racing enthusiast to be engrossed by it.
So, who is Ayrton Senna? At a time when F1 cars were +1000HP fire-breathing monsters and the grid was stacked with world champions, the Brazilian racing driver rose above the rest to take 3 world championships and win the fabled Monaco Grand Prix a record 6 times. At the age of 34, a devastating car crash took his life.
Director Asif Kapadia develops a compelling, emotional, and exhilarating portrait of F1 racing and the man that was Ayrton Senna. He is still considered by many to be one the best and most exciting racing drivers to have ever stepped into an F1 car. The documentary too, is a thrilling pursuit: moving, psychological intriguing and absolutely nerve-wracking!
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Adriane Galisteu, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Bernie Ecclestone, Frank Williams, Jackie Stewart, Ron Dennis, Viviane Senna, Xuxa, Xuxa Meneghel
Director: Asif Kapadia
Go to Netflix
1.
The Intouchables (2012)
A wealthy paraplegic needs a new caretaker. His choice is surprising -- an ex-con down on his luck. Both of their lives are changed forever. Based on a true story, it is funny, touching, and very surprising. It will have you rolling on the floor laughing one minute and reaching for your hankie the next. Intouchables is one of those perfect movies, that will easily and instantly make anyone's all-time top 10 list.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Absa Diatou Toure, Alba Gaïa Kraghede Bellugi, Alba Gaïa Bellugi, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot, Benjamin Baroche, Caroline Bourg, Clotilde Mollet, Cyril Mendy, Dominique Daguier, Dorothée Brière, Émilie Caen, François Cluzet, Grégoire Oestermann, Hedi Bouchenafa, Jérôme Pauwels, Joséphine de Meaux, Joséphine de Meaux, Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Nicky Marbot, Omar Sy, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, Salimata Kamate, Thomas Solivérès
Director: Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache
Go to Netflix
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