What are the best French movies to improve my French?

French is an official language in 29 countries across multiple continents, most of which are members of the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), a community of 84 countries that share the official use or teaching of French. French is also one of six official languages used in the United Nations. It is spoken as a first language in France. Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as a second language. French is also the 18th most natively spoken language in the world, the 6th most spoken language by total number of speakers and the second or third most studied language worldwide. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, the French were introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. It is also known as the language of love and is part of the five major Romance languages.

To learn French seriously, you would need to gather as much exposure possible to the language besides insights about the culture. Learners at the beginning are not only intimidated about learning French but to make matters worse, the thought of watching French films disturbs their state of mind due to incomplete improper knowledge of French 

To add to this, it’s such a shame that some people continue building things around learner’s fear such as:

French films are dull and full of philosophical musings

It’s too metaphorical and requires a lot of deep thinking

Only pretentious people (and hipsters!) are into French cinema

It’s for mature audiences only and not safe for children

These stereotypes are just that—general assumptions—and while some stereotypes make sense, these do not hold true for all of French cinema.

IMO don’t let these get to you and make you wary of watching a French movie! French cinema encompasses a wide variety of themes and ideas and there is bound to be some French movies that you’d gladly watch over and over.

Let’s first discuss how watching French movies would really help.

Besides imparting new vocabulary, French movies can help you gain an intuitive sense of the rhythm and flow of actual spoken French, as well as introduce you to the types of spoken French that are seldom encountered in daily French lessons or textbooks. Some street slang, subcultural terms, condensed sentences, and even some lovely poetic lines are included.

Furthermore, watching movies is a calming and pleasurable experience that will help you break the monotony of learning a new language. It’s a nice activity to incorporate into your French study routine.

Before you jump over movies let’s also discuss some important perquisites 

Choose a movie for your level. 

Don’t go straight to the new vague gems by François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard if you’re a beginner. Remember that the way the French language was used in the 1960s and 1970s differs from how it is spoken now.

As a result, while some films may be considered classics of French cinema, the vocabulary and phrases used in them may no longer be acceptable today.

I recommend that beginners watch simple films such as: Children’s films

Action movies

Action movies are perfect because even if you can’t really understand the dialogue, the action will give you a good understanding of what’s going on.

Also, don’t confuse French and French-Canadian films. Since there are significant variations between Canadian French and French spoken in France, the slang and phrases used differ as well.

Look for a movie with subtitles.

Look for movies with both English and French subtitles if at all necessary. Keep in mind, however, that the English subtitles do not fit the French dialogue word for word.

French subtitles, on the other hand, can assist you in correctly spelling and assembling posts, which is crucial when studying new terms that you haven’t encountered before.

“Actively” watch the film.

By actively, I mean that you’d need a pen and paper or some other kind of writing instrument to jot down your thoughts.

Start by watching One Movie per Day

Here are a few movies for your 1st week you can start from. 

Les temps qui changent (Changing Times)

Monsieur Lazhar

Nés en 68 (Born in 68)

Un amour de jeunesse (Goodbye First Love)

La Bonne Année (Happy New Year )

La Reine Margot (Queen Margot )

Roman de Gare ( Crossed Tracks)

Post 7 days, look for more movies here.

A new foreign language like French will definitely increase your job opportunities and salary potential. France has won more Nobel Prizes for literature than any other country in the world. It has some of best universities in Europe which makes it an attractive country for further studies. But basic knowledge of French is required for enrollment in most public universities.  France is also one of the world’s major foreign tourist destinations with almost 100 million tourists visiting every year to see the world-renowned landmarks such as Eifel Tower, Lovre Museum, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Palace of Versailles and famous sports stadiums. In humanities and social sciences, many important writings have come from France.

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