14 French Movies to Best Learn About Various French Cultures

Now for something much lighter! Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis is a light French comedy that broke almost all box office records in France. A postal service manager, Philippe Abrams, in the south of France with a depressed wife. In order to make her happy, he pretends to be disabled to get a job on the Mediterranean seaside but his boss finds out and sends him to Northern France. Northern France is known as ‘the sticks’ (cold, rainy, with people that speak a strange language). He ends up loving the place and tells his wife (who stayed in the south) but she does not believe him so he tells her that his life is wretched there, that the people are all crazy. Unexpectedly, she changes her mind and tells him she wants to join him. Abrams has to figure out a way to make his wife leave. It’s one of the most famous French movies.

This French comedy-drama is a feel good film based on a true story, where you’ll learn a lot about French humour. It was the second biggest box officer hit after Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis. The story chronicles the story of a caretaker, Driss, and a quadriplegic man named Philippe. Flashbacks allow the viewer to understand how they became friends after a few bumpy roads. They both help each other: Driss does not judge Philippe and learns about Opera, modern art and painting, and Philippe does not feel any pity from Driss which makes him feel like a normal person for once. You will see great scenes from France and learn about the French and their particular humour. You also learn about the socio-economic differences between immigrants like Driss, and white, millionnaire typical Frenchman Philippe. Their differences are more similar than they expect. Les Intouchables has even be adapted in the US!

This Chadian-French film depicts the story of Adam, an ex African swimming champion who sends his son to fight in the Chadian civil war (2005-2010) in order to regain his position as a pool attendant at the hotel where he works. Since his son was promoted to pool attendant and him demoted to a security guard, Adam lets the local chief take his son for the war effort so he can resume his job as the pool attendant. After the conflict worsens and their village is compromised, Adam realizes what he did and goes to find his son to be forgiven for his selfishness. This movie’s main themes are fatherhood and war although the director, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, decided to keep the story focused on the relationship between father and son rather than the relationship between war and the Chadian people. This movie won the Cannes Film Festival’s Jury Prize, making Haroun the first Chadian director to win any award from Cannes.