For those for whom the New Wave is a bit too much, here are some more recent suggestions for French films. Almost all have been student tested, student approved. I've put them into categories, but these are only approximate.

The "Cinéma du Look" (very stylized):
Jean-Jacques Beineix, Diva (1980)
Luc Besson, Subway (1985), Nikita (1990)
Léos Carax, Lovers on the Bridge (1991)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Délicatessen (1991)

"Heritage Cinema" (period pieces and literary adaptations):
Daniel Vigne, The Return of Martin Guerre (1983)
Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
Patrice Leconte, Ridicule (1996)

Comedy:
Coline Serreau, 3 Men and a Cradle (1985)
Jean-Marie Poiré, The Visitors (1993)
Francis Veber, The Dinner Game (1998), The Closet (2000)

Colonization/De-colonization:
Claire Denis, Chocolat (1990)
Régis Wargnier, Indochine (1992) (Deneuve scored a Best Actress nomination with this film)

Sexual Identity/Coming of Age:
Alain Berliner, Ma vie en rose (1997)
André Téchiné, Wild Reeds (1994)

Musicals:
Jacques Martineau, Jeanne and the Perfect Guy (2000) (A musical about AIDS)
François Ozon, 8 Women (2002) (A whodunit—Deneuve sings!)

Crime:
Patrice Leconte, Monsieur Hire (1989) (Adapted from Simenon)
Jacques Audiard, Sur mes lèvres/Read My Lips (2001)
Mathieu Kassovitz, The Crimson Rivers (2001)

Romance/Romantic Comedies (all with Audrey Tautou):
Tonie Marshall, Venus Beauty Institute (1999)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Amélie (2001)
Cedric Klapisch, L'Auberge Espagnole (2003)

World Wars:
Louis Malle, Au revoir les enfants (1987) (based on Louis Malle's childhood)
Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Bon Voyage (2003) (Isabelle Adjani does comedy!)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, A Very Long Engagement (2005)

Hard to classify but highly recommended:
Patrice Leconte, The Man on the Train (2002)
Agnès Jaoui, The Taste of Others (1999), Look at Me (2005) (a bit pretentious but both very interesting explorations of power and social dynamics among the intellectual crowd)
Erick Zonca, The Dreamlife of Angels (1998)

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Holy Crap!! I've seen a Louis Malle film!! And quite by accident!

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Holy Crap!! I've seen a Louis Malle film!! And quite by accident!

Was this something you were trying to avoid?

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Thanks for the list, megan! No wonder QT's style seemed so familiar from what everyone was saying.

I know I've seen at least part of "Ma vie en rose." There were times I'd rent a movie to watch with my daughter; she has a habit of talking over everything, particularly if it's something she doesn't like or can't understand. I end up watching a lot of movies without ever knowing/remembering how they ended.

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Was this something you were trying to avoid?

Not at all. I just feel all accidentally culturfied.

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Oh man, I loved King Kong. The big question going in was "Why make this movie?" and within the first ten minutes, I got it.

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My favorite foreign film - actually, probably my favorite film, period, is Almodovar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. The mambo taxi! "You see what the Arab world has done to me!" The moped chase! The gazpacho!

I recommend The Return of Martin Guerre, as far as French films go - Gerard Depardieu before he was a man-mountain.

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Megan, we Netflixed Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources. So they are available on dvd.

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I recommend The Return of Martin Guerre, as far as French films go

I second this. And Depardieu's Cyrano is nice too.

Hec, my German's not that good. I could translate those words literally, but I suspect you're looking for a compound concept noun, like Schadenfreude. I'll ask around, but you might check Leo: [link]

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Megan, we Netflixed Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources. So they are available on dvd.

Is it in your "Saved" section? Because I was able to add it long ago, but it's been sitting there ever since with an "Unknown" release date. You can find it online as an import--but that usually means expensive and/or wacky subtitles.

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