Amélie

(In French, English subtitles)

Amélie, an innocent and naive

girl in Paris, with her own sense

of justice, decides to help those

around her and along the way,

discovers love.

Les Choristes

(The Chorus)

The new teacher at a severely administered

boys' boarding school works to positively effect

the students' lives through music. A beautiful

film that has won several academy awards.

L'Auberge Espagnole

(The Spanish Apartment)

(In French, English subtitles)

A young Parisian not sure what his life is about,

decides to spend a year in Barcelona studying

economics --leaving behind his unhappy girlfriend

(Audrey Tautou, Amélie) but joining an international

mix of students in a hectic, crowded apartment.

He learns more about life than economics!

Jeux d'enfants

(Love Me If You Dare)

(In French, English subtitles)

As adults, best friends Julien

and Sophie continue the odd

game they started as children

-- a fearless competition

to outdo one another with

daring and outrageous stunts.

How far will they go?

Mission Cléopatre

(Subtitles in French only)

In a bet with Julius Caesar that her

people are still great, Cleopatra vows

to build a palace within three months. 

Numerobis, the chosen architect, calls

upon an old friend to help him out: the

druid Panoramix who brews a fantastic

potion that gives supernatural strength. 

Based on the “Asterix and Obelix” series,

this fun movie is a riotous adventure, full

of puns that will keep you laughing until

the end.

Jean de Florette

(In French, English subtitles)

Jean, a city tax-collector, (Gérard Depardieu)

comes to the countryside with his wife and

daughter to tend the land he has inherited,

seeking the “authenticity” of country life.

However, his neighbor (Yves Montand), has

his sights set on that land, and thwarts Jean’s

efforts by concealing a valuable spring.  Set in

the beautiful hills of Provence, this film evokes

the timeless struggle for control over personal

destiny.

Manon des sources

(Manon of the Springs)

(In French, English subtitles)

This sequel to Jean de Florette

tells the story of Jean’s daughter

(Emmanuelle Béart). As an adult,

she discovers that their neighbor

(Yves Montand) was responsible

for her father’s tragedy.  In revenge,

she sabotages the spring, cutting off

the water supply to the entire village.   

But there is an ironic twist; families

and destinies become strangely

intertwined in this tale of greed where

water plays a leading role.

La Gloire de mon père

(My Father's Glory)

(In French & English, English subtitles)

A young boy's life in turn-of-the-century

France. Marcel, witnesses the success of

his teacher father, as well as the success

of his arrogant Uncle Jules. Marcel and family

spend their summer vacation in a cottage in

Provence, and Marcel befriends a local boy who

teaches him the secrets of the hills in Provence.

Le Château de ma mère

( My Mother's Castle)

(In French & English, English subtitles)

Sequel to "La Gloire de mon père", this movie

recounts the trials and joys of Marcel's family as

they spend time in their beloved hills. Despite his

mother's failing health, Marcel's family carts their

belongings on foot, until a friend gives them a special

key that lets them clandestinely follow the canal, along

a path bordering private estates.  All would have gone

well, had it not been for the grumpy one-legged guard,

and his ferocious dog, Masher....  

Les visiteurs

(The Visitors)

(In French, no subtitles)

A medieval nobleman and his squire

are accidentally transported to

contemporary times by a senile sorcerer.

He enlists the aid of his descendent to try

to find a way to return home, all the while

trying to cope with the cultural and

technological changes distinguishing his

time from ours.

Tous les matins du monde

(All the Mornings of the World)

(In French, English subtitles)

In the late 17th century, a viola player, Monsieur

de Sainte Colombe, returns home to find that his

has wife died. In his grief he builds a small house

in his garden and  moves in, dedicating his life to

music. One day a young man, Marin Marais, comes

to see him with a request, he wants to be taught how

to play the viol.

Une Affaire de femmes

(Story of Women)

(In French, English subtitles)

From acclaimed director Claude Chabrol comes the

compelling true story of working-class housewife Marie

(Isabelle Huppert), who performs illegal abortions in

France during World War II, evading the Nazis, and

betraying those she loves. Brought to life by Chabrol

on actual locations, The Story of Women is an honest,

original, and utterly absorbing film, which won Isabelle

Huppert Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.

Le Colonel Chabert

(In French, English subtitles)

Colonel Chabert (Gerard Depardieu)

is severely wounded in war to the

point that the medical examiner has

signed his death certificate. When he

regains his health and memory, he

goes back to Paris where his "widow"

has married the Count Ferraud who

is financing his rise to power using

Chabert's money. Chabert hires a

lawyer to help him get back his

money and his honor.

Germinal

(In French, English subtitles)

Set in mid-19th century northern France,  the story

tells of exploited coal miners who eventually rally

and strike, bringing danger on themselves and

repressive action by the mine’s owner.  This film

is a rendition of Emile Zola's 1885 novel of the

same name.

Cyrano de Bergerac

(In French, English subtitles)

A dashing officer of the guard and romantic poet,

Cyrano de Bergerac falls in love with Roxane. His

one fault in his life, he feels, is his large nose and

he believes that Roxane will reject him. Using his

razor-sharp wit, he resorts to writing letters to her

on behalf of one of his cadets, Christian, who is also

in love with Roxane.

Bon Voyage

(In French, English subtitles)

In this World War II comedy, the fate

of the free world hangs in the balance

at the posh Hotel Splendide in Bordeaux.

Cabinet members, journalists, physicists,

and spies of all persuasions gather in

order to escape the Nazi occupation of

Paris. High society socialites hobnob with

jailbirds. Murderous intrigues, scientific

secrets and love affairs flourish.

Au revoir, les enfants

(Good-bye Children)

(In French, English subtitles)

Julien, an 11-year-old Catholic boarding-school

resident during the Nazi occupation of France

witnesses the courage of his instructors, who defy

the German's anti-Semitic policies and quietly

enroll Jewish children into the school under

assumed names.  The refugee children are

betrayed by a hostile ex-employee of the school.

The Story of Adele H

(In French, English subtitles)

Halifax, 1863. A young woman, miss Lewly, comes to

Halifax to search for Lt Pinson, whom she is madly in

love with. Actually, she is Adele Hugo, the second

daughter of the great French poet. The Lt Pinson does

not answer to her love and made her understand it is

hopeless. But Adele is obsessed by him and keeps chasing

and harassing him. This film about passionnate and obesseive

love, and self-destruction, has been written from real Adele

Hugo's diary.

La Reine Margot

(Queen Margot)

(In French, English subtitles)

The night of August 24, 1572, is known

as the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.

In France a religious war is raging. In

order to impose peace a forced wedding

is arranged between Margot de Valois,

sister of the immature Catholic King

Charles IX, and the Hugenot King Henri

of Navarre. Catherine of Medici maintains

her behind-the-scenes power by ordering

assaults, poisonings, and instigations to

incest.

Contains graphic content.

Laissez-Passer

(In French, no subtitles)

In occupied France, German-run Continental Films

calls the shots in the movie business. Assistant

director and Resistance activist Jean Devaivre works

for Continental, where he can get "in between the wolf's

teeth and avoid being chewed up". Fast-living

screenwriter Jean Aurenche uses every possible

argument to avoid working for the enemy.

For both, wartime is a battle for survival.

Lacombe Lucien

(In French, English subtitles)

This is the tale of a young boy during WWII who

wants to join the Resistance but is shunned by them

because of his youth.  So instead he joins the Gestapo.

Unfortunately, he then falls in love with a young Jewish

girl. Suddenly he has both the unsympathetic Resistance

and the Gestapo hot on his trail. Not a pretty picture of

either side.

The Horseman on the Roof

(Le Hussard sur le toit)

(In French, English subtitles)

In 1832, war and cholera ravage Provence.  

Angelo, a young Italian officer hunted by

the Austrian secret police, meets Pauline de

Theus and gallantly tries to help her find her

husband.   In a country torn apart by chaos,

their only chance of survival is each other.

Le Retour de Martin Guerre

(The Return of Martin Guerre)

(In French with English subtitles)

During medieval times, Martin Guerre returns

to his hometown after being away at war for a

very long time. Nobody recognizes him and the

townspeople suspect him of being an imposter. 

Even his wife is unsure of his identity.  When

suspicions lead to trial, will she stand by him?

Based on one of the most famous actual trials

of the sixteenth century.

Ridicule

(In French with English subtitles)

To get royal backing on a needed drainage project, a poor

French lord must learn to play the delicate games of wit

at court at Versailles.   In the periwigged and opulent

France of Louis XVI, this unwitting nobleman soon

discovers that survival at court demands both a razor wit

and an acid tongue.

Contains a graphic opening scene.

Murmur of the Heart

(Le souffle au cœur)

(In French with English subtitles)

This is a jolly coming-of-age story about a

15-year-old boy named Laurent Chevalier

who is growing up in bourgeois surroundings

in Dijon, France in the mid-1950s. He gets

drunk, he smokes, he has sex, he is smothered

by his mother, he is ignored by his father, a

priest makes a pass at him, he gets rheumatoid

fever, etc. There's enough scandalous behavior

in this film to make 100 made-for-TV movies,

and yet this is a very happy and oddly innocent

tale.

Monsieur Ibrahim

(In French with English subtitles)

Some crowded Parisian atmosphere and the

burnished presence of Omar Sharif make this

coming-of-age tale a pleasure. It's the early

1960s, and an adolescent Jewish boy mostly

left to his own devices by an ineffectual father,

makes friends with the worldly wise Persian man

(Sharif) who runs a small neighborhood grocery.

The kid's fumbling experiences with sexual curiosity

are the reliable stuff of many a French movie, but

the unlikely friendship of young Jew and old Muslim

make for an offbeat through-line. --Robert Horton

Les Triplettes de Belleville

(In French with English subtitles)

An orphaned boy, Champion, is raised by his grandmother,

Madame Souza. Her gift of a tricycle starts a craze for

cycle-racing that becomes the cornerstone of their life together.

After years of relentless training, Champion makes it to the

Tour de France, the toughest cycling event in the world. Alas,

Champion and a handful of other top competitors are mysteriously

kidnapped by a pair of sinister crooks with hangdog expressions.

Supported by her faithful sidekick, her fat and flatulent dog Bruno,

Madame Souza sets off to rescue her beloved Champion. 

(ANIMATED)

Madame Bovary

(In French with English subtitles)

Gustav Flaubert's celebrated novel of obsessive

ardor undergoes a dazzling retrofit for the screen,

courtesy of French neurosis-master Claude Chabrol.

The basic story (a woman's selfish quest for

happiness ends up obliterating all she holds dear)

may be the same, but Chabrol's talent for biting

through to the dark marrow of passion makes this

a startling experience, even for people familiar with

the source material or the numerous other cinematic

adaptations. --Andrew Wright

A Very Long Engagement

(In French with English subtitles)

A young woman named Mathilde (Tautou, Amélie)

separated from her lover by World War I refuses to

believe he's been killed and launches an investigation

into his fate--an investigation that spins in all directions,

creating dozens of miniature stories that shift to and fro

in time. --Bret Fetzer

Lancelot of the Lake

(In French with English subtitles)

This masterpiece is a remarkable act of mythic revisionism.

Stripped bare of its enduring romance, the Arthurian legend

in Bresson's hands becomes an ugly and uncomfortably familiar

vision of powerful men capable of cruelty, rivalry, disillusionment,

and self-destruction. Lancelot (Luc Simon) is portrayed as a ruthless

and ignoble opportunist who returns from his impossibly futile

mission to locate the Holy Grail, only to callously rekindle his affair

with Guinevere. The emotional impact of the film is that of pure

shock: the Arthurian ideal turns out to have little chance in the real

world. --Tom Keogh