The Best French Movies (After 2000)
by Finlitte | created - 09 Jul 2012 | updated - 17 Nov 2013 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. La Vie En Rose (2007)
PG-13 | 140 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.
Director: Olivier Dahan | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner
Votes: 90,752 | Gross: $10.30M
2. Love Me If You Dare (2003)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
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. While they often act out to relieve one another's pain, their game might be a way to avoid the fact that they are truly meant for one another.
Director: Yann Samuell | Stars: Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard, Thibault Verhaeghe, Joséphine Lebas-Joly
Votes: 72,457 | Gross: $0.55M
3. A Very Long Engagement (2004)
R | 133 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Tells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster, Dominique Pinon
Votes: 75,956 | Gross: $6.17M
4. Rust and Bone (2012)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure, Céline Sallette
Votes: 70,310 | Gross: $2.06M
5. Joyeux Noel (2005)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama, History, Music
In December 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce on the Western Front allows soldiers from opposing sides of the First World War to gain insight into each other's way of life.
Director: Christian Carion | Stars: Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Natalie Dessay
Votes: 31,994 | Gross: $1.05M
6. The Artist (I) (2011)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.
Director: Michel Hazanavicius | Stars: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell
Votes: 248,622 | Gross: $44.67M
7. A Prophet (2009)
R | 155 min | Crime, Drama
A delinquent Muslim man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss. But his gradual rise through the mob's ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb
Votes: 102,193 | Gross: $2.08M
8. Guilty (2011)
102 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A family man battles to prove his innocence after being accused of a heinous crime.
Director: Vincent Garenq | Stars: Philippe Torreton, Wladimir Yordanoff, Noémie Lvovsky, Raphaël Ferret
Votes: 2,035
9. Don't Worry, I'm Fine (2006)
92 min | Drama
Lili returns from holidays and learns that her twin brother left the house after a violent argument with their father.
Director: Philippe Lioret | Stars: Mélanie Laurent, Kad Merad, Isabelle Renauld, Julien Boisselier
Votes: 11,299
10. The Intouchables (2011)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot
Votes: 929,678 | Gross: $13.18M
11. Roman de gare (2007)
R | 103 min | Drama
A popular novelist researches unlikely sources to find characters for her next bestseller.
Director: Claude Lelouch | Stars: Fanny Ardant, Dominique Pinon, Audrey Dana, Michèle Bernier
Votes: 2,581 | Gross: $1.85M
12. Farewell (2009)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
The French intelligence service alerts the U.S. about a Soviet spy operation during the height of the Cold War, which sets off an unfortunate chain of events.
Director: Christian Carion | Stars: Guillaume Canet, Emir Kusturica, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ingeborga Dapkunaite
Votes: 6,982
13. Sarah's Key (2010)
PG-13 | 111 min | Drama, War
In modern-day Paris, a journalist finds her life becoming entwined with a young girl whose family was torn apart during the notorious Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in 1942.
Director: Gilles Paquet-Brenner | Stars: Kristin Scott Thomas, Mélusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, Frédéric Pierrot
Votes: 17,927 | Gross: $7.69M
14. Female Agents (2008)
TV-MA | 148 min | Drama, War
London, 1944: SOE's section for French ops parachute 4 women into France, plus a woman there, to free an English geologist and kill SS colonel Heindrich.
Director: Jean-Paul Salomé | Stars: Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Moritz Bleibtreu, Marie Gillain
Votes: 7,956
15. Days of Glory (2006)
R | 120 min | Action, Drama, War
During World War II, four North African men enlist in the French army to liberate that country from German oppression, and to fight French discrimination.
Director: Rachid Bouchareb | Stars: Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Jamel Debbouze
Votes: 15,142 | Gross: $0.32M
16. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,311 | Gross: $33.23M
17. Tell No One (2006)
Not Rated | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An accidental discovery near a doctor's estate stirs up some painful memories eight years after his wife's hideous murder, and now, things are bound to take a turn for the unexpected. Does the good doctor know more than he's letting on?
Director: Guillaume Canet | Stars: François Cluzet, Marie-Josée Croze, André Dussollier, Kristin Scott Thomas
Votes: 57,990 | Gross: $6.18M
18. Anything for Her (2008)
96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
With no legal means left to him, a high school teacher devises a daring plan to rescue his wrongfully imprisoned wife from jail.
Director: Fred Cavayé | Stars: Vincent Lindon, Diane Kruger, Lancelot Roch, Olivier Marchal
Votes: 9,772
19. The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (2008)
114 min | Drama
Five key days in a family's life.
Director: Rémi Bezançon | Stars: Jacques Gamblin, Zabou Breitman, Déborah François, Marc-André Grondin
Votes: 9,951
20. Little White Lies (2010)
Not Rated | 154 min | Comedy, Drama
A near-fatal accident leaves one friend in the hospital while the rest go on their annual vacation. But their secrets and personal grief threaten to drive them apart.
Director: Guillaume Canet | Stars: François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Benoît Magimel, Jean Dujardin
Votes: 27,012 | Gross: $0.21M
21. Love Crime (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Ruthless executive Christine brings on young Isabelle as her assistant taking delight in toying with her innocence. But when Christine starts passing on her protege's ideas as her own, things take a dark turn.
Director: Alain Corneau | Stars: Ludivine Sagnier, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patrick Mille, Guillaume Marquet
Votes: 5,633 | Gross: $0.53M
22. Amour (2012)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama
Georges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandre Tharaud
Votes: 105,704 | Gross: $6.74M
23. 36th Precinct (2004)
Not Rated | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama
2 cops are promised by the retiring chief of the Paris police that the one, getting the violent gang robbing armored trucks, will get his job. The 2 will do whatever it takes to get the promotion, even if it means breaking the law.
Director: Olivier Marchal | Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, André Dussollier, Valeria Golino
Votes: 18,267
24. Polisse (2011)
Not Rated | 127 min | Crime, Drama
A journalist covering police assigned to a juvenile division enters into an affair with one of her subjects.
Director: Maïwenn | Stars: Karin Viard, JoeyStarr, Marina Foïs, Nicolas Duvauchelle
Votes: 15,330 | Gross: $0.17M
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