French for Beginners

This film should bring back memories to anyone who has studied abroad as a teenager in Europe, but particularly in France or Germany. The Citroen 2CVs will certainly bring back memories to older viewers! It is indeed a charming first love / romantic comedy / coming-of-age story, and the actors and actresses play their roles beautifully. It is so refreshing to see a "teenage" comedy that is not totally inane. It plays tastefully upon all the usual clichés and stereotypes about French vs German culture.

It can, of course, also be used in German, French, and even EFL language classes (the DVD has both German and English subtitles) as a means to discuss cultural differences, prejudices, and stereotypes (in addition to learning German or English). The perhaps over-emphasis on teenage sexuality in some scenes will make it probably unsuitable for most high school use outside of Europe, but it is certainly suitable for college use in discussing cultural differences.