French

A grieving filmmaker takes to the sea and finds quiet transcendence in travel and the elemental allure of the ocean. This strangely calming film is a true original.

Jeanne Balibar and Guillaume Depardieu are superb in this adaptation of Balzac's tale of drawing room passion. "A nearly impeccable work of art – beautiful, true, profound." — NY Times

This evocation of Haiti is cinema poetry of intoxicating lyricism, a powerful allegory of the racial and sexual politics of colonial heritage.

This French collection of animated shorts enlist the fevered imaginations of six gifted artists to create an inventive take on our primordial phobias of all things dark.

Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien delivers a richly layered picture of life in Paris starring Juliette Binoche. "A movie of genius." — Village Voice

A gang of criminals take refuge in a hotel run by a family of degenerate Nazis. French cinema gets dragged kicking and screaming into the grindhouse in this gore-drenched debut.

A nerve-wracking thriller about two women trafficking illegal immigrants across a frozen river. Winner Grand Jury Prize (Best Dramatic Feature), Sundance Festival.

Grand Jury Prize Winner, Cannes Film Festival 2008. Riveting adaptation of Roberto Saviano's bestselling exposé of the Camorra, the Neapolitan Mafia. "Thrilling... a modern classic." — The Observer

Awash with the sights and sounds of the French city of Strasbourg, this lyrical tale of a young man's search for his lost love is a purely cinematic, virtually wordless treat for romantics and people watchers.

This taut, brooding crime drama plumbs the relationship between a dangerously immature, adrift father and his introverted son.

It's business as usual in the polished world of French farce, where it's open season on the tasteless and the clueless; and heartless cads have the best lines. Starring Daniel Auteuil.

Winner of France's Jean Vigo Award for the year's most remarkable debut, La France mixes genres – period romance, war movie and pop album – to confoundingly pleasurable effect.

What do kids think their parents do at work? French filmmaker Françoise Marie gets fascinating, often funny answers by having kids act out their parents' work days. "A real charmer." — Variety

Actress Arta Dobroshi is a revelation as a young Albanian woman inveigled into a treacherous scam in acclaimed Dardennes Brothers' new film. Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival 2008.

In Yang's ferocious satire a young French girl adrift in Taipei descends into a twilight world of petty criminals, con-men, kidnappers and killers.

Cult director Béla Tarr's bizarre, ominous adaptation of a Simenon detective novel unfolds in amazingly choreographed mobile camera sequences. "Mesmeric." — The Guardian

This extravagantly mounted, endlessly inventive stop-motion puppet animation should appeal to admirers of films like The Nightmare Before Christmas or Wallace & Gromit's Were-Rabbit adventure.

From the director of The Spanish Apartment, a mult-character cavalcade of life and death and love and the lack of it in the City of Lights. "A rich and satisfying indulgence." — UrbanCinefile.com.au

Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is one of the wonders of the year, an animated feature that's more richly populated, vigorous, succinct and shrewdly funny than many a flesh-and-blood drama.

This exhilarating documentary brings us all the excitement of the 2005 break dancing Battle of the Year. Featuring insane performances and impossible choreography from the world's best b-boys.

The classic romance of a Parisian boy and his huge red balloon returns with the same director's equally honoured White Mane, the tale of a country boy's passion for a beautiful wild horse.

At 87, Eric Rohmer, lifelong connoisseur and satirist of the romantic misadventures of the young and self-absorbed, finds inspiration in a classic Arcadian romance.

A wonderful, inventive tribute to the great composer. "Brings Bach's music to life with a mysterious, magnificent blend of drama, documentary, and quasi-surrealist whimsy." — New Yorker

From the director and star of This Is England, the comic exploits of two teenage boys adrift in London. Best New British Feature, Edinburgh Film Festival 2008. "I had a perma-grin from beginning to end." — Premiere

Fascinating portrait of the enigmatic lawyer who has defended the indefensible: Klaus Barbie, Carlos the Jackal, Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussain.

A fascinating, entertaining compilation of short films about movie-going by some of the world's greatest directors: Cronenberg, Lynch, Campion, Kitano, Salles, Kiarostami, Polanski etc etc...

Lively, affectionate portrait of graffiti-influenced 80s artist Keith Haring, who painted on every surface he could find, including cars, walls, T-shirts and the subway.

Crisply observed drama of schoolgirl crushes, jealousies and sexual exploration on a synchronised swimming team. "Very provocative and stylish." — The Guardian

This affectionate satire of an urban trendy transferred to a provincial town is now the most successful French film of all time.