We are introduced to Nathalie at her daughter's 18th birthday party. It is immediately clear that she's ill at ease. Recently divorced, her husband has turned up with his new partner, Isabelle. Younger, of course, slimmer, naturally, prettier, well not really. When Isabelle proudly announces that they are going Club-Med to the Maldives, Nathalie is furious, telling her ex that they rarely left France.

Nathalie is in fact jealous of everybody. Her daughter, who has a doting boyfriend, her best friend, who seems to have a perfect marriage, and a new young female teacher who has arrived at the college where she teaches. The jealously becomes all-consuming and leads to alienation of all around her, including a new love interest, who she throws out after accusing him of ogling her daughter. Read More…

Genre: French Language, Comedy

The French excel at producing films depicting life as it's lived, unembellished and full of everyday challenges. In this film we’re introduced to Edith, a textile worker who cherishes her job, quite simply because it gives her life purpose. Her only son now lives in Paris and she resides alone in a rather charming farm house, but what’s charm without company?

When the factory decides to relocate its production to Morocco she has the choice of redundancy, which in her case would result in quite a good severance payment, or relocating to Morocco. Eager to continue working she choses the latter, against the strong advice of the company’s personnel officer.
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Genre: French Language, Life, Drama

It seems that this film was released for television. It has a feel about it of what we used to refer to as a B movie, in those days when you could expect to enjoy two films when you went to the cinema.

Luis is a driver for a security company that transports cash to banks. He's a bit of a lost soul, or paumé as the French reviews say. He has two childhood friends, Sam, a successful lawyer, and Emma, who's also a lawyer. Then one day Luis decides to drive off with a van-full of money, leaving his fellow security guards sitting in the depot. This is out of character, and comes as a shock to his two friends. Embarrassingly so for Sam as it could reflect on his standing at the office, where his boss isn't the most understanding of people.
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Genre: Crime, Drama, French Language

A fairly recent offering from Amazon, this 2017 film charts the life of French artist Paul Gauguin during the period of his first trip to Tahiti. Disillusioned with Europe, and the lack of appreciation for his work, he decides to travel to Tahiti for peace and quiet and to rid himself of the influence of civilisation. He leaves behind his wife and five children, who quite wisely decide that it is an inadvisable adventure.

Their fears are shown to be entirely justified during the first scenes in Tahiti, showing Gauguin trying to paint in a shanty offering little shelter from torrential rain. He has little money and his health deteriorates, culminating in a heart attack, following which his doctor recommends that he should return to France. But he is obsessed with his art, and after recovering sufficiently treks off on horseback. On the point of exhaustion he comes across a native village, collapsing and later regaining consciousness in the care of these people. In the village is Tehura, a young native girl whose parents are pleased to offer to him as a bride, an offer he willingly accepts, taking her as both a bride and a muse. Thus begins a period of stability, and relative happiness, but his obsession with his painting gradually starts to sour the relationship, and there is a young native suitor with his eyes on Tehura.

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Genre: French Language, Biographical, Drama, Romance, Life

Although I’m including this as a French film, it is actually an Italian production set on Sicily. The two lead female actors are, however, French, and the dialogue shifts seamlessly between French and Italian depending on who is present in the scene.

Juliette Binoche’s Anna is mourning the loss of her son, Giuseppe, as we witness the sombre religious rites and a house blacked out from daylight with mirrors covered. She receives a call from Giuseppe’s girlfriend, Jeanne, who is due to visit, but she doesn’t tell her about Giuseppe.

Jeanne arrives while family members are still present, and is clearly confused by what she sees. At first Anna doesn’t want to see her, but when she does she says that she has just lost her brother. One gets the feeling that Anna sees Jeanne as a continuing link with her son, there being more than a touch of supernatural about this film.

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Genre: French Language, Italian Language, Drama, Life

This film is categorised as a comedy, and for the first half one can believe it is. But as things progress it becomes very cynical and while comic elements remain, the unfolding events are far from funny. It is based quite closely on the novel Les Bottes Rouge by Franz Bartelt.

The title is a play on words from the title of the poem ‘Le Dormeur du val’, penned by Arthur Rimbaud in 1870. Rimbaud was born in Charleville-Mézières, a town on the River Meuse close to the Belgian border and the setting for this film. The film’s director, Manual Sanchez, was inspired by this poem, and another by Rimbaud entitled Ophélie, and you will see the clear influence of the latter from the image above.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy, Life, Drama

Not to be confused with the 2000 film of the same name starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche, this is in fact the story of Rafael Padilla, a Cuban born negro who became a celebrated clown in Paris at the turn of the 19th Century. Omar Sy plays the clown Chocolat, a name he comes to despise because he finds it denigrating. But ,unfortunately for him, the attitudes of the time towards coloured people were unlikely to change simply because he rejected his circus name.

The makers of this film have significantly changed some of the historical details but the thrust of the story remains true. In his association with the clown George Foottit, a Parisian star, the duo become great favourites with audiences. Chocolat is Foottit's knockabout sidekick, who endures his somewhat demeaning role with a smile. Until, that is, he starts to resent his treatment while at the same time aspiring to greater things, such as playing Othello! But are the Paris audiences ready for this?

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Genre: French Language, Biographical, Drama

I'm not sure what the title Après le sud alludes to, but the English title, Heatwave, perhaps better describes the film. Set in the south of France on a sweltering hot day, we follow the lives of four people. A series of largely unrelated events lead to tragedy, but first the director sets the scene by introducing us to each of these people. Before the credits roll, we see Georges, an elderly man, who is lovingly cleaning his shotgun in his flat. This perhaps foretells of trouble to come, but at this stage everything is quite innocent.

After the credits we move to the apartment of Amélie, and her mother Anne. Anne is grossly overweight and we're treated to a very explicit view of the two women as Anne gets in the shower after Amélie steps out. Typical French realism. Amélie leaves for her summer job in a supermarket, while Anne, after a few household chores, sets off in a taxi. She leaves a message saying she's going to Aix, but in fact is headed for a clinic in Marseilles for gastric band surgery to control her weight.

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Genre: French Language, Life, Drama, Romance

Liliane works in a paté factory, her job being to place items of garnish on terrines of paté as the final part of the process. It is repetitive and mind-numbingly boring. In the evenings she sits alone at home, having a drink or two and watching the TV. Then one day, Jean, a temporary worker arrives and immediately feels that he recognises Liliane as a once famous singer who, with her song Souvenir, was just pipped for victory by ABBA at the Eurovision song contest.

Liliane assures Jean that he is mistaken, but he won't be dissuaded. Eventually his insistence causes Liliane to miss her bus, allowing Jean to take her home on his scooter. When Jean doesn't turn up for work one day, Liliane goes to find him. It transpires that Jean's father is also a great fan of Liliane, or Laura as she was then known. Jean's mother is, however, less than impressed. After a lot of coaxing Jean persuades Liliane to perform at a local club, where she is a great success, especially in the eyes of Jean's father.

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Genre: French Language, Romance

Back to Amazon Prime and French films, the latest being this biographical story of the friendship between Paul Cézanne and Emil Zola. These schoolboy friends maintained a relationship throughout their lives, but this friendship was tempered by bad feeling when Zola, whose mother struggled financially after his father died, became more bourgeois, while the little-rich-boy Cézanne, from a wealthy banking family, wasted his genius in a devil-may-care life of women and contempt for authority. His work was consistently relegated to the Salon des Refusés, which displayed work not accepted by the jury of the Paris Salon.

In matters of love, or more correctly sex, Cézanne has no problems while Zola's timidity prevents him from approaching women. He becomes entranced by one of Cézanne's model's, and mistress, who calls herself Gabrielle. As the film jumps from youth to their more mature lives, we see Zola married to Gabrielle, although she now uses her real name, Alexandrine (née Éléonore-Alexandrine Meley).

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Genre: French Language, Biographical, Historical, Life, Drama

Films about firemen, as with those involving the police and other emergency services, seem to hold an enduring fascination for the public. But such films often concern themselves with acts of extreme bravery, or extreme disaster, with heroic derring do. But here the director has deviated from this approach, and in Les Hommes du feu we have the story of a largely unspectacular rural fire station in the south of France, with the men and women shown serving the community during some far from spectacular incidents, although nonetheless important in their own right. Of course, being French, what we do have are some very human story lines underpinning the action.

Bénédicte Meursault has been transferred to this rural brigade to join an all-male team. She is a deputy chief so will outrank all bar the captain, Philippe, who is a wise and experienced operator. Having endured the 'initiation' of being on the receiving end of a bucket of water as she leaves the captain's office, Bénédicte seems to settle in quickly, soon impressing her male colleagues during the exercise runs around the station. However, this honeymoon period is rudely ended when, after her first major call out to a road accident, it transpires that the team overlooked a casualty who had been thrown clear of a vehicle. As team leader it was her responsibility to check, and even though the conditions on the night were horrendous, with driving rain and a confused scene, this oversight plays heavily on Bénédicte, who offers her resignation. But Philippe refuses to accept it.

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Genre: Drama, French Language, Life

I first saw this film when I was staying near Paris in 2014. At that time my French wasn't up to understanding much of the dialogue, although the story is so self-evident that it almost didn't matter. I awaited the day that an English subtitled version would appear, but it seems that it never did, save for some unofficial downloads or separate subtitle files that can be found on the internet. One can, however, find an English subtitled trailer (below), perhaps made in readiness for something that never happened.

With my French now much improved, I bought a copy of the DVD with French subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (sourds et malentendants). This certainly allowed me to understand a great deal more of what was being said but, as I've found in the past, the subtitles often didn't correspond precisely with the spoken words. This leaves you simultaneously trying to understand effectively two streams of French, which isn't easy. Needless to say, there was still quite a bit of dialogue not completely understood.

It seems that the film never officially made it across the water to Britain and America because English speaking audience "would never allow themselves these days to laugh at blacks, Jews or Asians." Our loss, as this is an extremely funny film.

I haven't a great deal more to add to my original review, which is itself quite short. I was going to say that if you have good French comprehension don't miss it but, on reflection, if that is the case I guess you've probably already seen it, as it went down a storm in France.

Genre: French Language, Comedy, Romance

A delightful French comedy-drama set in the forests of Solonge, where the director Nicolas Vanier grew up on a family farm. This film is a treat for anybody who enjoys nature in addition to telling a heart-warming story.

The film begins in 1927 Paris, where after the war there are a lot of orphans. A woman named Célestine arrives at an orphanage where she is asked if she would take a young boy named Paul, who was originally from the area in Solonge where she lives. She is reluctant, and we detect that this boy features in her past, although we do not learn any more at this stage. She is introduced to Paul, and seeing the conditions in the orphanage, and how he is treated, her compassion overrules her reticence.

When they arrive back at Sologne we see that Célestine is in service to the local Count. Her husband, Borel, is the gamekeeper on the Count's estate. She introduces Paul as her cousin's son, which tells us that his real identity is best kept secret. He isn't there long before he learns of Totoche, the local poacher, characterised superbly by François Cluzet. Borel's main objective in life is to entrap Totoche in the act, this being all the more amusing since Totoche has a thing going with Célestine, who acts as an advanced warning of Borel's plans. Initially Totache wants nothing to do with Paul, but after Paul rescue's his dog from the river, the two gradually become friends, with Paul lapping up Totoche's immense knowledge of the life of the forest. As a drama this film could easily double as a nature documentary.

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Genre: French Language, Life, Drama, Comedy

Back to French films after the excitement of Black Panther. And this time it is a drama set in 1950s Provence, starring Marion Cotillard as a troubled young woman, Gabrielle, seeking more from life than her humble existence on a lavender farm is offering. The film actually starts years later with Gabrielle, her husband, José, and son, Marc, going to a music competition, where Marc is to play. On the way their taxi is held up by a double-parked lorry in Lyon, and as Gabrielle gazes out of the car window she spots a street name that has a great significance for her, but at this point we don't know why that is.

We then cut to her as a much younger woman, standing in a stream with the water seemingly stimulating sexually her as it rushes between her legs while she wears no underwear. From there, she goes to a school, where the teacher is alone as she sits down at the back of the room. When she does approach him it becomes clear that she has a serious sexual crush on him, feelings that he in no way reciprocates. Back at home, her mother in particular is very disturbed by Gabrielles behaviour, matters coming to a head when Gabrielle, having once again not managed to gain the teacher's attention, assaults him at the post-harvest party. After this she runs off into the countryside, resulting in the need for a search party, that finds her collapsed with exhaustion on an embankment.

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Genre: Drama, French Language, Life, Romance

Another gentle French film that takes us into rural France were the local doctor, Jean-Pierre Werner, keeps the inhabitants healthy through a combination of years of experience and a very pragmatic approach. Once again the English title goes for simplicity, focusing on his 'irreplaceability' rather than his doctoring. But the need to replace him is a factor in the film, because at the beginning we see him diagnosed with a brain tumour, and being told that he must slow down. But, he's not that sort of man, and he continues with his work, which is clearly very important to him.

His consultant at the hospital, obviously conscious of Jean-Pierre's stubbornness, arranges for another doctor to help him, Nathalie Delezia, who Jean-Pierre mistakes as a patient when she arrives late in the day at his surgery. One can see that he initially resents her presence, being somewhat picky when overseeing her dealings with patients. But she isn't easily upset, and gradually eases her way into the practice. Initial concerns from some of the patients, who have become dependant on 'Dr Werner', gives way to acceptance and in time she becomes the doctor of choice for some of them. She is, however, unaware of Jean-Pierre's illness.

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Genre: French Language, Life, Drama

After a bit of a break I'm back to watching French films while exercising on my static bike. Amazon has added quite a few French films since I last looked, and Ce qui nous lie has been a superb reintroduction. The English title is Back to Burgundy, which while describing the basic plot, doesn't capture the essence of the story. The translation of the French title is What binds us, which more accurately describes what is a story of family bonding as three siblings come together to resolve financial difficulties following the death of their father. It is beautifully filmed in wide screen with sublime scenery.

The story takes place almost entirely within the environs of a vineyard, where we are first treated to a view from the house as the seasons change, our narrator being the young Jean. But Jean left the family to travel the world, largely because of his uneasy relationship with his father, something that we visit as flashbacks during the story. Jean has now returned from his vineyard in Australia, the reason being to see his dying father. His sister, Juliette, is overjoyed, but his younger brother Jérémie is not so happy, having feelings of animosity towards Jean, particularly as he wasn't there when their mother died. Things are not helped when the three find that the 500,000€ inheritance tax on the estate is far beyond their ability to pay, forcing them to consider ways to raise money.

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Genre: Life, French Language, Drama

My choice of French films on Amazon Prime is reducing having watched a good number of them. That's not to say that Mediterranea was a reluctant choice, but the subject matter is certainly contentious at this time. It follows the journey of two Africans from Burkina Faso through Algeria and Libya before eventually reaching Italy. It contains all the ingredients that we have become accustomed to seeing regularly on the news. A trek across a desert, robbed by bandits who were probably primed by the very people who were arranging their passage, and finally the perilous boat journey to Italy. Among a significant proportion of the population I've no doubt that empathy for such people is zero, but this film shows what it must be like to be dependant on a range of people who for the most part wish you weren't there.

In Italy they meet up with other Africans and are introduced to a squat, which wasn't quite what they expected. In terms of work opportunities, there aren't any, and they are exploited as cheap labour picking oranges. However, the lead character, Ayiva, is not only a good worker but is also adept at developing relationships, leading to him being welcomed to the home of an Italian family. But the local villagers are far from happy about the presence of the Africans and in time tensions boil over leading to attacks on the immigrants. This provokes retaliation, with the authorities rounding them up and sealing off their squats. Ayiva's friend, Abas, with whom he travelled to Italy, is badly beaten by a group of young Italian men.

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Genre: Drama, Life, French Language, Italian Language

Mon Oncle, starring and directed by Jacques Tati, is a classic of French cinema that also won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1958. I knew of it, but not very much about it, so everything came as a surprise when I started watching. At first I thought it was a silent movie, since although there was a very lively soundtrack nobody was speaking, or at least when they did speak it was for the most part inaudible. As things developed there were snatches of clearer dialogue, but I was left with the impression that Tati wanted to convey everything from the action. There is a Chaplin feel to the film.

My other surprise was what appeared to be a major American influence. The plot involves a plastics factory that produces tubes, and Monsieur Arpel is the manager, who arrives every day in his large American car. And he isn't the only one driving such a car, as shots of the traffic show that most people are driving similar vehicles. Whether that was representative of this period in France, I don't know. Monsieur and Madame Arpel live in an ultra modern house, which is very un-French, with a geometric garden, minimal furniture and an automated kitchen that would have been extremely futuristic in 1958. Meanwhile everything around them is very French. A small town with run-down houses, a market and a tabac with les hommes passing the time of day drinking coffee or beer.

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Genre: Comedy, French Language

Learning French has given me a far greater appreciation of French films, mainly because I watch a lot more of them. This 2015 film was recently added to Amazon Prime and I watched it this week. The title is perhaps a bit misleading. Certainly there are cowboys, of the French variety, these being people in a rural area who have an affinity with the cowboy life, dressing up accordingly for the occasional gatherings where the usual cowboy fare is on offer. It is all harmless fun. At one such gathering the Ballard family are seen enjoying themselves. We have the father, Alain, Nicole, his wife, their son Georges (aka Kid) and daughter Kelly. Alain is clearly is very fond of his daughter, as we see him dancing tenderly with her. But later in the day they realise that she is nowhere to be seen. After questioning some of her friends, it transpires that she had a boyfriend, Ahmed, a fact not known to the family.

When she doesn't turn up Alain, visits Ahmed's father, and also goes to the police, who aren't particularly helpful. In time it becomes known that she has left with Ahmed, and this sets Alain off on a mission to find her. The years pass and with Georges now a young man he and his father continue the search, although Georges is less committed than his father. Kelly has previously let the family know that she doesn't want to be found and that she has a new life. They also learn that she has a child. None of this dissuades Alain. As his father becomes more and more obsessed, Georges finally refuses to help any more. Unfortunately, tragedy then strikes when his father falls asleep at the wheel of his car.

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Genre: Drama, French Language, Life

I don't know what things are like behind the scenes in a French hospital, but you get the feeling when watching this film that it is perhaps a fairly accurate portrayal. The fact that the director, Thomas Lilti, is a medical doctor, goes a long way to explaining why this may be the case. There's quite a lot of black humour as the staff joke about a range of medical issues, along with some serious partying, such activities serving as a pressure release valve for staff working under a lot of stress with at times inadequate resources.

The English title is Diary of a Doctor, which is fitting as it follows a junior intern, Benjamin, who arrives for his first stint at the hospital full of confidence. The fact that his father is a senior doctor at the same hospital turns out to be more of a liability than a blessing, but Benjamin is keen to impress. He soon meets up with Abdel, an Algerian doctor who is interning at the hospital as his qualifications are not accepted in France. But it soon becomes clear that Abdul has the benefit of experience, something Benjamin is lacking.

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Genre: French Language, Drama, Life, Comedy

We popped into a DVD/music store in Peterborough today and I picked up a couple of French films. Jeune et Jolie was one of them and we watched it this afternoon. Translated as Young and Beautiful it follows the life of a 17-year-old woman, who after a less than fulfilling first sexual experience while on holiday, embarks on a life of prostitution. Isabelle, the said young woman, is indeed beautiful, and also enigmatic. What drives her to behave how she does is far from clear, at least until later in the film when she receives counselling, and even then you feel that she hasn't revealed all. What she does reveal is that in an immature way she is treating the whole thing as a kind of game.

In a loving family with her mother and step father, and a younger brother, it's not a question of her needing the money. She is clearly getting a form of fulfilment from her actions, if not from the actual sexual acts. One client, Georges, becomes a bit more than just a customer. An older man, he is kind and one detects that Isabelle actual enjoys being with him. More so than some of the other clients who are much less caring. Her dalliances continue unbeknown to her mother, while she attends the lycée with her close friend, Claire, who thinks that Isabelle is still a virgin. The sexual encounters are filmed to convey the different experiences she encounters, and her associated feelings, without being overly graphic although there is of course a fair amount of nudity.

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Genre: Life, French Language, Drama

Another French language film from my watch list on Amazon Prime, this time not a comedy but lots of action. Interestingly for a French film it has an English language title, but apparently it had been know as The Squad, and Antigang, before settling on The Sweeney, piggybacking what was already a popular name from the British 1970s TV series. Most reviewers have found it odd, and a little bit daft, that this film should have been made after the poor reception given to the 2012 British film of the same name. It seems that the Paris version is a virtual remake of this earlier film.

All this being said, the French do make a good cop film, as witnessed in the popular series Engrenages, screened in the UK under the title Spiral. And despite the poor reviews given to the Paris Sweeney, I don't think you can fault it for action, and the backdrop of Paris always adds the extra something to any film.

In case anybody doesn't know, which I doubt is the case, Sweeney comes from London rhyming slang, Sweeney Todd - Flying Squad. The British TV series portrayed this outfit as a law unto itself, cutting official corners but obtaining results. The Paris Sweeney exhibits the same characteristics, but hyped up to the extreme. The film starts with the team causing 40,000€ of damage arresting a small group of robbers. Good results but rather expensive, and the new commander, Becker, is about to make changes. To complicate matters, the team's leader, Serge Buren, is having a relationship with Becker's wife, Margaux, who's on the team. Cartier is Buren's sidekick, a small man who certainly outperforms his stature.

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Genre: Drama, French Language, Action, Crime

It's been a while since I viewed a French language film from Amazon Prime, basically because for various reasons I haven't been using my exercise bike, and that's when I watch these films. I had been working through a watch list and had more or less exhausted it, this latest film being one of only a few unwatched. Intuitively I had a less than enthusiastic feel for it, and as it turns out my intuition was spot on. It's received poor reviews and according to Wikipédia (France) it only lasted a month on cinema screens after release. The opening sequence suggest that the film may turn out to be a bit of a song and dance affair, but this is purely a confusing distraction.

Alex Lutz plays the lead role. I knew nothing of him but it appears that he is well-known for a highly successful one-man theatre show, as well as being an actor and producer. For this film he sits in the director's chair for the first time, metaphorically of course as he is present most of the time on screen. This is yet another male mid-life crisis story but in this case we have three males, Lutz as Alexandre Ludon, his work mate Jeff, and a schoolfriend from the past, Thibaut. Alexandre and Jeff work for a large multinational and are bored with their lives. This manifests itself in childlike behaviour that is, quite frankly, too silly for words: infantile, in fact. Their wives, Carole and Cécile respectively, provide the sanity - quelle surprise! Carole is undergoing IVF treatment and Alexandre appears to have no understanding of what this means for her, his empathy quotient being somewhere just above zero. Jeff seems more switched on at home, but is certainly less so at work, where his behaviour verges on slapstick.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

The Amazon summary of this film labelled it as comedy, but I certainly wouldn't describe it as such. In fact, in many ways it is quite sad, the ending in particular being a bit bitter sweet.

The story takes place in Montigny, a former mining town in Belgium. Sandrine is our central character who works in a supermarket promoting cheese but dreams of opening a beauty salon. She's already found a run-down premises, which her and her friend Gianna are trying to redecorate. Sandrine's mother Anna is very supportive, too much so as it ultimately turns out. Meanwhile, Anna's relationship with Sandrine's father isn't all that it should be and her life goal seems to be to help Sandrine succeed where she herself feels she has failed.

Raising money for the salon is proving to be difficult and, encouraged by her mother, Sandrine signs up for the Miss Montigny contest in the hope of winning and using the prize money to realise her dream. At the sign up, Sandrine and her friend Gianna fill in the forms, guessing their vital statistics. This bit of laxity ends up being a big mistake.

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Genre: French Language, Life, Drama

I've tagged this as a French language film but it's actually Haitian and the dialogue is more of a creole, making it almost impossible for me to understand, give or take the occasional identifiable French phrases and words. It's also a very low budget film, with an estimated budget of $85,000 compared with an average of $100 million for a major studio movie. This is reflected in the production values with both sound and vision being less professional than we've perhaps come to expect. However, this should not be allowed to detract from this offering from the fledgling Haitian film industry, a country that doesn't enjoy the wealth of other nations.

Jessica is a young woman whose father is working in America. She rents a room from friends of her father, Margareth and Gasner, but early in the film she learns that her father has died. If this wasn't bad enough, Gasner is adamant that she must leave her room, since her father was paying the rent and without it, Gasner needed to rent the room to somebody else. Out on the street, Jessica goes to her cousin, Johanne, who takes her in. From there, Jessica visits her estranged mother, who is invalided, neither speaking nor, it would appear, hearing. Jessica realises that there is no place for her there, and returns to Johanne's.

Johanne has a number of 'boyfriends', her way of life really being nothing less than prostitution, although each boyfriend sees her as a future partner rather than a prostitute and she strings them along rather than treating them as clients. Jessica observes this but is non-judgemental. Johanne, on the other hand, is quick to advise Jessica that she should never follow the same path.

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Genre: Life, French Language

The name 'Five' isn't an English translation, but the original French title, which is a bit surprising.

The plot is a bit daft, as is much of the film. But it's meant to be a comedy and is indeed amusing. The language is coarse at times, probably more so if I could understand this very informal French. Subtitles tend to anglicise this type of speech, probably cleaning things up in the process.

Basically we have five friends, Samuel, Timothée, Vadim, Julia and Nestor, who have been together since childhood and always dreamed of sharing a place together. This dream materialises when Samuel offers to pay half the rent of a desirable apartment. Samuel's father thinks his son is at medical school and supports him financially on this basis. However, Samuel has a desire to be an actor and spends his time at theatre rehearsals, where he falls for the exquisitely French Maïa. Everything comes crashing down when Samuel goes to a garden party with his father and is called upon to treat a man who has collapsed. It soon becomes clear that he has no medical training whatsoever, cue for his father to cut him off, both physically and financially.

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Genre: Comedy, French Language

Directed by French actress Maïwenn Le Besco, this film certainly offers a female perspective of what it must be like to be a woman in love with an absolute jerk. I felt sorry for her and embarrassed by his shameless mistreatment. Vincent Cassel plays the said jerk, Georgio, while Emmanuelle Bercot is his long suffering girlfriend/wife Tony.

The film starts in the mountains where Tony launches into an aggressive downhill ski slope, this being the prequel to us seeing her in convalescence recovering from a serious leg injury. During this recovery she reflects back on her relationship with Georgio, the good, the bad and the awful. In fact the film continually jumps between the convalescence home and their past, to the point that at the end I wasn't too sure what time frame I was watching.

Their relationship starts in a club, where Tony eyes Georgio, prior to flicking water in his face. In doing this she is emulating what she had seen him do years before, when she was serving in a bar. It was part of his chat-up technique. They are instantly attracted to each other and thus begins a fun-filled period, which is portrayed as being everything one could wish from a relationship. The only problem is that Georgio had a girlfriend, Agnès, a model, who calmly informs Tony that she has stolen her man. It transpires that Georgio has known quite a few models: quite a few women in fact. And Georgio hasn't quite fully broken off his relationship with Agnès, so when she attempts suicide and ends up seriously ill in hospital, Georgio starts to spend more and more time with her, and less with Tony.

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Genre: Romance, Life, Drama, French Language

This film is set against the backdrop of the Algerian independence movement. It follows the life of three brothers from the end of the Second World War up to Algerian independence in 1962, although we are in fact first introduced to them when, as children, their father's land was taken away from the family in Algeria. The film has attracted controversy in respect of historical accuracy, with accusations that it portrays the French as the villains, while likening the Algerians to the Resistance during the War. I must say that I certainly came away with that feeling.

As adult brothers we are next introduced to the three of them, Messaoud, Abdelkader and Saïd, at a parade in the Algerian town of Sétif. This was on the morning of 8 May 1945, the same day that Nazi Germany surrendered. The film depicts the French forces opening fire on the marchers, the impression given that it was French aggression, while historical reports are more equivocal, indicating that there was aggression on both sides. Whatever the truth, it is acknowledged that this event was a turning point in Franco-Algerian relations, leading to the Algerian War of 1954-1962. In February 2005 the French ambassador to Algeria formally apologised for the massacre, referring to it as an "inexcusable tragedy".

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Genre: Drama, French Language, Crime, Action, Historical

Another whimsical French comedy with a somewhat improbable plot, but that doesn't really matter. François and Charlotte run a gourmet hotel and restaurant, but while François is fixated on attaining his first Michelin star, Charlotte is feeling neglected. Charlotte's sister Pascale appears to be an almost permanent fixture, as well as being somewhat of an embarrassment with her devil-may-care approach to life. Early in the film we have the low point of François forgetting Charlotte's birthday and then trying to make amends with a rapidly conjured cake and a rendition of happy birthday from the staff. Charlotte is not impressed.

Into this already strained relationship comes Alex, Charlotte's former husband who was thought to have died in a tsunami. This clearly brings with it a few problems. First, there is the fact that as Alex isn't dead, he remains Charlotte's husband, nullifying her marriage to François. Second, and arguably more of a problem, is that Alex still legally owns the hotel, even though it was rebuilt and its image completely transformed after Alex disappeared. Third, and perhaps the biggest problem of all, is that Charlotte appears to be gravitating towards Alex and away from François. However, François reluctantly agrees to give Alex a room, allowing him continuing access to Charlotte. Full board, you might say, which is the literal translation of the French title.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

I had read about this film when it was released and although it wasn't included in Amazon's free Prime offers, I decided to fork out £3.49 to see it. The attraction was that it had a fair amount of French dialogue and it stars Gemma Arteton, who I find very attractive.

The plot involves a baker, Martin, who, having eschewed the life as a publisher in Paris, has returned to his little home town to run his late father's bakery. Onto the scene arrives Gemma Bovery and Charles her husband, an English couple who have bought a rundown house opposite the baker's home. Martin is immediately taken with Gemma, constantly looking at her to the point of leering - "goodbye to sexual tranquility". But that's not his only interest in her. He is fascinated by the fact that a 'Bovery' has moved into the area, the very region where Gustave Flaubert, the author of Madame Bovary, was born, and where his famous novel was set.

His fascination deepens when Gemma appears to be having a liaison with a young man, Hervé, whose family is local aristocracy. The parallels with Flaubert's novel intrigue Martin. He imagines himself as a director of a film and casts these characters into their present roles. To Martin the parallels with the Madame Bovary novel are glaringly obvious, even if they're not so to his wife and son. Emma and Charles from the novel become Gemma and Charles. In the novel Emma's romantic involvements don't end well, and Martin fears that the same fate awaits Gemma. He therefore takes steps to try to end her affair with Hervè.

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Genre: Romance, French Language, Drama

Amazon currently has a number of very good films on offer that are free to watch for Prime members. The latest on my watchlist is L'Hermine, referring to the attire of the criminal court judge in this courtroom drama. The English title, Courted, is a play on words, referring obviously to the court, while also alluding to the romantic story that runs in parallel with the progress of the trial.

Michel Racine is the judge, or more correctly in the French criminal court (cour d'assises), le président of the court. A fact that he takes pains to point out to a number of the witnesses, who mistakingly address him as Monsieur Judge. He has a ruthless reputation, not improved by having a touch of the flu, and is about to try a case where a young man is accused of killing his baby daughter by kicking her. We are shown the preliminaries of the case, including the selection of jurors. During this process, whereby the judge picks names from a pot, the name Ditte Lorensen-Coteret comes out, causing an immediate change in the judge's demeanour. There is obviously history between them.

The trial commences and a recess is called much earlier than usual, caused it seems by Judge Racine's encounter with Ditte. When things recommence the accused, Martial Beclin, refuses to answer any questions, simply saying in response to each that he didn't kill his daughter. The trial progresses with evidence from witnesses and interventions by the lawyers for each side, but it is interesting how the judge himself also asks searching questions. Also, before each witness is dismissed from the stand the jurors are also given the opportunity to ask questions.

During a lunch break Racine contacts Ditte by SMS and eventually they arrange to meet. Apparently such a meeting between the judge and a juror is not illegal but highly unusual. It transpires that Ditte, a nurse, looked after Racine after a serious accident, following which he had effectively fallen in love with her. Attempts then to stay in contact with her had failed. He doesn't want this second encounter to end in the same way and expresses his love for her, while she remains noticeably noncommittal. At a subsequent meeting between them, Ditte's 17 year old daughter is there, having unexpectedly come to court to watch proceedings. Racine and her actually get along very well, although she does take a call when he's part way through reciting verse, prompting him to remark that she obviously wasn't impressed by the poet.

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Genre: Drama, Romance, Life, French Language

This film scored highly on Amazon Prime and received 100%/79% scores from the critics/audience at Rotten Tomatoes, which isn't a bad recommendation.

Mathieu Vasseur dreams of being an author while he works shifting boxes in a dead end job. Soon after we're introduced to him, his latest manuscript is rejected by the publishers. Then a strange thing happens. While carrying out a house clearance of a deceased elderly man, who they are told has no family, he comes across a journal that was written during the Algerian conflict. Complete with sketches and photographs it's not only a wonderful record, but it's also a credible piece of writing. Mathieu decides to copy it and submit it as his own work. The result is astounding, the publisher telephoning to compliment him and seek a meeting. This he defers to give himself time to put together some credible research materials and acquaint himself more fully with the Algerian conflict.

The book is a phenomenal success, and at a reception organised in his honour one gets the impression that some people have doubts about his ability to write such a book at a young age, with limited life experience. But he carries it off, and what's more he meets a young woman, Alice Fursac, a literary expert who he first saw when he peeked in on a lecture at a college where he was collecting stuff as part of his job. Inevitably he and Alice become an item, and we jump forward to see them on the way to visit her parents, a wealthy couple who live in a mansion in the south of France. The credits include reference to La Seyne-sur-Mer in the Var Department of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

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Genre: Drama, French Language

I'm working my way through the French language films on Amazon Prime and from the brief summary on screen I expected this to be another light comedy. It's billed under comedy and drama but the story is for the most part a bit sombre, and the ending is far from funny. That said, there is some humour along the way.

Antoine is a seriously depressed singer with a rock band and the film begins with him walking out of that life, literally. Unskilled, and of a somewhat sullen disposition, he finds it difficult to find and hold down a job. A woman at the job centre (agence d'intérim) suggests a job as a caretaker (guardien) at an apartment block, which comes with accommodation. He gets the job, not as a result of his interview which is far from sparkling, but because the landlord's wife, Mathilde, played by Catherine Deneuve, takes a rather instant liking to him. Mathilde, as it turns out, is also depressed, worrying herself awake at nights because of a growing crack in one of the walls.

Antione and Mathilde are thus somewhat like souls, and as he struggles with life, not helped by drinking and taking drugs, she becomes more and more obsessed with the state of the building. A particularly annoying tenant, Laurent, is continually bothering Antoine, while another young man, Stéphane, who also lives in one of the flats, presents problems by storing a number of probably stolen bicycles in the courtyard, one of Laurent's bugbears. Then Lev arrives, selling self-help books on meditation, and Antoine, feeling sorry for him, ends up allowing him to stay in the storeroom. Lev has a dog, and the night time barking becomes another source of complaints from Laurent. Thus Antoine's desire to have a quiet life turns out not to be realised. The comedy aspect of this film lies in these many interactions.

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Genre: Drama, Comedy, Life, French Language

Claude Brasseur plays Henri, a curmudgeonly old man living alone in a Paris apartment. Constance, played by Noémie Schmidt, arrives to rent a room. Henri is far from welcoming, the room having been put up for rent by his son, with whom he doesn't really get on. Constance isn't hopeful that she will get the room, but she does, only because Henri apparently picked her name out of a hat, or so he says.

Constance is in Paris to study, her parents being market traders in Orléans. There is a piano in the flat that's strictly off limits to Constance, which is a pity since she plays. We learn that her music teacher in Orléans discouraged her, thus her attempt to study academically, a forlorn attempt as it turns out when she fails her examinations. We also learn that Henri's wife, long deceased, played, thus Henri's sensitivity on the matter. During a visit by Henri's son, Paul, his wife, Valerie, asks Constance to play the piano. Henri relents in the circumstances but as Constance plays Henri is moved to tears, but he realises that Constance has talent.

Henri doesn't like Valerie and plots a devilish scheme to get Paul to realise that she isn't the woman for him. Henri asks Constance to seduce Paul. Not to the point of anything serious happening, but to make him realise that there are better choices for him. Constance doesn't want to do this, but a bit of less than gentle persuasion by Henri, along the lines of "if you don't do it you must leave', causes Constance to play along with the scheme. It turns out to be a bit too successful as Paul falls for Constance (who wouldn't?), while his wife leaves him and starts divorce proceedings.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

My latest French language film is a good bit lighter than the last (Éperdument). This time we have an entirely improbable scenario but, in the time-honoured fashion of French films, the characterisations make it appear believable while providing a good deal of amusement.

Paul-André is a businessman who in making lots of money from software development burnt himself out. He now lives in a palatial if somewhat boring mansion with his butler, appearing to be constantly morose although denying that is the case. Violette is a single mum with two children and has just been released from remand after assaulting a supermarket security guard, who caught her stealing a chicken to feed her family. She is broke and under threat of losing her children to care. Interviewed on TV she makes a heartfelt appeal about the importance of the family and not wanting to lose her children.

Paul-André catches this interview and has the brilliant idea of helping Violette, by paying her debts and renting her family. As I've said, the plot is improbable. His reason is that he wants to experience having a family before committing to have his own. Having dispensed with the assurance that he is not looking for a relationship with Violette, a contract is drawn up for a three-month trial. Violette insists, however, that he lives with them. So we see Paul-André leaving his mansion to move into a house that has the appearance of a shanty.

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Genre: Romance, Comedy, French Language

Back to the French films on Amazon, although this one starts in Moscow and the first 40 minutes or so are largely in Russian, with subtitles of course.

Dismissed from the Bolshoi orchestra thirty years earlier, for hiring Jewish musicians, Andrei Filipov has a cleaning job at the Bolshoi but his mind is still on the stage, conducting his beloved music. By chance he intercepts a fax from Paris inviting the Bolshoi to perform at the Châtelet Theatre and at that moment decides to reconstitute his old orchestra and go to Paris impersonating the Bolshoi. Getting the musicians back together is no easy task and neither is finding a manager and backer. At times one feels the whole venture is going to fall apart, particularly when we find out that none of the musicians has a valid passport. However, Gypsy friends are at hand, and we witness the musicians lining up in the airport departure hall with their photographs from the photo kiosk, as the Gypsies stick the photos in each 'new' passport and officially stamp it. The interest of an inquisitive police officer is soon dealt with!

We arrive in Paris about halfway through the film, where a prominent violin soloist, Anne-Marie Jacquet, has been requested to play Tchaikovsky's violin concerto with the orchestra. The reason for this choice becomes apparent when we learn that there is history between soloist's manager, Guylène, and Filipov, and that Anne-Marie has a history of which she has never been made aware. The disorganisation that prevailed before the group left Moscow doesn't improve on its arrival in Paris. In fact, once each of them is given some money in advance, they disappear on the town and don't turn up for the first rehearsal. Things are not looking good.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

My latest French film viewing on Amazon Prime. It fascinates me how the English titles of French films are often far removed from the original French. In this case 'Comme un Avion' becomes 'The Sweet Escape'. I can see the reasoning behind each, the change presumably reflecting the distributors take on the different cultures.

Michel dreams of being an airmail pilot and spends quite a lot of time walking around with a model plane in his hand simulating flying. Thus you can see where Comme un Avion (as a plane) comes from. Despite being bought flying lessons for his birthday, one suspects that he realises that he will never be an aviator, so when he spots an advert on line for a kayak, his attention is immediately drawn to the similarities of cruising along in a plane and cruising along in a kayak. So he buys the kayak and plans a self-sufficient adventure, having had no training other than practising by walking around on his roof terrace with the frame of the kayak suspended about him as he pretends to paddle.

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Genre: Comedy, Romance, Life, French Language

I'm back to watching French films on Amazon Prime while I'm on my exercise bike. I've had a break while I watched Season 3 of Arrow, which quite frankly has started to become a bit too daft as they try to develop new plot lines. Everyone's turning into a superhero of sorts!

Anyway, back to Les Anarchistes. As the Guardian reviewer said, "…. a film that couldn’t be any more French if it tried." It opened the Canne's Critics Week in 2015. Set in Paris in 1899, Jean Albertini is a normal policeman who is taken aside by a superior and asked to infiltrate an anarchists' group. He gets himself a job at the nail factory, a hellish sort of place where the workers have plenty to grumble about, and where members of the group are employed. He strikes up a particular friendship with Elisée Mayer, after 'saving' him during a police raid, which itself was a set-up to enable Jean to prove his loyalty to the group.

While Elisée clearly trusts Jean, other members of the group are less sure. Elisée seems not to be in the best of health, and his girlfriend, Judith, soon starts to develop an interest in Jean, feelings that Jean willingly reciprocates. We therefore have the classic dilemma of the infiltrator having split loyalties between his police role and his feelings for Judith.

The anarchists exploits become more and more daring, while Jean continues to feed intelligence to his superior. We see Jean becoming concerned as he is obliged to participate in criminality and at one point asks to be taken off the case, a request that is firmly rejected. The dichotomy has to come to an end and as you may imagine there isn't a clean solution.

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Genre: Romance, Drama, French Language, Historical

The Telegraph's headline for the review of this film is "Why Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs is the greatest horror film of the 21st century". Meanwhile other critics have not been impressed, the Observer dismissing it with only two lines. It is probably the most horrific film I have ever watched.

It's difficult to review as any spoilers will make watching it almost pointless, unless you just want to witness the horror. It starts with a young girl, Lucy, managing to escape from painful captivity in an abandoned building. She is sent to a Catholic orphanage where she is befriended by Anna, who quickly realises that her quiet new friend is haunted by her experience, believing that monsters are attacking her.

The film moves on and the girls are now young women. Lucy believes that she has tracked down her tormentor from the days of her incarceration and dispenses summary justice to the woman and her family. She contacts Anna and at this point, about half way through the film, one doesn't really know what is going to happen next. What does happen is both surprising and shocking, and the second part of the film reveals why Lucy was taken as a child, and this time it is Anna who is to suffer.

As with many horror films religion plays a part, a big part in fact, but not perhaps in the way you may imagine. This is religion at its most fundamental, reminiscent of medieval times, where its proponents seek the ultimate truth and are prepared to inflict great suffering to satisfy their curiosity. And when the truth is extracted? Watch the film, but not if you are of a nervous disposition.

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Genre: French Language, Drama, Horror

In the list of French films on Amazon Prime, Potiche has figured large for quite a while now, so I thought I should give it a try. Une potiche is a decorated porcelain vase, but in familiar language it can mean a trophy wife.

Catherine Deneuve plays Madame Suzanne Pujol, the trophy wife in this French comedy. Set in the 70s, Mme Pujol sits at home while her husband, Robert, runs the family umbrella business, a business started by Suzanne's late father. Robert is a mean-minded boss, a philanderer, and treats his wife as a know-nothing. They have two adult children, Joëlle, who is unhappy in her marriage and as uncompromising as her father, and Laurent, who is a left wing idealist.

Robert's management style has led to a strike and his bombastic attempts to resolve it have laid him low, requiring him to convalesce. It unexpectedly falls to Suzanne to meet the strikers and try to resolve matters. She seeks the help of the mayor, and member of parliament, Maurice Babin (played by Gérard Depardieu), there being a 'connection' between them. He paves the way and her conciliatory approach, treating the workers almost as family, soon wins their trust. Laurent is co-opted to use his design skills to enhance the product range while Joëlle also gets a job, but doesn't quite accept the new philosophies - her father's daughter, as they say.

It all moves along with much humour and careful attention to the period in which it is set. Delightful, in fact.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

Back to the exercise bike and another French film, this time Chaos.
I'm not sure how to categorise this film. In parts it's quite brutal, but I think it passes as a comedie noire.

The film opens with a bourgeois couple, Paul and Hélène, he a totally self-absorbed business man, and she the working wife who takes care of everything else. They are dashing off somewhere when a woman runs down the middle of the road towards their car screaming for them to open the door. Paul promptly locks it, and the three men chasing the woman proceed to beat her mercilessly, leaving a bloodstain on the car's windscreen and her in the gutter. Hélène wants to get out and help, but Paul's having nothing of it, his priority being to drive to the nearest carwash.

Hélène is haunted by what has happened and finds out to which hospital the woman was taken, where she pretends to be a friend. The woman, Noémie (aka Malika) is in a coma, suffers a cardiac arrest and the medical staff can't say whether she will be partially paralysed. Hélène talks the hospital staff into allowing her to stay at the hospital, where she devotes herself to helping Noémie recover. It's a slow job, and not helped when the thugs find out that their victim is alive, and make an attempt to abduct her. Hélène, however, turns out to be quite a resourceful protector, and after a second attempt to abduct Noémie, Hélène spirits her off to her mother-in-law's. (The mother-in-law's relationship with her son, Hélène's husband, is another subplot.)

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

Back to the exercise bike and therefore back to watching French films on Amazon Prime.

The latest was Barbecue, a lightweight comedy that has hardly inspired the critics. Lambert Wilson who plays the lead character, Antoine Chevalier, is singled out for doing a good job in a lacklustre film.

So what did I think?

Well it wasn't all that bad. It made me laugh and I found the characters a lot more believable than in some Hollywood light comedies.

Antoine, the vain, philandering scion of a family firm, is someone who has done all the right things to keep healthy, but suffers a heart attack during a fun run just before his 50th birthday. When his surgeon gives him advice on following a healthy lifestyle, he replies that he had already done all that, and look what happened. So he decides instead to leave work, eat the wrong things, drink more and smoke when he feels like it, much to the annoyance of his doctor wife, Véronique.

The film revolves around three couples and a single friend, Jean-Michel. They were at college together and meet up regularly, the barbecue title of the film referring to the opening sequence when they are enjoying one of their get-togethers.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

Back to the Amazon Prime movies and the latest was Alléluia, a Belgian made French language film. It's been on my watchlist for a while, but I had avoided it up to now as it looked a bit sinister. My suspicions in this respect proved to be correct.

Michel is a serial womaniser who charms his way into relationships for the sexual experience and then to con money out of his victims. Gloria, who works in a morgue, is his latest conquest, and he leaves her after extracting money for a fictitious shoe company that he invented for the purpose. But Gloria isn't like the rest, she tracks him down and rather than take him to task, proposes that he continues with his exploits while staying with her as his true partner. This was always doomed to fail, and it does spectacularly.

Michel then woos and marries Marguerite, a lovely jolly woman who believes Gloria to be Michel's sister, although she soon begins to worry about their level of sibling intimacy. The foreplay before relieving Marguerite of her money naturally involves sex, at which point Gloria completely loses it. What follows is shocking in the extreme, be warned.

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Genre: French Language, Drama

Because we're puppy sitting, which entails a couple of walks a day, I haven't been on the exercise bike much, and as a result I haven't been watching French films, which I usually do while exercising.

I did, however, manage to finish watching Grand Central. A 'Central' in French is a power station, and Grand Central is a nuclear plant. An unlikely setting for a story of romance, but in the hands of the French female director/screenwriter Rebecca Zlotowski it works.

Gary, played by Tahar Rahim (Un Prophet), is a casual worker looking for a job. The interview for the power station is no more than a formality, as there aren't that many people who want to work in highly radioactive areas. He joins a team led by Toni (Denis Ménochet) and is soon introduced to Toni's fiancé, Karole (Léa Seydoux), who has a novel way of showing Gary what over exposure to radioactivity is like. At their first meeting, before he knows who she is, she kisses him passionately while explaining that he is probably feeling fear, blurred vision, head spinning, legs shaking - and that's just a small dose! An interesting analogy. Of course, the inevitable happens, as Gary and Karole start an affair.

The film concentrates on the close group of workers who exist almost outside normal society. Gary appears uneasy when he's with Toni, presumably because of guilt, but he ends up rescuing Toni after his airline becomes detached, resulting in Gary receiving a high dose of radiation when he removes his protective gloves. I wasn't sure at one point whether Gary was contemplating letting Toni suffocate, and I felt that Toni also harboured the same fear.

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Genre: French Language, Romance

My French film season continues courtesy of Amazon Prime. This week the film was Suzanne, the story of a young woman's life from childhood, albeit that the film jumps large periods of time as her story unfolds.

I didn't know what to expect from this film. It starts at a children's dance show where Suzanne is with her father, watching her elder sister, Maria. We soon learn that their mum has died young, although we never learn why. The father, Nicolas, an HGV driver, is doing his best to bring up the two girls. At first Maria appears to be the 'wild child', but it is Suzanne who becomes pregnant and has the child, much to her father's shame.

Suzanne then meet Julien and he becomes the centre of her life, to the extent that she leaves her child, Charlie, with her father. But Charlie is taken into the care of foster parents as Nicolas's job means he is away from home for long periods.

Next we jump to a court hearing, where Suzanne is charged with theft and assault in relation to acts carried out with Julien, who fled justice and left her to carry the can. She is sentenced to five years in prison. While her father becomes almost estranged, her sister continues to support her.

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Genre: French Language, Drama, Romance, Life

Another French film from Amazon Prime. This time a love story but far from conventional.

Marc Guermont is a stunt horseman who is seriously injured during a scene. The take involves the horse and rider falling but after successfully doing this the horse, Othello, stamps on Marc's spine having been spooked by a dog. As a consequence he is left a T10 paraplegic.

Florence Kernel is the insurance assessor sent to settle his claim. Marc had already 'thrown out' the previous assessor when he had arrived at the hospital, and Florence had been sent to try a more gentle approach. But Marc felt that he was being short-changed and refused an early settlement. Florence, meanwhile, seemed to be beguiled by Marc's philosophy of life. A classical music lover, he questioned why she hadn't pursued her ambition to be a concert pianist, and this left her questioning her current life.

She had clearly developed strong feelings for Marc and one is left with the impression that her marriage and family were no longer satisfying her. She is taken off Marc's case, as the company wants a fast settlement, and it stops his interim payments to pressurise him. Florence takes the unusual step of recommending a lawyer, an old college friend, and Marc realises that her interest in him perhaps extends beyond the professional-client relationship.

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Genre: French Language, Drama, Romance

Working through the Amazon Prime list of French films I came to this one. It's very dark and certainly not easy to follow. Reviews were poor and I can see why. It was the debut feature from actress-turned-filmmaker Hélène Fillières and based on a novel by Régis Jauffret -- itself inspired by the murder of financial tycoon Edouard Stern.

There are really only three characters, who we simply know as the banker, the young woman and, although it isn't clear who he is at first, her husband. The young woman is played by Laetitia Casta, a sultry brunette, while her husband is far from young. She is having a relationship with the banker, who's a masochist and not a very nice person. Her husband is fully aware but I wasn't quite clear about her and his motives, other than perhaps a promised $1m gift.

The title translates as "A Love Story", but there doesn't appear to be much love about. She plays the dominatrix, reversing their real life roles where he is all powerful and she is the slave. Some of the scenes are extremely sensual but certainly not loving. All along he either refers to her as a pute (whore) or a muse, while she seems to be strangely attracted to him. Although I've not read or seen Fifty Shades of Grey, from what I've heard there are probably some similarities with this story. The film jumps about in time and you certainly have to pay attention and concentrate quite hard to fill in the gaps.

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Genre: French Language, Drama, Romance

Helen spotted this film on my Amazon Prime watch list, where I had added a number of French films without paying too much attention as to what they were about. As this one has a fashion theme, it appealed to her, and I didn't mind as I could listen to the French. As it happens the 'French' was tricky to put it mildly, much of it delivered at speed and hardly text book.

The story is whimsical, reflecting perhaps the fashion industry. Alicia Ricosi, played by Fanny Ardent, is a top fashion designer who's in the doldrums after a break up with her beau. Her assistant, Heléne, is given the job by the fashion house manager, Alan, of restoring Alicia's interest in her work by finding her a new man. This fails miserably, but by chance Alicia meets up with Heléne's Breton landscape gardner, who Heléne has in fact recently fired, and he proves to be the muse that Alicia has been looking for - two artistic types, if you get the drift.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy, Romance

Yet another French film from Amazon Prime. Made in 1983, I found the acting a bit wooden, but given that the Rotten Tomatoes review awards it 100% from the critics (87% audience), who am I to judge?

I believe that the acclaim for the film probably rests with the fame of its director, Éric Rohmer, described by the Daily Telegraph after his death in 2010 as "the most durable film-maker of the French New Wave", and with his characterisation of the four principal people.

Pauline arrives with her older cousin Marion at the family holiday home on the coast of north-west France. They soon meet up with an ex boyfriend of Marion, Pierre, who is clearly overjoyed to see her again, and hopes to renew their partnership. But Marion has other ideas, and is soon involved with Henri, an older man who is clearly a bit of a womaniser, and to whom Pierre takes an instant dislike.

Pauline, meanwhile, is observing all of this, while having also struck up a friendship with a local lad, Sylvain. Marion's not too keen on Sylvain, while at the same time she is pursuing what is clearly an affair with Henri that's going nowhere. Her advice to Pauline is, therefore, somewhat hypocritical, and doesn't carry much weight.

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Genre: French Language, Romance, Life

Today's Amazon Prime film was a bit more challenging than the comedy I reported on yesterday.

Set in Paris, and filmed in extremely contrasty black and white, I believe it fits the genre referred to as New Wave.

It begins with Louis leaving his partner, Clothilde, with whom he has a daughter, Charlotte, to start a new relationship with Claudia. He and Claudia are both actors, although Claudia isn't working and is somewhat depressed because of this. They live in a garret, which while may sound very romantic, is actually depressing for Claudia who wants something better. Louis says he loves Claudia and can't live without her, although this doesn't stop him flirting with a woman at the theatre where he is working, nor with a woman in the cinema. Meanwhile Claudia seems even less interested in a monogamous relationship, casually picking someone up in a bar.

The film's title is fitting, as Clothilde is jealous, for obvious reasons, while both Louis and Claudia exhibit feelings of jealousy, each it seems suspecting the other of infidelity. That was my reading of the situation but I may have got it wrong.

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Genre: French Language, Drama

Michel finds a rare jazz album at the flea market and can't wait to get back to the flat to listen to it. For the next 80 minutes everything that could happen to stop him listening to his album does.

His wife, Nathalie, has something important to tell him (she had been unfaithful) but he doesn't want to hear it. The Polish builders, who turn out to be Portuguese, flood a room, as well as the apartment underneath. Michel's son is housing illegal immigrants in the maids' quarters upstairs. The flooded neighbour redirects party guests to Michel's apartment. Oh, and Nathalie's best friend arrives to confess to having an affair with Michel. What does a man have to do to listen to his record?

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

I was so keen to see the end of this film that I prolonged my exercise bike session until it had finished. Well over an hour and a half. I normally watch a film over two sessions.

This was another Amazon Prime offering and I must say that the French films that I've watched on Prime so far have all been very good. This was no exception.

Franck Adrien, a convicted bank robber, shares a cell with John-Louis Maurel, who's been accused of rape but professes his innocence. Adrien is the only one who knows where the bank heist loot is hidden and a group of other prisoners are intent on making him reveal where it's hidden. With the collusion of the guards Adrien is continually physically harassed by these prisoners.

Maurel is also a victim of harassment, but in his case because of his crime. At one point Adrien defends him, and when it transpires that Maurel is to be released, because his accuser has supposedly retracted her evidence, Adrien asks him to convey a message to his wife, this being a coded message that will allow her to find the loot.

Maurel, however, is far from innocent, and he and his wife collude to abscond with Adrien's young daughter, illegally adopting her as their own child, while also making off with the bank money. Adrien is visited by a former gendarme who tells him of his fears about Maurel being a serial sex offender and worried for his family's safety, Adrien escapes prison and sets out to find Maurel.

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Genre: French Language, Drama, Crime

Yet another film from Amazon Prime, this time an adaptation of Jacques Tardi's comic book series. So it's certainly on the light side, you could even say silly, but it has a strong pedigree being a film by Luc Besson.

The cinematography seems almost to simulate a graphic strip, to the extent that when the film started I wasn't sure if it was real or animated, although this confusion didn't last long.

This film is pure comedy. The eponymous heroin is an author with a twin sister who suffered a serious injury during a tennis match, leaving her in bed on a drip with a hat pin though her head. I'm sure such an injury would be fatal but this is a fantasy, so stay with it.

Adèle, who should be in Peru researching her new book, is in fact in Egypt to recover the mummy of the doctor to the Pharos, whom she believes could help her sister. The small problem of the mummy being long since deceased is to be overcome with the help of a 'mad' scientist who has already resurrected a pterodactyl from its egg in a Paris museum; so a mummy should be easy.

Unfortunately the pterodactyl is causing mayhem, including the death of a politician and his mistress, so the scientist has been arrested and sentenced to death. Such problems are not insurmountable for Adèle, who embarks on a succession of hare-brain schemes to release the scientist, after her appeal to the French president fails, spectacularly! The president's dog is called Nelson, which rather amused me.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy, Fantasy

I'm gradually working my way through the French films that are free to view on Amazon Prime. The latest was Les Adoptés. Mélanie Laurent, who co-wrote the screenplay, directs and stars in this film. Not surprisingly, it's a film with a very female perspective.

Perhaps I'm biased, but French films seem to get under the skin of personal relationships far more convincingly than many American ones. Lisa (Mélanie Laurent), a single mum with a little boy, has an adopted sister, Marine (Marie Denarnaud), and the two of them enjoy a close relationship more symptomatic of twins than of a sister and an adopted sister. When Marine falls in love with Alex (Denis Ménochet) this relationship is destabilised, and Lisa takes a dislike to Alex. Their mother, Millie (Clémentine Célarié) is the voice of reason as the two sisters struggle to come to terms with a new set of emotions.

Marine and Alex go through a bit of a bad patch but make up, only for tragedy to strike. With Marine hospitalised, and in a serious condition, Lisa and Alex gradually warm to each other, Alex becoming a sort of a father figure for Lisa's son, Léo, brilliantly played by Théodore Maquet-Foucher.

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Genre: French Language, Drama, Romance

Belle & Sébastien is my latest viewing on Amazon Prime. This is a beautiful French film with the absolutely stunning backdrop of the French Alps.

The film starts with the young boy, Sébastien, and his adoptive grandfather, César, walking in the mountains. The initial views are breathtaking. César is searching for 'The Beast', a feral dog suspected of killing sheep. Other hunters from the village, lower down the mountain, shoot a deer, leaving its fawn on a precarious ledge. What follows is a vertiginous scene where César lowers Sébastian over the edge to recover the fawn. It made me feel quite queazy.

Sébastien roams the mountains at will, seemingly in preference to school, and it isn't long before 'The Beast', a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, and he meet up. The dog, which is wary of adults, forms a bond with the child, and Sébastien does everything he can to protect his new friend.

All this is taking place during the Second World War and German soldiers are posted in the village, their orders being to catch Jews, who they suspect are being led across the mountains to Switzerland by the local doctor, Guillaume.

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Genre: Drama, French Language

After La Fée, my latest viewing on Amazon Prime, the French film La prochaine fois je viserai le coeur, brings everything down to earth with a bump.

Based on a true story, it tells of a gendarme, Franck Neuhart, who doubles as a serial killer.

It's a disturbing film, featuring a killer who selects young women at random and executes them. His approach is to pick them up, it seemingly being quite common for young college girls to hitch lifts home, and then shoot them in the car and dump their bodies by the roadside. He doesn't assault them beforehand, his motive seemingly being simply to murder them. He uses stolen cars, which he abandons after the crime. And he writes little missives to the Gendarmerie, where he works, anonymously explaining his actions.

The rivalry between the police and the gendarmes (they are different forces in France) is displayed, the former regarding the latter as what we would probably term country bobbies, not a patch on the city forces.

Franck is clearly mentally disturbed, and when he starts a relationship with the young woman who does his laundry, Sophie, one fears the worst. But he seems to have feelings for her and his conflicted emotions are clearly on display.

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Genre: Drama, Comedy, French Language

Another French film, but one that I find extremely difficult to review. It's a combination of fantasy, love and slapstick comedy. The notes on the DVD refer to burlesque comedy and physical comedy. Do you get the gist?

Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon, a couple in real life, play Dom and Fiona, having directed the film with Bruno Romey, who plays the visually challenged patron of the L'Amour Flou (Fuzzy Love) café.

Dom works in a hotel and one evening Fiona comes in and announces she's a fairy, and grants him three wishes. The first is for a scooter (he has a very unreliable bike) and the second is for petrol to keep it running. After Fiona carries out an interesting variation of the Heimlich manoeuvre on Dom, who gets the top of a tomato ketchup bottle stuck in his throat (you need to watch the film to see why), Dom falls asleep, and wakes up in the morning to find a scooter in the hotel foyer. Later Fiona gives him the key to a petrol storage tank in the nearby refinery. And so a romance is kindled.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Another French film from Amazon prime.

Muriel is the number one fan of the popular singer Vincent Lacroix. She is also a bit of a dreamer, recounting stories of questionable veracity to her friends. She works as a beautician and has two children, although they live with her former husband.

Vincent meanwhile has a girlfriend, Julie, who is a bit highly strung, and one evening 'loses it' because Vincent is playing poker with some friends. The friends leave, Vincent and Julie fight, and Julie is killed as a result of a terrible accident.

Vincent, obviously fearing for his career, hatches a plot to absolve himself from blame. He drives to Muriel's, where without telling her what has happened, he asks her to drive to his sister's in Switzerland, having moved Julie's body from his car boot to hers. Muriel would do anything for Vincent, so she agrees.

As far as Vincent is concerned everything goes to plan, Muriel having confirmed as much. But things didn't go to plan, and Muriel used her initiative, resulting in Julie's body being discovered in the Dordogne. The two police officers who lead the investigation are Pascal and Olivia, who are in a relationship, but Olivia has been unfaithful and there's friction between them, a fact that in the end affects the outcome of their case.

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Genre: French Language, Drama, Romance

Having watched all the French DVDs that I recently bought I'm now finding films for streaming on Amazon Prime. The latest was 'A Prophet' a crime thriller based around a French prison where a Corsican gang leader, César, and his henchmen effectively run the place.

A young Arab prisoner, Malik, arrives and is quickly picked out by César as a useful asset. To gain César's protection, which is worth having in what is a very dangerous environment, he must do a 'little job' for him - kill another inmate. From this point on he becomes César's property, while being haunted by his victim.

This film has a very realistic feel about it. It won the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix in 2009 and Best Film at the London Film Festival in the same year.

As the plot develops Malik starts to undertake more jobs for César during his 'good behaviour' release days, these having been expedited as a result of César's influence. But Malik is far from stupid, and he starts to develop his own interests. Meanwhile César's influence is threatened when a number of the Corsicans are returned to Corsica, reducing his muscle, while a growing Muslim contingent in the prison is seen as a threat.

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Genre: French Language, Crime, Life

I've come to the conclusion that where cinema is concerned I'm either easily pleased or my tastes doesn't align with the majority. Yesterday I watched 11.6, a French film about a security guard who one day just drives off with 11.6€ million in banknotes. That sounds straightforward enough, but his motives weren't financial, which separates this from the usual genre of bank heists. Reviews of this film were luke warm.

It's based on the true story of Toni Musulin, a complex individual who likes expensive cars and practises Krav Maga, although his use of this martial art in the film is limited to a few debilitating holds on his colleagues, by way of jests. He buys a Ferrari f430 Spider for 92,000€, apparently funded from hard-earned savings, amassed no doubt because his wife runs a bar and his money remains his.

A conscientious employee, he isn't at all valued by his boss and you can see his frustration building as the story unfolds. Once he has decided on the heist he distances himself from his wife and his normal work partners so as to not implicate them in his actions. Then, with meticulous planning, and reliance on the very poor procedures at his security company, he drives off with the money.

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Genre: French Language, Crime, Drama

My latest French film is Heartbreaker. Or to give it its French title, L'Arnacoeur, which is a phonetic play on words, the actual word being arnaqueur, being somebody who practises arnaque, which is a word for a swindle or a con.

Alex, with the help of his sister and her husband, operate a rather unusual business. Basically they break up relationships, which may sound somewhat harsh, but we're led to believe that it's only where the woman is at risk of marrying somebody unsuitable. Needless to say somebody, usually the woman's father, pays them to perform this service.

His ultimate challenge arrives in the form of Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) who is hopelessly in love with her soon to be husband, a rather boring Englishman - from a French perspective, if you want boring in a love-related scenario, I guess casting an English bloke doesn't need much thought!

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Genre: French Language, Romance, Comedy

Another French film and another gentle comedy.

Castella is a rich but lonely business man. He is negotiating a deal that obviously exposes him to possible danger, so everywhere he goes he is accompanied by a bodyguard and his chauffeur. As a subplot said bodyguard and chauffeur become involved with a young woman in the local brasserie. The chauffeur having slept with her in the past, a fact he has completely forgotten when she reminds him of it. Meanwhile the bodyguard is far more worldly wise and soon forms a relationship with her.

Castella has also hired a 'sharp' college boy type as an assistant to help him with his 'big deal'. He rubs Castella up the wrong way while also suggesting to him that he should learn English to help in his business dealings.

Clara, an English teacher, is interviewed and promptly discounted, but a little later Castella comes across her again as an actress and is completely mesmerised by her performance in Racine's "Bérénice". From this point on he endeavours to meet her, breaking into her social circle, where he is politely ridiculed. Meanwhile his relationship with his wife, which had already become distant, is failing completely, her main emotional interest seeming to be her dog.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

Having watched OSS 117: Le Caire - Nid d'Espions, it was suggested that I also watch Rio Ne Répond Plus.

It carries on nicely from the earlier film, with our agent upsetting just about everybody and surviving not from any innate skill but from sheer luck and help from his often incredulous partners.

In this outing he's off to Rio to recover microfilms from an ex Nazi, which contain the names of French collaborators. He's told that he has been selected because he's the 'best', which he immodestly acknowledges, but we later find out that there is a more compelling reason.

Posing as a reporter on holiday, which of course nobody believes, he ends up with Mossad agents who want to get the said Nazi back to Israel for trial. In the earlier film the Muslims were the recipients of his insults, whereas this time it's the Jews. He, of course, doesn't actually realise he is insulting people.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

This is the second of the French films I've watched after buying some previously owned DVDs from the Amazon Marketplace.

One of the reviews on the DVD case for this film says: "Une comédie délicate, enlevée et drôle", which I think describes it quite nicely.

In Paris, in the 60s, Jean-Louis, a stockbroker, and his wife Suzanne live in a grand apartment. Above, on the sixth floor, there are a group of Spanish house maids (les bonnes) who might as well not exist as far as Jean-Louis and Suzanne are concerned.

But when their French maid is dismissed (Suzanne and her didn't get on after the death of Jean-Louis' mother) Suzanne is introduced to the fact that she can find a Spanish maid, and she takes on trial the recently arrived Maria. With a bit of clandestine help from her friends on the sixth floor, the young Maria makes a good impression, and is duly appointed.

Jean-Louis soon becomes infatuated with Maria. His wife suspects something is going on, but misses the obvious and mistakenly accuses her husband of having an affair with an attractive new female client. He choses to admit to this imaginary affair rather than to his real feelings for Maria. Suzanne duly kicks him out.

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

I've recently acquired a few French films from Amazon's used DVD marketplace, and I've just watched OSS 117: Le Caire - Nid d'Espions (Cairo - Nest of Spies).

This is a spoof of the spy film genre and draws heavily from the early Bond films. Jean Dujardin plays the Bond-type character, interestingly named Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath. His female co-star is played by Bérénice Bejo, and those of you who take an interest in such things will recognise this duo from the Oscar winning silent film of 2011, The Artist.

Hubert is, of course, God's gift to women and has no respect whatsoever for the religion of the local people, as shown by his silencing of the Muezzin, whose call to prayer wakes him up on his first morning in Cairo. He bumbles along and through sheer happenstance "saves the Middle East".

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Genre: French Language, Comedy

While in Nice, France, I went to see Les Jardins du Roi (The King's Gardens), which was entitled A Little Chaos in the UK.

Kate Winslet plays a sort of 17th Century Charlie Dimmock who is hired by Louis XIV's chief landscape architect to help create the lavish garden at Versailles. This raises a few eyebrows in the royal court and, of course, romance is in the air. Alan Rickman as the Louis XIV adds his usual brand of humour and the whole thing is a bit whimsical.

It received poor reviews and I must say it wasn't the most memorable of films. However, the French dialogue wasn't too complicated and while I didn't understand everything, there were a lot of sentences and words that I got. It is of course wholly appropriate for this film to have a French dialogue.

The final scene was pure saccharine.

Genre: French Language, Romance, Historical

We didn't get to the cinema last week as it gets a bit busy during school holidays. We did, however, watch a film we had recorded: Amour, directed by Michael Haneke and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva.

This is an exceptional film. Georges and Anne are retired music teachers in their 80s living in a rather splendid Paris apartment. Anne suffers a stroke and the story, which takes place entirely within the apartment, is that of how Georges cares for her as she deteriorates and ultimately progresses into dementia. In accordance with her wishes, he won't allow her to go to a hospital or care home, a fact that confuses and frustrates their daughter, whose help Georges rejects.

This is a story so human, so real, that it feels at times almost like a fly-on-the-wall documentary. But that would understate its artistic brilliance. A richly deserved Palme d'Or winner at Cannes, this is directing and acting at its best. Despite the subject matter, it isn't without humour, largely thanks to Georges.

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Genre: Romance, French Language, Drama

To help me learn French I often watch French films with French subtitles. I recently saw Toutes nos Envies (All our Desires), a sad story but also one of courage. Unfortunately a lot of the dialogue was very quietly spoken and, consequently, difficult to understand. The subtitles also often appeared to show different words to those that the actors spoke. However, the story was easy to follow and I enjoyed this film. The performances were strong and the relationship between the main characters had depth.

Claire is a young judge who takes on finance companies in order to help clients who have taken on loans without realising that the interest rate is too high to pay. But she becomes unwell and discovers that she has an untreatable brain tumour.

Stéphane is an acquaintance who helps her by providing legal advice and a strong platonic relationship develops between them. She confides in Stéphane that she is going to die, but hasn't told her husband. This creates a very emotionally complicated situation.

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Genre: Life, Drama, French Language

I was bought this DVD for Christmas. I had read about this film after it's release but was a bit surprised when I got it as a present. Obviously any French film helps me 'train my ears' to the sound of French, even though the dialogue is usually at the tricky/impossible end of the scale. The DVD was, however, an English language release with sub-titles.

When I read about this film there was much attention given to its explicit sexual nature. There's no denying that the lesbian sex scenes are as explicit as you are likely to see in any main-stream film. However, to reduce what is an amazing film to the sex is doing the production a great disservice.

The two leading female actors are absolutely amazing and I'm not surprised that both won a Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2013, as did the film and the director. Adèle Exarchopoulos (who plays Adéle) in particular gives an amazing performance. From the time when she discovers her sexuality, in late adolescence, up until the moment when she realises that her relationship with Emma (played by Léa Seydoux) is over, we witness the emotions of a young woman finding true love, playing out that love with unbridled passion and finally losing somebody who has taken over her soul. The scene in the bar where Adéle finally realises that there is no longer any hope of reconciliation must rate as one of the best emotional portrayals ever put on film.

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Genre: Romance, Drama, French Language

Another film that I saw while staying near Paris at Henri Langlois cinema in Franconville. (http://franconville-henrilanglois.cine.allocine.fr)

This film was very, very funny, even if I couldn't understand a lot of the dialogue.

A bourgeois Catholic couple have four daughters who one by one marry men of different faiths, much to the consternation of their parents. After three such marriages it's the turn of the last unmarried daughter, and the parents rejoice to learn that she's marrying a Catholic. But their elation is short lived.

The cinema was packed and the audience were almost delirious with laughter. Of course, I didn't get all the subtle language-based comedy, but the visual comedy was more than enough to keep me laughing.

Genre: Comedy, French Language

De Toutes Nos Forces is a story of a disabled teenager, Julian, and his relationship with his father. Julien had challenged his father that they should participate in the 'Ironman' in Nice. At first his father told him it would be impossible, but ultimately the supreme motivation of his son changed his mind.

I saw the film, in French without subtitles, while I was staying near Franconville, on the outskirts of Paris. I probably understood only 10-15% of the dialogue, but it actually didn't matter too much because the story was so strong that dialogue was to some extent superficial. There were obviously a few humorous lines during the film, judging by the audience's reaction, but in French comedy dialogue usually goes straight over my head.

Genre: Drama, French Language

Back to Orange Wednesday after a couple of weeks' break from the cinema. Today I was treated to a French film: Populaire.

I found this to be a lovely film. Perhaps a bit too sweet for some, but I was enchanted by Rose (Déborah François) and enjoyed the mix of emotion and humour. And, for a change, I actually was able to understand quite a bit of the French. Not enough to have enjoyed it without subtitles but enough to be able to compare what they actually said with what the subtitle editor came up with.

It has been compared in some respects with The Artist. The Guardian review made the following observation:

Where The Artist was a black-and-white homage to the American silent cinema of the 1920s that was shattered by the coming of sound, Populaire is a love letter to the under-appreciated Hollywood movies of the 1950s, with a wonderful feeling for the textures of Technicolor.

If you like French films it's well worth seeing.

Genre: Romance, Comedy, French Language