We let you know where to go out and find French culture, but we’ve also got to let you know how to stay in and find French culture. Get a French culture and language-filled night watching these 10 French films on Netflix. (All films are available with English subtitles, even if their trailers don’t have subtitles.)
1. “Wedding Unplanned” (Jour J)
Mathias and Alexia have been a couple for a few years, but during a drunken evening, Mathias slips and cheats on Alexia with Juliette, a wedding planner. When Alexia discovers Juliette’s business card in one of Mathias’ pockets, she quickly believes that he wants to marry her. Overjoyed, she says yes and Mathias finds himself caught between his mistress and his wife, forced to plan an unexpected wedding.
2. “We Are Family” (“C’est quoi cette famille ?”)
Bastien, age 13, is in the middle of a mixed family (four, to be specific, since his mom’s been married three times previously). Tired of complex family schedules moving between the apartments of four moms and four dads, he decides, with his 6 half-brothers and sisters, to switch things up. The children move into a large apartment on their own and decide that it’s up to the parents to take turns coming to live with them.
3. “A Mighty Team” (“La Dream Team”)
Maxime Belloc is a famous soccer player living his dream life (and acting like an entitled idiot while he does it). Once he breaks his leg, his agent forces him to go back to his small-town roots in Le Berry, France, while he recovers. At home with his family, including his father, played by Gérard Depardieu, who he hasn’t spoken to in 15 years, he relearns what it means to be a part of a family and community.
4. “I Am Not An Easy Man” (“Je ne suis pas un homme facile”)
Damien, a single guy and an obnoxious player, hits his head and wakes up in a world run by women: women get the social, political, and financial power that men have today, and men are expected to be pretty and submissive. In this new world, Damien falls in love with Alexandra, a powerful woman he’d previously mistreated when he had the power. To make her love him, he has to follow the new rules of this female-led world.
5. “Amélie” (“Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain”)
A classic favorite for Francophiles. Amélie Poulain, a waitress in a bar played by Audrey Tautou, has fun observing the people around her. Realizing she’s spent the majority of her life in the back seat, she decides to take action and do good deeds for the people around her. While plotting (incognito) to do good deeds for others, she meets people who want to do good deeds for her.
6. “The Climb” (“L’ascension”)
To prove his love to Nadia, Samy tells her, “I’d do anything for you! I’d even climb Mount Everest.” He should have kept his mouth shut because Nadia’s waiting for the evidence. For love, he leaves his city and heads for Everest. A message of hope: anything is possible. This film is based on the true story of Nadir Dendoune.
7. “In the Shadow of Iris” (“Iris”)
Iris, the wife of a rich banker, disappears in Paris. Little does he know that Max, a mechanic in debt, was hired by the banker’s wife to make her disappear. Little do Iris, the banker husband, Max, or the investigators know, they’re all in much deeper than they thought.
8. “Slack Bay” (“Ma Loute”)
In Slack Bay in northern France, in 1910, mysterious disappearances were worrying the region. Inspectors Machin and Malfoy lead the investigation into the disappearances, and find themselves in the middle of a strange love story between Ma Loute, the eldest son in a fishing family, and Billie, from a wealthy bourgeois family (which includes the fabulous Juliette Binoche). A farcical film where everyone behaves a bit like they’ve had a lot of absinthe, you’ll be laughing at the ridiculous antics of this seaside community.
9. “Headwinds” (“Des vents contraires”)
Paul’s beloved wife, played by Audrey Tautou, suddenly disappears. After years of searching fruitlessly for her, Paul, played by Benoit Magimel, moves to Saint-Malo where he tries to continue to live his life and reconnect with his kids, without being certain whether is alive or dead.
10. “The Boss’s Daughter” (“La fille du patron”)
Vital works as a manager in a textile factory. Alix, 25, the boss’s daughter, uses him as a guinea pig, without him knowing, for an ergonomic study in his father’s company. She quickly falls under the spell of Vital, who opens himself up to her, and begins to dream of a life other than the one she’s living.
