French film photo galley for 1980

French films of the 1980s

Chère inconnue (1980)

After their Oscar winning success in La Vie devant soi, director Moshé Mizrahi and actress Simone Signoret are reunited in this poignant drama revolving around such eternal themes as loneliness, growing old and unrequited love. Mizrahi’s direction is notably less inspired than in his earlier film, and some of the plot developments are not fully explained and seem faintly ludicrous... [More...]

Inspecteur la Bavure (1980)

This respectable comedy policier from director Claude Zidi provides ample opportunity for the comic genius Coluche to show his talents as both an actor and a comedian. Widely regarded as one of Coluche’s better films, it has both the gloss of an early 1980s French thriller and some raucous comedy, giving it great entertainment value... [More...]

Je vous aime (1980)

This is a bittersweet romantic comedy which was quite controversial at the time. Catherine Deneuve, in one of her best performances, plays a beautiful career woman who is unable to sustain a monogamous relationship. In some ways, the film is a modern day version of Flaubert’s novel, Madame Bovary, questioning the validity and basis for long-term relationships... [More...]

L'Avare (1980)

This is a rollicking film adaptation of Molière’s famous comedy. Whilst remaining true to the original play, this film still manages to sparkle with originality and fun. Louis de Funès doesn’t just play the part of the miser Harpagon – he is Harpagon, right down to his threadbare socks. In a performance that surpasses brilliance... [More...]

La Banquière (1980)

Romy Schneider delivers one of her most memorable performances in this lavish period production from director Francis Girod. The Austrian-born actress who became a star of French cinema in the 1960s was at her peak when she made this film and here she is simply stunning. The character she plays is a mass of contradictions but somehow Schneider renders the maverick banker Emma believable... [More...]

La Boum (1980)

Although it is hardly groundbreaking material, La Boum is one of those inconsequential French romantic comedies which you cannot help falling for. The film was an enormous commercial success when it was released in 1980 and a sequel, imaginatively titled La Boum 2, was soon put into production. Sympathetic performances from Claude Brasseur and Brigitte Fossey bring a touch of humour and poignancy... [More...]

La Mort en direct (1980)

This low-key science-fiction drama from acclaimed director Bertrand Tavernier has proven to be chillingly prophetic. Twenty years on, fly-on-the-wall documentaries and "reality" shows have become the staple diet of most television networks in the Western world. Nothing is taboo in the ratings-hungry TV executives’ relentless pursuit to satisfy an increasingly sick society’s appetite... [More...]

La Femme de l'aviateur (1980)

The first in Eric Rohmer’s series Comédies et proverbes is this enchanting portrait of love, jealousy and suspicion. As in most of Rohmer’s works, the characters are excellently well drawn and beautifully interpreted by his actors. The stubborn possessiveness of François contrasts with the casual attitudes of the two women he spends the time with in this film... [More...]

La Femme flic (1980)

This is a film which addresses two important issues which are a major concern for our society. These are blatant sex discrimination in the police force and the manipulation of the police by senior public figures. Although the intention is well-meant and should be welcomed, Boisset’s treatment of these subjects is far from satisfactory... [More...]

Le Cheval d'orgueil (1980)

Le Cheval d'orgueil is an atypical film for Claude Chabrol, the French New Wave director who is better known for his slick psychological thrillers that have earned him the epithet "the French Alfred Hitchcock". This film gets tantalisingly close to providing an authentic depiction of the life of ordinary Breton peasants at the beginning of the Twentieth Century... [More...]

Le Guignolo (1980)

After the commercial success of Flic ou voyou (1978), director Georges Lautner and actor Jean-Paul Belmondo were reunited in their next film, Le Guignolo (along with most of the cast and production team of their previous film). This time, Lautner had the advantage of a considerably greater budget and practically no constraints on the film’s scenario or location... [More...]

Le Dernier métro (1980)

Despite strong performances from Depardieu and Deneuve, Le dernier metro is not quite in the league of Truffaut’s more memorable films. The repetition of the rehearsal scenes and the claustrophobic nature of the setting (virtually the entire film taking place within the theatre) weigh down a film that feels somewhat over-long and lacking in content... [More...]

Les Sous-doués (1980)

What it lacks in artistic merit and originality, Les Sous-doués just about makes up for in visual jokes and comic momentum. Like many of Claude Zidi’s films, it achieves what it sets out to do, which is simply to entertain. Admittedly some of the comic situations are laboured and repetitive, but there are some delightfully funny moments and... [More...]

Loulou (1980)

This film is a satire of modern living and explores the relative merits of prosperity and the freedom that unemployment can bring. Pialat argues that having a good job and a nice home is no substitute for a fulfilling love life. The film’s focus is a stormy love triangle involving a very young Isabelle Huppert, Gérard Depardieu and Guy Marchard... [More...]

Mon oncle d'Amérique (1980)

What could easily have been a conventional drama about the pressures of modern living is magnificently transformed into a multi-layered film which is both compelling and entertaining, despite its unusual narrative structure. Although less distinctive than some of Resnais’ earlier films, it illustrates the director’s capacity to make great cinema that is provocative and innovative... [More...]

Trois hommes à abattre (1980)

This typical early ‘80s French thriller proved to be a huge success for its producer and lead actor, Alain Delon. The film was based on a successful novel by the writer Jean-Patrick Manchette, who is credited as being the father of the néo-polar genre. Delon is – yet again – cast in the kind of role in which he excels... [More...]

Un mauvais fils (1980)

In Un mauvais fils, director Claude Sautet explores two of his favourite themes, which predominate in most – if not all – of his films. The first is the conflict between different generations, in this case between a father and son – a conflict which arises from what appear to be, initially, insurmountable barriers based on individual experiences... [More...]

Une semaine de vacances (1980)

Although not generally regarded as one of Bertrand Tavernier's most important works, Une semaine de vacances is an engaging drama that provides a sobering reflection on the difficulties faced by teachers at time when their profession was no longer widely respected and subject to seemingly constant government initiatives... [More...]

Allons z'enfants (1981)

This is a painfully poignant film adaptation of Yves Gibeau’s controversial 1952 novel. It explores with uncompromising frankness and lucidity one of the most troubling aspects of the French education system of the 1930s – the military school system into which survivors of the First World War were eager to fling their offspring... [More...]

Coup de torchon (1981)

In common with many of Tavernier’s films, Coup de Torchon is a multi-layered film which, whilst distinctly unsettling, seems to have a strong underlying message. The main theme is clearly an anti-colonial one: the white colonists are presented as dim-witted, cruel, racist and generally immoral, whilst the blacks are painted as the victims... [More...]

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