French film photo galley for Romance/Comedy

French films Romance/Comedy

Thomas est amoureux (2000)

This is a remarkable first film from Belgian director Pierre-Paul Renders, startlingly original in both its concept and its realisation, and so relevant to contemporary society (ironically more so now than when it was first released). The film is both a dark tragicomic exploration of the torment of solitude and also a stark warning of the dangers of living in a virtual world... [More...]

Barnie et ses petites contrariétés (2001)

Mirth on the Orient Express? It may not be the most original or intelligent of French comedies in recent years, but it’s hard to deny that Barnie et ses petites contrariétés is a very funny film, an exuberant bedroom farce which just about manages to avoid tipping over into crass silliness. It’s a first full length film for Bruno Chiche... [More...]

Bella ciao (2001)

In this enchanting visual elegy tracing the lives and loves of three generations of an Italian family, Stéphane Giusti draws on his own personal experiences and offers a film that is both poignant and curiously uplifting. The seductive beauty of the film’s narrative form – which skilfully weaves images of the hard reality of life in the 1930s with surreal flights of fancy... [More...]

Dieu est grand, je suis toute petite (2001)

Made in 1998, Dieu est grand, je suis toute petite didn't see the light of day until September 2001, several months after the release of Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, the film that made Audrey Tautou an international star and a household name in France. Completion of the film was delayed for eighteen months when the original producer went bankrupt and alternative backers were... [More...]

Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)

Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain was the film which defined French cinema across the world in the year 2001. Not only was it the most successful film made in France that year, attracting well over 8 million viewers in France alone, it was also the most distinctive, the most memorable, and certainly the most talked about... [More...]

Oui, mais... (2001)

Whilst not as polished a work as it perhaps needs to make an impact, Oui, mais (Yves Lavandier’s first full-length film) provides a sensitive and credible portrayal of adolescent vulnerability. Emilie Dequenne’s performance is far from faultless but the young actress shows some talent and maturity. In particular... [More...]

Reines d'un jour (2001)

Marion Vernoux’s fourth film is this joyful romantic comedy in which the chaotic love lives of four disparate characters are woven – with the skill of a master craftsman – into a colourful slice of life tapestry. Acutely perceptive in its observation of human relationships, tacitly truthful yet playfully funny... [More...]

Se souvenir des belles choses (2001)

How can any director make a film about Alzheimer’s disease without falling prey to tired clichés or heavy sentimentality? What hope is there in this subject to attract - let alone cheer – a cinema audience, a fair proportion of whom are likely to end up victims of this terrible illness? For her directorial debut... [More...]

Va savoir (2001)

The first years of the new millenium have marked something of a revival for the French New Wave, with Nouvelle Vague directors Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer and Jacques Rivette all releasing major works which achieved both popular success and critical acclaim. Rivette’s offering is a charming romantic comedy which reminds us of the director’s passion for the theatre seen in his... [More...]

À la folie... pas du tout (2002)

The opening title sequence is a work of art in itself, consisting of ribbons of wording alluringly twirling themselves around whimsical household objects. We cut to Audrey Tautou, very much continuing in her Amelie vein, beaming at us endearingly over armfuls of flowers, and the extraordinary story begins to unfold. In every shot... [More...]

Décalage horaire (2002)

After the success of her first film as a director, La Buche, in 1999, Danièle Thompson once again took up the directorial reins with this lightweight romantic comedy, which she again co-authored with her son, Christopher Thompson. It is no great exaggeration to say that the words "French film comedy" and "Danièle Thompson" are virtually synonymous... [More...]

Embrassez qui vous voudrez (2002)

This magnificently orchestrated comedy of errors brings together some of the biggest names in French cinema and is a major achievement for its director, Michel Blanc, by far his best film to date. With so many characters and plots, it would have been easy for this film to have ended up a convulted mess, but it hangs together remarkably well... [More...]

Irène (2002)

Here’s a film that should appeal to all aficionados of the classic French rom-com, a typically Gallic version of Bridget Jones’s Diary that offers an engaging, sometimes hilarious, portrait of a frustrated thirty-something woman angling frantically for her beau idéal. In his first film, director Ivan Calbérac adheres to the tried and tested formula of the romantic... [More...]

L'Auberge espagnole (2002)

One of the French film highlights of the year 2002, L’Auberge espagnole is a vibrant yet intelligent comedy-drama about young people from different cultures and nationalities coming together and discovering a shared bond of friendship. Although the film is simplistic in places, it offers a convincing and fairly accurate portrait of student life... [More...]

Le Chignon d'Olga (2002)

Le Chignon d’Olga is a remarkable debut film from Jérôme Bonnell, who was just 23 when he wrote and directed the film. You almost have to go back to the heady days of the French New Wave to find a filmmaker who has earned, so early in his career, the acclaim that Bonnell has received for this film. Here is an understated yet thoroughly absorbing little film comprising a... [More...]

Sex Is Comedy (2002)

After a series of shocking romantic dramas, featuring some of the most sexually explicit material to be made for mainstream cinema, Catherine Breillat made this curious pseudo-documentary in which she attempts to demystify the process of shooting sex films. Whilst the film is occasionally illuminating and sometimes very funny... [More...]

Une femme de ménage (2002)

Une femme de ménage is a surprisingly tender and intelligent romantic comedy-drama from director-producer Claude Berri, a major player in French cinema for over two decades. Although he is best known for his lavish super-productions, such as Jean de Florette (1986) and Germinal (1993), Berri has also directed a number of more modest and intimate works which are equally as worthy... [More...]

Après vous... (2003)

For his fifth film, Pierre Salvadori follows a familiar pattern of outlandish comedy etched with bittersweet drama, revolving around the romantic entanglements of two improbably paired male characters. The formula is less successful than in Salvadori’s previous works, despite a strong cast and some brilliant comic situations... [More...]

Bon voyage (2003)

This eagerly awaited seventh film from acclaimed director Jean-Paul Rappeneau certainly lived up to expectations from the point of view of its sense of spectacle and production quality. Beautifully filmed, with a keen eye to period detail, not to mention a star-studded cast, Bon voyage would seem to have a lot going for it... [More...]

Je reste! (2003)

Je reste! marks something of a departure for director Diane Kurys, a light-hearted satire of married life, contrasting with her earlier realistic dramas. Whilst it certainly does not have the originality and impact of Kurys’ better films – and the tabloid vulgarity may disappoint many of the director’s fans... [More...]

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