When a hold-up goes badly wrong, four criminals take refuge in a
shopping centre which becomes a scene of feverish panic as guns go
off. In the confusion, they shoot a man and take a woman
hostage. To evade capture, they force their way into a car, not
knowing that its driver is a father who is taking his seriously ill son
to hospital. What ensues is a nightmarish chase and the hunted
know that there is no possible hope of return...
American film comedy had its heyday in the 1920s and '30s, but it remains an important genre and has given American cinema some of its enduring classics.
In the 1910s, French cinema led the way with a new industry which actively encouraged innovation. From the serials of Louis Feuillade to the first auteur pieces of Abel Gance, this decade is rich in cinematic marvels.
With so many great films to choose from, it's nigh on impossible to compile a short-list of the best 15 French films of all time - but here's our feeble attempt to do just that.