Best Of...
French cinema: War
L'Oeil de Vichy (1993)
Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol assembles a montage of newsreel clips from the time of the Nazi Occupation to show France not how he saw it, but how the Vichy government wanted it to be seen...
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Claude Chabrol
Les Otages (1938)
Raymond Bernard
For many years, the tranquillity of a rural French town has been disturbed by the on-going feud between the mayor Beaumont and the country gentleman Rossignol...
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Raymond Bernard
Papy fait de la résistance (1983)
Jean-Marie Poiré
France, 1940. The Bourdelles are a family of gifted musicians who are so patriotic that they refuse to give any more public recitals until their country, now under Nazi occupation, has been liberated...
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Jean-Marie Poiré
Le Passage du Rhin (1960)
André Cayatte
Paris, 1939. War is about to be declared any day. Roger works in a bakery and Jean is a reporter for the magazine L'Espoir...
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André Cayatte
Patrouille de choc (1957)
Claude Bernard-Aubert
During the Indochina War in the late 1940s, Lieutenant Perrin is in charge of a small battalion of French troops at a remote outpost in Vietnam...
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Claude Bernard-Aubert
Le Père tranquille (1946)
René Clément
Monsieur Martin is a contented man who lives a peaceful existence in the small French town of Moisson with his wife and two children, Monique and Pierre... [More...]
René Clément
Monsieur Martin is a contented man who lives a peaceful existence in the small French town of Moisson with his wife and two children, Monique and Pierre... [More...]
Quatre-vingt-treize (1921)
Albert Capellani
France, 1793. The French Revolution has entered its bloodiest phase with the Republican Army authorised by the Committee of Public Safety to crush opposition to the new régime wherever it shows itself, and with utter ruthlessness... [More...]
Albert Capellani
France, 1793. The French Revolution has entered its bloodiest phase with the Republican Army authorised by the Committee of Public Safety to crush opposition to the new régime wherever it shows itself, and with utter ruthlessness... [More...]
La Question (1977)
Laurent Heynemann
Algiers, 1957. Henri Charlegue is the editor of a newspaper that is sympathetic to the cause of the FLN (Algerian National Liberation Front)... [More...]
Laurent Heynemann
Algiers, 1957. Henri Charlegue is the editor of a newspaper that is sympathetic to the cause of the FLN (Algerian National Liberation Front)... [More...]
R.A.S. (1973)
Yves Boisset
In 1956, France's professional army lacks the manpower to keep the peace in Algeria, the colony which the country is determined to hold onto at any price... [More...]
Yves Boisset
In 1956, France's professional army lacks the manpower to keep the peace in Algeria, the colony which the country is determined to hold onto at any price... [More...]
La Rafle (2010)
Rose Bosch
In 1942, Joseph is 11. A Jew, he must go to school with a yellow star sewn onto his chest. Although he is mocked by some, others treat him kindly and he feels that he and his family have found a safe refuge in Paris... [More...]
Rose Bosch
In 1942, Joseph is 11. A Jew, he must go to school with a yellow star sewn onto his chest. Although he is mocked by some, others treat him kindly and he feels that he and his family have found a safe refuge in Paris... [More...]
Le Roi de coeur (1966)
Philippe de Broca
October 1918. With the allied forces sweeping across France, a German battalion is ordered to retreat from a rural French town... [More...]
Philippe de Broca
October 1918. With the allied forces sweeping across France, a German battalion is ordered to retreat from a rural French town... [More...]
Section spéciale (1975)
Costa-Gavras
In 1941, a demonstration by French communists against the Vichy government is broken up by Nazi soldiers. When a handful of the demonstrators are executed, their comrades take revenge by killing a German naval officer... [More...]
Costa-Gavras
In 1941, a demonstration by French communists against the Vichy government is broken up by Nazi soldiers. When a handful of the demonstrators are executed, their comrades take revenge by killing a German naval officer... [More...]
La Sentence (1959)
Jean Valère
As the Allies begin their invasion of Northern France in the summer of 1944, four members of the French Resistance are arrested after an attempt to assassinate a German officer... [More...]
Jean Valère
As the Allies begin their invasion of Northern France in the summer of 1944, four members of the French Resistance are arrested after an attempt to assassinate a German officer... [More...]
Le Silence de la mer (1949)
Jean-Pierre Melville
In the winter of 1941, a German officer, Werner von Ebrennac, is billeted to a house in a small town in Nazi occupied France... [More...]
Jean-Pierre Melville
In the winter of 1941, a German officer, Werner von Ebrennac, is billeted to a house in a small town in Nazi occupied France... [More...]
Thomas l'imposteur (1965)
Georges Franju
September 1914. At the start of the First World War, the inhabitants of Paris flee the capital, fearing an impending invasion by German troops... [More...]
Georges Franju
September 1914. At the start of the First World War, the inhabitants of Paris flee the capital, fearing an impending invasion by German troops... [More...]
La Traversée de Paris (1956)
Claude Autant-Lara
In Paris, during the Nazi occupation, Marcel Martin is forced to give up his job as a taxi driver, and makes a modest living as a blackmarket delivery boy... [More...]
Claude Autant-Lara
In Paris, during the Nazi occupation, Marcel Martin is forced to give up his job as a taxi driver, and makes a modest living as a blackmarket delivery boy... [More...]
Trois de Saint-Cyr (1939)
Jean-Paul Paulin
Despite the objections of his father, a wealthy banker, Jean Le Moyne enters Saint-Cyr, France's most prestigious military academy, to become an officer in the French army... [More...]
Jean-Paul Paulin
Despite the objections of his father, a wealthy banker, Jean Le Moyne enters Saint-Cyr, France's most prestigious military academy, to become an officer in the French army... [More...]
Un acte d'amour (1953)
Anatole Litvak
Some years after the war, an American, Robert Teller, pays a visit to a seaside town in the South of France. He casts his mind back to 1944, recalling his time in Paris immediately after the Liberation... [More...]
Anatole Litvak
Some years after the war, an American, Robert Teller, pays a visit to a seaside town in the South of France. He casts his mind back to 1944, recalling his time in Paris immediately after the Liberation... [More...]
Un ami viendra ce soir (1946)
Raymond Bernard
August 1944. On the outskirts of a small village in the French Alps, Dr Lestrade manages an asylum for the mentally deranged... [More...]
Raymond Bernard
August 1944. On the outskirts of a small village in the French Alps, Dr Lestrade manages an asylum for the mentally deranged... [More...]
Un amour à taire (2005)
Christian Faure
During the Nazi occupation of Paris, the Lavandiers run a thriving laundry business. Jean is the favoured son - he works hard and avoids getting into trouble, unlike his brother Jacques who is serving a term in prison for black marketeering... [More...]
Christian Faure
During the Nazi occupation of Paris, the Lavandiers run a thriving laundry business. Jean is the favoured son - he works hard and avoids getting into trouble, unlike his brother Jacques who is serving a term in prison for black marketeering... [More...]
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé (1956)
Robert Bresson
In 1943, with France under Nazi occupation, Lieutenant Fontaine is arrested by the Gestapo for his involvement with the Resistance... [More...]
Robert Bresson
In 1943, with France under Nazi occupation, Lieutenant Fontaine is arrested by the Gestapo for his involvement with the Resistance... [More...]
Un héros très discret (1996)
Jacques Audiard
In the 1930s, Albert Dehousse is an imaginative but solitary boy growing up in a village in Northern France. His mother is devoted to him and clings to the memory of her husband, who died a hero's death in the First World War... [More...]
Jacques Audiard
In the 1930s, Albert Dehousse is an imaginative but solitary boy growing up in a village in Northern France. His mother is devoted to him and clings to the memory of her husband, who died a hero's death in the First World War... [More...]
Un sac de billes (1975)
Jacques Doillon
Paris, 1941. Joseph and Maurice are two boys whose father, a Jew, owns a barber's shop. Joseph is 10, his brother is 12, and neither understands why it is a crime to be a Jew... [More...]
Jacques Doillon
Paris, 1941. Joseph and Maurice are two boys whose father, a Jew, owns a barber's shop. Joseph is 10, his brother is 12, and neither understands why it is a crime to be a Jew... [More...]
Un secret (2007)
Claude Miller
In the 1950s, seven year old François feels estranged from his father Maxime and invents for himself a fictitious brother... [More...]
Claude Miller
In the 1950s, seven year old François feels estranged from his father Maxime and invents for himself a fictitious brother... [More...]
Un taxi pour Tobrouk (1960)
Denys de La Patellière
Libya, 1942. Four soldiers in the Free French Forces are crossing the desert when their jeep breaks down. They have no other option but to continue their journey to Tobruk on foot... [More...]
Denys de La Patellière
Libya, 1942. Four soldiers in the Free French Forces are crossing the desert when their jeep breaks down. They have no other option but to continue their journey to Tobruk on foot... [More...]
La Vache et le prisonnier (1959)
Henri Verneuil
In 1943, Charles Bailly is an unhappy prisoner-of-war on a farm in Nazi Germany. After two years of captivity, he makes up his mind to escape and return to his hometown of Marseille... [More...]
Henri Verneuil
In 1943, Charles Bailly is an unhappy prisoner-of-war on a farm in Nazi Germany. After two years of captivity, he makes up his mind to escape and return to his hometown of Marseille... [More...]
Verdun, visions d'histoire (1928)
Léon Poirier
Early in 1916, a young French soldier returns home to break the news to his mother that he is soon to be sent to the front near Verdun, an area that has so far been untouched by the conflict... [More...]
Léon Poirier
Early in 1916, a young French soldier returns home to break the news to his mother that he is soon to be sent to the front near Verdun, an area that has so far been untouched by the conflict... [More...]
La Vie de château (1966)
Jean-Paul Rappeneau
Normandy, 1944. Jérôme is the proud owner of a large country estate, a man who is far more preoccupied with his orchards than with the fate of his country... [More...]
Jean-Paul Rappeneau
Normandy, 1944. Jérôme is the proud owner of a large country estate, a man who is far more preoccupied with his orchards than with the fate of his country... [More...]
La Vie et rien d'autre (1989)
Bertrand Tavernier
France, 1920. It is two years since the signing of the Armistice that brought an end to the First World War, but the clearing up still continues... [More...]
Bertrand Tavernier
France, 1920. It is two years since the signing of the Armistice that brought an end to the First World War, but the clearing up still continues... [More...]
Le Vieil homme et l'enfant (1967)
Claude Berri
In 1943, with France under Nazi occupation, a Jewish couple decide to send their young son, Claude, to live in the country, where they hope he will be safe from arrest... [More...]
Claude Berri
In 1943, with France under Nazi occupation, a Jewish couple decide to send their young son, Claude, to live in the country, where they hope he will be safe from arrest... [More...]