- By Andrea Meyer
- December 16, 2024
- Source: https://frenchly.us/best-french-films-of-2024/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=French+Favorites+of+2024&utm_medium=email
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Or so say the songs of the season. Many hearts are warmed by the first snowfall. For others, it’s a tree surrounded by gifts that gets us—or the promise of a midnight make-out session on New Year’s Eve. Then there are those oddballs who wake up starry-eyed every day of early December, knowing that the year-end “Best Movies of the Year” lists are about to bloom like poinsettias, adding comfort and joy to their days.
Here at Frenchly, we focus on the Best French Films, évidemment, and 2024 has been a stellar year for them. Funny, smart, shocking, heartbreaking, ludicrous—Under Paris, anyone?—we devoured them all. The hard work comes with having to choose. As I whittled down the mountain into a manageable list, I stumbled over a sad fact: A lot of the movies I watched at film festivals and events are not available to the American public yet. Reluctantly, I left them out of my accounting, hoping, for your sake, that they appear in theaters or on streaming channels in 2025.
Voilà the best of the best of 2024. Have fun watching with family and friends, or on your own when you need a break from the chaos of holiday travel, shopping, gorging, and general revelry.
2024’s French Films to Watch
1. Last Summer, directed by Catherine Breillat
We hear a lot about the male gaze and the masculine perspective it imposes on depictions of women. To which director Catherine Breillat (Fat Girl, Romance) responds, “Non, merci.” The 75-year-old auteur, as provocative as ever, tells stories that prioritize the female gaze. Her first film in a decade concerns Anne (Léa Drucker), a successful lawyer with two young daughters, who stumbles into an affair with her husband’s teenage son Théo (Samuel Kircher) from a previous marriage, who is living with them temporarily. Professionally, Anne specializes in sexual abuse cases, often involving a young woman and an older man, and has no designs on her stepson. But she’s caught off-guard by her intense attraction to him. The camera laps up Theo’s body and wide-eyed, chiseled face, while capturing only Anne’s pleasure. This is her fantasy. She is in control of the dalliance—and the aftermath, which brings to light the power dynamics at play in a twist that will shock audiences unused to seeing women behave in ways so fierce and self-serving.
Stream on Prime.
2. Red Island, directed by Robin Campillo
Inspired by his own childhood spent on one of the last French colonial military bases in Madagascar, director Robin Camillo (BPM: Beats Per Minute) tells his gorgeously fluid, poignant, and wistful story through the eyes of quiet, observant 10-year-old Thomas (Charlie Vauselle). Thomas spends his time peeping through windows and playing under the table, eavesdropping on the grownups, learning about the tension between them, their insecurities, politics, and sexual dynamics. Emboldened by comic book hero Fantomette—whose adventures kicking bad guys’ butts we see in cartoonish inserts—Thomas spies on his moody father (Quim Guterriez) and pretty mother (Nadia Tereszkiewicz), who’s fed up with her husband, her prescribed life, and the hornets in the bathroom. The grownups drink too much and dance with each other’s spouses, as their presence on a beachside base that feels like a family vacation winds down. From his perch, Thomas sees the cracks in the veneer, learns everyone’s secrets, notices the locals serving drinks or stitching parachutes in the background. In the film’s last moments, as the military families leave the island paradise they consider their own, and Thomas questions whether they ever belonged there, we realize the film isn’t really about these characters at all. Move the camera an inch and our focus shifts to another, more pressing story clamoring to be told.
Stream on Prime, Google Play, or Apple TV.
3. Solo, directed by Sophie Dupuis
It’s impossible to take your eyes off Simon, the 20-something Montreal drag queen at the center of this moving coming of age story. As played by the stunning Canadian actor Théodore Pellerin, whose emotions live right under his skin, Simon is as confident as he is insecure, as strong as he is vulnerable, filled with so much need and desire, he might implode under the weight of it. When Olivier (Félix Maritaud), a new guy at the club where he performs, struts right up to him and claims his heart, Simon believes his life is complete. Except that after their first blush, Oliver shows a controlling side. It doesn’t help that Simon’s famous opera singer mother (Anne-Marie Cadieux), who dumped her kids years earlier to chase her career, chooses this moment to show up. The emotional fallout is brutal to watch, given the protectiveness we can’t help but feel for Simon. He’s a wonder both on- and off-stage, and we root deeply for the success and fulfillment he deserves.
Stream on Apple TV.
4. Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard’s (A Prophet, Paris 13th District) latest film is a dark, propulsive thriller about a Mexican drug-cartel boss with a wife and two kids, who undergoes gender-affirming surgery to become a woman. As if the concept weren’t provocative enough, it’s a musical! Zoe Sandaña stars as the overworked, underpaid attorney who takes a big paycheck to help the drug lord become the titular Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón). It’s only when Emilia starts missing her wife (Selena Gomez) and sons that things go haywire. In the hands of one of France’s most esteemed directors, the film becomes not only a total nailbiter, but also a touching drama about friendship, family, and redemption, with song and dance numbers that are shockingly catchy and smart. It’s a film that asks whether it’s possible to transform yourself, to make up for the sins of your past and live the life you were meant to live. It’s no wonder it won the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where its four leads also shared the Best Actress prize. And it’s attracting serious Oscar buzz.
Stream on Netflix.
5. Dahomey, directed by Mati Diop
Director Mati Diop (Atlantics) won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for her stunning documentary about the return of 26 royal treasures to the African Kingdom of Dahomey (now part of the Republic of Benin), where they were plundered by French colonial troops in 1892. The film opens on a table of sparkly light-up Eiffel Towers, the type that can be snatched up by any tourist and shoved in a suitcase to take home. Then we move into a dark warehouse, where thousands of looted works of art from Dahomey are stored. Diop gives voice to one of the artifacts, the statue of a king who wonders what it will be like to escape enslavement from this dark place. Back home, the locals dance in the street, happily filming the artifacts’ return with their phones. At a heated event at Benin’s University of Abomey-Calavi, students debate the objects’ significance in a postcolonial world. Some want the entire treasure to come home and be showcased in Benin—it’s theirs, and essential to educate future generations—while others believe museums are a Western institution they have no use for. One young man says, “Our soul was looted. Let’s take back the life that was taken.”
Pre-order Dahomey on Prime.
6. Chicken for Linda!, directed by Sébastien Laudenbach and Chiara Malta
In this beautifully hand-painted, animated screwball mother-and-daughter action adventure (that’s also a musical), Paulette (voiced by Clotilde Hesme) owes her 8-year-old daughter, Linda (Mélinée Leclerc), a big apology. Guilt-ridden for accusing her of a crime she didn’t commit, Paulette promises Linda literally anything she wants. Missing her father who died when she was a baby, Linda asks her mom to cook her dad’s famous chicken and peppers for dinner. What should be a simple task becomes near-Sisyphean with a general strike in place. With the grocery stores closed, the frustrated pair is forced to procure a live chicken, which triggers a wacky chain of events as the petulant poulet struggles to escape its fate. The madcap caper grows increasingly zany, while also revealing insights into the dynamic between the mother and daughter whose grief still hangs over them. The film charmed audiences to the degree that it won the 2024 César for Best Animated Film—and some critics called it the best movie at Cannes.
Stream on Apple TV.
7. The Taste of Things, directed by Tran Anh Hung
In this swoony 19th century romance, renowned gourmand Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) lives in an idyllic home in the French countryside, where he prepares elaborate meals with his private cook/lover Eugénie (Juliette Binoche), who has refused his many marriage proposals. In their sun-drenched kitchen, the camera circles and swoops, caressing freshly chopped ingredients, simmering pans, and edible delicacies, as if capturing the angles and curves of a lover’s body. To Dodin and Eugénie, the magic they create together in the kitchen is everything. When Eugénie falls ill, Dodin creates a meal for her that acts as a love letter, expressing all she means to him. Come for the food and stay for the exquisite love story, which united former real-life partners Binoche and Magimel, and won the award for Best Director at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
Stream on Hulu or Disney+. Rent or buy on Google Play or Apple TV.
8. On the Adamant, directed by Nicolas Philibert
Master documentarian Nicolas Philibert (To Be and To Have) turns his camera on l’Adamant, a floating barge in the Seine that houses a treatment center for adults with mental disabilities. In true Cinéma Vérité fashion, the filmmaker lets the camera roll as life on the Adamant unfolds, with patients dropping in to paint, take a dance class, make jam, play music, or work in the center’s café. Interviews allow us to get to know the patients and explore their personal stories, their quirkiness, kindness, and intelligence, as well as the unusual and often troubling ways their minds work. Particularly stunning is the open-hearted way the film presents these fascinating people, who are generally relegated to the fringes of society. On the Adamant makes the case that they deserve a moment in the spotlight. Others seem to agree, as the film won the Golden Bear, the top prize at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival.
9. Stay with Us, directed by Gad Elmaleh
Actor and comedian Gad Elmaleh co-writes, directs, and stars in this moving comic drama about an actor and comedian (also named Gad Elmaleh) who returns to Paris from his home in the U.S. to convert from Judaism to Catholicism. When his parents (played by Elmaleh’s actual parents, Régine and David Elmaleh) find out, they freak. Inspired by Elmaleh’s own flirtation with the Catholic church (and his lifelong crush on the Virgin Mary), Stay with Us tells the story of a man in crisis, who’s searching for solace in religion. The cast that surrounds him is made up of the actual priests, rabbis, and nuns who advised him on his journey. The film’s tone couldn’t be more different from his Netflix series Huge in France, also semi-autobiographical, but more of a broad comedy about Elmaleh trying to make it as a comedian in the U.S. You won’t find the hilarity of Elmaleh’s standup here, but you will chuckle at moments of family strife and internal debate in this midlife crisis flick that packs a surprising punch.
Watch on Apple TV.
10. The Beast, directed by Bertrand Bonello
The brilliant and challenging director Bonello transforms Henry James’ 1903 novella, The Beast in the Jungle, into a romantic thriller that jumps between three time periods: 2044, 2014, and 1910. In the post-apocalyptic Paris of 2044, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) undergoes a procedure that involves revisiting past lives to rid herself of memories and emotions, in order to thrive in a world where AI reigns. Each jump through time unites her with a man (George Mackay), with whom she unsuccessfully tries to connect. While the hero in James’ story avoided emotional attachment because he feared some unnamed catastrophe, in The Beast, the catastrophes Gabrielle encounters are all too real. With each jump in time illuminating a new threat to humanity—violent floods, incels, hostile technology—Bonello seems to be suggesting that in a world as brutal as ours, love is doomed.
Stream on YouTube or Apple TV.
11. The Animal Kingdom, directed by Thomas Cailley
In a world that looks a lot like our own, a mysterious illness is turning people into animals. When his wife Lana starts morphing into a wolflike creature, François (Romain Duris) and his teenage son Émile (Paul Kircher) move south to be closer to the facility where she will be treated. Then, the transport vehicle crashes, and a group of hybrid creatures the locals call “beasties,” including Lana, escapes into the wild. The film was shot in the dense old growth forests of the Landes de Gascogne National Park, where Émile befriends a massive birdman (Tom Mercier) who’s determined to learn to fly. Struggling to navigate a new school, a budding relationship with a classmate, and covering up his mother’s condition is hard enough—then Émile grows claws and hair on his back. The subtext about tolerance mirrors today’s debates in France about immigration, the LGBTQ community, and anyone else viewed as “other.” The thought-provoking speculative drama was nominated for 12 César Awards, including Best Director and Best Film, and won for Best Visual Effects.
Stream on Prime.
12. The Goldman Case, directed by Cédric Kahn
Based on a true story, this riveting courtroom drama from veteran filmmaker Cédric Kahn (Red Lights) delves into the 1976 trial of Pierre Goldman, a left-wing revolutionary charged with armed robbery and murder. Arieh Worthalter is mesmerizing as Goldman, a left-wing revolutionary and the son of Polish Jewish refugees. In the film, the chaotic courtroom becomes a circus, packed with Goldman’s supporters and detractors, many shouting out their certainty about his innocence or guilt, as attorneys and witnesses struggle to be heard. The audacious Goldman vehemently declares his innocence and turns the tables, accusing the police force—and society at large—of systemic antisemitism, which he believes is motivating the case. The story couldn’t be more relevant today. Worthalter’s César-winning performance is intense and electric as he makes his case, diving into the complexities of Jewish identity, racial profiling, and the myth of equality and impartiality in the justice system today.
The Goldman Case recently left theaters and is not currently available on digital platforms.
13. Amoré Mio, directed by Guillaume Gouix
On the day of her young husband’s funeral, Lola (Alysson Paradis) loses her shit. Not uncommon following the loss of a loved one, but Lola takes it up a notch. On the way to the service, she announces she’s not going. When her level-headed older sister Margaux (the great Élodie Bouchez), which whom she has a strained relationship, tells her to chill, Lola grabs her adorable son, Gaspard (Viggo Ferreira-Redier), and flees. Margaux eventually agrees to blow off the service and take a road trip, driving farther and farther away from the evidence that Lola has actually lost the man she loves. This film bears the familiar tropes of the well-worn roadtrip movie. They stay in shady hotels, get the car stuck in the mud, and make an unexpected stop at Margaux’s upscale city-girl apartment. Along the way, ancient dirty laundry is aired, secrets revealed. It’s a small story with just enough emotional weight and poignancy to keep us transfixed and wondering where all this is headed. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Lola needs to do what she needs to do to be ready to face her grief, and we are lucky enough to be along for the ride.
Rent on Apple TV.
14. All Your Faces, directed by Jeanne Herry
Director Jeanne Herry’s fascinating film focuses on a group of victims and incarcerated perpetrators of crimes who meet regularly as part of the French restorative justice program established in 2014, which gives perpetrators the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and work toward redemption. Facilitators provide a safe place and mediate the conversations, guiding the participants toward mutual understanding and healing. In the hands of Herry and her gifted cast, what could have been a maudlin exercise dives deeply into the emotional lives of the characters, bringing revelation and, ultimately, catharsis. Participants include Nawelle (Leïla Bekhti), who was held up at work, and Sabine (Miou-Miou), who’s suffered from agoraphobia since getting mugged. African prisoner Issa (Birane Ba) struggles to accept responsibility for his bad choices, and Thomas (Fred Testot) regrets his years committing crimes to fund the drug addiction he hasn’t been able to kick. In a parallel storyline, a facilitator (Élodie Bouchez) counsels Chloé (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a survivor preparing to confront her half-brother, who sexually abused her as a teenager. The film’s French title is Je verrai toujours vos visages: I Will Always See Your Faces. It’s clear that these characters will never forget one another after the profound experiences they have shared. The film was nominated for nine César awards, with Adèle Exarchopoulos winning for Best Supporting Actress.
Stream on YouTube, Prime, Google Play, or Apple TV.
15. Just the Two of Us, directed by Valérie Donzelli
When Blanche (Virginie Efira) meets Grégoire (Melvil Poupaud), there’s instant heat. They dance, stumble over each other’s sentences, have steamy sex. Blanche’s identical twin, Rose (also played by Efira), is the outgoing one. Blanche is more reserved, even resigned to never marrying or having kids, but she’s blindsided by this intense, handsome guy who is instantly smitten with her. Quicker than you can say, “Is he a touch… psychotic?” they’re married, pregnant, and leaving her doting family behind to move to Metz for his job. What happens next creeps up on you. There are warning signs: he won’t let her go home for Christmas, and she learns he wasn’t forced into the work transfer, but requested it. Soon enough, he’s keeping her virtually caged in their isolated home, calling her nonstop when she’s out. If she resists, violence erupts. Efira is typically excellent as a woman realizing she’s married an abusive man. Her emotions—surprise, fear, defiance, pain—play over her face like a subtle dance. A plan takes shape. This once-passive Blanche will not be threatened or controlled. She will protect herself and her children, whatever it takes. This smart erotic thriller was nominated for four César awards, including Best Actress and Best Actor, and won Best Adapted Screenplay for Donzelli and her co-writer, Audrey Diwan.
Stream on Prime.
16. The Nature of Love, directed by Monia Chokri
French-Canadian director Chokri brings us a philosophical deep dive into—you guessed it—the nature of love, told through the sexy story of Sophie (Magalie Lépine-Blondeau), a forty-something philosophy professor. Sophie’s comfortable yet predictable relationship with her partner Xavier (Francis-William Rhéaume) is upended when she falls hard for the hunky contractor Sylvain (Pierre-Yves Cardinal) doing renovations on their country home. Without thinking it through, she leaps into a new life with a new man, her philosophy lectures mirroring every stage of their romance. At first Sophie is so caught up in the rockin’ sex, that she’s willing to overlook their differences. But as they venture outside the bedroom, meet each other’s families, and drink a lot of beer, she wonders if true, passionate love can survive their class differences, their intellectual and political divide, her friends’ and family’s judgment—and his grammatical errors. This smart romantic comedy won the 2024 César for Best Foreign Film.
Stream on YouTube or Apple TV.
17. Banel & Adama, directed by Ramata-Toulaye Sy
In Sy’s dreamy, visually striking debut film, Banel (Khady Mane) and Adama (Mamadou Diallo) couldn’t be more in love. The young married couple lounges in the grass outside their remote village in Senegal, recounting the myths that live in their heads. They’re always touching. They don’t need anyone except each other, and spend hours digging out a house that’s covered in sand, determined to live together away from the rules and critical eyes of the village. Banel refuses to fulfill her role as a woman by having children. Adama, who’s next in line to be the village chief, refuses the role. Then the rains don’t come. The cattle start dying. By the time villagers start dying, too, it feels personal. Banel refuses to submit and continues to dig, while Adama feels responsible, his guilt and devastation overshadowing his love for Banel. Sometimes it’s unclear what the film is trying to say. Sometimes you want to shake Banel and tell her to stop being so selfish. But their tragic love and the rich, suggestive natural backdrop are so incredibly beautiful you’re willing to get lost in their story.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZuZg3RySOb8?feature=oembedStream on Prime.
Also recommended: Marguerite’s Theorem, Spare Keys, and these remarkable French co-productions: All We Imagine as Light, Green Border, Robot Dreams, and Inshallah a Boy.
Andrea Meyer has written creative treatments for commercial directors, a sex & the movies column for IFC, and a horror screenplay for MGM. Her first novel, Room for Love (St. Martin’s Press) is a romantic comedy based on an article she wrote for the New York Post, for which she pretended to look for a roommate as a ploy to meet men. A long-time film and entertainment journalist and former indieWIRE editor, Andrea has interviewed more actors and directors than she can remember. Her articles and essays have appeared in such publications as Elle, Glamour, Variety, Time Out NY, and the Boston Globe.
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