Paris has more cinemas per square metre than any other city in the world. With this in mind when I arrived in Paris last September to begin my year abroad, I promised myself that I would go to the cinema every Sunday evening to experience the best French fare. I haven’t quite managed to keep to this resolution and go every week, but I’ve been pretty good, and have regularly been in front of ‘le grand écran’. Having loved all the films I’ve been to see, I was set thinking of how unappreciated contemporary French cinema is in the UK.
Many never dream of choosing to watch a French film over a British or American blockbuster. Most people will have heard of a few famous old films, by Truffaut and Besson, but modern French films are adept at slipping under the radar, unless they can snag the attention of a big distribution company à la The Artist.
Of course I am biased, since I study French, but I do think it is a huge shame that we shun contemporary French cinema, or that we just don’t know about it. Is it because we are seduced by the cultural resonance of older French films? It is true that they reflect the turbulences of their time and were more exciting and controversial, playing with new, subversive themes alien to a prudish society. For example, Les Valseuses, a film by Bertrand Blier, shocked audiences with its bohemian flair and its daring take on sex.
French films from the past are also well known for the way they helped cinema evolve. The Lumière brothers invented cinematography in 1895 with their film L’arrivé d’un train en gare de Ciotat. The Pathé cinemas all over France also now pay homage to the pioneering Pâthé brothers who were once in the vanguard of film production and distribution. One can definitely say that, France paved the way for modern cinema. With the birth of ‘La Nouvelle Vague’, the middle of the 20th century saw actors such as Simone Signoret and Jean Seburg shoot to fame.
French contemporary cinema has a certain grace and sensitivity that the vast majority of American films lack. For example, the recent release Elle s’en va, starring Catherine Deneuve, was both romantic and funny, yet to call it a ‘rom-com’ would be to fail to do the movie justice. You get the impression that the film is not just trying to make millions, but to actually mean something to its audience. This might be partly explained by France’s domesticallyfocused film market, where, thanks to post 1945 protectionism quotas, there must be at least one French-made film shown in cinemas for every seven international films.
The French comic genre is particularly rewarding; the film that made me laugh the most in 2013 was Intouchables, starring Omar Sy and Francois Cluzet. Not only is it hilarious and heart-warming, but it sensitively shows how the tragic life of a paralysed man turns around after his carer teaches him how to laugh.
Similarly, Le Dîner des Cons, conveys a moral message despite being fully paid-up subscriber to the genre of farce. Otherwise, the comedy Mon Pere Ce Héros, starring Gerard Depardieu, develops a nuanced theme of a father-daughter relationship to a delightful conclusion. French cinema has an ability to portray substantial and highly moving themes without necessarily binding the film into within a so-called ‘serious’ genre.
French cinema has also long been shaped by its notorious interest in sex. La Vie D’Adèle, known in English as Blue is the Warmest Colour, highlighted this, portraying the lesbian relationship between Adele and Emma with unflinching realism. Although, it risked being pretentiously ‘arty’ at times, with closeups of mucus emerging from Adele’s nose and lengthy unedited conversations, it remained compelling throughout.
If you ever have a spare few hours, and you want to dip into a different culture, watch a French film – and make sure you see it through to the end. Watching some Truffaut or Goddard is a great way to witness some of the key moments in the development of cinema. Look past the difficulty of subtitles for, often, French film is more thoughtful, funny and compelling than your typical fare.
