Five films and series to watch in September to improve your French

The extent to which French TV and cinema can improve your language skills and fluency cannot be overstated. 

It is an excellent source to help tune your ear into actual spoken French in a way that traditional learning methods such as textbooks cannot. 

Varying the content you watch will open up your vocabulary, unlock different accents and rhythms of speaking. 

This is particularly the case if you diversify the films and series you watch.

Documentaries will often be clearly narrated, series set in les banlieues will open your eyes to modern slang, regional films will explore dialect and accent, and so on. 

If you want to go to the cinema, but are worried about your understanding, look out for the subtitled screenings.

Fortunately, with the mass of screening platforms available today, you are able to find a wealth of films and shows to watch in French wherever you are.

Below are five choices for September.

Dix Pour Cent: Le Film

Dix Pour Cent is one of the most-watched French series worldwide, revolving around a Parisian talent agency.

Part of its charm is that it features cameos from some of France’s most beloved actors. 

The actors have previously spoken of their surprise at the global success of the series, which propelled many of the actors into stardom. 

Now, six years on from the series finale, it makes its return as a feature film on Netflix. 

It starts in the present day, five years on from the closure of the agency, and explores where the agents are now and how their relationships, skills and network continue to dominate the French film scene. 

It is available on Netflix from September 10. 

Platini 

This six-part series tracks the life of French football legend, Michel Platini, from his roots in Lorraine with his Italian immigrant family to his move into football politics at UEFA. 

Michel Platini is widely regarded as one of the greatest football playmakers of all time, having won the Ballon d’Or three times and often nicknamed Le Roi during the zenith of his career.

With talking head interviews, commentary and archival footage, it offers a wide variety of audio to put your language skills to the test. 

Sports commentary in particular is a great way to enhance your listening and understanding skills, with commentators always using language liberally to express wonder, joy and disappointment. 

It is available on Canal+.

Tombé du ciel 

If you are looking for a cinema trip instead of a show to watch from your sofa, Tombé du ciel is a good option. 

The plot revolves around Ilyès, a 21-year-old living in the banlieue of Roubaix, who is preparing to take his baccalauréat for the third time. 

During his practice exams, a fire breaks out at the school, and Ilyès is falsely accused of starting it, leading to his expulsion. 

His only remaining option is to enrol in Saint-Albert-le-Grand, a strict Catholic boarding school in rural Burgundy.

The story explores the culture shock Ilyès faces when adjusting to early-morning chores, Latin mass, and strict religious rules. 

As he slowly adapts, he finds himself the unlikely source uniting the staff and students in an effort to save the struggling boarding school from closing.

Banger 

This comedy dives into the electronic music scene in Paris. 

It stars comedian Laura Felpin as a French intelligence agent investigating a major electronic DJ who is suspected of using their high-profile music tours to front a major illegal drug smuggling operation. 

The police enlist washed-up DJ Scorpex as an undercover civilian in order to infiltrate the late night music scene and solve the case. 

However, instead of recognising the dangerous case for what it is, Scorpex views it as his ticket back into the music industry. 

It is available to watch on Netflix.

Connemara

Named after the French anthem Les Lacs du Connemara, the film premiered at the 2025 Cannes film festival and is based on the 2022 novel by Nicolas Mathieu.

The story revolves around Hélène, a forty-something highly paid career woman in Paris who shares her comfortable life with her husband and two children. 

However, when Hélène experiences severe professional burnout, she is forced to abandon city life and return to her small hometown in Eastern France. 

There she reconnects with an acquaintance from school, and starts an unexpected affair, which reveals the social friction between those who stayed in the small town and those who left in search of something else. 

Connemara can be found on Canal+ and other streaming platforms, depending where you are located.