Films and series to improve your French this August
From summer films with idyllic backdrops to gnarly crime dramas based on real events
Immersion is one of the best ways to learn a language, and with the wide range of French TV and film available these days, you can improve your French from the comfort of your own sofa.
For those who are already a little comfortable with the language, watching with both audio and subtitles in French can help you make progress quickly.
If you are still building your confidence, try watching with French audio and English subtitles, making an effort to match the French words and expressions you hear with the English translation. Contextual learning like this makes the phrases more likely to stay with you, rather than vocabulary grabbed randomly from a textbook.
Accent and pronunciation are among the hardest aspects to grasp in language learning, but you will be surprised just how quickly this can develop through passive learning.
Watching French TV can also help develop your overall cultural understanding of the country. Often, understanding and learning how to make jokes in the language is the final stage of the journey, so gaining a better grasp of the famous second degré (dry or ironic humour) can accelerate full integration into French life.
With August often the month many French people take off work for les grandes vacances, it is an ideal time to kick back and profite à fond from the plethora of amazing cinema available in France.
Éric Rohmer films
If you are after a perfectly captured French summer, you cannot go wrong with films by director Éric Rohmer. Filmed in the eighties, Pauline à la plage is set on the coast of Normandy and follows a young girl and her older recently divorced cousin during their summer holidays.
The romantic lives of the adults surrounding Pauline serve as an eye-opener to the watchful 15-year-old against the backdrop of the Normandy coast.
Meanwhile, Le Rayon Vert is equally a French summer masterpiece, following a woman searching for love during a solo summer holiday after a difficult break up. Dotting around different beautiful locations, it is an idyllic summer watch full of nostalgia for France forty years ago.
GIGN
GIGN is a new French television series produced with the official support and cooperation of the real-life GIGN (Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale), France’s elite tactical and counter-terrorism unit.
It explores the personal strain that comes with being a GIGN officer, as well as the high stake missions they complete frequently without the public even being aware.
Produced with the support of the real GIGN, it shows authentic training tactics and equipment, giving the audience real insight into the inner workings of the elite police force.
It is available to watch on Netflix.
Tanguy
Tanguy is a French comedy that is widely considered a modern cult classic. It was so influential that the name "Tanguy" has actually entered the French lexicon as a term for an adult who refuses to move out of their parents' home, like the main character in the film.
At 28, Tanguy still lives at home with his parents, who are slowly reaching the end of their tether. They hatch a plan to try and push their beloved son to leave the family nest, leading to increasingly hilarious situations throughout the film.
With the original released in 2001, Tanguy: le retour (the sequel to the film), came out in 2019.
Tanguy is available for rent on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Bombonera
Out in cinemas on August 5, Bombonera follows Enzo, a homeless man who survives by running small scams targeting young football prospects.
When he becomes involved in the selection process for a major street football tournament in his favourite stadium, his life turns around.
He discovers Lisa, a talented 14-year-old girl who is determined to become the first female player to compete alongside boys in the tournament. The film explores the difficulties navigating the prejudices and physical demands of the high-level, male-dominated street football scene.
Tout pour Agnès
The series is a fictionalized account inspired by the Agnès Le Roux affair, one of France's most infamous and mysterious real-life sagas.
It tells the story of Renée Le Roux, the head of the prestigious Palais de la Méditerranée casino in Nice, and her relentless, decades-long battle to uncover the truth behind her daughter’s mysterious disappearance in the 1970s.
Quickly, she finds herself in a "casino war" against rival Jean-Dominique Fratoni, a mob-linked competitor who wants to take over her business.
Renée’s daughter, Agnès, falls in love with a lawyer who, unbeknownst to them, is working for the family’s enemy. When Agnès eventually vanishes without a trace, a long and painful quest for justice ensues.
Tout pour Agnès is available to watch on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Bonus: Dix pour cent
It is one of the most iconic French TV series of the past ten years, but if you have not watched it yet, now is the time to get your teeth sunk into it before the much anticipated film comes out in September.
