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Films from France

Best Movies from France

France's catalogue on Celluloid runs to 34 films spanning 1994–2026 across 7 languages — chiefly French and English —, led by Portrait of a Lady on Fire (90%) and A Prophet (88%). Every title is ranked by our four-input Celluloid Score with critic consensus and expert reviews on each film page.

Quick Answer

The highest-rated France film on Celluloid is Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) with a 90% Celluloid Score — Celluloid Pick.

34
Films indexed
78%
Avg. Celluloid Score
7
Languages
25
Critic reviews

Guide to France Movies on Celluloid

Each film from France in our catalogue includes a Celluloid Score from up to four verified inputs, original verdict text, and linked editorial reviews where available. Audience sentiment is separate.

Titles are indexed by original language and country of production for easier discovery.

Essential France Picks

Top 5 by Celluloid Score
Portrait of a Lady on Fire 2019 · Céline Sciamma · French

Sciamma's feminist romance burns slowly with formal rigor and devastating final glances.

90%
Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick
A Prophet 2009 · Jacques Audiard · French

Audiard's crime epic is a gripping bildungsroman forged in concrete and blood.

88%
Celluloid Score Recommended
Amour 2012 · Michael Haneke · French

Haneke's unflinching portrait of late-life love won the Palme d'Or and Best Foreign Film Oscar.

88%
Celluloid Score Recommended
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 2007 · Julian Schnabel · French

Schnabel transforms paralysis into poetry through subjective camera and luminous empathy.

88%
Celluloid Score Recommended
The Pianist 2002 · Roman Polanski · English

The Pianist — Palme d'Or at Cannes 2002. A landmark festival winner on Celluloid.

88%
Celluloid Score Recommended

France Movie Reviews

All reviews →

Full critic reviews with answer-engine summaries — each review answers whether the film is worth watching, what it is about, and where to stream it.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) ★★★★½

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) Review: The Art of Looking

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is Céline Sciamma's 18th-century French love story between a painter and her reluctant subject, a romance built on precise, intense looking.

Yes. It is one of the great modern romances, ideal for viewers who love slow-burning period drama and are happy to let glances do the work of dialogue.
A Prophet (2009) ★★★★½

A Prophet (2009) Review: A Prison Education in Power

A Prophet is Jacques Audiard's French prison epic about a young inmate who learns power from the inside, a gripping crime drama built around Tahar Rahim.

Yes. It is one of the best crime films of its century, tense and intelligent, and ideal for viewers who can take its length, brutality and dense gang politics.
Amour (2012) ★★★★½

Amour (2012) Review: Devotion Without Consolation

Michael Haneke's Amour follows an elderly Paris couple after the wife's stroke: a rigorous, devastating Palme d'Or winner about what love asks of us late in life.

Yes, if you are ready for it. It is a masterly, deeply affecting film with two extraordinary lead performances, but its subject makes it an emotionally gruelling watch.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) ★★★★½

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Review: Freedom in a Blink

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is Julian Schnabel's true story of a paralysed editor who wrote a memoir by blinking, a film that makes confinement feel limitless.

Yes. It is a luminous, unexpectedly funny film about a life lived inside a paralysed body, essential for adults open to a demanding but uplifting drama.
The Pianist (2002) ★★★★½

The Pianist (2002) Review: Survival Without Heroics

The Pianist is Roman Polanski's Holocaust drama about Władysław Szpilman's survival in occupied Warsaw, an austere, harrowing film anchored by Adrien Brody.

Yes. It is one of the most powerful films about the Holocaust, essential for viewers ready for a harrowing, unsentimental portrait of survival in wartime Warsaw.
La Haine (1995) ★★★★½

La Haine (1995) Review: A Countdown in Black and White

La Haine follows three young friends through one tense day in a Paris banlieue after a riot. Mathieu Kassovitz's black-and-white drama has lost none of its charge.

Yes. It is one of the most urgent films of the 1990s, gripping, funny and furious, and essential for anyone interested in police violence and exclusion in modern cities.
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) ★★★★½

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Review: A Marriage on Trial

Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall is a gripping Palme d'Or-winning courtroom drama in which a writer's murder trial becomes a forensic dissection of her marriage.

Yes. It is one of the finest courtroom dramas in years, with a towering Sandra Hüller performance; just be ready for a long film that refuses easy answers.
The Artist (2011) ★★★★½

The Artist (2011) Review: Silence as a Love Letter

The Artist is Michel Hazanavicius's black-and-white silent film about a Hollywood star undone by talkies, a crowd-pleaser with real feeling under the pastiche.

Yes. It is a playful, heartfelt tribute to silent cinema that works even for viewers who have never seen a silent film, and its 100 minutes pass lightly.
Chicken for Linda! (2023) ★★★★☆

Chicken for Linda! (2023) Review: Grief in Primary Colours

Chicken for Linda! is a hand-painted French animated farce about a mother's frantic quest to cook her grieving daughter one special dish, and it is a joy.

Yes, with reservations. It is a bold, funny and tender animated comedy for adults and older children, though its loose style and frantic energy won't suit every taste.
Souleymane's Story (2024) ★★★★★

Souleymane's Story (2024) Review: Racing an Asylum Clock

Souleymane's Story follows a Paris delivery rider in the two days before his asylum interview, and Boris Lojkine makes that deadline as gripping as any thriller.

Yes, without hesitation. It is one of the most gripping European dramas of recent years, essential for anyone who wants social realism with the pulse of a thriller.
Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) ★★★★½

Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) Review: Love in Close-Up

Blue Is the Warmest Color is Abdellatif Kechiche's Palme d'Or-winning three-hour romance, with Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux in astonishing form.

Yes. It is an overwhelming, brilliantly acted portrait of first love for adult viewers with three hours to spare, though its long explicit scenes remain divisive.
Léon: The Professional (1994) ★★★★½

Léon: The Professional (1994) Review: Tenderness at Gunpoint

Léon: The Professional is Luc Besson's stylish New York thriller about a lonely hitman and the orphaned girl he takes in, starring Jean Reno and Natalie Portman.

Yes. It is a gripping, beautifully performed action thriller that still holds up, though its central relationship has uncomfortable undertones some viewers will find hard to ignore.
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (2025) ★★★★½

Little Amélie (2025) Review: The World at Toddler Height

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is a French animated film that sees early childhood in Japan through a toddler's eyes, as a flood of colour, wonder and loss.

Yes. It is a luminous, grown-up animated film about the first years of life, ideal for adults and older children who like gentle, observant storytelling.
Amélie (2001) ★★★★½

Amélie (2001) Review: Whimsy With a Lonely Heart

Amélie is Jean-Pierre Jeunet's candy-coloured Montmartre fairy tale about a shy waitress who meddles in strangers' lives, and it still charms decades later.

Yes. It is one of the most enchanting romantic comedies ever made and a perfect comfort watch, though viewers allergic to whimsy should know it never lets up.
Holy Cow (2024) ★★★★☆

Holy Cow (2024) Review: Comté, Grief and Growing Up

Holy Cow is Louise Courvoisier's warm, earthy debut about a Jura teenager who tries to make prize-winning cheese after his father's death. It is funny and tender.

Yes. It is a charming, unsentimental coming-of-age drama with a terrific young cast, best for viewers who enjoy rural settings and humour mixed with grief.
The Goldman Case (2023) ★★★★½

The Goldman Case (2023) Review: A Trial Fought in Words

The Goldman Case is Cédric Kahn's gripping French courtroom drama about a 1975 appeal, confined to one Paris courtroom and driven by Arieh Worthalter's volatile lead.

Yes. It is one of the best courtroom dramas of recent years, ideal for viewers who enjoy sharp argument, political history and a lead performance with real danger.
In the Land of Brothers (2024) ★★★½☆

In the Land of Brothers (2024) Review: Belonging, Deferred

In the Land of Brothers is a quiet, affecting drama about an Afghan refugee family trying to build a life in Iran over decades, restrained almost to a fault.

Mostly yes. It is a humane, carefully observed refugee drama with strong performances, best for patient viewers who value restraint over plot.
The Crime Is Mine (2023) ★★★½☆

The Crime Is Mine (2023) Review: Murder as a Career Move

The Crime Is Mine is François Ozon's 1930s Paris murder farce, a stylish, witty caper about fame and false confessions, with Isabelle Huppert stealing scenes.

Yes, with reservations. It is a chic, playful period comedy with sharp performances, best for fans of theatrical farce rather than viewers wanting real suspense.
The Intouchables (2011) ★★★★★

The Intouchables (2011) Review: Friendship Without Pity

The Intouchables is the French comedy-drama about a paralysed aristocrat and his irreverent carer, a joyous odd-couple friendship powered by Omar Sy and François Cluzet.

Yes, wholeheartedly. It is a warm, very funny crowd-pleaser that almost anyone can enjoy, and an ideal introduction to French cinema for subtitle-shy viewers.
The Lunchbox (2013) ★★★★☆

The Lunchbox (2013) Review: Intimacy, One Note at a Time

Ritesh Batra's Mumbai drama finds a connection in a mistaken lunch delivery. A spoiler-free review of Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur's performances, the city's rhythms and the film's quiet reservations.

A finely acted, bittersweet drama for viewers who value small gestures over romantic spectacle. The Lunchbox finds humour and longing in ordinary routines, while leaving some emotional questions deliberately unresolved.
Swimming Pool (2003) ★★★½☆

Swimming Pool (2003) Review: A Novelist's Sun-Baked Puzzle

Swimming Pool is François Ozon's teasing psychological thriller, with Charlotte Rampling as a crime writer whose French retreat is disrupted by a reckless young guest.

Yes, with reservations. Fans of slow-burn, ambiguous thrillers and of Charlotte Rampling will be absorbed, but anyone who needs clear answers may find it more tease than payoff.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) ★★★½☆

Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) Review: Painted in Silence

Girl with a Pearl Earring imagines the story behind Vermeer's famous painting, a ravishing period drama with Scarlett Johansson that is more beautiful than gripping.

Yes, with reservations. It is a gorgeous, restrained period piece for lovers of art and slow-burn drama, though its emotional temperature stays cool throughout.
Emilia Pérez (2024) ★★★☆☆

Emilia Pérez (2024) Review: A Bold, Broken Cartel Musical

Emilia Pérez is Jacques Audiard's Spanish-language cartel musical about a crime boss who transitions and seeks atonement. Audacious, alive and deeply flawed.

It depends. Viewers curious about a genuinely strange, divisive awards film will find plenty to argue over; anyone wanting a coherent drama or musical should skip it.
Anna (2019) ★★★½☆

Anna (2019) Review: Besson Reloads Nikita

Luc Besson's Anna is a slick Cold War assassin thriller about a KGB killer posing as a Paris model: stylish, twisty fun, though very familiar territory.

Mostly yes. Genre fans will enjoy its fights, Helen Mirren and its puzzle-box plotting, but anyone who knows Besson's Nikita will feel strong déjà vu.
Nouvelle Vague (2026)

Nouvelle Vague (2025) Review: Breathless, Made Again

Nouvelle Vague is Richard Linklater's buoyant French-language comedy about Jean-Luc Godard shooting Breathless in 1959 Paris, a love letter to making films on nerve.

Yes. It is a joyous, witty re-creation of the French New Wave's birth, best for cinephiles, and still charming for anyone who likes films about making films.

Popular Genres

Drama 25 Romance 9 Crime 6 Comedy 5 Thriller 4 Documentary 3

All France Movies

Ranked by Celluloid Score

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best movies from France?

Browse our France catalogue sorted by Celluloid Score — the highest-rated films appear first with critic and audience ratings on every card.

How does Celluloid rate films from France?

Celluloid Score combines Celluloid editorial, Metascore, Letterboxd and IMDb inputs into a single percentage; audience sentiment is displayed separately alongside the written verdict and review.