Hi guys, as I told you on Facebook, I'm in a French phase.
I'm listening to
French songs, watching French movies,
doing everything...trying to do everything in French because as some of you already know,
I speak a little French, but I'm not fluent and I'm trying to improve my
French skills, so
today, I want to share with you
what the best
French movies in history are.
These movies were considered the best French movies of all
time. I'm sure you know at least one of them, but
if you don't know the other ones,
they are worth watching. Even if you don't want to learn French, they're worth watching
because they are really good films.
Well, the movie number 3
in this list of the 3 best movies in the history
of French cinema...
Ironically, it's a
silent film, so, in reality, it's not going to help with your French, but there are
some subtitles, so you can read a little bit in French.
It's the movie called
"The Passion of Joan of Arc."
As many of you may already know, Joan of Arc was a French girl who fought
in the Hundred Years War
that was France fighting
to expel the English
out of the French territory
and she was burned at the stake by the church
for heresy.
And this movie...it's not
for everyone. It's a difficult film to watch. I, myself, in the first couple of minutes said:
I don't know if I'll be able to watch this film.
Because it's a black and white, silent film made in the...it was made in
1928, but if you are interested in history,
it's worth watching. Why? This movie was based on the original
transcript
of the trial of Joan of Arc in the 15th century, so it's very real and it's such a
moving film. As you watch it, it gets more exciting,
specially because most people already know how it ends, right? So
you start to think...
How come? How are they
going to burn a 19-year old girl?
And there are many things
behind this movie.
When it was released,
the French government and the church cut many parts of it, so it was censured in France.
And it was banned in England because in the movie,
some English soldiers are shown tormenting Joan
and it was a reference to
the Roman soldiers who tormented Jesus before the crucifixion.
Another interesting fact about this movie is that the director didn't allow the actors
to use any type of makeup
to really show their expressions
and the actress who plays Joan of Arc, her name is Maria Falconetti...
her acting is really, really good in this movie and
she cries a lot. One characteristic of this movie is that it has
many close-ups,
so the camera is on the actors' faces, so you can capture
the emotion.
And it was a film considered very good in terms of photography
and in terms of direction as well. Another peculiarity is that in the scene where Joan is
sick with a fever and
they cut her arm
to have her blood drawn for some reason. I don't know if in that period
when a person had a fever, they thought that they had to have blood drawn, I don't know, but
the scene is very real and I later found out
that it was real, they really cut the actress'
arm and the bleeding is real. But it wasn't
the main actress' arm, it was the stand-in's arm.
I started watching the
movie doubting that I would like it
very much and it's been what? It's been 3 days since I've watched it and I can't
stop thinking about this movie, guys. It's very moving and it's very...
It opens our eyes to how people used to think in the 15th century,
but at the same time, you can relate it
with the things we still see today, the prejudices,
the judgements.
I finish by saying that
Joan of Arc...she was beatified
in the beginning of the last century
and today she is considered
a symbol of French pride.
The film number 2 in this list of the 3
best French movies in history
is a film that I think many of you already know because I think
that
it is considered, specially among women, many women consider this
film as their favorite
which is "Amélie."
And this movie, guys, it is
for me, it's one of my favorites as well
and it's magical, right? It's about the story of a 23-year-old French girl who
never received much love from her parents,
but who as an adult, decides
to bring a little love to the lives of the people she knows. She not only
spreads love to people she knows,
but she also
appreciates
the little pleasures in life. And the opening scenes of the movie are so...
so magical,
so beautiful, so tender and full of...
innocence and many people can relate
to those scenes, the opening scenes of the movie. Why? Because they are things that
everyone did as a child, right?
Putting glue in our hands and
peeling it off...skipping stones on the river...
make the sound...
with a crystal glass, that sound it makes,
so it's about those little pleasures in life that, sometimes, we
don't pay attention anymore as adults, right? We grow up and become too...
but when we were kids, we used to do it and enjoy it. And a
very
interesting thing is that the actress who plays Amélie,
Audrey Tautou,
who, in fact, is one of my favorite actresses,
she didn't know who to skip stones,
so those scenes were manipulated because she didn't know how to do it, but
another thing is that the director actually wrote the role
for the British actress, Emily Watson, but because she was having issues...
in her schedule, she was filming other projects, and also because she didn't spoke
French very well, they had to look for another actress and they found
Audrey Tautou who is perfect for the role. The movie...
it was
a success all around the world, not only for its plot and
subplots as well, but also for its effects, there are many special effects, there are...
very well acted,
very well directed,
and it's just a magical story, it's worth watching. If you're on one of those sad
days, you know?
Watch "Amélie" because it gives you...
a boost of love, innocence, which is amazing, it's
amazing. It's a wonderful movie.
The good news is that the director,
he sold the rights to "Amélie" and they are already
working on a Broadway musical
for "Amélie," so
I'm excited to see this musical. The only thing is that they are not using the original
soundtrack in the musical
and the soundtrack is great, right? Of the movie. I think it adds a lot to the film, but
I hope that they're able to make a good soundtrack.
And the number 1
in this list of the 3 best French movies of all time is the film
"The Intouchables."
It's a story of a French aristocrat called
Philippe who
is quadriplegic and is looking for a live-in caregiver to help him
on his day-to-day life,
so he interviews several people and then,
chooses Driss, which is his name, who is from the outskirts of Paris and who,
apparently, has nothing
to do with the job, who wouldn't be able to perform this job and
he ends up choosing him and Driss
changes Philippe's life completely. He makes
him see the
world completely differently and Philippe also changes Driss' life, so...
it's a story of friendship and love
and it's a very moving story, but in addition,
it's very funny, guys, I laughed out loud many times watching the movie because the jokes,
the comedy of the movie is really good as well.
And this film was based on a true story which make it even more
touching and
it's funny to see how sometimes, the person you least expect
can change your life and
turn it around completely, right?
And change how you see the world.
And among the 3 movies,
the first is silent, right? So, you can only practice your French a
little bit with the subtitles, but
among the 3 films, I think that "The Intouchables"
is the best one to practice French.
When it comes to "Amélie," I thought that the dialogues were very fast, so
I wasn't able to catch
everything, I had a little difficulty,
but "The Intouchables," it's...it's cool because you have the French aristocrat's perspective
who speaks more...
formally, more...
everything well...everything well said
and you have Driss
who speaks more
with slangs, you know? He swears a lot as well, so it's pretty funny.
So, to practice your French,
"The Intouchables" is the best.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed the video.
If you've already
seen any of these
movies, leave a comment here, telling me if you liked it, if you didn't like it,
if you agree with this list,
if you've watched other French movies that you think should be on this list, and I hope
you've enjoyed this video.
Kisses!
Thanks for watching! :)