Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase on Amazon after clicking on one of my links, I may get a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Note
Unfortunately, I was unable to find “watchable” links for most of the movies in this post. Maybe you’ll have better luck trying on your own by searching for the movies on Amazon Prime Video or looking for the movies on YouTube Movies, Google Play, Apple TV or Netflix.
Hope you enjoy the selection!
1. Demain Tout Commence (2016)
English Title: Two is a Family
Genre: Dramedy
IMDb: 7.4 / 10
Samuel leads a pretty careless life until one day a former one-night stand drops a baby into his arms, claiming her to be his daughter and then running off. Totally lost at first, Samuel decides to take his responsibility seriously and raise the child. Until the mother shows up again many years later to fight for custody. But another more serious shadow hangs over their heads.
2. La Famille Bélier (2014)
English Title: The Bélier Family
Genre: Dramedy, Music
IMDb: 7.3 / 10
This was one of the most successful French movies. The story revolves around a girl with a singing talent born into a family that is deaf and dumb. A light-hearted family movie that aptly mixes comedy with drama and shows glimpses of what life is like for deaf and dumb people.
You might also recognize the lead actress, Louane, who was discovered on The Voice TV Show and now runs a very successful career as a singer.
3. Dialogue Avec Mon Jardinier (2007)
English Title: Conversations With My Gardener
Genre: Dramedy
IMDb: 7.1 / 10
A painter comes back from Paris to his childhood home in the French countryside. After seeing his garden in terrible shape, he hires a gardener to take care of it. The gardener happens to be a former schoolmate and the two exchange many conversations about life, enriching each other through their unique point of views on life.
This is a slow-paced but pleasant movie with many scenes in nature and thought-provoking lines.
(Note: One mild nude scene.)
4. Ce Qui Nous Lie (2017)
English Title: Back to Burgundy
Genre: Dramedy
IMDb: 6.9 / 10
This is the story of three siblings, Jean, Juliette and Jérémie who are faced with the challenge of running their father’s winery and grape harvest on their own for the first time after their father passes away from an illness. What makes matters more difficult, is that Jean left the country 10 years ago, settled in Australia with his girlfriend and their son and owns and runs his own winery there. This inevitably creates conflict between the siblings regarding the future of their late father’s winery and family estate.
This movie gives an interesting glimpse into wine production in France. A lot of winery-related vocabulary. The movie also focuses on the different relationships of the siblings and how members of a family can overcome their differences and their past.
5. Médecin de Campagne (2016)
English Title: Irreplaceable
Genre: Dramedy
IMDb: 6.5 / 10
Jean-Pierre Werner has a special status in the remote area where he lives: he is the country doctor. Overworked and tired, his condition worsens when his own doctor notices a cancer in his lungs and a tumor in his brain. Without warning Jean-Pierre, the doctor sends for a new doctor from the city to help take some of the workload off Jean-Pierre’s shoulders. A gesture the country doctor doesn’t particularly appreciate.
This is a great movie if you want to catch a glimpse of rural life in France and learn and practice your medical and physical vocabulary. Perhaps best to watch it with a prepared vocabulary list around these themes!
6. Cherchez la Femme (2017)
English Title: Some Like It Veiled
Genre: Dramedy
IMDb: 6.2 / 10
Armand and Leila, two students in Paris, are madly in love with each other and plan to go to New York together for their internship. That is until Leila’s elder brother Mahmoud comes back from Yemen, transformed into a radical Muslim. Their parents having passed away, he is now the head of the house and he opposes Leila’s relationship with Armand.
Desperate to see Leila, Armand disguises himself as a veiled Muslima, Schéhérazade, to continue seeing her. That was without taking into account that Mahmoud would fall in love with his “radical sister” Schéhérazade.
While the tone of the movie is mostly comical, there are some serious issues and questions being raised around radical Islam, especially how more liberal Muslims suffer from and deal with it in their own families.
7. Made in China (2019)
English Title: Unavailable
Genre: Dramedy
IMDb: 5.6 / 10
François is French but of Chinese origin and decidedly tired of not being able to totally blend into French culture because of his physical appearance. What makes matters worst is that he is no longer welcome into his Chinese family after a severe argument with his father. However, when his girlfriend becomes pregnant, she urges him to get back in touch with his father.
This is an interesting, multicultural and multilingual movie that offers a glimpse into the Chinese society of France.
8. Un Jour Mon Père Viendra (2012)
English Title: Unavailable
Genre: Dramedy
IMDb: 5.6 / 10
A recently widowed man discovers his first love had a daughter from their union. As he embarks on a journey to meet her, he stumbles upon her adoptive father who has fallen out of grace with her and is not invited to her upcoming wedding. Lacking a father to bring her to the altar, the bride to be throws a casting and ends up picking her biological father, without realizing it.
While this is a comedy, the story also explores the deeper intricacies, dynamics and issues of relationships between members of blended / reconstituted families.
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