French Films about Love
February 14, 2011
I know I am not the only one to love the film Amelie by director Jean Pierre Jeunet. I recently watched Paris, je t’aime and New York, I love you, and I found them to elicit that falling-in-love with falling-in-love feeling that Amelie accomplishes. Preparing for this post in the spirit of Valentines Day, I’ve discovered that I am partial to romantic films from France. French films about love are good for all types. See list and short synopsises below:
Romantic-Comedy Hollywoody:
Alex and his sister run a business designed to break up relationships. They are hired by a rich man to break up the wedding of his daughter… (imdb)
Recently broken-hearted:
Anna has just left Paul who, annihilated by the separation, moves back with his father in Paris… (imdb)
Unrequited love:
Second of a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society shows a man dealing with a Polish immigrant wife who wants to divorce him because he can’t perform in bed. (imdb)
Cerebral philosophical:
The narrator (Jean-Louis), a devout Catholic, moves to a provincial town and vows to marry Francoise, a pretty blond he notices at mass… (imdb)
and the Lonely-hearted:
What I love so much about Amelie is that she has a pure heart, who is a little afraid of love for herself, and only lives through others’ experiences of it. She does realize that a heart can break even when being without, so she steps out of her imagination and lets her excitable heart fall. Watch Amelie montage below:
Before I sign off, I want to suggest a film from Hong Kong whose main character reminds me a little of the character Amelie, Chunking Express (1994) by director Kar Wai Wong. A plot synopsis contributor on imdb writes, “In the second story, the unnamed Cop 663 (played by Tony Leung) is dealing with a breakup, this time from a flight attendant (Valerie Chow). He meets Faye, the new girl at the snack bar (played by Faye Wong). She falls for him in secret, and frequently breaks into his apartment…” (imdb) Watch the setup of the story of the unnamed cop and Faye courtesy of youtube below, it looks like you can watch the whole film there complete with english subtitles:
