Jean-Pierre Darroussin

By a little bay near Marseille lies a picturesque villa owned by an old man. His three children have gathered by his side for his last days: Angela, an actress, Joseph, who has just fallen in love and Armand, the only one who stayed behind in Marseille. The arrival, at a nearby cove, of a group of boat people will throw these moments of reflection into turmoil he created in this magical place.

A Woman's Life is a tale of tormented love embedded in the restrictive social and moral codes of marriage and family in 19th century Normandy. Upon finishing her schooling in a convent, young aristocrat Jeanne marries local Viscount Julien de Lamare, who soon reveals himself to be a miserly and unfaithful husband. As she navigates his chronic infidelity, pressure from her family and community, and the alternating joys and burdens of motherhood, Jeanne's rosy illusions about her privileged world are slowly stripped away.

Aki Kaurismäki returns to France with this sun-kissed utopian parable. One of his most politically resonant films, Le Havre echoes The Man Without a Past’s ruminations on community and resilience, albeit this time (via a hat tip to Carl Dreyer’s Ordet) with a nod to the vagaries of the divine.

The continuation of Marius and Fanny’s love story erupts with a shocking revelation that brings Marius home from sea and threatens the couple's future.

Having been left for dead with 22 bullets in his body after being shot by a former childhood friend, a retired mobster sets out to get his revenge.

French writer Romain Gary recounts his childhood experiences in World War II Europe and his drive to fulfill the dreams of self-sacrificing mother.

In this sun-drenched melodrama (a remake of the 1940s classic by Marcel Pagnol), acclaimed French actor Daniel Auteuil directs and stars as the eponymous well-digger Pascal, a widower who is torn between his sense of honor and his love for his eldest daughter.