Telescope Recommends
Pierrot le Fou
(Pierrot le fou)
How is life going to look like if one is always on the run?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1965
- Director Jean-Luc Godard
- Cast Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anna Karina, Graziella Galvani, Dirk Sanders, Jimmy Karoubi, Roger Dutoit
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV
Holy Spider
(عنکبوت مقدس)
A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad to investigate the serial killings of sex workers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, Germany, Sweden • 2022
- Director Ali Abbasi
- Cast Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Sina Parvaneh, Nima Akbarpour
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Video, Netflix basic with Ads, Vudu, Netflix, Apple TV
Only Lovers Left Alive
A depressed musician reunites with his lover in the desolate streets of Detroit.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United Kingdom, France • 2013
- Director Jim Jarmusch
- Cast Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, Anton Yelchin, Slimane Dazi
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Vudu, Hulu, YouTube, Apple TV
The Son of Joseph
(Le Fils de Joseph)
A biblical story of estrangement, enlightenment, and...ridiculousness.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2016
- Director Eugène Green
- Cast Victor Ezenfis, Natacha Régnier, Fabrizio Rongione, Mathieu Amalric, Maria de Medeiros, Julia Gros de Gasquet
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Metrograph, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kino Now, Kanopy
Mandabi
An unemployed family man receives a money order from his nephew that he cannot cash due to endless bureaucratic obstacles.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Senegal • 1968
- Director Ousmane Sembène
- Cast Makhouredia Gueye, Ynousse N'Diaye, Isseu Niang, Mustapha Ture, Mouss Diouf, Christoph Colomb
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Jellyfish
(Meduzot)
Three women—waitress, a new bride, and a caretaker—each with their own quiet triumphs and tragedies.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Israel, France • 2007
- Director Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret
- Cast Sarah Adler, Shosha Goren, Tsipor Aizen, Bruria Albeck, Ilanit Ben-Yaakov, Assi Dayan
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Kanopy
Mademoiselle Chambon
Veronique and Jean develop an unexpected bond that causes them to question the direction of their lives.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2009
- Director Stéphane Brizé
- Cast Aure Atika, Vincent Lindon, Sandrine Kiberlain, Jean-Marc Thibault, Bruno Lochet, Abdellah Moundy
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Google Play Movies, Vudu, Kanopy, Metrograph, YouTube
Dunkirk
Hope is a weapon, survival is a victory.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Netherlands, France • 2017
- Director Christopher Nolan
- Cast Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, James D'Arcy
- Genre War, Action, Drama
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Vudu, Spectrum On Demand, YouTube, Apple TV
The Cordillera of Dreams
(La Cordillère des songes)
An examination of the tumultuous political, economic, and personal histories of Chile.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Chile, France • 2019
- Director Patricio Guzmán
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, OVID, Apple TV
Arabian Nights: Volume 2, The Desolate One
(As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 2, O Desolado)
In this second installment of Gomes’ trilogy, Scheherazade tells three tales of a Portugal in crisis
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal, France, Germany • 2015
- Director Miguel Gomes
- Cast Crista Alfaiate, Chico Chapas, Luísa Cruz, Pedro Caldas, Gonçalo Waddington, Margarida Carpinteiro
- Genre Drama
- Available on Metrograph, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kino Now, Kanopy
Orpheus
(Orphée)
After a rival poet is killed in a fight, Orphée follows the body, and a beautiful woman, to the underworld.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1950
- Director Jean Cocteau
- Cast Jean Marais, María Casares, François Périer, Marie Déa, Juliette Gréco, Henri Crémieux
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max, Max Amazon Channel
The Girl Without Hands
(La jeune fille sans mains)
A Family, the Devil, a Prince, a Goddess : a Girl Without Hands Faces Her Destiny.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2016
- Director Sébastien Laudenbach
- Cast Anaïs Demoustier, Jérémie Elkaïm, Philippe Laudenbach, Olivier Broche, Françoise Lebrun
- Genre Animation
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hoopla, Vudu, OVID, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV
Girlhood
(Bande de filles)
A girl with few real prospects joins a gang, reinventing herself and gaining a sense of self confidence in the process.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2014
- Director Céline Sciamma
- Cast Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Rabah Nait Oufella
- Genre Drama
- Available on DIRECTV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Showtime, Hoopla, Vudu, Paramount+ with Showtime, Showtime Roku Premium Channel, Kanopy, , YouTube, Showtime Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , fuboTV
Manon
A World War II French freedom fighter falls under a devious woman's spell.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1949
- Director Henri-Georges Clouzot
- Cast Serge Reggiani, Michel Auclair, Cécile Aubry, Andrex, Raymond Souplex, André Valmy
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, ARROW, YouTube, Apple TV, MUBI Amazon Channel, MUBI
Me, Myself and Mum
(Les Garçons et Guillaume, à Table !)
How to become a man when your mother and your closed circle have decided otherwise?
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2013
- Director Guillaume Gallienne
- Cast Guillaume Gallienne, Françoise Fabian, André Marcon, Diane Kruger, Nanou Garcia, Götz Otto
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Hoopla, Apple TV
Mauvais Sang
A love that burns quickly but lasts forever.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Switzerland • 1986
- Director Leos Carax
- Cast Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Michel Piccoli, Hans Meyer, Julie Delpy, Carroll Brooks
- Genre Crime, Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Video, Hoopla
Bitter Money
(Ku Qian)
In a fast growing city of East China, migrants have been arriving and living in pursuit of a better life, but that's not what they find.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Hong Kong • 2016
- Director Wang Bing
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Amazon Video
The Guardians
(Les Gardiennes)
While the men go off to war, the women of the Paridier farm take charge.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Switzerland • 2017
- Director Xavier Beauvois
- Cast Nathalie Baye, Laura Smet, Iris Bry, Cyril Descours, Olivier Rabourdin, Gilbert Bonneau
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hoopla, Vudu, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy, Tubi TV, YouTube, Apple TV
Hiroshima Mon Amour
(Hiroshima mon amour)
The story of a young French actress and her affair with a Japanese man while on assignment in Hiroshima.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Japan • 1959
- Director Alain Resnais
- Cast Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud, Bernard Fresson
- Genre Drama, History, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV
Goodbye First Love
(Un amour de jeunesse)
Do we ever grow out of our first loves?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany • 2011
- Director Mia Hansen-Løve
- Cast Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Valérie Bonneton, Magne-Håvard Brekke, Serge Renko, Özay Fecht
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on DIRECTV, Google Play Movies, realeyz, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Kanopy, Tubi TV, YouTube, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Apple TV
The Wild Pear Tree
(Ahlat Ağacı)
A son returns home to only to be met with his father's debt.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Turkey, Macedonia, France • 2018
- Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Cast Aydın Doğu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Bennu Yıldırımlar, Hazar Ergüçlü, Serkan Keskin, Tamer Levent
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Vudu, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV
The Wound
(Inxeba)
Some stories can't be retold.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- South Africa, Germany, Netherlands • 2017
- Director John Trengove
- Cast Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini, Thobani Mseleni, Gamelihle Bovana
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Kino Now, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV
Atlantic City
Lou, a small-time gangster, falls for a casino employee who dreams of traveling to Monte Carlo to fulfill a glamorous fantasy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Canada • 1980
- Director Louis Malle
- Cast Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid, Michel Piccoli, Hollis McLaren, Robert Joy
- Genre Crime, Drama, Romance
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, , Vudu, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV
Jackie
I want them to see what they have done to Jack.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Chile, France, United States • 2016
- Director Pablo Larraín
- Cast Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt, Richard E. Grant
- Genre Drama
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV
Fatima
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Canada • 2015
- Director Philippe Faucon
- Cast Soria Zeroual, Zita Hanrot, Kenza Noah Aïche, Chawki Amari, Dalila Bencherif, Edith Saulnier
- Genre Drama, Family
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Kino Now, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV
The Sacrifice
(Offret)
To avert the end of the world, Alexander promises God that he'll give up everything he values in life, including his beloved son.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, France, United Kingdom • 1986
- Director Andrei Tarkovsky
- Cast Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Allan Edwall, Guðrún Gísladóttir, Sven Wollter, Valérie Mairesse
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Kino Now, Kanopy, Metrograph, YouTube, Apple TV
The Lovers on the Bridge
(Les amants du Pont-Neuf)
Romance develops between two young vagrants eking out a harsh existence on Paris' oldest bridge.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1991
- Director Leos Carax
- Cast Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Klaus-Michael Grüber, Edith Scob, Georges Aperghis, Daniel Buain
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Video,
The White Ribbon
(Das weisse Band)
In rural Germany just before World War I, strange things are happening to a once-ordinary, authoritarian village society.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Austria, France • 2009
- Director Michael Haneke
- Cast Ursina Lardi, Ulrich Tukur, Burghart Klaußner, Christian Friedel, Leonie Benesch, Susanne Lothar
- Genre Drama, Mystery
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV
The Wide Blue Road
(La grande strada azzurra)
A local fisherman turns to illegal methods to support his family.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, West Germany • 1957
- Director Maleno Malenotti
- Cast Yves Montand, Alida Valli, Francisco Rabal, Umberto Spadaro, Terence Hill, Peter Carsten
- Genre Romance, Drama
- Available on Kanopy
The Case of the Grinning Cat
(Chats perchés)
"Make cats not war!"
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2004
- Director Chris Marker
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, OVID
The Other Side of the Wind
A grizzled director returns from years abroad in Europe to a changed Hollywood, where he attempts to make his innovative comeback film.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Iran, United States • 2018
- Director Orson Welles
- Cast John Huston, Oja Kodar, Peter Bogdanovich, Susan Strasberg, Norman Foster, Robert Random
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Netflix basic with Ads, Netflix
Lola
A chance encounter with Lola has Roland falling in love, but she may not return his feelings.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1961
- Director Jacques Demy
- Cast Anouk Aimée, Marc Michel, Jacques Harden, Alan Scott, Elina Labourdette, Margo Lion
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
Belle de Jour
(Belle de jour)
Luis Bunuel's erotic masterpiece.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1967
- Director Luis Buñuel
- Cast Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Geneviève Page, Pierre Clémenti, Françoise Fabian
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on TCM, Criterion Channel, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Behemoth
(悲兮魔兽)
A sobering Chinese documentary about the environmental, sociological, and public health effects of coal-mining in China and Inner Mongolia.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China, France • 2015
- Director Zhao Liang
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Fandor, Hoopla, Apple TV, Microsoft Store, Kanopy
A Judgement in Stone
(La Cérémonie)
Subservience can be deadly.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany • 1995
- Director Claude Chabrol
- Cast Sandrine Bonnaire, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Jacqueline Bisset, Virginie Ledoyen, Valentin Merlet
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel
Holy Motors
A day in the life of an actor who has many appointments. But no audience.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany • 2012
- Director Leos Carax
- Cast Denis Lavant, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue, Michel Piccoli, Edith Scob, Big John
- Genre Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Fandor, Microsoft Store, Shout! Factory TV, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Kanopy, Plex, Tubi TV, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Fandor Amazon Channel, Apple TV
La Llorona
A once-fearsome but declining Guatemalan general is targeted for war crimes from another dimension in this chilling political allegory.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Guatemala, France • 2019
- Director Jayro Bustamante
- Cast María Mercedes Coroy, Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kénefic, Julio Diaz
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Shudder, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Spectrum On Demand, AMC+ Amazon Channel, YouTube, Shudder Amazon Channel, Apple TV
Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?
An Animated Conversation with Noam Chomsky
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2013
- Director Michel Gondry
- Cast Michel Gondry, Noam Chomsky
- Genre Documentary, Animation
- Available on Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Plex, Tubi TV, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Apple TV
Human Resources
(Ressources humaines)
Management versus labor -- in the same family.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United Kingdom • 1999
- Director Laurent Cantet
- Cast Jalil Lespert, Jean-Claude Vallod, Didier Emile-Woldemard, Chantal Barré, Véronique de Pandelaère, Michel Begnez
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video
The 400 Blows
(Les Quatre Cents Coups)
The story of a misunderstood adolescent boy growing up in Paris.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1959
- Director François Truffaut
- Cast Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Georges Flamant, Patrick Auffay, Robert Beauvais
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Tomboy
When a young girl moves to a new neighborhood with her family, she assumes a new identity as a boy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2011
- Director Céline Sciamma
- Cast Zoé Héran, Malonn Lévana, Jeanne Disson, Sophie Cattani, Mathieu Demy, Rayan Boubekri
- Genre Drama
- Available on Microsoft Store, Criterion Channel
Hands over the City
(Le mani sulla città)
Corruption. Passion. Outrage.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1963
- Director Francesco Rosi
- Cast Rod Steiger, Salvo Randone, Guido Alberti, Marcello Cannavale, Dante Di Pinto, Alberto Conocchia
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Sundown
While vacationing in Mexico, Neil and his family’s tight-knit order is disrupted by a distant family emergency.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Mexico • 2022
- Director Michel Franco
- Cast Tim Roth, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Iazua Larios, Henry Goodman, Albertine Kotting
- Genre Drama
- Available on Microsoft Store, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Hoopla, Vudu, Kanopy, Hulu, YouTube, Apple TV
The Flower of My Secret
(La flor de mi secreto)
Every woman has a secret...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, France • 1995
- Director Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast Marisa Paredes, Juan Echanove, Carme Elias, Rossy de Palma, Chus Lampreave, Kiti Mánver
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Apple TV, MUBI Amazon Channel, MUBI
La Collectionneuse
Adrien's plan to spend a quiet summer with friends gets interrupted when he learns a young girl is staying with them.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1967
- Director Éric Rohmer
- Cast Patrick Bauchau, Haydée Politoff, Daniel Pommereulle, Alain Jouffroy, Mijanou Bardot, Annik Morice
- Genre Drama, Comedy, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
(Ieri, oggi, domani)
A playful anthology comedy following the romantic complications faced by three sets of lovers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1963
- Director Vittorio De Sica
- Cast Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Giuffrè, Agostino Salvietti, Lino Mattera, Tecla Scarano
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Video, Hoopla, Vudu, Kino Now, Kanopy, Metrograph, Tubi TV
Arabian Nights: Volume 1, The Restless One
(As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 1, O Inquieto)
To avoid being beheaded, Scheherazade tells King Shahryar unfinished tales of modern Portugal each night.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal, France, Germany • 2015
- Director Miguel Gomes
- Cast Crista Alfaiate, Miguel Gomes, Carloto Cotta, Adriano Luz, Rogério Samora, Maria Rueff
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video, Vudu, Kino Now, Kanopy, Metrograph, Apple TV
Call Me by Your Name
Is it better to speak or die?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, Brazil • 2017
- Director Luca Guadagnino
- Cast Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Vudu, Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV
A Separation
(جدایی نادر از سیمین)
Simin wants to leave Iran to give her daughter, Termeh, a different kind of life outside the country. But Nader, Termeh’s father, refuses to leave his ailing father behind.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 2011
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Leila Hatami, Payman Maadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi
- Genre Drama
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Spectrum On Demand, YouTube, Apple TV
Breathless
(À bout de souffle)
When you discover the dirty truth about the person you love...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1960
- Director Jean-Luc Godard
- Cast Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger, Jean-Pierre Melville, Henri-Jacques Huet, Van Doude
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Fat Girl
(À ma soeur!)
Watching her beautiful older sister be desired, Anaïs struggles to come to terms with both her own body and her sister's pain.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 2001
- Director Catherine Breillat
- Cast Anaïs Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero De Rienzo, Arsinée Khanjian, Romain Goupil, Laura Betti
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Amazon Video, Vudu, Apple TV, Max
12 Days
(12 jours)
A documentary filmmaker follows patients living inside of a psychiatric hospital attempting to prove their mental wellbeing for release and equitable mental health care in court in Lyon, France.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2017
- Director Raymond Depardon
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, OVID, Kanopy, Apple TV