Cities: Paris
Paris: the birthplace of cinema, home to some of the best filmmaking of all time, and a city that has inspired filmmakers from around the world. This week’s Spotlight features the city in its glamour, grittiness, and everything in between.
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 Criterion Channel, Strand Releasing Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Les Misérables
An epic tale of the life of a French prisoner set against the backdrop of the June 1832 Rebellion
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States, France • 2012
- Director Tom Hooper
- Cast Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
The Class
(Entre les murs)
Based on his real life, a teacher must deal with the challenging dynamics of his multicultural classroom.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2008
- Director Laurent Cantet
- Cast François Bégaudeau, Franck Keïta, Louise Grinberg, Rabah Nait Oufella, Esmeralda Ouertani, Rachel Regulier
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
La Vie en Rose
(La Môme)
The extraordinary story of Edith Piaf, a singer and icon
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United Kingdom, Czech Republic • 2007
- Director Olivier Dahan
- Cast Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gérard Depardieu
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Moulin Rouge!
An English poet falls in love with the star courtesan of the Moulin Rouge, but she hides a dark secret
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Australia, United States • 2001
- Director Baz Luhrmann
- Cast Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, Garry McDonald
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube
La Haine
In the banlieues of France, the immigrant populations' resentment simmers away -- until it starts to boil.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States • 1995
- Director Mathieu Kassovitz
- Cast Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui, Abdel Ahmed Ghili, Souleymane Dicko, Héloïse Rauth
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Cléo from 5 to 7
(Cléo de cinq à sept)
A young singer awaiting life-changing medical results embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1962
- Director Agnès Varda
- Cast Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, Dorothée Blanck, Michel Legrand, José Luis de Vilallonga
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Kanopy
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, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
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, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Red Balloon
(Le ballon rouge)
A boy discovers a red balloon, with a mind and life of its own, on the streets of Paris.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1956
- Director Albert Lamorisse
- Cast Pascal Lamorisse, Georges Sellier, Paul Perey, Vladimir Popov, Sabine Lamorisse, Michel Pezin
- Genre Drama, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Criterion Channel, FlixFling, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Plex, Plex Channel
Children of Paradise
(Les Enfants du Paradis)
This French masterpiece centers around the theatrical life of a courtesan and the four men who love her.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1945
- Director Marcel Carné
- Cast Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, María Casares, Marcel Herrand, Louis Salou
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, IndieFlix, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Plex Channel
Hôtel du Nord
A young couple's failed double suicide sets off a chain of events in the Hotel du Nord
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1938
- Director Marcel Carné
- Cast Annabella, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Louis Jouvet, Arletty, Paulette Dubost, Andrex
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel