To help you face the long evenings of confined winter, French Morning has selected films and television series in French currently available on Netflix in the United States. To see or see again.
1. “An Easy Girl”
Rebecca Zlotowski’s film, presented at the Directors’ Fortnight in 2019, stars Zahia Dehar, who plays Sofia, a young woman with liberated sexuality who does not hesitate to take advantage of her charms. She joins her cousin Naïma, 16, in Cannes for the summer. Together, they will live unforgettable moments, made of encounters. This film offers a reinterpretation of the class struggle, around the condition of women. See here
2. “The Revolution”
This new series, signed Aurélien Molas, tells “the other story of the Revolution”, that of a virus (blue blood) which affected the nobles of the country in 1787, transforming them into zombies which attacked the people. Joseph Guillotin, the inventor of the guillotine, then investigates a series of mysterious murders. See here
3. ”Criminal”
The plot of this detective series, created by the British George Kay and Jim Field Smith, is based on questioning, explored in four different countries (the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain). Three different stories are evoked by country, through police custody. Various issues are addressed, such as the Bataclan attack, work accidents, homophobic attacks or domestic violence. The three episodes in France were overseen by Frédéric Mermoud. See here
4. “Mademoiselle de Joncquières” (“Lady J”)
Manipulation and revenge are at the center of Emmanuel Mouret’s film, which gives his version of an episode of “Jacques le Fataliste” by Diderot. It takes place in France in the 18th century, where the widow Madame de La Pommeraye (Cécile de France), courted by the Marquis des Arcis (Edouard Baer), reputed to be libertine, ends up giving in to his advances. But he gets tired and she decides to take revenge by setting up a ploy to humiliate him publicly. She then extracts from prostitution a fallen aristocrat and her daughter, Madame and Mademoiselle de Joncquières, inventing for them a fiction of piety which will disturb the marquis. See here
5. “The Eddy”
Damien Chazelle, author of the musical “La La Land”, directed several episodes of the (also musical) series “The Eddy” for the streaming platform. This time, jazz is in the spotlight. It tells the story of a jazz club in Paris managed by Farid (Tahar Rahim) which the owner of the club, an African-American, comes to visit when he learns that he is facing bankruptcy. Farid borrowed money from the wrong people, endangering the club, but also their lives. Then intertwine stories of money, love, friendship … See here
6. “Weeds” (“Bad Seeds”)
Kheiron’s second film as director, this endearing comedy-drama sets out to meet Wael, a former street child, who multiplies the scams with Monique (played by Catherine Deneuve), a retiree. Their life will be turned upside down by the reunion with a friend of the latter, Victor. He is going to give a voluntary job in his center for school dropouts in Waël, a job that will change his outlook. See here
7. “Family Business”
Opening the beucherie (a cannabis coffee shop) instead of the family butcher’s shop: such is the idea of Joseph Hazan, a failed entrepreneur embodied by Jonathan Cohen, who informally learns that cannabis is going to be legalized. This series created by Igor Gotesman, the first two seasons of which are available on the streaming platform, mixes zany, absurd comedy and a 5-star cast. See here
8. “Slips” (“Inhuman Resources”)
Adapted from the novel “Cadres noirs” by Pierre Lemaitre, this mini-series directed by Ziad Doueiri features Eric Cantona (alias Alain Delambre) as a man bruised by unemployment who decides to turn against the system that destroyed him during ” a very specific interview for a HRD position within a multinational. See here
9. “Vampires”
How about a horror series for a change? It is the idea of “Vampires”, carried out by Benjamin Dupas and Isaure Pisani-Ferry, which released its first season on March 20. The story takes place in Paris, at the present time. The only difference: vampires exist. Among them, Martha Radescu’s family lives in hiding until her daughter Doina turns out to be a new kind of vampire. See here
10. “Cuties”
Conceived as a critique of the sexualization of young girls under pressure from social networks, Maïmouna Doucouré’s film made a lot of talk, being highly criticized by American conservatives. It tells the story of Amy, an 11-year-old girl raised in a conservative Muslim background in France. She gradually frees herself by joining a group of young carefree dancers who attend her school. To have
11. “H”
It was long awaited … The cult series features the crazy hospital adventures of Eric Judor, Ramzy Bedia and Jamel Debbouze over four seasons (initially broadcast between 1998 and 2002). The opportunity to find incredible lines, like the famous “Tell me not that it’s not true”. To see again here
