15+ Best Movies and Shows on Netflix & Amazon to Learn French (Winter 2023)
Experts found that watching movies and TV shows is a pleasant and powerful way to create a French immersion environment at home if you implement it into your daily life. It is a winning trio paired with formal French pronunciation training and grammar.
Get the Most Out of French Films & Series
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What you watch has to be highly engaging, with subtitles in French if available. That's the only way to stay motivated and keep doing it long-term.
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Start with subtitles in English as a beginner, but quickly switch to French subtitles when available. You'll pick up many contextual clues - far more than you'd get from watching a movie with English subtitles.
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Unfortunately, many French movies and Series on Amazon only have English subtitles, but there’s some good news! You can install the extension Subtitles for Language Learning (Prime Video) to add them on Google chrome even if the Amazon official subtitle file does not exist; it will be possible to search for subtitles from external sites and load them. You even have a link function to a dictionary site by word click.
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Start by breaking down viewing sessions to 15-20 minutes to stay focused on pronunciation and then increase little by little.
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If your viewing session lasts 15 minutes, try to turn the subtitles off for 2 to 5 minutes. If you increase the viewing time, you can disable them for a longer period of time, in one or two, or even three instances.
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Sometimes, read the French subtitles aloud and simultaneously, following the voice as you hear it, as recommended by the linguist and polyglot, Dr. Alexander Arguelles. This technique, called shadowing, gives feedback on the sound you hear. You need to speak at the same resonance or frequency as the voice, so you can hear when you are out of tune.
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Not all online bilingual dictionaries are reliable. Professional and serious language learners mostly use Wordreference. You can download it on your smartphone and translate words easily while watching your favorite movie or series. It provides clear information on easily confused words and words with similar meanings.
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Note alphabetically new French words and expressions in a small notebook that you can carry with you everywhere. Note as well a specific pronunciation or liaison. Try to reuse them on social media or in talking to yourself out loud or someone who is learning French too. Some people even advise speaking in French to your pet! Why not! Anyway, the goal here is to find an occasion to reuse the new vocabulary regularly.
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Only translate words or phrases that seem essential to the story or are repeated regularly. Don't translate words and phrases all the time to avoid making viewing a chore. Keep it fun so that you want to keep going.
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Because, from episode to episode, they use the same expressions and vocabulary, series are the best to quickly improve your vocabulary and your understanding skills. Moreover, it’s easier to watch an episode of 35 to 45 minutes daily than a 90-minute movie. Science shows that watching a series more than once is even more efficient.
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Prepare a list of the next 10 to 20 French movies / TV series you want to watch. When you have only 4 or 5 left to watch, prepare the following list. Don’t wait!
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As soon as you finish a movie and a series, decide on the next thing you will watch. That's the secret to keeping it going overtime regularly. The goal is to watch something in French once to three times a week.
Ready? Let’s get Started!
Discover 5 French TV shows and 12 French movies to immerse yourself in a French environment in the comfort of your home.
1. Delicious (Délicieux)
Amazon Prime
| Movie (2022) 1h52 | All public | Level of difficulty: beginner to intermediate
REASONS TO WATCH The history behind French food culture and the beautiful settings in France. Perfectly played. I loved this beautiful production, which perfectly blends comedy and drama while remaining true to history.
STORYLINEAt the dawn of the French Revolution of 1789, gastronomy was strictly the domain of aristocrats whose prestige depended on the quality and reputation of their table. So when the talented but proud chef Manceron (Gadebois) serves an unapproved dish of his creation at a dinner party hosted by the Duke of Chamfort, the repercussions are brutal...
COMEDY | DRAMA | HISTORY
2. Lady J (Mademoiselle de Joncquières)
Netflix
| Movie (2019) 1h 49 min | Netflix | For Adults | Level of difficulty : intermediate to advanced
REASONS TO WATCHThis movie has the delicious feel of a fable. It’s sharp and funny. I especially liked the actress Laure Calamy and the actor Edouard Baer. Lush costumes and the elaborate syntax of the 18th century create an exquisitely measured effect. The dialogues are superb.
STORYLINEMadame de la Pommeraye is an elegant widow courted by the Marquis des Arcis, a known libertine and womanizer. A relationship develops but before long, he abandons her. The young widow decides to take her revenge in a very singular way…
DRAMA | ROMANCE
3. Nothing To Hide (Le Jeu)
Netflix
| Movie (2018) 1h 30 minutes | All Public | Level of difficulty : intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHGood for learning everyday French with some widespread slang words. This movie has an appealing cast and a good balance of funny, touching, and dramatic moments.
STORYLINETo spice up a dinner party, old friends agree to play a game wherein they share every call and text received on their individual phones on their phones, with disastrous results.
DRAMA | COMEDY
4. Odette Toulemonde
Amazon Prime
| Movie (2006) 1h 40 minutes | All Public | Level of difficulty : intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHThe actress Catherine Frot, aka Odette Toulemonde in this film, as well as Albert Dupontel (Balthazar Balsan) are both funny and moving actors. This film is like a tale with touches of poetry.
STORYLINEFanciful and optimistic, Odette has a gift: euphoric and contagious happiness. Odette dreams of thanking Balthazar Balsan, her favorite author, to whom - she thinks - she owes her optimism. The Parisian writer, rich and seductive, will unexpectedly come into her life. This is the story of a comic and whimsical encounter between two atypical castaways with nothing in common...
DRAMA | COMEDY
5. The 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups)
Amazon Rent
| Movie (1959) 1h 39 minutes | All Public | Level of difficulty : intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHLes Quatre cents coups is a significant work in the landscape of French heritage cinema. It is also an opportunity to discover another era in France, another way of living, moving, and speaking, with, as a bonus, beautiful images of a Paris of the fifties.
This movie evokes a generational frustration that will turn into a great quest for freedom which artists will be the main initiators. This will be worth to the cinema a New Wave of directors of which François Truffaut, the director, will be the standard-bearer.
STORYLINEAntoine Doinel, 12, lives with his parents in a small apartment in the center of Paris. Faced with a distant mother and a naive father, he cannot find his place in an environment where he does not feel wanted. On the benches of the school, it is the same refrain. Antoine becomes the disruptive element of his class and multiplies the punishments and reprimands of his intransigent teachers.
DRAMA | THRILLER
6. Les Choses de la Vie
Amazon Rent
| Movie (1970) 1h 25 minutes | Adults | Level of difficulty : intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHFirst, the wonderful, beautiful, moving actress Romy Schneider! When it was released in theaters on March 18, 1970, Les Choses de la vie was a huge public success, but it was also awarded the Louis Delluc prize.
STORYLINEAt the wheel of his car, Pierre, an architect in his forties, is the victim of a road accident. Ejected from the vehicle, he lies unconscious on the grass at the side of the road. As Pierre lies in a semi-conscious stupor, his life flashes before his eyes—specifically, his complex entanglement with two women: his dutiful, long-suffering wife and his adoring, free-spirited lover… and all the little things in life.
DRAMA | ROMANCE
7. The Summit of the Gods (Le Sommet des Dieux)
Netflix
| Movie (2021) 1h 35minutes | Teens & Adults | Level of difficulty : intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHThe manga fans (it is an adaptation of the manga series by renowned manga artist Jiro Taniguchi and writer Baku Yumemakura) say that this French adaptation nailed it. Others say that this anime is inspiring, beautiful, and binge-watching. I’m not very much into anime, but this one is in my list.
STORYLINEThis story follows a young Japanese photojournalist, Fukamachi, who finds a camera that could change the history of mountaineering. It leads him to the mysterious Habu, an outcast climber believed missing for years. Fukamachi enters a world of obsessive mountaineers hungry for impossible conquests on a journey that leads him, step by step, towards the summit of the gods.
ADVENTURE | DRAMA | ANIMATION
8. The 7 lives of Lea (Les sept vies de Léa)
Netflix
| TV show (2021) 7 episodes of 45 min | Teens & Adults | Level of difficulty : intermediate to advanced | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
REASONS TO WATCHIt’s a murder mystery wrapped inside a time-traveling tale wrapped inside a 90s period piece. Good to learn French slang, but it may be challenging to understand the ‘verlan’ language (kiff, meuf, etc.).
Despite some anachronisms (language, tattoos, etc.), I liked the originality of this story with its nod to the 90s.
STORYLINEIn June 2021, while at an outdoor party by a river, teenage Léa stumbles upon a dead body. She wakes up the next day, thirty years in the past (to the day), inside the body of a young man named Ismaël. The following day, she awakes back in her own body and realizes it was Ismaël's body she found by the river. The process repeats each night for a total of seven days, with Léa inhabiting the body of seven people on consecutive days in June 1991, all of whom are connected to Ismaël during the final week of his life. Léa tries to prevent Ismaël's death.
CRIME | DRAMA | FANTASY
9. The Dinner Game (Le Dîner de Cons)
Amazon Rent
Movie (1998) 1 h 20 min | For 13+ | Level of difficulty : intermediate to advanced
REASONS TO WATCHWhen I watched this movie for the first time (a long time ago!), I found it incredibly hilarious. Some people say it is probably one of the funniest films they have ever seen, while others say it’s a classical French gem. Anyway, it’s highly recommended if you want to laugh and relax. Good to learn common expressions and slang.
The American adaptation of this French movie, Dinner for Schmucks, is a (very) bad copy.
STORYLINEPierre Brochant, an upper-middle-class French publisher, participates in a weekly dinner party with several of his buddies in which they invite an unknowing idiot to dinner for their amusement. Whoever brings the biggest idiot wins. Pierre finds what he believes is the all-time supreme idiot in Francois Pignon, but not all goes to plan…
COMEDY
10. Call My Agent (Dix pour cent)
Netflix
TV show (2015) 4 Seasons of 6 episodes each | For 13+ | Level of difficulty: intermediate to advanced
REASONS TO WATCHIt’s fun, gets you to see modern Parisian life, to listen to the way most French people speak nowadays ...and real-life film stars playing a version of themselves.
STORYLINEAt a significant Parisian agency, agents struggle to satisfy their star clients and keep their business afloat. The four eclectic agents fight to get the best deals for their protégés, often crossing the line into private business while juggling their own colorful lives. The original title, Dix pour cent (10%) is traditionally the fee charged by the film star's agent for their services.
COMEDY | COMEDY
11. Dior and I (Dior et moi)
Amazon Prime
Movie (2015) 1 h 30 min | For 13+ | Level of difficulty: intermediate to advanced
REASONS TO WATCHThis film reveals to viewers the busy, hierarchical world of the Dior atelier in Paris, where dozens of highly skilled artisans, led by a chef d'atelier, work long hours on a collection. Anyone interested in seeing behind the scenes and peering into the rarefied world of haute couture in France should find Dior and I to their liking.
STORYLINEDior and I is a behind the scene look at designer Raf Simons’ first Haute Couture collection for Dior. It weaves together past and present through excerpts from founder Christian Dior’s autobiography read by poet Omar Berrada.
DOCUMENTARY | FASHION 
12. César et Rosalie
Amazon Rent
Movie (1972) 1 h 51 min | Adults | Level of difficulty: intermediate to advanced
REASONS TO WATCHThis cult film is worthwhile, especially for the superb interpretation of the three protagonists. With, of course, Romy Schneider in the lead, sublime, perfect, luminous. Beautiful real-life scenes in Brittany, with the local people and this small Breton beach hotel.
STORYLINERosalie is married to César, a scrap metal dealer of modest origins who has made a fortune and considers his wife his property. One day, Rosalie meets her childhood sweetheart, David, at a reception. David, who has never stopped loving Rosalie, sets out to seduce her again. César is jealous...
COMEDY | DRAMA
13. Return of the Hero (Le retour du héros)
Amazon Rent
Movie (2018) 1 h 30 min | All public | Level of difficulty: intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHI loved this well-crafted and very funny comedy. Needless to say, I had a great time.
I appreciated the quality of the sets and costumes. The direction is neat, the actors play their roles perfectly, and there are misunderstandings and nice twists.
It is a film to see to relax, laugh and change ideas.
STORYLINEThe story takes place in 1809 under the regime of the first empire during the Napoleonic wars. Captain Neuville (Jean Dujardin) is a cowardly and seductive soldier who asks for the hand of Pauline Beaugrand (Noémie Merlant), a young girl from a good family living in a castle in a small town in Burgundy. But he suddenly receives the order to leave immediately to the fight against the Austrians…
COMEDY | HISTORY
14. Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim)
Amazon Rent
Movie (1962) 1 h 46 min | Teens & Adults | Level of difficulty: intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHEmblematic of the new wave, "Jules and Jim", adapted from the novel of the same name by "Henri-Pierre Roché", is characterized above all by a freedom of tone and a way of filming that is in complete contrast to what was done at the time.
STORYLINEJules (Oskar Werner), a German by birth, and Jim (Henri Serre) meet in Paris in 1912 and become fast friends. They enjoy the Bohemian life of pre-war Paris and catting around with various women. Eventually, Jules falls in love with fiery, strong-willed Catherine (Jeanne Moreau). When they go on vacation with Catherine, the two characters become distant, and their friendship gives way to a trio, both men falling in love with Catherine.
DRAMA
15. Chef 's Table: France
Netflix
TV show-documentary 4 episodes (2016) | All public | Level of difficulty: intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHThe episodes are story-driven, focusing on the people behind the plates. Perfect for those who enjoy cooking or are curious to discover the art of French gastronomy. An excellent way to learn expressions and vocabulary around this topic.
STORYLINEDiscover the power of garden-fresh flavors and culinary ingenuity with chefs Alain Passard, Adeline Grattard, Alexandre Couillon and Michel Troisgros. These chefs are pushing the boundaries of fine dining and reinventing a rich culinary tradition.
DOCUMENTARY 
16. Bonfire of Destiny (Le Bazar de la Charité)
Netflix
Miniseries (2019) 8 episodes | For 13+ | Level of difficulty: intermediate
REASONS TO WATCHThis mini-series plunges us into Parisian society at the end of the 19th century, following the romantic destiny of its three heroines. I particularly appreciated the impressive sets, special effects, and costumes.
You'll be hooked from the very first episode.
STORYLINEOn May 4, 1897, a fire broke out at the Bazar de la Charité, rue Jean-Goujon in Paris. This charity sale was held in a vast wooden shed in which over 1,200 people from the aristocracy were invited. The show's highlight was the Lumière brothers' cinematograph, which was the cause of the fire. People tried to escape, fought to get to the exits, and trampled on the women who were embarrassed by their long dresses. Three women survived the disaster and see their lives turned upside down by the incident.
DRAMA | HISTORY
17. The Bureau (Le Bureau des Légendes)
Amazon Prime
TV Shows (2015) 5 Seasons of 10 episodes | Adults | Level of difficulty: intermediate to advanced
REASONS TO WATCHIt stars the famous Mathieu Kassovitz, who directed The Hate (La Haine) [A film dealing with themes around class, race, violence, and police brutality] and played in the movie Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain).
Many American viewers say it’s one of the best TV shows they’ve ever seen. The first season received positive reviews in France and other countries and won several awards. The second season and the next ones were universally acclaimed and considered by some to be the best television ever produced in France, with praise for the actors, the pace, the plot, and the realism of the series.
STORYLINEThis saga occurs at the DGSE, France's main foreign security service. It focuses on the "office of legends," a department responsible for training and deploying agents for clandestine infiltration missions in foreign countries. Exceptional field agent Guillaume Debailly has just returned from a long stay in Syria. He is getting used to normal life in Paris and still works for the DGSE but in an office. But his new and challenging responsibilities are not the least of his problems. While in Syria, Guillaume met and fell in love with a woman who is coming to Paris. He is convinced he can juggle his identities and keep control of the situation, but everything slips away from him, jeopardizing his personal life and career.
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