French for the hard of hearing

List creator: Chyekk Created on: November 17, 2004 - 5:31 PM PST Description: French films with French subtitles that closely match the spoken dialog. Useful for learning French language and pronunciation. Should be some here for all tastes. I'd love to know of others!

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	movie title	related list	average rating	MPAA rating	watch	rent	buy
	The City of Lost Children (1995)
NO, NO, NO! An example of the common case where the subtitles in French do NOT match the spoken dialog. The story is the same, but the words are very different; even one character's name is changed! (Good film, though.)
	My Father's Glory (1990)
Simple and charming story. Relatively easy dialog. A good place to start trying to turn off the English subtitles.
	My Mother's Castle (1990)
Part 2 of the story from My Father's Glory.
	Jean De Florette (1986)
Yet another Pagnol story of life in Provence.
	School of Flesh (1998)
Unconventional September-May romance. A good bit of argot.
	The Crimson Rivers (2000)
A stylish thriller. Difficult to figure-out completely, but the included documentary explains. Rapid-fire slang dialog makes it not a good choice for beginning students, but good if you want to hear how French is *really* spoken.
	La Cage Aux Folles (1978)
Very funny because of the great characters.
	La Cage Aux Folles II (1980)
A silly mafia story. Still fun to see the characters from the first film.
	Indochine (1992)
Beautiful photography. Some history on the French in Vietnam.
	Ma Vie En Rose (1997)
Tender story of a boy who doesn't fit in. Not preachy.
	The Dreamlife of Angels (1998)
Moody, French slacker girls. Lots of argot.
	Too Beautiful for You (1989)
Simple story of a love affair, told unconventionally. But not as unconventional as Blier's later, better 'Un, deux, trois soleil'.
	Small Change (1976)
Little kids doing the things little kids do.
	The Widow of St. Pierre (2000)
A tale of redemption, in beautiful snow-covered landscapes.
	Mademoiselle (1966)			Not Rated
Repressed sexual desire leads to acting-out and covering-up.
	The Story of Adele H. (1975)
Obsession leads to insanity, with no surprises along the way. Half the dialog is in English, and the subtitles seem to have been typed by a monkey with a broken keyboard, but I suppose you could still manage some language-learning with this.
	Camille Claudel (1988)
Isabel Adjani goes insane, again.
	Madame Bovary (1991)
Historical costume drama. Pretty faithful adaptation.
	A Tale of Springtime (1990)
All talk, no action. Vocabulary of highly-educated people.
	C'est la Vie (1990)			Not Rated
Nostalgic look at the break-up of a family in the late 50's.
	Betty Blue (1986)			Not Rated
Warning: Don't fall in love with a crazy lady.
	La Mentale: The Code (2002)
Violent organized-crime story. Dialog is almost nothing but slang. If you can understand the dialog, even if you require the subtitles on, consider yourself a native speaker.
	Sex Is Comedy (2002)
Behind-the-scenes look at the filming of a sex scene.
	Le Confessionnal (1995)			Not Rated
Visually arresting story of family secrets. Quebecois accent.
	La Face Cachée de la Lune [Far Side of the Moon] (2003)			Not Rated
Visually imaginative story of a man feeling alone in the universe.
	Nô (1998)			Not Rated
Two simultaneous stories, one of which deals with terrorists trying to gain independence for Quebec in the 1970s.
	Subway (1985)
Loveable bad-boy hides out in the Paris metro system. Years before the film Kontrol used a similar idea.
	The Wild Child (1970)
	A Very Long Engagement (2004)
This film gives you lots to look at, and lots of text. If you have to read the subtitles (in French or English) you will likely miss something. But it is beautiful and well worth the effort.
	Seducing Dr. Lewis (2002)			Not Rated
	L'Enfant (2005)
	Day for Night (1973)
	The Pact of Silence (2003)