Everyone loves a traditional tearjerker, the chase of unrequited love, or even a classic heartwarming Disney movie. Well, it's no surprise that French is renowned as the language of love, or langage de l'amour, given the abundance of romantic French films available, ranging from feel-good classic romances to heartbreaking dramatic tragedies. Whatever the case may be, love will be in the air when hopeless romantics get their hands on these. Get the popcorn out, because here are some of the most romantic French movies ever made.
Updated October 11th, 2022: If you're a fan of the romance genre, you'll be happy to know this article has been updated with additional content and French films.
10 The Fairy (La Fée)
This 2011 romantic comedy is a heartfelt and classic romance, beautifully directed by the team of Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy, and it won several awards at the 2nd Magritte Awards. The Fairy is a perfect example of how there doesn't need to be a lot of dialogue to woo an audience with romance. The childlike and whimsical film with little to almost no dialogue pulls at our heartstrings with the love story between a man and a magical woman.
When hotel night clerk Dom is visited by a fairy, who arrives without any luggage or even shoes on her feet, he is told that she can grant him three wishes. After having two of his wishes granted, the fairy disappears; Dom realizes that he has fallen in love with her and searches everywhere to find her. This movie is fun, quirky, light-hearted, magical, and a classic romance for fans of the genre.
9 Girl on the Bridge (La Fille sur le pont)
This 1999 black and white classic romance movie, directed by Partrice Leconte, follows the story of Adéle who, just as she is about to take her own life, is approached by Gabor, who intervenes by offering her a job. Gabor is a professional knife-thrower who persuades her to work and travel with him. As they travel Europe and become increasingly successful, the audience see a beautiful and almost telepathic relationship and a spark of love develop between them.
Girl on the Bridge is brilliant by taking a subject as serious as suicide and creating a playful and romantic story out of it, yet it does so with an act as dangerous as knife-throwing, which perfectly illustrates how the film is essentially a story of luck, love, and a gamble (the three of which are always intertwined), and is beguiling from start to finish.
8 Love Me If You Dare
Guillaume Canet and the great Marion Cotillard star in the vibrant 2003 romantic dramedy Love Me If You Dare, in which the duo portray childhood best friends Julien and Sophie, who continue to partake in a fearless game of dare and pranks they began when they were younger, constantly trying to out-due the other. Chronicling the pair's friendship and romance from school children to adults (as well as their ever-evolving and progressively more dangerous dares), the Yann Samuell picture showcases Julien and Sophie's unwavering bond despite all of life's ups and downs. They try to deny their affection for one another throughout the dramedy but eventually acknowledge that they simply cannot fight the love that has blossomed between them.
Love Me If You Dare features a unique conclusion consisting of two alternate endings for the thrill-seeking couple (made all the more poignant through the use of "La Vie en Rose," which is ironic considering that would be the title of Cotillard's Oscar-winning film) and offers both an emotionally moving yet cynically modern perspective on love and romance.
7 Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim)
François Truffaut's masterful film, the 1962 romantic drama Jules and Jim, is a classic love triangle drama. Set around World War I, it follows the friendship of best friends Jules and Jim, but everyone loves a bit of drama, so things get difficult when they fall in love with the same free-spirited beautiful woman, Catherine. If movie lovers are looking for something to keep them on the edge of their seat, Jules and Jim is a perfect, dynamic choice. The movie is not only romantic, but tragic, tense, and ultimately leads to a dramatic. It's even ranked 46th in Empire's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema."
6 Blue is the Warmest Color (La Vie d'Adéle)
Based on the graphic (in more ways than one) novel by Julie Maroh, Abdellatif Kechiche's romantic drama Blue is the Warmest Color made history in 2013 as being the first Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival to be given not just to the director but both lead actresses as well. This only indicates how incredibly strong the performances from Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos were, and how they guided this incredibly erotic film toward introducing the LGBTQ+ experience to many for the first time.
The movie follows Adéle, a literature student, in search of her sexual identity. When she meets Emma, we see a budding romance form between them as Adéle comes to terms with her sexuality. What makes this such a great romance film is that we get to follow their lives together throughout the duration of the movie — the good, the bad, and the ugly all get explored without any dependence on traditional plot mechanics or narrative devices, and the result is an epic coming-of-age tale that explores the struggles of identity.
5 Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeaune fille en feu)
A more recent LGBTQ+ romance is the 2019 historical romantic drama, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, written and directed by Céline Sciamma. Set in the 18th century, the story follows the lesbian affair between the aristocratic Héloïse and the painter Marianne, who's hired to paint her portrait. After their relationship is cut short, the film adjusts to show the present Marianne, telling her art students their beautiful and tragic story of love, filled with incredible costume design and cinematography. The film won a Queer Palm award, becoming the first film directed by a woman to win the award, and was further nominated for many others, including a Golden Globe.
4 The Story of Adéle H. (L'Histoire d'Adéle H.)
Also directed by François Truffaut, The Story of Adéle H. was released in 1975 and follows the life of Adéle Hugo, daughter of famous writer Victor Hugo. The story is based off Adéle's diary entries, where she documents the history of her doomed love; we follow her story as we see her unrequited love for a British military officer, which grows stronger and more intense, driving her to obsession and madness. The film, though hopelessly romantic, belongs on the darker side of Truffaut's work, yet it is still gripping, tragic, and a representation of the dangers of love.
3 Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain)
Audrey Tautou skyrocketed to international fame when she appeared as the titular character in the award-winning 2001 romantic comedy Amélie, portraying the delightfully charming Parisian waitress as she tries to make the lives of those closest to her more enriched, all-the-while realizing she must embark on her own quest for love. The eccentric and kind-hearted heroine meets the quirky young man Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), and the two realize they share a profound connection that simply can't be ignored.
Amélie is a whimsical and endearing rom-com that is magnificently brought to life through the unique style of acclaimed director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with the picture going on to earn five Academy Award nominations including Best Foreign Language Film. It remains a beloved cinema great praised for its stunning aesthetics, endearing characters and dreamy atmosphere that die-hard romantics just can't get enough of.
2 A Man and a Woman (Un Homme et une Femme)
This 1966 film, directed by Claude Lelouch, follows the love story of a young widow and widower, who meet by chance at their children's boarding school. Despite fate bringing them together, and their beautifully budding romance, their love is haunted by the memories of their dead spouses, which causes a psychological problem in their relationship and raises the stakes whether they can make it work.
A Man and a Woman evoked the spirit of the mid-sixties, and became one of the most famous French films to have been made, and is especially famous for its beautiful black and white cinematography and how it bursts into color on occasion with beautiful music. The movie became the sixth highest-grossing film of its year (a rarity among foreign films in America) and won multiple awards (including two Oscars), and even resulted in a sequel (A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later) in 1986.
1 Amour
In what is possibly the darkest romance film ever made, Michael Haneke's highly-acclaimed, award-winning film Amour tells the story of Georges and Anne, who have been married for most of their adult lives and continue to live peacefully in perfect harmony. Their love turns grim when Anne suffers a stroke which leaves her completely immobilized, and the stress that their love undergoes puts their marriage to the test. It is later (spoilers ahead), when we witness Georges suffocating Anne with a pillow, that we realize just how intolerable it has become for him to watch his wife suffer without being able to provide her relief or comfort her.
The film explores the deepest and darkest meaning of "until death do us part," and delves into the challenges of love and marriage unrelentingly, and even possibly the extreme lengths one goes to for love. Dark, gritty, but extremely moving, it could arguably be classed as the ultimate romance movie, French or otherwise.