French cinema is mostly recognized by French comedies, the genre that most represents the country around the world, especially in the European territory. The largest producers, film teams and actors in France work in these productions, so they tend to have plots that achieve endless laughs for the viewer, together with enveloping stories.
As in the other film genres, in each country, there are movies that are more recognized and acclaimed than others. As French comedy is one of the oldest on the big screen and humor is its greatest characteristic, it has a large number of films that are faithful to its culture and customs, but there are 11 that are more influential and stand out from the rest.
Contents
The 11 best French comedies
French comedy is a genre that is made up of a large number of films that are responsible for providing the public, throughout history, a space for laughter and training. Although many in the following list are related to dramatic themes, without a doubt they are the ideal ones to reflect and at the same time burst out laughing.
Untouchable
Philippe Pozzo di Borgo is a millionaire aristocrat who becomes a quadriplegic and decides to hire Driss, an Afro-descendant immigrant, to help him and take care of him. Despite their differences, the two develop a lasting friendship filled with great moments of laughter and tears. They deal with issues such as racism and loneliness felt by disabled people.
It was a film that totally revolutionized the French cinematographic field by being a box office success and remaining in the number one position, not only in France, but in the rest of Europe. The story of this production is so striking and thoughtful that it was the inspiration for other adaptations, the most famous of which is The Upside, produced in Hollywood.
Samba
It deals with a topic as deep as the illegal immigration situation in France, with main stories in Paris. Samba is an immigrant from Senegal who meets the executive Alicia, who, like him, is tired of her routine. It presents a plot that is mainly based on love, friendship and how it is possible to fulfill dreams.
In 2014, the same team from Intocable, wanted to expose and make a call to the public again with a dramatic comedy to be more aware of the diversity and acceptance of immigrants who come to the country in search of protection and a better quality of life . It is a production that, despite generating strong reflection in people, is loaded with situations that make people laugh.
Amélie
It is the most recognized and acclaimed film production in the European country. The unfolding of the story allowed it to be nominated for five categories at the Oscars, where it managed to establish itself as the Best Foreign Film. It was the film that gave actress Audrey Tatou international stardom.
It is about the story of Amelia, a 22-year-old girl who, after a peculiar childhood with her parents, works as a waitress in a bar. She decides to turn her life around when she dreams that she must make other people happy and considers that this will be her new mission, during which she meets a young man with whom she will have an instant crush.
My God, but what have we done to you?
Claude and Marie Verneuil are a traditional Catholic couple, parents of four daughters. They do not approve the decisions of the three elders to marry by civil means and not by ecclesiastical ones, one, with a Muslim; the second, with a Jew and the third, with a Chinese. Their hope is placed on the minor when they find out that she will have a Catholic marriage, until they discover that her boyfriend is African.
This production has a second part just as entertaining and funny as the first installment, called “My God, what have we done to you … now?” In it, the Verneuils, after accepting the decisions of their daughters regarding their partners and marriages, must face a new family crisis.
The Bélier Family
This film that brings great joy to viewers, is about a slightly peculiar family, in which the members have hearing disabilities except Paula, who is only 16 years old and is the connection of her parents and her brother with other people . She is indispensable to run the farm.
When her music teacher discovers that the young woman has a talent for singing, he offers her to enter a conservatory in Paris, so she will have to question whether she accepts this new opportunity that is presented to her to attend the international radio contest or to continue being the voice and ears of your family.
The dinner of the idiots
It is a funny story about a group of friends with a lot of money and without aspirations who consider that the best plan in the world is to meet once a week at a dinner where they tell the day to day of their lives and must lead to a person who is an idiot. In it, they hold a contest where the one who brings the dumbest guest of all wins.
C’est la Vie
Since the engagement, a couple has only had one dream, to marry in a castle built in the 18th century that is located on the outskirts of Paris. When the expected moment has finally arrived, for those who are in charge of the organization and details of the wedding, it is another day at work. They are in charge of presenting the beginning of the ceremony to the end, through their eyes.
On wheels
Jocelyn is a womanizing businessman who manages to conquer women with lies. When he meets his new neighbor, a beautiful young woman, he takes on the role of a disabled person to seduce her. She invites him to eat at her house with her family, where Jocelyn will fall in love with her sister, who is actually in wheelchairs, so she must continue her charade.
The delicacy
Audrey Tautou is once again the protagonist of a comic story. This time it represents Nathalie, a woman focused on work and grief after the death of her husband. When he kisses his partner, Markus, without understanding how, he decides to give himself a new chance in life and let himself be carried away with this man who is so different from the person with whom he shared his marriage.
Welcome to the North
It is one of those productions that both in the country and internationally have great success and is more than acclaimed by the public, due to the laughter it causes throughout history. It is a comedy focused on stereotypes and how the Southerners carry the peculiar way of speaking that the peoples located in the north of France have.
Come out of the closet
A worker at the accounting firm François Pignon is about to be fired, until his neighbor and friend gives him the idea of pretending that he is a homosexual person so that his boss sees this act as politically and socially wrong. His plan has the expected results and much more than that, people knowing his orientation are more kind and considerate with him.
Keep reading about the best comedies you can watch on Netflix.