12 French Movies You Can Watch Online For Free

Are you looking for French movies you can watch online for free?

Finding movies in French online might not always be easy when you are not actually in France.

While known for their cinema, getting access to said cinema might be tricky if you don’t know where to look.

Assuming you have already watched every French-language movie on Netflix.

(if you haven’t check here how you can easily find foreign language content on Netflix).

Does learning languages through movies actually work?

Yes, it most certainly does. Here’s why.

Content

Language is culture

The themes featured in movies are often very telling of the things that are issues in a country.

Who are the main characters, who are the ‘good guys’, who are the villains?

Though fictional, most movies give you a great look inside the lives of actual native speakers.

You can see which themes are of importance and how people handle different situations in life.

If you don’t have money to travel and drown yourself in native speakers, watching movies is a good substitute.

Language is culture, and culture is language. Understanding more about the culture will make it easier to understand the language.

Language immersion

Another important thing when learning a language is that it is the easiest way to expose yourself to real speech.

Especially if you don’t live in the country of your target language, watching movies is an excellent way of actually immersing yourself.

In comparison to most language courses, these conversations aren’t meant to perfectly match the words you just had to study.

They won’t be pronounced clearly with time in between in order for you to process what has just been saying.

Much of what you will hear you won’t be able to understand and that is exactly why you should watch it.

The best thing is that you expose youself to the way native people speak without having to respond to it. You also have the ability to add subtitles.

This can be in your own language or your target language. Just pause it and write things down.

It’s for any skill level

While most language learning materials are geared towards one skill level, watching movies and series is great for anyone trying to improve their skills.

If you are starting out it can make you get used to the sound of the language and the speed of natural speech, and when you are already fluent you can use it to keep up your skills and diversify your vocabulary.

You can watch any movie with subtitles in your own language, subtitles in your target language and ultimately even without (though keeping subtitles in your target language might actually beneficial).

Each person is different, and therefore each person will learn a language in a different way.

No matter what your skill level is, the chances are you will learn new words and expressions.

It’s enjoyable

Most importantly – watching movies is fun. Although memorizing words from a book can be an important way of studying vocabulary, most people won’t find much joy in the actual process of repeating these words over and over again.

Finding something you enjoy, like watching movies, and combining it with language learning is the perfect way of learning a new language without feeling like you are actually doing anything.

Not only that, but doing something fun will ensure you actually do it on a regular basis, and consistency is the most important factor for your success.

Are you on Netflix?

Netflix offers tons of movies in foreign languages, but they aren’t always easy to find.

That’s why we’ve made a list of the 15 best French movies you can find on Netflix, including tips on how to find even more.

12 movies you can watch online for free

Without any further ado, let’s get into the list.

All French-language movies or movies dubbed in French will be added to one of our Youtube playlists.

Make sure to check these out and see if there are any new movies added that weren’t mentioned in this post.

Our playlists counts over 30 movies, so you should definitely be able to find something to your liking.

French Movie Playlist

Most of these movies will also have either English or French subtitles to help you out if necessary.

Mes Petites Amoureuses, 1974

“A study of minor events in the adolescence of a boy growing up in small towns. Daniel lives with his grandmother and, after one year of high school, has to go to live with his mother in the south of France. She is a seamstress living in a tiny apartment with her lover Jose, a Spanish farm worker.

Daniel would like to continue school, but his mother cannot afford it, so she sends him to work as an apprentice in a moped repair shop. Daniel wiles away his time in the shop, and learns about girls from the other boys in town. When he returns to visit his grandmother next year, it is obvious that he has grown up faster than his old friends.” —Will Gilbert

À la recherche de l’âme sœur

“Katherine endures the worst Valentine’s Day date of her life. On her way home a gypsy casts a magical spell on her. The next morning she soon realizes she’s reliving the day until she finds Mr Right.”

La Moustache, 2005

“Marc is sitting in his bath one morning and asks his wife, “how would you feel if I shaved off my mustache?” She doesn’t think it’s a great idea, for the 15 years they’ve been married, she’s never known him without his ‘stache. He shaves it off anyway, but when he sees his wife, she doesn’t notice, neither do their friends at dinner that night, neither do his co-workers. Marc finally flips out, shouts at everyone, tells them he’s tired of their little joke, and what do they really think. His wife and co-workers are appalled, what is he talking about, he’s never had a mustache. In fact, he’s imagining other things as well, or is he? “—poco loco

L’Insoumis, 1964

“1961. Luxemburger Thomas Vlassenroot deserted the French Foreign Legion during the Algiers Putsch. His lieutenant, Fraser, initiated the desertion for the two of them, Fraser believing he could do more for the French working for an underground organization. However, Thomas readily admits that he no longer has any political motivations or affiliations, and thus is hiding out from the authorities in Algiers. Fraser offers him a proposition: help him kidnap Lyonais lawyer, Dominique Servet, who is in Algiers to defend two Algerian nationalists. Fraser will mastermind the job, but Thomas is required to help him both carry out the kidnapping, as well as stand guard over Dominique for one week. She is only one of two kidnap victims that will be held, each victim with a guard apiece, the other victim’s guard being Amerio, a fellow member of Fraser’s organization.

Unlike Fraser and Amerio, Thomas does the job as a mercenary for pay: the F60,000 he needs to be able to get back home to Luxembourg. His want to go to Luxembourg is despite he not knowing if there is any future for him there, beyond going back to his childhood home, where his mother is taking care of his infant daughter. After the successful kidnapping and as the week progresses, Thomas feels compelled not only to assist Dominique, but also help her escape as he has fallen in love with her.

He has to accomplish this task against the threat of Fraser and Amerio’s watchful eyes. He is able to do so, but sustains a serious abdominal wound in the process. As a wounded Thomas tries to make his way back to Luxembourg, he has to elude Fraser and his colleagues. But Thomas may feel further compelled to reconnect with Dominique in Lyon. If he does, the question becomes what she will think in him doing so.” —Huggo

Three Lives and Only One Death, 1996

“Take a walk into the dreamlike world of filmmaker Raul Ruiz as he takes us to Paris for a twisting ride. Four strangely symmetrical stories unfold involving love, lust, crime, and time.” – IMDb

Quand la femme s’en mele

“Henri Godot (Jean Servais) is the owner of a night-club in Paris. He hires young hitman Jo (Alain Delon) to kill his arch-rival Boby. But Jo gets entangled with the intriguing femme fatale, Angele aka Maine (Edwige Feuillère), who is Bob’s mistress.”