So, Collegiettes, spring has officially sprung and I’m sure all you girls can think about is how to snag a spring fling, or maybe you’re already daydreaming about a summer romance! Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the end of the spring term is coming and with that comes the misery of finals week. I know we still have to cross that dreaded hurdle but go ahead and live vicariously through these French films until you can have a rendezvous of your own!
1. Les Amours Imaginaires (Heartbeats)
This Xavier Dolan film is about two friends (Xavier Dolan and Monia Chokri) vying for the attention of an Adonis look-alike (Niels Schneider). A love triangle ensues as does in most French films and in his usual fashion, Dolan sprinkles in the art of slow motion, catchy French pop music, and stylish apparel.
2. The Dreamers
This risqué NC-17 Bertolucci flick stars the lovely trio, Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, and Eva Green. Set against the 1968 student riots in Paris, this film is about an American boy from San Diego studying in Paris and forming a more than intimate friendship with a French brother and sister.
3. Amélie
This movie—cherished by indie girls everywhere—chronicles a timid French waitress (Audrey Tautou) on her mission to make those around her happy. In doing her good deeds, she eventually finds love along the way.
4. La Belle Personne (The Beautiful Person)
Junie (Léa Seydoux) is forced to change schools when her mother suddenly dies in the middle of the year. The sixteen year-old finds herself in the same class as her cousin who promptly introduces her to his friends. All the boys strive for a chance at Junie but she is wooed by Nemours (Louis Garrel), her Italian teacher. Can anybody say, steamy forbidden love?
5. Paris, je t’aime (Paris, I love you)
“Through the neighborhoods of Paris, love is veiled, revealed, imitated, sucked dry, reinvented and awakened” ‘nuff said. Let these twenty filmmakers pull you into each of their five-minute stories of love that take place in none other than the quintessential city of love, Paris.
Those five flicks should tide you until the end of finals. And then, be free and make all of your wildest French film-inspired fantasies come true! Oh, and you can find these selections on Amazon Instant or iTunes. Au revoir et bonne chance, Collegiettes!