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FILM

French TV and films to watch in February

Classic films, new comedy, water-cooler drama, culinary reality, and world-class sport all vie for our attention in the shortest month of the year.

French TV and films to watch in February
Image: Totems / Amazon Prime

Here we check out the best of what’s on offer across French TV and streaming platforms in February.

Claude Berri collection – Netflix

From February 1st

Oh, Netflix … with not one but seven films from the great Claude Berri available on the first day of February, you are spoiling us.

The on-demand platform will add Tchao Pantin, Jean de Florette, Manon des Sources, Uranus, Le Vieil Homme et l’Enfant, Germinal, and his penultimate film Ensemble, c’est tout. Try to watch them all – but if you can’t, start with Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources … then watch them all.

The Winter Olympics – France 2 and France 3

From February 4th to February 20th

Some 87 French athletes have travelled across the world to take part in the Winter Games in Beijing.

There are plenty of reasons to question this event, but for these athletes just getting here is the culmination of many years of effort – and there’ll be some epic performances on (artificial) snow and ice during the competition.

Une intime conviction – Netflix

From February 6th

Antoine Raimbault’s courtroom drama, based on the true story of the two trials of a Toulouse law professor following the disappearance of his wife in the early years of the 21st century.

All but one of the actors play real people who were involved in the actual case – Olivier Gourmet plays current Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti, who was involved in the case in his previous career as a lawyer.

Prête-moi ta main – Disney Plus

From February 11th

Middle-aged Parisian bachelor Alain Chabat is in no rush to get married. But, when his devoted mother Bernadette Lafont, and five sisters agree that he should settle down, they set Luis up for a series of doomed dates.

To stop their well-meaning match-making, he asks his best friend’s sister Charlotte Gainsbourg to pose as his new girlfriend. We think you know where this is going…

Top Chef – M6

Wednesday, February 16th, and Replay services from February 17th

Good news and bad news for fans of culinary reality shows. Top Chef returns this month to dominate Wednesday evening schedules for weeks to come, with its usual mix of cooking challenges (think the French version of MasterChef).

This time, sadly, there’s no Michel Sarran to lead the yellow team. He’s been replaced by Glenn Viel – the youngest chef in the world to be awarded three Michelin stars – as the fourth chef leader, alongside Philippe Etchebest, Hélène Darroze and Paul Pairet. 

 

Totems – Amazon Prime

From February 18th

1965. The frozen heart of the Cold War. A French rocket scientist is sent out into the field on an impossible covert mission – and promptly falls for a Soviet spy. Niels Schneider, Vera Kolesnikova, Lambert Wilson and José Garcia star in what’s already being described as ‘Event TV’.

Le Chant du Loup – Netflix

From February 20th

As if seven Claude Berri films and a courtroom drama weren’t enough, this high-tension undersea thriller with Francois Civil and Omar Sy will have you biting your nails to the quick later in the month.

On board a French nuclear submarine, everything rests on a man with the gift of recognising every sound. Deemed infallible, he makes an error that puts the rescue mission and the crew in danger. It’s directed by Antonin Baudry – who’s also a diplomat specialising in cultural affairs, comic book author, and screenwriter. You have to wonder how he finds the time…

Weekend Family – Disney Plus

From February 23rd

Eric Judor stars in Disney Plus’s first French production – a comedy – as a three-by-three father, with three daughters by three former partners, whose already complicated life becomes even more difficult when he falls in love for a fourth time. 

Comme des Garçons – Amazon Prime

From February 25th

A womanising sports journalist in late 1960s France organises a women’s football match for his paper’s annual fete, and ropes in the editor’s assistant to help him. Little do the warring pair realise that they’re about to create the first women’s football team in the country.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

Passports, blood, and the Moulin Rouge: 6 essential articles for life in France

What the EU’s new Entry and Exit System means for dual nationals, good news for Britons who want to move to France post-Brexit (you still can), property taxes, what the grand-sounding ‘attestation sur l'honneur’ actually is, donating blood and Moulin Rouge facts. They’re all in this week’s Local must-reads 

Passports, blood, and the Moulin Rouge: 6 essential articles for life in France

The EU’s Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport checks will usher in big changes for travellers – here we answer readers’ questions on the position for dual nationals.

What will Europe’s EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

We’re not going to lie to you – there’s no doubt that Brexit has made moving to France more complicated for Brits. Importantly, however, it is still possible, and popular, according to France-based estate agents who deal very regularly with British clientele. Here are some of the things you need to know before making the move.

9 things Brits need to know about moving to France since Brexit

Speaking of moving to France, here’s something anyone with property here will need to know. With the deadline to have completed the property tax declaration approaching, here’s a look at all the vocabulary you will need to fill out the form.

Vocab guide for the French property tax declaration

At some point during your life in France, you will probably be asked to write a grand-sounding ‘attestation sur l’honneur’ – here’s what this document is for and how to write one properly.

How to write a French ‘attestation sur l’honneur’

Donating blood can help save lives – and authorities often issue appeals for donors around holiday periods, including the public holidays in May. If you want to donate in France, here is what you need to know … especially, and this is important, if you’re a Brit of a certain age….

How to donate blood in France

And finally… it has been in the news over the past few days, because the sails fell off. Here’s a look at the wild history and the turbulent present of Paris cabaret the Moulin Rouge.

5 things to know about Paris’ iconic Moulin Rouge

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