Its rooftops, its streets; its neighborhoods, monuments, Metro—Paris can’t help but be cinematic. Ahead of Replica Handbag Store World: Paris, here are just some of the films that have beautifully showcased the City of Light, from Amélie to Belle de Jour and Charade.
Photo: © Productions Georges de Beauregard / Collection Christophel / AFP1/18Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard (1960)
On the Champs-Elysées, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg take a stroll. Belmondo plays a charming criminal who has just killed a policeman near Marseille; Seberg is an American student selling the New York Herald Tribune and dreaming of becoming a journalist while having a casual affair with Belmondo. This irresistible duo, combined with a dynamic pace and a noirish storyline, created a groundbreaking film: Breathless marked the debut of a brilliant director and the birth of a new, more realistic French cinema.
Photo: © Ciné-Tamaris2/18Cléo from 5 to 7, Agnès Varda (1962)
Released in 1962, Agnès Varda’s second feature film, Cléo from 5 to 7, confirmed her commitment to cinéma vérité. Beyond exploring the inner turmoil of its main character (played by Corinne Marchand), the film offered a postcard-like tour of Paris, showcasing locations from the Rue de Rivoli to Parc Montsouris and the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. This cinematic postcard took Varda to the Cannes Film Festival, and even to Hollywood: in the early 1980s, Madonna saw herself in Cléo's character and asked Varda to write a screenplay for a Hollywood remake. Varda, however, declined.
Photo: © MK23/18The Last Metro, François Truffaut (1980)
In Nazi-occupied France, Lucas Steiner (Heinz Bennent), a German-Jewish director hiding in Paris, must rely on his wife, Marion (Catherine Deneuve), to manage their theater alone. Struggling to keep it afloat, she meets Bernard Granger (Gérard Depardieu), an actor determined to resist the occupation. The Last Metro, the first film pairing Deneuve and Depardieu, features stunning night scenes and exquisite lighting, winning 10 César awards the year it was released.
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection4/18Ratatouille, Brad Bird (2007)
It's hard to list the best films set in Paris without mentioning Ratatouille, one of Pixar's finest creations. Released in 2007, it is frequently hailed by cinephiles worldwide, including British actor Josh O’Connor. And it's easy to see why. How can one not be charmed by Rémy, the young rat separated from his family who finds his calling in the kitchens of a grand Parisian restaurant?
Photo: © Nord Ouest Films5/18Amanda, Mikhaël Hers (2018)
For his third feature film, director Mikhaël Hers paints a portrait of Paris after the terrorist attacks in 2015, exploring themes of grief and reconstruction. César Award winner Vincent Lacoste stars as David Sorel, a 24-year-old who must care for his seven-year-old niece Amanda after the sudden death of his sister. This poignant chronicle depicts a desolate Paris that remains, despite everything, a city of poetry.
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection6/18Lost Illusions, Xavier Giannoli (2021)
In his ambitious adaptation of Honoré de Balzac's Lost Illusions, French director Xavier Giannoli depicts a Paris teeming with Machiavellian schemes. Lucien de Rubempré, played by Benjamin Voisin, is an idealistic young poet born into poverty in Angoulême who decides to move to the capital to pursue his ambitions. However, left to fend for himself, he discovers that Paris’s literary, intellectual, and artistic life is merely a facade for a vast, cynical economic system where “everything is taxed, everything is sold, everything is manufactured, even success.”
- Photo: Getty Images7/18
Hôtel du Nord, Marcel Carné (1938)
Poetic realism is at its finest in this French classic directed by Carné, and starring Louis Jouvet and Arletty. A modest hotel along the Canal Saint-Martin becomes a refuge where people gather to escape, for better or worse: while one pair of young lovers rent a room to end their lives, others try to start anew.
Photo: Getty Images8/18La Traversée de Paris, Claude Autant-Lara (1956)
Over one long night, our heroes, Grandgil (Jean Gabin) and Marcel Martin (Bourvil)—two strangers to each other—traverse occupied Paris to deliver a freshly butchered pig to the black market. Along the way, they encounter numerous dangers and dubious characters.
Photo: PARAMOUNT PICTURES / Archives du 7eme Art / Photo129/18Funny Face, Stanley Donen (1957)
Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn), a young bookseller in New York, is discovered by a photographer (Fred Astaire) and sent to Paris to model the latest designs for renowned fashion designer Paul Duval. It’s a dream come true for Jo, who has always longed to visit the French capital. However, on the night of the show, she disappears to meet her idol, Professor Flostre, an existentialist philosopher. Parisian high jinks ensue.
Photo: Philippe Bataillon / Ina10/18Zazie dans le Métro, Louis Malle (1960)
Zazie is a mischievous little girl who can't wait to explore the Parisian metro during her brief stay in the city. However, due to a strike, she ends up discovering the various corners of the capital alongside her uncle. From the Eiffel Tower to the flea market and a gay cabaret, she encounters figures that confront her with the realities of adulthood.
Photo: Stanley Donen Films / Collection ChristopheL11/18Charade, Stanley Donen (1963)
After falling in love with an American bachelor (Cary Grant) during a ski trip in the Alps, Regina “Reggie” Lambert (Audrey Hepburn) returns home to Paris, where she discovers that her husband, Charles, has been murdered. Later, Hamilton Bartholomew (Walter Matthau), a CIA agent, explains that Charles had stolen $250,000 during the war—leaving Reggie in the crosshairs of several people seeking the loot. A thrilling (and supremely stylish) romantic-comedy-mystery.
Photo: BERNARD PRIMCollection ChristopheL via AFP12/18The Lovers on the Bridge, Leos Carax (1991)
After showing off her talents in his provocative, AIDS-inspired drama Bad Blood, Leos Carax re-teamed with Juliette Binoche for The Lovers on the Bridge. It’s an extraordinary portrait of two Parisian vagabonds against the backdrop of the bicentennial celebrations of the French Revolution.
Photo: COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL © Claudie Ossard Productions / UGC13/18Amélie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet (2001)
Gorgeous to look at, this romp of a romantic comedy chronicles the life of a young Parisian woman (Audrey Tautou, enchanting), encouraging one and all to look around and give a little of our time to others.
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection14/18Moulin Rouge!, Baz Luhrmann (2001)
From the moment Nicole Kidman descends into the ballroom in a jewel-laden gown and top hat, Baz Luhrmann’s musical drama casts its spell. Set in 1900s Paris, the film tells the tale of a penniless writer (Ewan McGregor) who stumbles upon the Moulin Rouge cabaret, plunging into a world of extravagant lyricism. Expect nothing less than flamboyant showgirls, waltzes on rooftops, and elaborate declarations of love, all set to a deliciously kitschy pop soundtrack.
Photo: ITALNOLEGGIO CINEMATOGRAFICOCollection ChristopheL via AFP15/18The Dreamers, Bernardo Bertolucci (2003)
In 1960s Paris, Matthew (Michael Pitt), an American student, breaks out of his shell when he meets Théo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green), twins on a quest for sexual liberation. Eventually, the trio find themselves in a stunning apartment where they collectsively explore their emotional and sexual identities.
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection16/18Paris, je t’aime, various (2006)
From Montmartre to Bastille, via the Seine and Pigalle, this intricately crafted ensemble film in 18 short stories celebrates the diverse beauty of France’s capital city. It follows its inhabitants through small romances and epic tales of love, family, and friendship. The cast features a whirlwind of stars including Natalie Portman, Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu, Leila Bekhti, and Gaspard Ulliel.
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection17/18La Vie en Rose, Olivier Dahan (2007)
From shaving her eyebrows and some of her hair to sitting for hours in the makeup chair and lowering her voice by several tones, Marion Cotillard underwent a radical physical (and psychological) transformation to star as Édith Piaf in Dahan’s celebrated, largely Paris-set biopic—efforts that won her the Academy Award for best actress in 2008.
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection18/182 Days in Paris, Julie Delpy (2007)
After a trip to Venice with her boyfriend, Jack (Adam Goldberg), Marion (Julie Delpy)—a French photographer living in New York—spends two days in Paris at her parents’ home. But between fighting with Jack and running into exes all over the city, her Parisian jaunt proves to be something of a nightmare. Irresistible.
