My Personal Favorites
Podcasts
Beginners
Duolingo: You know I am a big fan of that app and unsurprisingly their podcast happens to be really well done and actually interesting
Through interesting conversations, the host wants to help you improve your French listening skills or maybe just get you familiar with the French language. And she's great at it!
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Intermediate / Advanced
Neurosapiens: neuroscience applied to daily thoughts and actions. The vocab can be a little complex but she speaks quite slowly and very clearly. So good!
PsychoShot: each episode focuses on a psychological concept. Very clear and helpful, just an all around awesome podcast
Entre Les Lignes: Clément Viktorovitch analyses political speeches but instead of talking about what politicians say, he focuses on how they say it. It’s a podcast about rhetoric. Immensely interesting.
Un Bon Moment: Kyan Khojandi, a talented comedian/author discuss creation process and share funny stories with other comedians and artists.
Les histoires de quartier d’Oxmo Puccino: A veteran French rapper offers artists and friends an opportunity to tell funny and heartwarming stories about the neighborhood they grew up in.
Books / Comic Books
French artists / Artists who sing in French
French TV Shows
on My Canal
My Canal is a streaming service offered by Canal Plus, a French TV channel that also produces some of the highest quality movies and series there is. Yes you will need to subscribe and yes you will need a VPN and yes it will be totally worth it.
Désordre : the famous (in France) comedian Florence Foresti shows what her daily life looks like (it’s messy) in this hilarious, smart and relatable mini series. A little gem.
Le Bureau des Légendes : A deep dive into the French secret service. One of the best TV shows ever. For me, it’s up there with Breaking Bad.
Hippocrate: An intriguing, suspenseful medical/ethical/political drama. This series was created by an actual doctor!
Les Cahiers d’Esther: based on the remarquable comic book I mentioned earlier. Just so good!
Validé: I loved it cause it gave me an idea of what the French hip-hop scene/industry looks like in this social media era. Very interesting and entertaining.
La Flamme / Le Flambeau: One of the funniest new French comedians Jonathan Cohen’s take on the absurdity of reality TV. It’s hilarious.
New-ish on Netflix
Les Papillons Noirs: A great thriller
Le Monde de Demain: the story of how Hip-Hop culture arrived in France and the artists who made it happen such as the pioneer band NTM.
Drôle: By the creator of “Call my Agent”. Do I need to say more?
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French Films / Films in French
on Netflix
Patients: The daily struggle of an incomplete quadriplegic in a rehabilitation center right after his accident. Also the real story of Grand Corps Malade, the most famous Slam artist in France. Deeply moving.
Athena: A Greek tragedy shot in the “hood”. A series of mind blowing sequence shots. By Romain Gavras, son of Costa Gavras.
Problemos: This comedy hits home. Literally. The film mocks hippies. They could have casted my country-side friends. Hilarious! And liberating.
Le Nouveau: coming of age/comedy, super cute
La Vie Scolaire: comedy/social drama
on Prime
La Traversée : An ex-cop turned sailor has to take a bunch of unprivileged kids on his boat. Great comedy, funny and heartwarming.
Bac Nord: You probably heard about Marseille recently and not in a good way.
In this movie three cops hustle day and night to catch drug peddlers. The plot is based on a scandal that took place in 2012 within the anti-crime brigade. Edifying
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Still out there, still my favorites
Most of the following movies can be found on Netflix, Amazon, Kanopy, YouTube... But you’ll have to dig a little deeper for a few of them.
Le Péril Jeune (et bien d’autres films de Cédric Klapisch : L’Auberge Espagnole, Les Poupées Russes, Le Puzzle Chinois, Ce qui nous lie...)
La Haine (de Mathieu Kassovitz)
La Science des Rêves (de Michel Gondry)
Amélie Poulain (de Jean Pierre Jeunet mais aussi Delicatessen, La Cité des Enfants Perdus...)
Intouchables (de Olivier Nakache et Éric Toledano)
La Cité de la Peur (un film de Les Nuls)
Le Hérisson (de Mona Achache)
Un Prophète (de Jacques Audiard, mais aussi De Rouille et d’Os, De Battre Mon Cœur s’Est Arrêté...)
La Batailler d’Alger (de Gillo Pontecorvo)
Visages, Villages (de Agnès Varda et JR)
Les Choristes (de Christophe Barratier)
Je Ne Suis Pas Un Homme Facile (de Eléonore Pourriat)
Amour (de Michael Haneke)
Le Brio (de Yvan Attal)
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Qu’Allah Bénisse la France (de Abd Al Malik)
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J’ai Toujours Rêvé d’Être un Gangster (de Samuel Benchetrit)
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Le Tout Nouveau Testament (de Jaco Van Dormael)
JCVD (de Mabrouk El Mechri)
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Polisse (de Maïwenn)
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now, the weird ones
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Bernie (de Albert Dupontel)
Dobermann (de Jan Kounen)
Calvaire (de Fabrice Du Welz)
Irréversible (de Gaspar Noé, mais aussi Seul Contre Tous, Love...)
Haute Tension (de Abel Ferry)
Dikkenek (de Olivier Van Hoofstadt)
C’Est Arrivé Près de Chez Vous (de Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux, André Bonzel)
French Restaurants in Los Angeles
Papilles (Franklin Village)
Loupiote Kitchen (Los Feliz)
Mignon (Downtown)
My favorite places in France
Le Périgord Noir (the most beautiful region in France in my opinion. That's where I live now)
Les Calanques de Cassis (site in the south of France)
Les Carrières de Lumières , Les Baux de Provence (exhibit)
L’Anse Méjean, Toulon (the prettiest spot in my home town)
Le Grand Hôtel de la Gare and Le Grand Hôtel Dauphiné (if you stay in Toulon, that's my friend's hotels)
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Aix-en-Provence (beautiful little city in the south of France)
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