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Guide Picks - Top 10 Movies Set In France
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Here are Top Picks of movies set in France. Even if you can't hop a plane, you can experience the sights and sounds (even the tastes, with some imagination) of French destinations through movies shot or set in France.
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1) French Kiss
This is my personal favorite and I have watched it over and over again. This movie isn't deep or serious, but it's habit-forming. Watch Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline travel from Paris through the French countryside to Cannes. This romantic comedy is a delight!
The movie starts as Meg Ryan's fiancé (Timothy Hutton) abandons her for a "goddesse" he met in Paris on a business trip. She's terrified to fly, but overcomes her phobia to go find her man and win him back. In the process, she meets Kline's character, a petty criminal she finds disgusting and rude. In the end, the seemingly mismatched pair of Ryan and Cline feel an attraction and the chemistry is palpable! Fun to watch as a couple or with a bunch of girlfriends. There are great shots of Paris and Cannes.
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2) Killing Zoe
See the dark and seedy side of Paris through this demented black comedy/suspense movie. Starring Eric Stoltz and Julie Delpy, the film delves into the Paris underbelly of drugs, sex and crime.
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3) Forget Paris
This romantic comedy with Billy Crystal and Debra Winger is full of great shots of Paris, with views of gardens and bridges over the Seine. It's also a great pick for couples: Crystal's career as a basketball ref hooks the guys, who might otherwise be reluctant to see a romance.
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4) Madame Bovary
This is a recent (1999) adaptation of the Flaubert classic about a woman in 19th-century France coming into her own (via a string of clandestine lovers).
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5) Interview With The Vampire
The screen version of Anne Rice's modern classic is primarily set in New Orleans, but there are scenes set in the early days in Paris. The movie will spellbind long before you get to that part, but watch for the Paris scenes.
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6) Sabrina
The original 1954 Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart, might not spend much time actually in Paris. But there is so much talk about the city that it still gives the feel of France (and there's even a scene in which Hepburn is in cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school). This is a great movie, no matter the setting.
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7) Chocolat
OK, I think the movie isn't nearly as good as the book (only because I kept obsessing over inconsistencies in the film versus the book). But the perfermances are great and it certainly captures chocolate into the magical potion it truly is and France as the enchanting place it truly is.
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8) An American Werewolf in Paris
This sequel to the classic Werewolf in London has great shots of Paris. The movie is intense and entertaining--including a great scene in which Julie Delpy's character jumps from the Eiffel Tower.
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9) European Vacation
This is a very silly and very funny movie. They even slip Eric Idle in! Plus, as a bonus, there are shots of Paris (with the back room of a Parisian restaurant, in which snotty waiters pull out TV dinners and stick French flags on top. Hmm...).
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10) Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame
OK, so the scenes are animated, but how many times do you watch a movie in which the gargoyles at Notre Dame talk? A great movie for grown-ups and kids. It's also a great way to familiarize kids with one of Paris' main attractions (won't they think it's so cool to see it in real life if you ever visit).
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