COURSE DESCRIPTION
For this advanced French course, you will watch a film at home (available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Canal Plus, Orange, YouTube and other platforms) before a lively and engaging discussion in class. Each week a new film provides a basis for an immersive lesson with authentic spoken language and cultural reference points. Watching films is entertaining and enjoyable which breaks psychological barriers that can arise in traditional language learning. If you love movies, there’s no more enjoyable way to increase vocabulary, improve conversational skills, and deepen your understanding of French culture. You can expect to view a wide range of films from the classic to the contemporary in many different genres. Here are the films tentatively scheduled for the fall trimester:
1. La mariée était en noir (1968). Drame, policier. Un film de François Truffaut avec Jeanne Moreau, Michel Bouquet, Jean-Claude Brialy.
2. Les Chatouilles (2018). Drame. Un film d’Andréa Bescond & Éric Métayer avec Andréa Bescond, Karin Viard, Clovis Cornillac.
3. A la Folie….. Pas du tout. Thriller, Romance. Audrey Toutou, Samuel Le Bihan, Isabelle Carré.
4. Varda par Agnès (2019). Un document-film d’Agnès Varda avec Agnès Varda.
5. La Belle et la Bête (1946). Drame, fantastique, romance. Un film de Jean Cocteau avec Jean Marais, Josette Day, Marcel André.
6. Le Huitième jour (1996). Comédie dramatique. Un film de Jaco Van Dorsale avec Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne, Miou-Miou.
7. L’Assassin habite au 21 (1942). Policier, Thriller. Un film de Henri-Georges Clouzot avec Pierre Freynay, Suzy Delair, Noël Roquevert.
8. Le Quai des Brumes (1938). Crime, drame, romance. Un film de Marcel Carné, avec Jean Gabin, Michel Simon, Michèle Morgan.
9. 120 Battements par minute (2017). Drame. Un film de Robin Campillo avec Nahuel Perez, Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adèle Haenel.
10. Le cercle rouge (1970). Policier. Un film de Jean-Pierre Melville avec Alain Delon, Bourvil.
11. Boîte noire (2021). Thriller, drame. Un film de Yann Gozlan avec Pierre Nine, Lou de Laâge, André Dussolier.
12. Les promesses (2022). Drame. Un film de Thomas Kruithof avec Isabelle Huppert, Reda Kateb, Naidra Ayadi.
NOTE: This class will be held remotely. A Zoom link will be provided for students the day before the course begins. Be sure to check your email for it.
ABOUT THE INStRUCTOR
Valérie Brosbrann grew up in Paris and moved to the US in 1981. She lived in the US for 38 years in New York City, Washington, D.C and Boston. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University. She has been teaching French since 1986. She taught adults with the US State Department, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Afterwards, she taught at private high schools in Manhattan. She has taught all levels of French including Advanced and AP classes. She returned to Paris for retirement in 2018 and has been volunteering with WICE for four years.
