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. Movie dialogue exposes you to a rich range of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions anchored in a meaningful context, which aids understanding and retention. 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.
This course will be online. Details on joining the course via Zoom will be emailed to you before the start of the class. If you would like to test out your internet connection from a computer device before the start of the class you can click on the computer icon above or here.
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 three years.
Photo credit: Pubic Domain
This trimester, students will be watching...
1.Jusqu’à la garde (2018). Thriller, drame. Un film de Xavier Legrand, avec Léa Drucker, Deznis Ménochet, Thomas Gloria.
2. Lacombe Lucien (1974). Drame, romance, guerre. Un film de Louis Malle, avec Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clément, Holger Löwenadler.
3. Tu seras mon fils (2011). Drame. Un film de Gilles Legrand, avec Niels Arestrup, Lorànt Deutsch, Patrick Chesnais.
4. Les choses de la vie (1970). Drame. Un film de Claude Sautet, avec Michel Picoli, Romy Schneider, Léa Massari.
5. Edmond (2019) Comédie historique. Un film d’Alexis Michalik, avec Thomas Solivérès, Olivier Gourmet, Mathilde Seigner.
6. Vivement dimanche ! (1983). Policier. Un film de François Truffaut, avec Fanny Ardant, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean-Pierre Kalfon.
7. Varda par Agnès (2019). Un document-film. d’Agnès Varda, avec Agnès Varda.
8. Casque d’Or (1952). Comédie dramatique; Un film de Jacques Becker, avec Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani.
9. Que la fête commence (1975). Historique. Un film de Bertrand Tavernier, avec Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Jean-Pierre-Marielle.
10. De battre mon coeur s’est arrêté (2005). Drame. Un film de Jacques Audiard, avec Romain Duris, Niels Arestrup, Emmanuelle Devos.
11. La grande illusion (1937). Drame, guerre. Un film de Jean Renoir (le fils du peintre), avec Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Erich Von Stroheim.
12. Le goût des autres (2000). Comédie dramatique, romance. Un film de et avec Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Gérard Lanvin, Alain Chabat.
13. Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004). Drame, guerre, romance. Un film de Jean-Pierre Jeunet, avec Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon.
