By Cynthia Rose

Courtesy Forum des Images

Every August, the Forum des Images gives Parisians a summer gift: free cinema under the stars. Their Cinéma au Clair de Lune moves from quartier to quartier, showing films that feature Paris in different parts of the city. This year, from August 4 to 22, you can follow the series from Montmartre to the Marais—seeing work by directors such as Renoir, Rohmer, Godard and Klapisch. Screenings are free of charge but can be canceled in the event of rain. Remember to bring a light wrap in case the evening cools off.

You’re not in Paris this August? Well, no need to miss out! Among the countless films that compliment, showcase or try to explain the City of Light, here are a dozen favorites. All can transport you here for a few hours, and you’ll learn something new about the city from each of them.

Venus Beauty Institute (Vénus Beauté Institut), 1999, Tonie Marshall.
So popular it became a French TV series, this feminine tale takes you inside a Paris “beauty institute” to follow Nadine (Bulle Ogier), Marie (Audrey Tautou), Samantha (Mathilde Seigner) and Angèle (Nathalie Baye). With insights into the French cult of beauty and French women at work, plus a worldly romance.

The Lovers on the Bridge (Les Amants du Pont-Neuf), 1991, Leos Carax.
This unconventional love story set among vagrants on the Pont-Neuf—much of it the actual bridge, closed for restoration—cemented the stardom of Juliette Binoche. With amazing sequences shot during the 1989 bicentennial fireworks.

Signed Chanel (Signé Chanel), 2005, Loïc Prigent.
Prigent, famous for the Sundance Channel’s Full Frontal Fashion, follows the making of a Chanel collection. There is only one point of view: that of the women who must create the clothes. Fascinating, stylish and immensely funny. Order it online from FNAC or ARTE or watch it on YouTube.

Code Unknown (Code Inconnu), 2000, Michael Haneke.
Much of Haneke’s work is dark, but this film is a compassionate gem. Its subject? The sharing of lives in modern-day Paris, a city belonging equally to middle-class artists, homesick Africans and asylum seekers. The title refers to those digicodes required to enter Paris buildings.

Danton, 1983, Andrzej Wajda. 
Paris seen as the French Revolution descends into the Terror, with Danton (Gérard Depardieu) fighting to save “his” revolution. Some very famous faces play the Revolution’s “stars,” including Patrice Chéreau as journalist Camille Desmoulins. Riveting and atmospheric.

Ridicule, 1996, Patrice Leconte.
A story set in the lavish Versailles of Louis XVI, Ridicule shows how a provincial noble has to emparisienner (become Parisian) in order to help the poor back home. Eventually he conquers the court (not to mention Fanny Ardant) by learning to use manners, style and wit.

The Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis), 1945, Marcel Carné.
Although filmed entirely on sets—and during the German Occupation—this 19th-century tale is the romantic Paris film. It’s long, it’s in black and white and it’s based on historical figures. At its center is the ravishing Arletty and the great Jean-Louis Barrault, playing one of her four lovers.

Full Moon in Paris (Les Nuits de la Pleine Lune), 1984, Eric Rohmer.
A bittersweet tale of one young parisienne who attempts to become truly worldly. She is played by the beautiful Pascale Ogier, who also styled the film—only to die soon after its release.

The Father of My Children (Le Père de Mes Enfants), 2009, Mia Hansen-Løve.
The seemingly idyllic life of a Paris film producer, his wife and three daughters is changed forever by the very thing—cinema—that gives it special meaning.

Three Colors: Blue (Trois Couleurs: Bleu), 1993, Krzysztof Kieslowski.
The first part of Kieslowski’s trilogy redefining the French values of liberty (Blue), equality (White) and fraternity (Red). Juliette Binoche plays the privileged parisienne for whom “liberty” starts with losing everything she loves. A film about grief, loss and generosity—much of it shot around the rue Mouffetard.

La Bûche, 1999, Danièle Thompson.
Enjoy Christmas in August! La bûche is the French yule log, and this movie concerns one very French family who face one another’s secrets over the holidays. Has everything, including Charlotte Gainsbourg and Emmanuelle Béart.

The Crime of Monsieur Lange (Le Crime de Monsieur Lange),
1936, Jean Renoir.
The secret of this black-and-white classic filmed in the Marais is a script by Jacques Prévert. A warm comedy set among the working folk of Paris: laundresses and artists who publish—of all things—cowboy novels. A charmer.

Editor's note: Download our newly updated DIY walking tours of Paris. Something for the foodie, the shopper, the historian and anyone who loves beauty.

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