The French have a different relationship to cinema than Americans. Going to the movie theater is a more common occurrence on a free afternoon. In fact, in 2024 France was the only country in the world where cinema attendance actually increased.
This is due in large part to the country’s different form of film spectatorship. The Ministry of Culture supports the promotion of cinema via the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC, or National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image). If lacking social plans in Paris, many choose to go to Rue Champollion in the 5e to see whatever is screening at one of the street’s three arthouse cinemas. France offers an infrastructure for cinema that lends itself to the flâneur (or one who takes a stroll without a particular destination in mind).
Only in France? Perhaps most of the time – but from July 25 to August 24, you can go to movies the ‘French’ way at the MFA.
As a cinéphile who lived in Paris for several years, attending the Boston French Film Festival was a ‘coming home’ of sorts. To start the day, I stopped at Brookline's award-winning Lakon Paris bakery for what is purported to be Boston’s best croissant (spoiler alert: it was quite good, even by French standards).
As I arrived at the Museum of Fine Arts, in typical Parisian fashion, it started to rain. After scanning my ticket at the main entrance, I wandered over to the Remis Auditorium in the museum’s contemporary section – strolling past works by Picasso and Braque along the way.
Comfortable, warm, and safe from the rain – I entered the MFA’s rather large cinema. Welcomed by the swinging ‘60s sounds of France Gall and modern art on the walls, I noted that many of my fellow patrons were also snacking on a croissant from the museum’s nearby Taste Café.
In France, cinema is respected as the '7ème art' (or ‘7th Art’), meaning it is a form of art in its own right. The MFA follows in the footsteps of many respected, French curatorial institutions (such as the Centre Pompidou and the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac) by featuring cinema prominently in their programming. Waiting in my front-row seat for the film to start, I listened to fellow patrons discuss their love of France and appreciation that they had access to nouveautés (new releases) on the French film scene.
As the first film of the day started, François Ozon’s Quand vient l’automne (When Fall Is Coming, 2024), I noted that the film offered a unique look at modern French life. Our protagonist Michelle (Hélène Vincent) lives in a small village in Burgundy. She tends to her distinctly French garden, cooks as only a mamine would, and takes the SNCF train rail to Paris rather than driving as you could only do in France. Once again, it felt as though I had returned.
Enjoying the themes of nature, betrayal, and complex relationships – I ventured out of the cinema to enjoy the museum during my entr’acte before the next film. Sitting at the counter at the New American Café in the central pavilion of the museum, I mused on the film I had just seen while reading and enjoying the soundtrack of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) playing over the speakers.
After a quick lunch, I decided to make the most of my entry ticket and to flâner a bit around the museum. Stumbling across the 19th century French paintings at the MFA, I was struck by the resonances between the largely woods- and landscape-focused film I had just seen and the myriad of representations of such vistas by Impressionist masters, such as Monet’s Valley of the Petite Creuse (1889, oil on canvas).
After taking in a few more sculptures, I meandered my way back to the Remis Auditorium for the second film of the day where I saw many familiar faces from the morning screening. Next up was Alain Guiraudie’s black comedy Miséricorde (Misericordia). From the director of L’Inconnu du lac (Stranger by the Lake, 2013), this film topped the prestigious Top 10 Films of 2024 list from Cahiers du Cinéma. Miséricorde did not disappoint. Another perfect viewing experience for a rainy day, the movie dealt with similar themes of death, guilt, and mushroom foraging as Quand vient l’automne. A strangely funny film, it reminded me of Pasolini’s 1968 surrealist film Teorema with touches of Hitchcockian suspense and cottagecore. Moreover, I was again struck by the subtleties unique to France: characters kissing three times on the cheek for a welcoming bisous as they do in the south, the symbolic and economic importance of the town baker, and the pleasures (and dangers) of drinking Pastis.
Leaving the MFA, I felt transported back to France through the act of enjoying new releases the ‘French’ way – taking in the joie de vivre of the 7ème art and all it had to offer. Seeing modern French cinema not only opens us up to new forms of artistic expression but gives us an impactful snapshot of contemporary French life and culture, even in the heart of Boston.
If you’d like to partake yourself, visit the MFA’s French Film Festival until August 24, 2025 – where French Library members receive a 20% discount (email membership@frenchlibrary.org for the discount code). If you’d like a family-friendly introduction to the joys of modern French cinema, come see Les Malheurs de Sophie (Sophie’s Misfortunes, 2016) by acclaimed director Christophe Honoré at this month’s ciné-club at the French Library on Thursday, August 14. Based on the beloved 19th-century novel of the same name by the Comtesse de Ségur, this film is available to children under 14 for free with an adult ticket.
This is due in large part to the country’s different form of film spectatorship. The Ministry of Culture supports the promotion of cinema via the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC, or National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image). If lacking social plans in Paris, many choose to go to Rue Champollion in the 5e to see whatever is screening at one of the street’s three arthouse cinemas. France offers an infrastructure for cinema that lends itself to the flâneur (or one who takes a stroll without a particular destination in mind).
Only in France? Perhaps most of the time – but from July 25 to August 24, you can go to movies the ‘French’ way at the MFA.
As a cinéphile who lived in Paris for several years, attending the Boston French Film Festival was a ‘coming home’ of sorts. To start the day, I stopped at Brookline's award-winning Lakon Paris bakery for what is purported to be Boston’s best croissant (spoiler alert: it was quite good, even by French standards).
As I arrived at the Museum of Fine Arts, in typical Parisian fashion, it started to rain. After scanning my ticket at the main entrance, I wandered over to the Remis Auditorium in the museum’s contemporary section – strolling past works by Picasso and Braque along the way.
Comfortable, warm, and safe from the rain – I entered the MFA’s rather large cinema. Welcomed by the swinging ‘60s sounds of France Gall and modern art on the walls, I noted that many of my fellow patrons were also snacking on a croissant from the museum’s nearby Taste Café.
In France, cinema is respected as the '7ème art' (or ‘7th Art’), meaning it is a form of art in its own right. The MFA follows in the footsteps of many respected, French curatorial institutions (such as the Centre Pompidou and the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac) by featuring cinema prominently in their programming. Waiting in my front-row seat for the film to start, I listened to fellow patrons discuss their love of France and appreciation that they had access to nouveautés (new releases) on the French film scene.
As the first film of the day started, François Ozon’s Quand vient l’automne (When Fall Is Coming, 2024), I noted that the film offered a unique look at modern French life. Our protagonist Michelle (Hélène Vincent) lives in a small village in Burgundy. She tends to her distinctly French garden, cooks as only a mamine would, and takes the SNCF train rail to Paris rather than driving as you could only do in France. Once again, it felt as though I had returned.
Enjoying the themes of nature, betrayal, and complex relationships – I ventured out of the cinema to enjoy the museum during my entr’acte before the next film. Sitting at the counter at the New American Café in the central pavilion of the museum, I mused on the film I had just seen while reading and enjoying the soundtrack of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) playing over the speakers.
After a quick lunch, I decided to make the most of my entry ticket and to flâner a bit around the museum. Stumbling across the 19th century French paintings at the MFA, I was struck by the resonances between the largely woods- and landscape-focused film I had just seen and the myriad of representations of such vistas by Impressionist masters, such as Monet’s Valley of the Petite Creuse (1889, oil on canvas).
After taking in a few more sculptures, I meandered my way back to the Remis Auditorium for the second film of the day where I saw many familiar faces from the morning screening. Next up was Alain Guiraudie’s black comedy Miséricorde (Misericordia). From the director of L’Inconnu du lac (Stranger by the Lake, 2013), this film topped the prestigious Top 10 Films of 2024 list from Cahiers du Cinéma. Miséricorde did not disappoint. Another perfect viewing experience for a rainy day, the movie dealt with similar themes of death, guilt, and mushroom foraging as Quand vient l’automne. A strangely funny film, it reminded me of Pasolini’s 1968 surrealist film Teorema with touches of Hitchcockian suspense and cottagecore. Moreover, I was again struck by the subtleties unique to France: characters kissing three times on the cheek for a welcoming bisous as they do in the south, the symbolic and economic importance of the town baker, and the pleasures (and dangers) of drinking Pastis.
Leaving the MFA, I felt transported back to France through the act of enjoying new releases the ‘French’ way – taking in the joie de vivre of the 7ème art and all it had to offer. Seeing modern French cinema not only opens us up to new forms of artistic expression but gives us an impactful snapshot of contemporary French life and culture, even in the heart of Boston.
If you’d like to partake yourself, visit the MFA’s French Film Festival until August 24, 2025 – where French Library members receive a 20% discount (email membership@frenchlibrary.org for the discount code). If you’d like a family-friendly introduction to the joys of modern French cinema, come see Les Malheurs de Sophie (Sophie’s Misfortunes, 2016) by acclaimed director Christophe Honoré at this month’s ciné-club at the French Library on Thursday, August 14. Based on the beloved 19th-century novel of the same name by the Comtesse de Ségur, this film is available to children under 14 for free with an adult ticket.
Sophia Kornitsky
Rentals & Administrative Coordinator
Sophia is native to central Massachusetts and began learning French in high school. She deepened her passion at Wellesley College where she majored in French and film. During this time, she studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence and interned at the Musée Jean Cocteau on the Côte d'Azur. Following her studies, Sophia lived in Paris for several years in a variety of education- and hospitality-based positions. When she's not at the French Library, she is going to the cinema and exploring cafés in Boston. She is thrilled to show you the beautiful and historic spaces the French Library has to offer in her role as Rental Coordinator.
