French films about refugees

List of the best French films about refugees, selected by visitors to our site: Transit, Happy End, Le Havre, Off White Lies, Last Call for Nowhere, Jupiter's Moon, Welcome, Miral, The Young Karl Marx, In the House.

In the top there are new films of 2023, a plot description and trailers for films that have already been released.

Country
Markimdb: 6.9
Genrefantastic, drama
CountryGermany, France
Duration01:46

In an attempt to flee Nazi-occupied France, Georg assumes the identity of a dead author but soon finds himself stuck in Marseilles, where he falls in love with Maria, a young woman searching for her missing husband.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genrecomedy, drama
CountryFrance, Austria, Germany
Duration01:44

A middle-class family living in Calais deal with a series of setbacks while paying little attention to the grim conditions in the refugee camps within a few miles of their home.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrecomedy, drama
CountryFinland, France, Germany
Duration01:33

Marcel Marx, a former bohemian and struggling author, has given up his literary ambitions and relocated to the port city Le Havre. He leads a simple life based around his wife Arletty, his favourite bar and his not too profitable profession as a shoeshiner. As Arletty suddenly becomes seriously ill, Marcel's path crosses with an underage illegal immigrant from Africa, who needs Marcel's help to hide from the police.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genredrama
CountryIsrael, France
Duration01:26

In this bittersweet family comedy, shy teenager Libby moves back to Israel to live with her hapless father Shaul, unexpectedly finding herself without a home as war breaks out around them. Shaul devises a creative solution: posing as refugees, they are taken in by a wealthy family in Jerusalem. Finally in a “normal” household, Shaul and Libby begin to build their father-daughter relationship, but their false identities can’t last forever.

Markimdb: 5.7
Genrecomedy
CountryFrance
Duration01:52

French border cop José Fernandez has just one last extradition to do before his long-awaited promotion to the crime bureau. But his detainee Akim, victim of a judiciary glitch, is outraged to find himself saddled with the identity of a potential terrorist and put on a flight back to Kabul, where he has never even set foot before! What starts as a routine trip for Fernandez and his skirt-chasing partner Guy goes haywire when their plane is grounded in Malta, forcing them to bunk up with Akim, who will stop at nothing to avoid extradition!

Markimdb: 6
Genrefantastic, thriller, fantasy, drama, detective
CountryHungary, Germany, France
Duration02:02

A young immigrant is shot down while illegally crossing the border. Terrified and in shock, wounded Aryan can now mysteriously levitate at will. Thrown into a refugee camp, he is smuggled out by Dr Stern, intent on exploiting his extraordinary secret. Pursued by enraged camp director Laszlo, the fugitives remain on the move in search of safety and money. Inspired by Aryan's amazing powers, Stern takes a leap of faith in a world where miracles are trafficked for small change...

Markimdb: 7.5
Genredrama
CountryFrance
Duration01:50

Bilal is 17 years old, a Kurdish boy from Iraq. He sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe. He wants to get to England to see his love who lives there. Bilal finally reaches Calais, but how do you cover 32 kilometers of the English Channel when you can't swim? The boy soon discovers that his trip won't be as easy as he imagined... The community of struggling illegal aliens in Calais

Markimdb: 6.3
Genredrama, history
CountryFrance, Israel, Italy, India, USA
Duration01:52

A drama centered on an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli war who finds herself drawn into the conflict.

Markimdb: 6.5
Genredrama, biography, history
CountryFrance, Germany, Belgium
Duration02:14

26 year-old Karl Marx embarks with his wife, Jenny, on the road to exile. In 1844 in Paris, he meets Friedrich Engels, an industrialist’s son, who has been investigating the sordid birth of the British working class. Engels, the dandy, provides the last piece of the puzzle to the young Karl Marx’s new vision of the world. Together, between censorship and the police’s repression, riots and political upheavals, they will lead the labor movement during its development into a modern era.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama
CountryFrance
Duration01:45

    A sixteen-year-old boy insinuates himself into the house of a fellow student from his literature class and writes about it in essays for his French teacher. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, the teacher rediscovers his enthusiasm for his work, but the boy’s intrusion will unleash a series of uncontrollable events.

    Markimdb: 6.2
    Genremelodrama, drama, history
    CountryFrance, Spain
    Duration01:40

    A look at the relationship between Marie Antoinette and one of her readers during the final days of the French Revolution.

    Markimdb: 4.7
    Genremelodrama
    CountryFrance, Portugal

    On the night of New Year's Eve, a small group penetrates into the room of an old hotel in ruins. Carmine, the oldest of the group, poses a challenge to one of the men, Furio: he has 4 months to restore the hotel and inaugurate it with great pomp. Aware of the difficulties but anxious to prove the point, Furio accepts encouraged by his wife Margo who believes that this assignment will allow the couple to rediscover the lost momentum.

    Markimdb: 5.2
    Genrecomedy
    CountryFrance, Greece

    "Everything will be fine" the doctor promised Jo while she was giving birth to her first child. But, some forty years and four sons later, nothing is happening like it should be during this month of August: as she arrives on Greek soil to organize her traditional festival with her tribe, Jo learns that the latter has been cancelled, courtesy of the economic crisis. The hour seems to be tragic but the maternal instinct grows stronger, she is ready to do everything for the happiness of her sons. Between squabbles and blood and destiny blows, this summer will be like no other.

    Markimdb: 6.3
    Genremusical, documentary
    CountryFrance

    A captured performance by Parisian nude cabaret Crazy Horse, in a surreal show directed by French footwear designer Christian Louboutin. Louboutin calls Crazy Horse “an iconic monument of Paris, a monument to dance, a modern, dream- like idea of the celebration of women for women”.

    Markimdb: 6.3
    Genrethriller, drama, detective
    CountryPoland, France
    Duration01:48

    Pawel, a Polish man in his early 30s, makes a living with his father Zygmunt importing second-hand clothing from the North of France to Southern Poland. On his way back from one of regular "business trips", Pawel is shocked to discover his father's picture on the cover of a Polish tabloid newspaper. The headline "traitor" is written next to his name. Zygmunt is a genuine hero of the struggle against totalitarianism and a recognized member of the "Solidarnosc" labor movement of the 80s. But now, Zygmunt is suddenly accused by the paper of having acted as a secret informer called THE MOLE by the communist regime.

    Markimdb: 6.6
    Genredrama
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:50

    Yann, a cook, and Nadia, a waitress and mother of 9-year-old child, decide to risk everything on the purchase of a restaurant. With plenty of talent, energy, love and dreams, but no finance of their own, they find themselves forced into a jungle of financing and bank loans that quickly overwhelms them. To bail them out, Nadia has to take a job in Canada, while Yann is forced to stay behind to save the restaurant. Together, he and the child confront a relentless avalanche of creditors, an uncaring system and the daily grind from which there is no respite… Yann finally understands that his only chance of salvation lies in joining his lover – as well as reuniting mother and child – by following Nadia to Canada and a better life.

    Markimdb: 7.4
    Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
    CountryFrance, Belgium

    Victor, a disillusioned sexagenarian, sees his life turned upside down on the day when Antoine, a brilliant entrepreneur, offers him a new kind of attraction: mixing theatrical artifices and historical reconstruction, this company offers his clients a chance to dive back into the era of their choice. Victor then chose to relive the most memorable week of his life: the one where, 40 years earlier, he met the great love.

    Markimdb: 4.9
    Genrecomedy
    CountryFrance, Belgium

    Aurora's life suddenly gets complicated after her seven grandkids arrive to her house for vacation.

    Markimdb: 7.2
    Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
    CountryFrance, Luxembourg, Belgium

    Pensioners Nina and Madeleine have hidden their deep and passionate love for many decades. From everybody’s point of view, including Madeleine’s family, they are simply two neighbors living on the top floor of their building. They come and go between their two apartments, sharing the tender delights of everyday life together. Until the day their relationship is turned upside down by an unexpected event leading Madeleine’s daughter to slowly unveil the truth about them.

    Markimdb: 6.4
    Genredrama
    CountryFrance

    Angélique is a 60-year-old bar hostess. She still likes to party, she still likes men. At night, she makes them drink, in a cabaret by the French-German border. As time goes by, clients become rare. But Michel, her regular client, is still in love with her. One day, he asks Angélique to marry him.

    Markimdb: 4.8
    Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:28

    In this lively French remake of Humpday, best buds reunite and revive their friendship on a questionable dare. Can two straight guys really make a gay sex film, together?

    Markimdb: 6.4
    Genrecomedy, drama
    CountryFrance, Belgium
    Duration01:40

    Antoine is a joyful but disenchanted photographer. His only true friend, Mateo, is 7 years old and the son of his neighbor, who is often absent. One day, he hears a piano sonata coming from the building across the courtyard. Mesmerized by the music, he becomes obsessed by Elena, the beautiful but mysterious pianist, and starts to photograph her at every opportunity. An intense relationship develops between fragile and idealistic Elena and Antoine, who is transformed by this encounter.

    Markimdb: 6.3
    Genredrama
    CountryFrance, Belgium, Estonia
    Duration01:34

    Anne leaves Estonia to come to Paris as a caretaker for Frida, an elderly Estonian lady who emigrated to France long ago. Anne soon realizes that she is not wanted. All Frida wants from life is the attention of Stéphane, her younger former lover. Stéphane, however, is desperate for Anne to stay and look after Frida, even against the old lady's will. In this conflict of strangers, Anne will find her own way…

    Markimdb: 6.5
    Genrethriller, drama, detective
    CountryFrance, Belgium

    Brussels, early '60s. Alice and Céline live in twin bourgeois houses. They are best friends as are their children, Theo and Maxime, who have grown up like brothers. Both families spend all their time together. This perfect harmony is broken when an accident creates strong divisions between the two families.

    Markimdb: 7.2
    Genrefantastic, thriller, comedy, drama, adventure, family, cartoon, detective
    CountryFrance, Canada, Belgium

    France asleep in the nineteenth century, governed by steam and Napoleon VI, where scientists vanish mysteriously, a girl, Avril, goes in search of her missing scientist parents.

    Markimdb: 6.7
    Genredrama
    CountryFrance, Belgium
    Duration02:03

    Claire is a midwife and has devoted her life to others. At a moment when she is preoccupied by the imminent closure of the maternity clinic where she works, her life is further turned upside down when Béatrice, her father's former mistress, turns up on the scene. Béatrice is a capricious and selfish woman, Claire's exact opposite.

    Markimdb: 6
    Genrecomedy, drama
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:52

    Screenwriter Leo is searching for the wolf in the south of France. During a scouting excursion he is seduced by Marie, a free-spirited and dynamic shepherdess. Nine months later she gives birth to their child. Suffering from post-natal depression and with no faith in Leo, who comes and goes without warning, Marie abandons both of them. Leo finds himself alone, with a baby to care for.

    Markimdb: 4.7
    Genrecomedy
    CountryFrance

    Three brothers are reunited on the occasion of the death of his mother. The three are in a difficult stage of their lives due to economic difficulties: Bernard is a failed actor, Didier pretends to be a professor of philosophy when, in fact, is selling sex toys and Pascal lives off a rich sexagenarian. Accompanied by Sara, the teenage daughter of Bernard, they live surprising encounters while new problems appear.

    Markimdb: 6
    Genredrama
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:50

    David, a professor of dermatology, has been treating 13-year-old Romain since he was a baby. Afflicted with a rare skin condition, Romain must avoid sunlight and is condemned to live in the shade. David and Romain have become the closest of friends and nothing can separate them. But then David learns that he is about to be transferred to another clinic in another town. How will he be able to break the news to Romain? And how will Romain cope with this new crisis in his life?

    Markimdb: 7.3
    Genrecomedy, drama
    CountryFrance

    After a serious sport accident in a swimming pool, Ben, now an incomplete quadriplegic, arrives in a rehabilitation center. He meets with other handicapped persons (tetraplegics, paraplegics, traumatized crania), all victims of accidents, as well as a handicapped since his early childhood. They go through impotence, despair and resignation, with their daily struggle to learn how to move a finger or to hold a fork. Some of them slowly find a little mobility while others receive the verdict of the handicap for life. Despite everything, hope and friendship help them endure their difficulties.

    Markimdb: 7.1
    Genremelodrama, drama, history
    CountryUnited Kingdom, France, USA
    Duration01:38

    A gripping family drama and entrepreneurial fable, set in a post-war Paris fashion house. It exposes the grit behind the glamour of a rising business, spearheaded by two clashing brothers.

    Markimdb: 6.2
    Genrethriller, drama, crime
    CountryFrance

    Sam, a freelance journalist, decides to investigate the growing phenomenon of disaffected youth joining extremist groups. He infiltrates a group of four young people who have been tasked with the creation of a jihadist cell and whose mission is to destabilise the city centre of Paris.

    Markimdb: 4.7
    Genrecomedy, family
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:36

    Ducoboo is a very inventive dunce and joker, he is very resourceful at finding new ways to copy from his neighbor, to cheat or to defy the teacher's authority.

    Markimdb: 6.6
    Genrecomedy, drama
    CountryFrance, Spain
    Duration01:25

    A veteran chef faces off against his restaurant group's new CEO, who wants to the establishment to lose a star from its rating in order to bring in a younger chef who specializes in molecular gastronomy.

    Markimdb: 5
    Genrecomedy
    CountryFrance, Belgium

    One evening, when they come home, Mr. and Mrs. Prioux are astounded to find that a certain Patrick has moved into their place. This strange young man has returned home to his parents in order to introduce his wife.

    Markimdb: 6.7
    Genrefantasy, drama, biography
    CountryChile, France

    In the nineteenth century, a French adventurer sets off to establish a kingdom in the inhospitable South of Chile, uniting the feared Mapuche under him. The response of the Chilean army is devastating.

    Markimdb: 5.9
    Genrecomedy, sport
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:38

    Family man François Nouel is the number one fan of the Tour de France – an obsession that costs him his wife and his job. At a loose end, François meets a former sports manager, Rémi who encourages him to take the plunge and do the Tour himself. With nothing to lose, François sets off, always one day ahead of the race, attracting fellow amateurs, media coverage and cheering crowds. As obstacle after obstacle is thrown his way, and his family comes back on the scene, François discovers what is really most important in his life.

    Markimdb: 6.2
    Genrecomedy, drama, crime
    CountryFrance

    A young man paying the rent for himself and his lifelong friends at an apartment, ends up flat-broke and resorts to selling marijuana to pay the bills - only to get caught up in the dangerous world of drugs.

    Markimdb: 6.3
    Genrecomedy
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:53

    Diane is a well-known lawyer, divorced for three years. She loses her mobile telephone and receives a call from the person who finds it. That person is Alexandre, a charming man and the perfect gentleman. They make a connection over the phone and agree to meet up the following day. But when Alexandre arrives, there's a surprise in store when Diane discovers he is only 4' 6" tall. From that moment on, Diane tries to overcome the prejudices of society and her own fears to experience the best time of her life...

    Markimdb: 5
    Genrecomedy, family
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:27

    Arnaud Mustier, lawyer and brilliant philosopher, arouses the annoyance of his younger brother Jules, age sixteen. One day, Arnaud is a victim of a late adolescent crisis. Helped by Jules, he is going to catch up this phase of the life which he did not live.

    Markimdb: 7
    Genredrama, military
    CountryFrance, Germany

    The night of August 24, 1944. The fate of Paris is in the hands of General von Choltitz, governor of Grand Paris, who is preparing, on Hitler’s orders, to blow up the French capital. The descendent of a long line of Prussian military men, the general has never had any hesitation when it came to obeying orders. This is what’s on Swedish consul Raoul Nordling’s mind as he takes the secret staircase that leads to General von Choltitz’s suite at the Hôtel Meurice. The bridges on the Seine and the major monuments of Paris (including the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower) are mined with explosives, ready to be detonated. Armed with all the weapons of diplomacy, the consul will try to convince the general not to follow Hitler’s order of destruction.

    Markimdb: 5.3
    Genremelodrama, drama
    CountryFrance, Malta, USA
    Duration01:11

    Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner.

    Markimdb: 6.2
    Genrecomedy, family, cartoon
    CountryFrance, Luxembourg
    Duration01:29

    Plant loving Hilda, has created a museum where she preserves endangered and rare plants from all over the world. Meanwhile Attilem, a new genetically modified cereal, is launched on the market. Growing with little water and fertilizer while generating high crop field Attilem looks like an ideal solution to eradicate starvation and provide an alternative to diminishing oil reserves. But nothing is at it seems...

    Markimdb: 6.1
    Genrecomedy, melodrama
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:25

    The Art of Love is composed of several chapters, which follows several Parisian couples.

    Markimdb: 6.2
    Genrecomedy, melodrama
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:32

    Primo is an ordinary middle-class youngster studying for his baccalaureate, who gets side-tracked when he falls in love with a rich girl. They soon learn they have to deal with her condescending friends who look down upon this upstart.

    Markimdb: 6
    Genrecomedy
    CountryFrance

    Ely and Lila are like sisters. They know each other since childhood,they share everything and dream of a better life.they live in the same suburb, 10mn from Paris. Today,Ely and Lila dont want to be 10mn away from their life anymore.from small troubles to big lies, they will do everything to penetrate a world which is not theirs, a world where everything is possible or so they think.....

    Markimdb: 5.4
    Genrethriller, drama, crime
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:45

    Lucas and his team are after a gang of Serbian criminals using NATO-issued weapons. As the investigation leads him to Paris, Lucas attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter, a young narc officer.

    Markimdb: 2.4
    Genrefantastic, fantasy, adventure, family, cartoon
    CountryFrance, Peru, USA
    Duration01:25

    There is a plot under way to change the course of history. Four kids are chosen to be the Freedom Force—a gang of unlikely heroes who travel through time to change the outcome of sacred stories.

    Markimdb: 7.4
    Genrehorror, drama
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:17

    When a novelist realizes her terrifying stories are coming true, she returns to her hometown to face the demons from her past that inspire her writing.

    Markimdb: 5.4
    Genrecomedy
    CountryFrance
    Duration01:40

    A resort for individuals who want to lose weight is helps several women discover friendships, acceptance with body image and hard truths.




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