By Vlad Zakh · March 7, 2026
France Drama thought provoking
Gerard Depardieu’s best films show an actor bringing depth and authenticity to every character, from romantic charm to historical drama. Cyrano de Bergerac makes a poet with an enormous nose, Jean de Florette plays a hunchbacked inheritor of a farm in rural France, Manon of the Spring continues that story, and The Last Metro hides an actor in Nazi-occupied Paris. Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, Green Card, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Vatel, Too Beautiful for You and My Father the Hero round out the list.
01 A brilliant but insecure poet and swordsman helps a handsome friend win the woman he secretly loves.
"A kiss is a secret which takes the lips for the ear." - Cyrano de Bergerac
Directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau · 2h 17m · Rated PG-13
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
02 In rural France, Depardieu plays Jean de Florette, a hunchbacked man who inherits a farm and runs into his neighbours' scheming.
"The spring is bad. It'll dry up." - Jean de Florette
Directed by Claude Berri · 2h 02m · Rated PG
Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, BFI Player, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
Rent: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fetch TV, Beamafilm · Buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fetch TV
03 The sequel to Jean de Florette, with Gerard Depardieu reprising his role as the neighbour who has to face the consequences.
"You know, I always wanted to see the village destroyed. Now it's done." - Manon of the Spring
Directed by Claude Berri · 1h 55m · Rated PG
Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Rent: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, BFI Player, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube
04 Gérard Depardieu plays a stage actor in Nazi-occupied Paris, in a story about theatre under occupation.
"I need to know if you love me enough to accept what I am." - The Last Metro
Directed by François Truffaut · 2h 11m · Rated PG
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Stream: BFI Player, BFI Player Amazon Channel, BFI Player Apple TV Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
05 Depardieu plays Obelix, who travels with Asterix to ancient Egypt to help Cleopatra build a palace, in this comic adventure.
"These Romans are crazy!" - Asterix & Obélix: Mission Cleopatra
Directed by Alain Chabat · 1h 48m
Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent or buy: Amazon Video
Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video
Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
06 A Frenchman and an American woman enter a marriage of convenience for a green card and an apartment.
"Marriage is the most important decision a person makes." - Green Card
Directed by Peter Weir · 1h 48m · Rated PG-13
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Disney Plus · Rent: Apple TV Store · Buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
07 Columbus's voyage across the Atlantic leads to the New World and a tragic aftermath.
"Paradise and hell both can be earthly."
Directed by Ridley Scott · 2h 34m · Rated PG-13
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, CosmoGo, YouTube, Amazon Video
08 Gérard Depardieu plays François Vatel, a 17th-century French chef tasked with preparing a lavish feast for the king.
"I can't do my work if my heart is heavy." - Vatel
Directed by Roland Joffé · 1h 43m
09 Gérard Depardieu plays a car dealer married to a beautiful woman who falls for his secretary.
"You're the first person I've met who doesn't want to look beautiful." - Too Beautiful for You
Directed by Bertrand Blier · 1h 31m
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
10 Gerard Depardieu plays a father who takes his daughter on holiday to the Bahamas, where she pretends to be his lover.
"I'm not sure who this young woman is, but she certainly knows how to tell a story." - My Father the Hero
Directed by Steve Miner · 1h 30m · Rated PG
Stream: BFI Player Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video · Buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video
Stream: Disney Plus · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.
