Talking about Films

When describing films, it's common to mention key elements that make up a movie. Le film might fall into genres such as la comédie, le drame, le documentaire, or le thriller. The story, or l'intrigue, often follows le personnage principal through various events, leading to le dénouement at the end.

Technical aspects include la cinématographie (the visual style), le bruitage (sound effects), and la bande originale (soundtrack/music). When watching a trailer or teaser before the movie, you would see le trailer or le teaser. If discussing a longer story over several episodes, you may refer to le feuilleton. The person directing the film is called le réalisateur, and scenes are referred to as la scène or la séquence.

Examples:

• Le personnage principal dans ce film est fascinant.
• La bande originale rend le film encore plus touchant.
• La cinématographie est extraordinaire dans ce thriller.
• Le teaser était génial, j'avais vraiment envie de voir le film.
• Le dénouement est étonnant et plutôt abracadabrant.

Talking about Television Shows

For television, you might use words like l'émission for show, and le pilote for the first episode of a new series. La chaîne is the channel it is broadcast on, and diffuser means to air or broadcast a program. The creator or director can be described as le cinéaste, and someone who manages the entire process is said to produire the show. Short clips to entice viewers are called la bande annonce.

Technical elements for TV also include la caméra, which refers both to the device and the viewpoint.

Examples:

• Cette émission est diffusée sur une chaîne très populaire.
• Le pilote était captivant, cela promet une bonne série.
• Le cinéaste a produit beaucoup de feuilletons.
• La bande annonce de cette émission est très passionnante.

Describing Films and Television Shows

There are many adjectives to talk about the quality or feeling of films and TV shows. For example, if a movie or show is exciting or moving, you can use captivant, palpitant, émouvant, fascinant, touchant. If it is boring or annoying, you can use ennuyeux, pénible. Words like abracadabrant, bizarre, excentrique, ridicule, and génial help you express stronger feelings.

When discussing the merits or qualities, you might hear about la prouesse (feat or achievement) or say that something is véridique if it's true-to-life. If a movie or show is sensitive, sensible will describe that, and you might hear fans or critics vanter (praise) a film or show for being extraordinaire.

Examples:

• Ce documentaire est véridique et très touchant.
• J'ai trouvé la série plutôt ennuyante et pénible.
• L'intrigue de ce thriller est abracadabrante et palpitante.
• Le feuilleton est excentrique mais génial.
• Les critiques vantent la prouesse du réalisateur.