It’s time to say oui, oui, oui to French cinema. Art house theaters in New York City are being invaded all month long by films from the country that gave us Goddard, Truffaut, Renoir and Varda. You can consider it a post-Oscars palette cleansing.

The blitz is anchored by Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and uniFrance Films’ popular annual survey of contemporary French filmmaking. From there, theaters are offering courses devoted to the likes of Godard, Bertrand Blier, Isabelle Huppert and more. Below is our round-up of French-infused offerings. Amusez-vous bien!

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Rendez-Vous with French Cinema
February 28-March 10
at Walter Reade Theater
Tickets $17

Now in its 24th year, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and uniFrance Films’ series reminds New York audiences that France still has a seat at the table when it comes to shaping the future of cinema. This year’s program, which showcases over 20 films by both established and emerging directors, is dominated by stinging satires and weighty dramas confronting issues of the day. The series opened with Pierre Salvadori’s madcap comedy The Trouble With You, which stars Adèle Haenel as Yvonne, a police officer who finds out that her recently deceased husband was a shady cop. Among his transgressions was framing an innocent man for a jewelry heist. Yvonne learns of the man’s release from prison and is determined to help him, of course, antics ensue. The Trouble With You premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and received 9 César Award nominations.

Also featured in the series is Mia Hansen-Løve’s latest spellbinder Maya. The film follows Gabriel (Roman Kolinka) a war reporter who returns home to France after being held hostage in Syria for four months. Dealing with some deep-seated trauma, Gabriel sets out to his once childhood home of India to heal himself. Amid his journey, he meets the bright-eyed and restless Maya. Mia Hansen-Løve stops by the series for a Q&A following the screening on March 6. Mikkaël Hers’ award-winning Amanda also deals with life after a traumatic event. Vincent Lacoste delivers a nuanced performance as David, an early twenty-something whose life is upended virtually overnight. Amanda enjoys its U.S. premiere at Rendez-Vous.

In the absurdist camp, Quentin Dupieux’s Keep an Eye Out! has its New York premiere at the series. The writer/director who gave us Rubber and Reality, bases his latest feature around a harebrained witness interrogation. Expect the eccentricities audiences have grown to appreciate from this visionary filmmaker. Gilles Lellouche’s Sink or Swim is also included in the lineup. Mathieu Amalric, Guillaume Canet, Benoît Poelvoorde and Jean-Hugues Anglade star in this The Full Monty-esque crowd-pleasing comedy that involves synchronized swimming.

Other films of note include Emmanuel Mouret’s vengeance-driven period comedy Mademoiselle de Joncquiéres, Louis-Julien Petit’s social-realist drama Invisibles, Thomas Lilti’s The Freshmen, and Virgil Vernier’s Sophia Antipolis, a narrative feature about the inhabitants of a technology park on the French Riviera.

The series is also accompanied by a series of panel discussions, and Russell Banks, who is this year’s American ambassador for the series, presents a screening of François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows.

For more information visit the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s website.

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Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Mystery of Picasso
Now playing
at Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, New York, NY 10014
Tickets $15

The Film Forum hosts a limited engagement of a new 4K restoration of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Mystery of Picasso. Declared a national treasure by the French government, Clouzot’s documentary captures Picasso in the studio making art. A compelling view, the film is bolstered by the music of French composer Georges Auric. An absolute must-see for art enthusiasts.

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Weekend Classics: Early Godard
Through March 31
at IFC Center, 323 6th avenue, New York, NY 10014
Tickets $16

IFC Center pays homage to Jean-Luc Godard for the Winter 2019 season of their popular “Weekend Classics” series. The program kicked off in January to coincide with the release of Godard’s Image Book and wraps up the later this month with screenings of Pierrot le Fou (March 22-24) and Weekend (March 29-31), which screens in 35mm.

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CinéSalon Series: Isabelle Huppert On Screen
March 5-April 23
FIAF Florence Gould Hall, 55 E 59th St, New York, NY 10022
Tickets $14

We can never get too much of Isabelle Huppert. The French actress is currently starring in an off-broadway production of The Mother, Greta (2018) just entered theaters, and now the French Institute Alliance Français is launching a two-month-long series that features ten films that span the actress’ illustrious career. Every Tuesday between March 5 and April 23 serves up a Huppert classic. Mia Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come (2016) kicks the series off and is followed by a post-screening Q&A with the director (7:30pm screening). From there, other films include The Lacemaker (1977), The Piano Teacher (2001), Loulou (1980), Claude Chabrol’s The Ceremony (1995), Ursula Meier’s debut Home (2009), Hong Sang-soo’s In Another Country (2012), Bertrand Tavernier’s Coup de Torchon (1981), and Serge Bozon’s Mrs. Hyde (2017). Also, Claire Denis’ White Material (2009) screens on April 2 and is followed by a Q&A with Denis. Huppert also makes an appearance for a conversation with Adam Gopnik on Sunday, March 24. This evening includes a screening of the documentary I Love Isabelle Huppert (2017). For more details visit the FIAF website.

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The Competition
Now playing
Metrograph, 7 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002
Tickets $15

Metrograph’s new distribution arm, Metrograph Pictures, launches with the release of a French documentary, Claire Simon’s The Competition. The film is an observational portrait of the admissions process at the highly competitive French film school La Fémis. The Competition was awarded the True Vision award at the 2017 True/False Film Festival.

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Amour or Less: A Blier Buffet
March 6-23
Quad, 34 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011
Tickets $16

In conjunction with an extended release of a new restoration of Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1972), the Quad presents a mini-retrospective of films by writer/director Bertrand Blier. One of the most controversial filmmakers of his generation, Blier revels in putting his characters into seriously twisted situations. Blier’s breakout hit Going Places (1974) stars Patrick Dewaere and Gérard Depardieu as a couple of deviants running from the law. It’s been called the French A Clockwork Orange. Other films in series include Beau-père (1981), Buffet froid (a.k.a. Cold Cuts) (1979), Ménage (Tenue de soirée) (1986), Mon homme (1996), Too Beautiful for You (1989), My Best Friend’s Girl (1983), and Merci la vie (1991), a sexually charged road movie starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Anouk Grinberg. Most screenings are in 35mm. For additional details visit the Quad’s website.

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Cleo From 5 to 7
March 7 at 7pm
Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park, 188 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Tickets $13

Agnès Varda’s new wave masterpiece Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962) screens as part of Nitehawk’s Representation series that highlights the work of women filmmakers. Corinne Marchand stars as Cleo, a pop singer who wanders across Paris while she awaits the results of a test to determine if she has cancer.

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Knife + Heart
March 15-21
Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn, 445 Albee Square West, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tickets $15

From filmmaker Yann Gonzalez comes Knife+Heart, a trashy French murder thriller with a gay twist. Vanessa Paradis stars as Anne, a producer of gay porn whose longterm girlfriend and editor has just left her. But that’s just the beginning of Anne’s problems, as the actors on her latest project keep getting murdered. The filmmaker’s brother, Anthony Gonzalez (M83), provides the score for this tasty bit of cinema. Knife + Heart screens in 35mm.

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Strange Desire: The Films of Claire Denis
Mar 29-Apr 9
BAM, 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Tickets $15

BAM sends out March with the largest US respective of French auteur Claire Denis. This salute to the 72-year-young filmmaker comes in anticipation of the release of her sci-fi upender and sure to be cult-classic High Life, which stars Robert Pattison as a convict who is sent off into space with other miscreants to harvest the energy from black holes. Denis’ films often grapple with issues of belonging, alienation, and otherness. The series showcases over 15 features and shorts by the director, including Nenette and Boni (1996), Bastards (2013), Beau Travail (1999), and Trouble Every Day (2001). For the complete lineup, visit BAM’s website.

Strange Desire: The Films of Claire Denis from BAM on Vimeo.