This course has a dual purpose. Firstly, it offers an in-depth look at the history and scope of French cinema all the way to the present time through the analysis of key works of the French film canon. Particular attention will be paid to successive period styles (“le réalisme poétique”, “la qualité française,” “la nouvelle vague,” “le cinéma du look,” etc.) and genres (drama, comedy, war, crime, banlieue film, etc.). Secondly, it aims at providing students with the proper analytical and technical tools for studying and teaching film. A variety of critical lenses will be considered (psychoanalysis, socio-historical and cultural context, politics, aesthetics, gender…) from a primarily practical, rather than strictly theoretical, perspective.