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© 2026 The Couch Critic
Browse 34 movies from Mandarin Cinéma
Isabelle, a 17-year-old student, loses her virginity during a quick holiday romance. When she returns home, she begins a secret life as a prostitute for a year.
Aug 2013
Chloé, a fragile young woman, falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Paul. A few months later she moves in with him, but soon discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.
May 2017
The script centres on Mathilda and Thomas, married for over 15 years. They’ve always dreamed of having children, but their efforts were only met with failures. After having adopted Mapring, a 4-year-old boy from Thailand, their life takes a tragic turn when Mathilda dies in an accident. Thomas then finds himself alone with a child he hadn’t really wanted. Devastated by this loss and incapable of forming a bond with Mapring, he decides to go look for the child’s biological family. Accompanied by Chaan, a local guide, Thomas starts on a trying journey through Thailand. Over time, father and son start to tame each other and create bonds… However, a crucial question remains: what will Thomas do when he finds Mapring’s biological family?
Jun 2026
Set in Argentina in 1965, the story follows the tumultuous relationship between two men who became lovers and ultimately ruthless bank robbers in a notoriously famous footnote in the annals of crime history. After a large-scale hold-up that turns bloody, the two men must flee. It is not long before the police are surrounding the building they are in and they must confront their demons to survive.
May 2000
When her elderly father has a stroke, Emmanuelle rushes to his bedside. Sick and half-paralysed in his hospital bed, he asks Emmanuelle to help him end his life.
Jul 2021
In 1967, OSS 117 is sent to Brazil in order to retrieve a microfilm list of French Nazi sympathizers, only to once again unknowingly set foot into a bigger international intrigue.
Apr 2009
She drove me into a corner, then forced me to go beyond my limits. She made me confront the absolute: love, sacrifice, tenderness, abandonment. She dislocated me, transformed me. Why didn't anyone warn me? Why doesn't anyone ever talk about this?" Un heureux événement, or an intimate view of motherhood, sincere and with no taboos.
Sep 2011
Because of his wavering health, Monsieur Henri can no longer live alone in his Paris appartment. Particularly grumpy, he ends up nonetheless accepting his son Paul's suggestion that he let one of his rooms out to a young female student. Far from falling for her charms, Henri uses her to orchestrate utter family chaos...
Oct 2015
In the near future, during a health crisis, novelist Clarissa Katsef visits the Ludovico Foundation housing complex in search of inspiration. With the help of her AI assistant Dalloway, she finds fresh inspiration as she immerses herself in her writing.
Sep 2025
Poland, 1945. Mathilde, a young French Red Cross doctor, is on a mission to help the war survivors. When a nun seeks for her help, she is brought to a convent where several pregnant sisters are hiding, unable to reconcile their faith with their pregnancy. Mathilde becomes their only hope.
Feb 2016
A young woman makes a surprising discovery about the husband of her late best friend.
Oct 2014
Chocolat the clown, the first black stage performer in France, goes from anonymity to fame after forming an unprecedented duo with fellow performer Footit in the very popular in Belle Epoque Paris. But easy money, gambling, and discrimination take their toll on their friendship and Chocolat's career.
Claire is a beautiful young woman who works at her late father’s hotel, that is now managed by her evil stepmother Maud. Claire unwittingly sparks uncontrollable jealousy in Maud, whose young lover has fallen in love with Claire. Maud decides to get rid of Claire who finds shelter in a farm where she’s allowed to break free from her strict upbringing through encounters with seven “princes.”
Apr 2019
In the aftermath of WWI, a young German who grieves the death of her fiancé in France meets a mysterious French man who visits the fiance’s grave to lay flowers.
Sep 2016
A sprawling drama centered on five key days in a family's life.
Jul 2008
In the working-class Paris suburb of Montreuil, Jimmy's restaurant, the Bombay Bar, is on the verge of being closed down by creditors. Jimmy is despondent -- the fact that his wife is about to have a baby isn't helping matters -- when he and his business partner Fifi find unlikely inspiration in the form of "Riches et Sympas," a TV show dedicated to the lives of the rich and famous. Figuring that getting the "right" people to frequent their business will ensure its reputation, Jimmy and Fifi persuade Jimmy's friend, the laid-back, unemployed Mike, to pose as a nobleman and lure his moneyed associates to the Bombay Bar. Mike agrees, and after crashing a posh charity ball, he finds himself being taken in by the likes of society fixture Arthus de Poulignac and Evrard, the latter of whom ensconces Mike in his private mansion. Unfortunately, Mike soon becomes a little too fond of his newly-acquired lifestyle, leaving Jimmy to wonder what to do with the monster he unwittingly created.
Jun 2000
In 1977 France, tightfisted factory owner Robert Pujol is so shocked when his workers strike for higher wages that he suffers a heart attack. His acquiescent wife, Suzanne, whose father had founded the factory, takes over management duties during Robert's convalescence.
Nov 2010
Hoping to earn his mother's respect, a young hustler-turned-businessman tries to open a brothel with his two useless buddies.
Oct 2010
As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.
Jan 2011
Brice is back. The world has changed, but not him. When his best friend, Marius, calls for help, he goes on a wild adventure that will lead him to the other side of the world... Travel shapes youth but will he remain the king of the "casse" ?
Oct 2016