What The French as Seen by… is really about
In 1988, Figaro magazine orchestrated something unusual: they commissioned five world-renowned filmmakers to create short films celebrating a decade of the revue, timed to coincide with the bicentenary of the French Revolution. The result wasn't a conventional documentary or a straightforward historical account. Instead, The French as Seen by… became a kaleidoscopic meditation on French identity, filtered through five radically different sensibilities. Each director brought their own obsessions, visual language, and philosophical preoccupations to the question: what does it mean to be French? The answer, predictably, depends entirely on who's answering. Werner Herzog's Les Gaulois, David Lynch's The Cowboy and the Frenchman, Jean-Luc Godard's Le dernier mot, Andrzej Wajda's Proust contre la déchéance, and Luigi Comencini's Pèlerinage à Agen stack against one another like competing truths—none invalidating the others, all somehow true at once.
Behind the making of The French as Seen by…
This project emerged from a specific historical moment. Figaro, one of France's most prestigious publications, wanted to mark both its own anniversary and the broader cultural moment of 1988—a year when France was gearing up for the revolutionary bicentenary celebrations. The production involved several major French institutions: Propaganda Films, Erato Films, JLG Films (Godard's own production company), the CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l'audiovisuel), and Antenne 2, the state broadcaster. Getting five auteurs of this caliber to work within the same framework was itself a feat of diplomacy and cultural clout. Herzog, Lynch, Wajda, Comencini, and Godard weren't the types to compromise their vision for a magazine assignment—yet somehow, the commission worked. Each segment runs roughly 15 minutes, giving directors enough space to develop their ideas without the constraints of a traditional short film. The runtime totals 76 minutes, a modest length that belies the ambition of what's contained within it. None of these filmmakers needed the work; they did it because the premise itself was irresistible—a chance to position themselves within a conversation about national identity and artistic legacy.
What makes The French as Seen by… stand out as a directorial statement
What's striking is how little these five segments agree with each other. That's not a weakness—it's the whole point. Lynch's contribution, The Cowboy and the Frenchman, plays like a deadpan absurdist comedy, all misunderstanding and cultural collision, with an American cowboy stumbling through rural France in a way that's both hilarious and vaguely unsettling. It's pure Lynch: the logic is dreamlike, the tone is never quite where you expect it to be. Godard's Le dernier mot (The Last Word) is something else entirely—more essayistic, more fragmented, more willing to break the fourth wall and interrogate the very act of filmmaking. Herzog's segment trades in his characteristic obsession with landscape and human folly. The thing that makes this anthology work, honestly, is that it doesn't try to synthesize these visions into some coherent statement. Instead, it lets them clash. You're not watching a film that answers the question of French identity; you're watching five filmmakers arguing about it in real time, each using the full arsenal of their cinematic vocabulary. The IMDb rating of 6.947/10 reflects what tends to happen with anthologies—some segments land harder than others depending on your taste, but the overall effect is memorable precisely because it refuses to be digestible.
What I keep coming back to is how little this film feels dated, despite being made in 1988. These aren't filmmakers making points about contemporary France in a way that requires historical context to understand. They're working at a level of abstraction and formal experimentation that transcends the moment of its making. Lynch's Americana-meets-France conceit, Godard's meta-cinematic interrogation, Herzog's philosophical wandering—these don't age because they're not really about 1988 at all. They're about how cinema itself can explore identity, and that's timeless.
Where to stream The French as Seen by… online
The French as Seen by… is currently available across major OTT services, and Movie OTT tracks real-time availability to help you find exactly where it's streaming right now. Since the film is an international co-production involving French broadcasters and production companies, availability varies by region and platform, but it's been preserved and circulated widely enough that it's not a hunt. The 76-minute runtime makes it ideal for a single sitting, and the anthology format means you're not committing to a sprawling narrative—you can experience five distinct artistic statements in just over an hour. Check the Where to Watch widget at the top of this page to see which platforms currently have it in your region, as streaming rights shift seasonally.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who are the five directors in The French as Seen by…?
Werner Herzog (Les Gaulois), David Lynch (The Cowboy and the Frenchman), Jean-Luc Godard (Le dernier mot), Andrzej Wajda (Proust contre la déchéance), and Luigi Comencini (Pèlerinage à Agen). Each brings a completely distinct sensibility to the theme of French identity.
Q: Why was The French as Seen by… made?
Figaro magazine commissioned the anthology in 1988 to celebrate ten years of the revue and to coincide with the bicentenary of the French Revolution. It's a rare case of a major publication leveraging its cultural prestige to create art rather than just document it.
Q: Is The French as Seen by… a documentary?
It's technically classified as a documentary-drama hybrid, but that label undersells it. Some segments are more essayistic or narrative-driven than others. Lynch's entry, for instance, is closer to experimental fiction. Don't expect a straightforward historical account.
Q: How long is The French as Seen by…?
The total runtime is 76 minutes, with each of the five segments running roughly 15 minutes. It's designed as a single viewing experience rather than a series you'd break up.
Q: Where can I watch The French as Seen by… right now?
The film is available on major OTT platforms. Use the Where to Watch widget on this page to see which services currently have it in your region, as availability changes seasonally.
Final thoughts on The French as Seen by…
If you're drawn to cinema that refuses easy answers—that's willing to contradict itself, to play, to philosophize, to confuse—then The French as Seen by… is essential. It's not a comfortable watch. Some segments will click immediately; others might feel opaque on first viewing. But that's precisely why it matters. This is five of cinema's greatest artists refusing to be domesticated by a magazine assignment, instead using it as a platform for formal and thematic experimentation. It's a document of a specific moment in film history, but it's also timeless. Don't sleep on it.
