What the World’s Watching

This year, the most popular films in France haven’t been blood-and-guts pictures, but comedies. Of the box-office top 10, only three could be considered violent--and none so violent as to be given a rating that would restrict children from viewing.

In fact, the most successful movie in France this year has been “Asterix and Obelix,” a special-effects-laden comedy based on a famous French comic book about ancient Gauls.

“Europeans don’t ask for violence on their screens--they see violent films because 60% of what they have at their theaters comes from the United States,” said Jean-Francois Thery, a former president of the French rating commission.

Although there are exceptions, French filmmakers are reluctant to resort to gratuitous violence. They prefer using it in a context to critique social ills.

“Violence in French movies is at the service of the director’s will to denounce social exclusion or poverty,” said Thery, who headed the rating commission for two decades.

The French public is more concerned about too much violence than about too much sex in a movie, he said.

Ironically, when violent films do come out of French studios, they often reach American theaters. For example Luc Besson’s “Fifth Element,” starring Bruce Willis, was a hit in the United States.