The series Lupin on Netflix, staring Omar Sy is a huge international hit. I watched it and here is why I believe itâs also a great tool to practice your French.
I already wrote an article about how to learn French with movies. And another one listing easy to understand French movies.
A word of caution though: Lupin is a series made for a French native audience. Itâs not French for students of French so itâs still requires a pretty advanced level of French. But itâs âeasierâ than other series. Here is whyâŚ
But first, letâs see how we say Omar Sy and of course, LupinâŚ
Click on the link next to the headphone icon to hear my audio recording of the French word.
1 â How do you pronounce Omar Sy in French?
The name of the French actor who plays Lupin is Omar Sy. [omar sea]
2 â How do you pronounce Lupin in French?
Watch out! In French, Lupin is pronounced with a French nasal vowel sound, not an English [een] sound.
Now letâs see why Lupin is a great series to practice your French.
3 â Lupinâs French Diction
The main character âLupinâ is played by French actor Omar Sy. Many of you saw âIntouchablesâ and like the rest of us, fell in love with this handsome and gentle man.
Omar Sy speaks relatively slowly in French. Even though he does apply all the natural spoken French glidings and contractions, his diction is clear, which makes him particularly easy to understand.
But thatâs not the only thing that makes the TV series Lupin understandable for French students.
4 â Slow Action
The action of the TV series is rather slow paced. Lots of scenes are silent, so you will not be overwhelmed with whatâs going on or the non-stop dialogues.
Thereâs another thing I personally love about Netflixâs Lupin.
5 â Real French Actors, Real French Language
Everybody who speaks French in the series Lupin is actually French. Well, itâs a French series after allâŚ
The other day we were watching the series Bridgertown⌠For the costumes of course⌠We were watching it in English and suddenly, the character Marina Thomson starts speaking âFrenchâ with the presumably French seamstress. Hum⌠That didnât go well.
This kind of things drive me nuts! How difficult is it to actually find a French native speaker to check the 3 lines of French script? Come on people!! With all the forums and the French educators online, it would take only a second to check⌠Yet, you have no idea the numbers of shows that feature French gibberishâŚ
If you know someone about to shoot a movie with French lines, tell them to contact me. Iâll be happy to proofread a couple of French lines for a movie, series etc⌠(but letâs be clear: I wontâ correct your French homeworkâŚ)
Back to LupinâŚ
6 â Dialogues Between Two People, Indoors
For some reason, the show also features many dialogues between only two people. This is much easier to understand than conversations between a group of people.
Many of the dialogues take place indoors, with no background noise. So the quality of the audio is clear: you can hear clearly what they are saying. Thatâs a huge help.
Now letâs see something that you should be aware of since it may confuse you when youâre studying French with Lupin.
7 â â ď¸ The Subtitles Are Not Reliable
As I had decided to write about Lupin, we watched the last episode with French subtitles. The things Iâd do for youâŚ
Unfortunately, as it often is the case, the subtitles donât perfectly match the dialogues. For example, someone may say:
- Tu vas bien ?
- but the subtitles would show: ça va ?
Both mean the same thing, but they donât match the dialogues word for word, which can be quite confusing for French learners.
Yet, thereâs something really special about Lupin, something we can all agree on: Lupin transport us to Paris!
8 â Beautiful Paris
Released during the Covid 19 crisis, Lupin is a breath of fresh air to all of us who cannot travel there. Just like the series Emily in Paris.
So, whatâs not to like?
What about you? Have you watched Lupin yet? What do you think? Are there any other French series you can recommend?
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