HANG ON! Has no one mentioned the Three Colours Trilogy yet? They are regarded as classics. Blue and Red (sorry, Bleu et Rouge) are both brilliant, and White is slightly less good, but a fantastic trilogy worth getting hold of.
Nah don't listen to him it's a very good film. It's a little bit cheesy but it's still very imaginative, and it's absolutely nothing like Sex and the City.
Jean Pierre Melville is really good. Especially check out Army in the Shadows and Le Doulos. Bob le Flambeur is also very good and Le Cercle Rouge is supposed to be amazing but I haven't seen it. Well worth a watch as he has been very influential on people like Tarantino and Michael Mann.