it was necessary to
Il fallait assister à la réunion.
We had to attend the meeting.
— Star Trek III : À la recherche de Spock (1984)
I had to tell him.
De temps en temps, il fallait dire à Sandy que je l'aimais.
From time to time, I had to tell Sandy that I loved her.
— Les Affranchis (1990)
Il fallait s'écraser et encaisser.
We had to keep our heads down and take it.
— Les Affranchis (1990)
Il fallait que je fasse quelque chose.
I had to do something.
Je t'avais dit qu'il fallait renvoyer Anu, mais tu ne m'as pas écouté !
I told you we needed to send Anu back, but you didn’t listen to me!
— Mon cœur est déjà pris (1999)
Cette fille est folle, il fallait la tuer.
This girl is crazy, she should have been killed.
— Tigre & Dragon (2000)
Je sais, il fallait que ça ait l'air banal et humain.
I know, it had to seem ordinary and human.
— Bugonia (2025)
C'est pas les Mercedes qu'il fallait suivre.
Mercedes wasn't who we should have followed.
— Taxi (1998)
Il fallait toujours que Tom gagne.
Tom always had to win.
Donc, il fallait les déplacer au plus vite.
So, they had to be moved as quickly as possible.
— The Salt of the Earth (2014)
That's what had to be done.
I had to come.
Cependant il fallait en finir.
However, it had to be put to an end.
Il fallait attraper Ji-goo et San-o il y a trois ans.
Ji-goo and San-o should have been caught three years ago.
— Decision to Leave (2022)
Red Apple était en sachet et il fallait se les rouler.
Red Apple came in a bag and you had to roll them yourself.
— Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)
Il fallait faire quelque chose, Gorman.
Something had to be done, Gorman.
— Aliens, le retour (1986)
Il fallait l'emmener à l'hôpital.
He had to be taken to the hospital.
— The Wandering Earth 2 (2023)
Il fallait me prévenir avant d'ouvrir votre gueule.
You should have warned me before opening your mouth.
— Dans ses yeux (2009)
Si tu ne voulais pas venir, il fallait m'appeler, Manu.
If you didn't want to come, you should have called me, Manu.
— Andhadhun (2018)
Il fallait que tu viennes ici en pleine nuit ?
Did you really have to come here in the middle of the night?
— The Money Maker (2026)
Je t'avais dit qu'il fallait le bouger.
I told you you had to move it.
Il fallait faire quelque chose.
Something had to be done.
De toute façon, il fallait que tu saches que ta mère était une idiote.
Anyway, you needed to know that your mother was an idiot.
— La Femme de ménage (2025)
Il fallait le conduire à l'accueil.
He had to be taken to reception.
— Quand passent les cigognes (1957)
Ces photos sont bien, il fallait pas les donner.
These photos are nice; you shouldn’t have given them away.
— The Money Maker (2026)
Il fallait venir jusqu'à mon bureau.
You had to come all the way to my office.
— Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Et il fallait qu'elle les connaisse par cœur quand le moment viendrait.
And she had to know them by heart when the time came.
— Assurance sur la mort (1944)
Il fallait chercher le numéro depuis le début.
The number should have been looked for from the start.
— Carnets de voyage (2004)
Il fallait bien qu'elle élève ses filles.
She had to raise her daughters, after all.
— La Cité de Dieu (2002)
Mais il fallait les éloigner de la route.
But they had to be kept away from the road.
— Rashōmon (1950)
Mais il a fait tout ce qu’il fallait.
But he did everything he needed to.
Il fallait mettre fin à leur lignée.
Their lineage had to be brought to an end.
— Dune : Deuxième partie (2024)
Autrement dit, il fallait avancer avec la plus grande prudence.
In other words, we had to proceed with the utmost caution.
You should have thought of this earlier.
Quand il fallait agir, j'avais toujours une bonne excuse.
Whenever it was time to act, I always had a good excuse.
— Le vent se lève (2006)
Tôt ou tard, il fallait bien revenir à Madrid.
Sooner or later, he had to return to Madrid.
— Douleur et gloire (2019)
Il fallait les marier, ces couleurs.
Those colors needed to be paired together.
— Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)
I had to get out.
I had to come back.
Il fallait prendre une décision.
A decision had to be made.
I had to go.
Il fallait bien que ça arrive.
It had to happen.
Même si tu l'avais tuée, il fallait nier !
Even if you had killed her, you had to deny it!
— Mother (2009)
Il fallait que j'aille le plus loin possible.
I had to go as far as possible.
You had to be there.
Il fallait que tu ailles là-bas te mettre dans le pétrin ?
Did you really have to go there and get yourself into trouble?
— Divorce à l'italienne (1961)
J'ai pensé qu'il fallait faire des tests.
I thought we needed to run some tests.
— मुन्ना भाई एम बी बी एस (2003)
N'avez-vous pas dit qu'il fallait se montrer gentil ?
Didn't you say that one should be kind?
— No (2012)
Il fallait qu’ils se tapent à nouveau le chemin pour retourner au Rwanda.
They had to make the journey back to Rwanda all over again.
— The Salt of the Earth (2014)
Tu l'as croisé, il fallait pas.
You ran into him; you shouldn't have.
— The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)
Il fallait que quelqu'un donne le tempo de cette section.
Someone had to set the tempo for this section.
— Tár (2022)
Mais ils allaient s'en prendre à vous, il fallait les payer.
But they were going to come after you, so you had to pay them off.
— Drive (2011)
It should have been said earlier.
Tôt ou tard, il fallait qu'on rentre.
Sooner or later, we had to go back.
Ce n'est pas ça qu'il fallait dire.
That's not what you should have said.
À tout prix, il fallait arrêter Fogg à Hong-Kong.
Fogg had to be stopped in Hong Kong at all costs.
Il fallait appeler les mœurs, pas la criminelle.
You should have called Vice, not Homicide.
— Enquête sur un citoyen au-dessus de tout soupçon (1970)
Il fallait que je le dise à quelqu'un.
I had to tell someone.
Est-ce qu'il fallait l'inviter pour dîner ?
Was it necessary to invite him to dinner?
— New York Masala (2003)
Oui, non, mais il fallait demander à la réception, d'abord.
Yes, no, but you should have asked at reception first.
— Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (2007)
Il fallait grimper les escaliers pour arriver à notre chambre.
We had to climb the stairs to get to our room.
— Us and Them (2018)
I had to say it.
Allons, il fallait se résigner.
Come on, we had to accept it.
It was to be expected.
It had to be done.
The animals had to be killed.
Il fallait pas le mettre sous respirateur.
They shouldn't have put him on a ventilator.
— PIKU (2015)
Trop tard, il fallait y penser pendant qu'il m'attaquait.
Too late. You should have thought of that while he was attacking me.
Action was needed.
Et cette fois, il fallait que j'aille au bout.
And this time, I had to see it through.
— A Bad Son (1980)
Il fallait les ramener sur Terre, mais ils avaient passé le point de non-retour.
They had to be brought back down to Earth, but they had passed the point of no return.
— Chute libre (1993)
You had to have guts.
Il fallait demander à Lajoie, le régisseur.
We should have asked Lajoie, the stage manager.
— La Nuit américaine (1973)
Il fallait rester nous aussi chez les sœurs, comme les Anglais.
We should have stayed with the nuns too, like the English did.
— La Grande Vadrouille (1966)
Il fallait se battre pour les contrats.
We had to fight for contracts.
— Gangs of Wasseypur : 1ère partie (2012)
You should have thought about it beforehand.
— Le Salaire de la peur (1953)
I had to see it.
Il fallait mieux réviser le Manuel de la Rébellion.
It would have been better to revise the Rebellion Manual.
— Une bataille après l'autre (2025)
Mary ne semblait pas comprendre pourquoi il fallait qu'elle fasse ça.
Mary didn’t seem to understand why she had to do that.
Il fallait réécrire les histoires.
The stories had to be rewritten.
Dès qu'il pleuvait, il fallait couper le courant.
Whenever it rained, we had to turn off the power.
— Fight Club (1999)
J'ai eu du travail qu'il fallait finir.
I had some work that needed to be finished.
You were supposed to bring it to me.
— Harry Potter et la Chambre des secrets (2002)
Pour vivre, il fallait accepter d'écrire sur tout.
To make a living, you had to agree to write about anything.
— 2046 (2004)
Il fallait que je vous voie, les mecs, avant que je parte.
I had to see you guys before I left.
Ensuite, il fallait suivre l'horaire pas à pas.
Then we had to follow the schedule step by step.
— Assurance sur la mort (1944)
I had to go.
Il fallait bien que quelqu'un le fasse.
Someone had to do it.
Il fallait quelquefois mettre à la cape sous petite vapeur.
Sometimes we had to heave to under low steam.
Il fallait laisser les warawara tranquilles.
The warawara should have been left alone.
— Le Garçon et le Héron (2023)
I had to see you.
Si tu voulais enfermer Shiki, il fallait la mettre dans une boîte de béton.
If you wanted to trap Shiki, you should have put her in a concrete box.
— The Garden of Sinners, film 5 : Spirale contradictoire (2008)
Il fallait les reconstruire en premier.
They had to be rebuilt first.
Il fallait que je parte de ces pays.
I had to leave these countries.
Il fallait savoir bien manœuvrer.
You had to know how to maneuver well.
— Le Loup de Wall Street (2013)
Il fallait le voir pour le croire.
You had to see it to believe it.
I had to leave.
Il fallait qu'ils apprennent à travailler en équipe, comme une seule entité.
They had to learn to work as a team, as a single entity.
— Insaisissables 2 (2016)
Il fallait bien qu’il y ait une audience.
There had to be an audience, after all.
Pour les sandwichs, il fallait aller chez Granny’s.
For sandwiches, you had to go to Granny’s.
Il fallait payer le voyage, les repas.
We had to pay for the trip and the meals.
— Il était une fois en Chine (1991)
Il fallait que je vous le dise.
I had to tell you.
You had to know that.
Il fallait d'abord régler son assurance accident.
He first had to sort out his accident insurance.
— Assurance sur la mort (1944)
Il fallait se couper un doigt et prêter serment ?
Did you have to cut off a finger and take an oath?
Il fallait donc à tout prix et au plus tôt sauver la jeune femme.
It was therefore essential to save the young woman at all costs and as soon as possible.
— La grande bellezza (2013)
I had to do it.
Il fallait dire quelque chose.
Something had to be said.
— Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers (2001)