Murmur of the Heart (1971) Le souffle au coeur (original title)

Director:

Louis Malle

Writer:

Louis Malle (written by)

Release Date:

17 October 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This is a jolly coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy named Laurent Chevalier who is growing up in bourgeois surroundings in Dijon...

Plot Keywords:

France | Priest | Sex | Dijon France | Coming Of Age

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Lea Massari	...	Clara Chevalier
Benoît Ferreux	...	Laurent Chevalier
Daniel Gélin	...	Charles Chevalier
Michael Lonsdale	...	Father Henri
Ave Ninchi	...	Augusta
Gila von Weitershausen	...	Freda (the prostitute)
Fabien Ferreux	...	Thomas
Marc Winocourt	...	Marc
Micheline Bona	...	Aunt Claudine
Henri Poirier	...	Uncle Leonce
Liliane Sorval	...	Fernande
Corinne Kersten	...	Daphne
Eric Walter
François Werner	...	Hubert
René Bouloc	...	Man at Bastille Day party
Jacqueline Chauvaud	...	Helene
Jacques Gheusi	...	Hotel receptionist
Yvon Lec	...	Father Superior
Jean-Pierre Pessoz	...	Soldier
Bernadette Robert
Annie Savarin	...	Le cuisinière
Jacques Sereys
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Éric Burnelli	...	Maitre d'Hotel (uncredited)
Nicole Carrière	...	Mother (uncredited)
Michel Charrel	...	Disquaire (uncredited)
Huguette Faget	...	Mother (uncredited)
Isabelle Kloucowski	...	Madeleine (uncredited)
Lia Wanital	...	Mother (uncredited)

Directed by
Louis Malle

Writing credits
Louis Malle		(written by)

Produced by
Vincent Malle	....	producer
Claude Nedjar	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ricardo Aronovich

Film Editing by
Suzanne Baron

Production Design by
Jean-Jacques Caziot

Makeup Department
Jacky Reynal	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Maurice Urbain	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rida Draïs	....	assistant director
Fernand Moszkowicz	....	assistant director (as Fernand Moscowicz)
Ghislain Uhry	....	collaborating director

Art Department
Philippe Turlure	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jean-Claude Laureux	....	sound
Michel Vionnet	....	assistant sound

Editorial Department
Catherine Brasier-Snopko	....	assistant editor (as Catherine Snopko)
Solange Leprince	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Sidney Bechet	....	composer: stock music
Gaston Frèche	....	composer: stock music
Charlie Parker	....	composer: stock music
Henri Renaud	....	composer: stock music

Other crew
Élisabeth Rappeneau	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF) (co-production) (as N.E.F.-Marianne Films - Paris)
• Marianne Productions (co-production) (as N.E.F.-Marianne Films - Paris)
• Vides Cinematografica (co-production) (as Vides Films - Rome)
• Franz Seitz Filmproduktion (co-production) (as Seitz Filmproduktion - Munich)

Distributors

• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1970) (France) (theatrical)
• Magna-Filmi (1971) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1987) (Finland) (TV)
• Orion Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Arte Vidéo (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Orion Classics (????) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Palomar Pictures International (????) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)

Other Companies

• Éditions Gallimard  publisher: Scenario

Also Known As:

"Le souffle au coeur" - France (original title)

Runtime:

USA:118 min

Country:

France | Italy | West Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | South Korea:18 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | Peru:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Dijon, Côte-d'Or, France

Company:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Trivia:

Writer/director Louis Malle based many aspects of the protagonist Laurent's life on his own experiences growing up. This included his love of jazz, curiosity about literature, the "tyranny" of his two older brothers who tried to introduce him to sex, and having a heart murmur. However, Malle grew up in the 1930's and 40's, not the 50's as Laurent does.

Goofs:

Continuity: After leaving Daphne, Laurent's belt changes three times.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Spanking the Monkey (1994)

a beautiful coming of age story

There have been a million coming of age stories in the history of the world, most of them probably in the film medium. What a pathetic thing to have to endure something as trite as the American film American Pie when something like The 400 Blows exists. Murmur of the Heart will remind most of that classic, and, akin to French films such as Zero for Conduct, The 400 Blows, and Malle's own Au Revoir Les Enfantes, it is excellently acted, both by the adults in the film and the children (here, though, they're teens), and it is infinitely more truthful than most American films of the same genre. Murmur of the Heart falls just short of The 400 Blows, but it is a worthy successor to it. Beware, though. This film's main theme is sexuality, and there are some very disturbing scenes, even thought the mood of the film is quite light-hearted. 9/10