Murmur of the Heart

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Murmur of the Heart
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Louis Malle
Produced by	Vincent Malle Claude Nedjar
Written by	Louis Malle
Starring	Benoît Ferreux, Lea Massari
Music by	Gaston Frèche Charlie Parker Henri Renaud
Cinematography	Ricardo Aronovich
Editing by	Suzanne Baron
Distributed by	Orion Classics
Release date(s)	April 28, 1971 October 20, 1971
Running time	118 min
Country	France Italy West Germany
Language	French

Murmur of the Heart (French: Le souffle au cœur) is a 1971 French motion picture by French director Louis Malle that tells a coming of age story about a 14-year-old boy who is growing up in bourgeois surroundings in Dijon, France.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Cast 3 Nominations 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Synopsis

At the beginning, the film shows the adventures of the boy in the school and his first sexual experience at a brothel. When the boy is found to have a heart murmur after a bout of scarlet fever, he goes with his mother to a sanatorium, where a series of circumstances lead to a sexual encounter with his mother. Jazz music by Charlie Parker, member of the cast, Dizzy Gillespie and books from Bataille, Proust, and Camus features prominently in the film.

[edit] Cast

• Lea Massari - Clara Chevalier
• Benoît Ferreux - Laurent Chevalier
• Daniel Gélin - Charles Chevalier
• Michael Lonsdale - Father Henri
• Ave Ninchi - Augusta
• Fabien Ferreux - Thomas Chevalier
• Marc Winocourt - Marc Chevalier
• Gila von Weitershausen - Freda

[edit] Nominations

Murmur of the Heart was nominated for "Best Writing Original Screenplay" in the 1973 Academy Awards. It was also in competition, in the French part of the official selection, at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.^[1]

[edit] See also

• List of films portraying paedophilia or sexual abuse of minors

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Murmur of the Heart at the Internet Movie Database
• Murmur of the Heart at Allmovie
• Criterion Collection essay by Michael Sragow

v • d • e Films directed by Louis Malle Feature films Elevator to the Gallows (1958) • The Lovers (1958) • Zazie dans le Metro (1960) • A Very Private Affair (1962) • The Fire Within (1963) • Viva Maria! (1965) • The Thief of Paris (1967) • Murmur of the Heart (1971) • Lacombe, Lucien (1974) • Black Moon (1975) • Pretty Baby (1978) • Atlantic City (1980) • My Dinner with Andre (1981) • Crackers (1984) • Alamo Bay (1985) • Au Revoir, les Enfants (1987) • May Fools (1990) • Damage (1992) • Vanya on 42nd Street (1994) Short films Crazeologie (1953) • Station 307 (1954) • Histoires extraordinaires (segment "William Wilson") (1968) Documentaries The Silent World (with Jacques Cousteau) (1956) • Vive le Tour (1962) • Calcutta (1969) • Humain, trop humain (1974) • Place de la république (1974) • Close Up (1976) Television Bons baisers de Bangkok (1963) • Phantom India (1969) • Dominique Sanda ou Le rêve éveillé (1977) • God's Country (1986) • And the Pursuit of Happiness (1986)