#328: MALLE, Louis: Murmur Of The Heart (1971)

-
3 FILMS BY LOUIS MALLE {Spine #327}

MALLE, Louis (France)
Murmur Of The Heart [1971]
Spine #328
DVD


Louis Malle's critically acclaimed Murmur of the Heart (Le souffle au coeur) gracefully combines elements of comedy, drama, and autobiography in a candid portrait of a precocious adolescent boy's sexual maturation. Both shocking and deeply poignant, this is one of the finest coming-of-age films ever made.

118 minutes
Color
Monaural
in French
1:66:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2006
Director/Writer



Reviewing films in this Collection immediately presents the reviewer with the problem of the historical gaze.

Films from a full century ago are likely to be filled with varying degrees of racism, sexism, homophobia — not to mention a certain naivety when viewed through today’s lenses …

We only have to travel back 50+ years to find a perfect example of this knotty conundrum — the controversial incest scene.

These days the French have been confronting their attitudes about freewheeling sex — particularly where minors are involved. This film might not be as easily received today; although it saw plenty of objections at the time.

Laurent Chevalier (Benoit Ferreux) is a typical middle-upper class young teenager. His mother, Clara Chevalier (Leá Massari) — Italian-born — is a doting, if mostly absent, mother. She smothers her little boy with frequent hugs and kisses.

Dad [Charles Chevalier (Daniel Gélin)] is a gynecologist. Of course.

Father Henri (Michael Lonsdale) is an obvious pedophile. He is barely sketched, but of course Lonsdale is terrific.

Laurent’s brothers — Thomas (Fabien Ferreux) and Marc (Marc Winocourt) — introduce him to all sorts of transgressions.

Corinne Kersten (Daphne) is nicely understated as the love interest; François Werner (Hubert) is wonderfully snobby.

Film Rating (0-60):

55

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty-page booklet featuring an essay by Michael Sragow.

“In Murmur of the Heart, Malle’s own zest connects with the knockabout wit and curiosity of his adolescent antiheroes. He sketches even the jokey supporting parts with a satiric sort of sympathy — like the youthful snob Hubert, who thinks it’s classy and worldly to defend colonialism. From the fleshy warmth of Ricardo Aronovich’s cinematography to the jazz percolating in Laurent’s brainpan — and, thanks to Malle, in ours — the movie boasts the high spirits to match its high intelligence.”

Commentary

None.

Original theatrical trailer

Cool. Seems to be an effort by Malle to advertise a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Extras Rating (0-40):

34

55 + 34 =

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Criterion Collection By Spine #

-
The Complete Criterion Collection By Spine # 0000A: No spine #: Ingmar Bergman's Cinema (BERGMAN, Ingmar) [1946-2003] {Sweden} Crisis [1946] A Ship To India [1947] Port Of Call [1948] Thirst [1949] To Joy [1950] Summer Interlude [1951] Waiting Women [1952] Sawdust And Tinsel [1953]  [ 89 ] Summer With Monika [1953] A Lesson In Love [1954] Dreams [1955] Smiles Of A Summer Night [1955] The Seventh Seal [1957] Wild Strawberries [1957]  [ 93 ] Brink Of Life [1958] The Magician [1958] The Devil's Eye [1960] The Virgin Spring [1960] Through A Glass Darkly [1961] The Silence [1963] Winter Light [1963] All These Women [1964] Persona [1966]  [ 94 ] Hour Of The Wolf [1968] Shame [1968] The Passion Of Anna [1969] The Rite [1969] Fårö Document [1970] The Touch [1971] Cries And Whispers [1972] Scenes From A Marriage [1973] The Magic Flute [1975] The Serpent's Egg [1977] Autumn Sonata [1978] Fårö Document 1979 [1979] From The Life Of The Marionette...
Read more

#331: OZU, Yasujiro: Late Spring (1949)

-
Image
OZU, Yasujiro (Japan) Late Spring [1949] Spine #331 DVD One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu's family portraits, Late Spring (Banshun) tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter. Eminent Ozu players Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara command this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan, which remains as potent today as ever — almost alone justifying Ozu's inclusion in the pantheon of cinema's greatest directors. 108 minutes Black & White Monaural in Japanese 1:33:1 aspect ratio Criterion Release 2006 Director/Writers Based on the novel Chichi to musume (Father and Daughter) by Kazuo Hirotsu . Script by Kogo Noda and  Yasujiro Ozu . Ozu was 46 when he directed Late Spring . Other Ozu films in the Collection: Eclipse Series 42: Walk Cheerfully (1930) Eclipse Series 42: That Night's Wife (1930) Eclipse Series 10: Tokyo Chorus (1931) Eclipse Series 10: I Was Born, But . . . (1932) Ec...
Read more

#589: KIEŚLOWSKI, Krzysztof: Three Colors: White (1994)

-
Image
THREE COLORS {Spine #587} KIEŚLOWSKI, Krzysztof (France) Three Colors: White [1994] Spine #589 Blu-ray The most plalyful and also the grittiest of Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors films follows the adventures of Karol Karol, a Polish immigrant living in France. The hapless hairdresser opts to leave Paris for his native Warsaw when his wife sues him for divorce (her reason: their marriage was never consummated) and then frames him for arson after setting her own salon ablaze. White , which goes on to chronicle Karol Karol's elaborate revenge plot, manages to be both a ticklish dark comedy about the economic inequalities of Eastern and Western Europe and a sublime reverie on twisted love. 91 minutes Color 2.0 Surround in French and Polish 1:85:1 aspect ratio Criterion Release 2011 Director/Writers Screenplay by Krzysztof Piesiewicz and  Krzysztof Kieślowski . Kie ś lowski was 52 when he directed  White . ** K ie ś lowski ’s earliest films were docu...
Read more