Murmur of the Heart
1971 · Movie · 118 min · ★ 7.0 · 89% critics
In 1950s France, a privileged teenager drifts through adolescence, testing boundaries at school and at home while the country’s politics simmer in the background. After an illness leads to a stay away from home, his unusually close bond with his mother and his growing curiosity about sex and adulthood push him into uneasy, provocative territory.
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Details
- Original title
- Le Souffle au cœur
- Years
- 1971
- Release date
- 1971-04-27
- Language
- French
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Critic score
- 89/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.0/10 (215 votes)
About
You may like this if you want a provocative, darkly funny coming-of-age story with taboo themes and social satire; Not for you if uncomfortable sexual situations, morally messy characters, or uneasy family dynamics are deal-breakers.
Pros: vivid 1950s French atmosphere; sharp social irony; bold coming-of-age themes | Cons: uncomfortable sexual material; hard-to-like characters; uneven, meandering plot
Themes
- jazz
- sanatorium
- incest
- shoplifting
- 1950s
- boy scout
- resort sex
- mother son relationship
- teenage protagonist
- bastille day
- dijon france
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Original Screenplay · 1973 · nominated
Cast & crew
Lea Massari
as Clara Chevalier
Benoît Ferreux
as Laurent Chevalier
Marc Winocourt
as Marc Chevalier
Fabien Ferreux
as Thomas Chevalier
Daniel Gélin
as Charles Chevalier
Michael Lonsdale
as Father Henri
Ave Ninchi
as Augusta
Annie Savarin
as Cook
Gila von Weitershausen
as Freda, prostitute
Micheline Bona
as Aunt Claudine
Directed by Louis Malle