Murmur of the Heart

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Bulgantamir B It's a good movie nice Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/04/24 Full Review Bahad j The movie was a very exciting adventure from start to finish Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/03/24 Full Review Бавуу Э This loosely plotted coming-of-age tale follows the life of 15-year-old Laurent Chevalier (Benoît Ferreux) as he stumbles his way over the burgeoning swell of adolescence in 1950s France. After having his first sexual experience with a prostitute and dodging the lips of a priest (Michel Lonsdale), Chevalier contracts a case of scarlet fever. When the fever leaves him with a heart murmur, Chevalier is placed in a sanatorium, along with his over-attentive and adulterous mother (Léa Massari). Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/03/24 Full Review Cyril Joyce A incorrigble director, but somewhat relatable to all malicious boy Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/15/23 Full Review dave s Laurent Chevalier (Benoit Ferroux) from Murmur of the Heart may be one of Louis Malle's most finely etched characters. Growing up in Dijon, France in the 1950s, 15-year-old Laurent navigates a fine line between childhood and adulthood. Raised by his free-spirited mother (Lea Massari) and his buttoned-down father (Daniel Gelin), the precocious teen possesses a fierce intelligence and a deep fascination about anything related to sex. Malle refuses to sugarcoat adolescence, but remains surprisingly discreet throughout the film. Also written by Malle, the escapades of the young man never fail to entertain. While Ferroux is solid throughout, the movie is stolen by the performance of Massari, whose larger-than-life presence manages to steal every scene. While some will no doubt find Laurent's final sexual conquest at the end of the movie objectionable, Murmur of the Heart remains one of his best films. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member How will Laurent, a teenager, grow up with two intrusive older brothers, an over affectionate mother and a somewhat dismissive father? This is the central question in this coming of age story. The key aspect of his growing up in the movie has to do with his sexual life. A house in which everyone seems to be mostly concerned about oneself, except for the house maids whose attentiveness is ignored. The adults struggle to keep the father and mother roles that would be expected. If the father is mostly absent, the mother seems to struggle to redefine her role as her children grow up. To add to the pile, a lingering possible reactivation of Laurent's Oedipal complex is present throughout the movie. These are just some of the varied aspects the movie covers. We could easily add a layer of social and religious critic, and another related to politics All is treated very lightly and the movie never becomes dramatic. In fact, the movie is somewhat flat, slow, a tad boring and repetitive at times. The most climatic moment comes all in the end. In any case, the acting is great and the movie is not altogether painful to watch. And it may surely stir a conversation or two. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Murmur of the Heart

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