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Murmur of the Heart

Play trailer Poster for Murmur of the Heart R,  1971,  1h 58m,  Comedy/ Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 94% 18 Reviews Tomatometer 86% 2,500+ Ratings Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
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 the 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).

Critics Reviews

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Derek Malcolm Guardian May 14, 2020
It casts a fresh, vigorous and unclouded eye on adolescence as it really is rather than as we would like it to be. Go to Full Review
David Robinson Financial Times May 14, 2020
The theme is treated with faultless discretion and taste, without the smallest nod to current sensationalism. Go to Full Review
Margaret Hinxman Daily Telegraph (UK) May 14, 2020
Malle, as I see it, is saying: to understand today you must appreciate yesterday. The more I think about it the more encouraging and enlightening this appears. Go to Full Review
Sean Burns Crooked Marquee Feb 4, 2022
It's an enormously entertaining picture, presumably the gentlest and most endearing movie ever made about a boy who has sex with his mother. Go to Full Review
Dilys Powell Sunday Times (UK) May 14, 2020
The film is elegantly and fluently played, free in movement but discreet in feeling. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Poe R Nov 14, 2018 This film was terrible.
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Murmur of the Heart

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Louis Malle

Director

Lea Massari

Clara Chevalier

Benoît Ferreux

Laurent Chevalier

Daniel Gélin

Charles Chevalier

Michaël Lonsdale

Father Henri

Ave Ninchi

Augusta

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Murmur of the Heart

Murmur of the Heart (1971) Murmur of the Heart (1971) Murmur of the Heart (1971) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis 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 the 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).
Director
Louis Malle
Producer
Vincent Malle, Claude Nedjar
Screenwriter
Louis Malle
Production Co
NEF Filmproduktion, Marianne Productions, Franz Seitz Filmproduktion
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 16, 1971, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Mar 28, 2006
Runtime
1h 58m
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