Murmur of the Heart (1971) on Netflix
In 1954 Dijon, fourteen-year-old Laurent Chevalier loves jazz and earns the highest marks in his class. When he learns his mother, Clara, has a lover, he turns to his father, Charles.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb7.5/1011,771 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Plot summary
The Chevalier family lives in comfort in Dijon in 1954. Laurent, the youngest of three sons, is fourteen, loves jazz, takes the top marks in his class, speaks against the war in Indochina, and attends a Catholic school. His father, Charles, a gynecologist, shows him little warmth; his mother, Clara, is Italian-born and dotes on him. Thomas and Marc, his older brothers, are dedicated pranksters, and Laurent tests taboos of his own, from shoplifting to masturbation. Learning that Clara has a lover upsets him, so he goes to Charles with the news, and Charles, occupied by his practice, turns him away in anger.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Murmur of the Heart (1971)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
Lea Massari said the incest scene was shot last and was a great concern throughout the entire shoot; on the final day Louis Malle told her to do what she wanted, so she played the woman as drunk and the scene stayed as is.- The National Center of Cinematography objected to the screenplay's erotic scenes, and when the Censorship Board denied funding, the film was financed with help from Mariane Film, a French subsidiary of Paramount Pictures.
- Louis Malle drew on his own life for the film: his passion for jazz, his curiosity about literature, his two elder brothers and how they introduced him to sex; he too had a heart murmur and shared a hotel room with his mother during treatment.
SPOILER
Malle said the incest was fictional and that he had not intended it when he started the script, introducing it only as he explored the intense mother-son relationship.- Director Wes Anderson cited the film as an influence and said he loves the characters of Laurent and Clara.
