Le souffle au coeur (1971)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Louis Malle

Writer:

Louis Malle (written by)

Release Date:

17 October 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This is a jolly coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy named Laurent Chevalier who is growing up in bourgeois surroundings in Dijon...

Plot Keywords:

Coming Of Age | Priest | Teenage Boy | Young Girl | Medical Examination

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Lea Massari	...	Clara Chevalier
Benoît Ferreux	...	Laurent Chevalier
Daniel Gélin	...	Charles Chevalier
Michael Lonsdale	...	Father Henri
Ave Ninchi	...	Augusta
Gila von Weitershausen	...	Freda (the prostitute)
Fabien Ferreux	...	Thomas
Marc Winocourt	...	Marc
Micheline Bona	...	Aunt Claudine
Henri Poirier	...	Uncle Leonce
Liliane Sorval	...	Fernande
Corinne Kersten	...	Daphne
Eric Walter
François Werner	...	Hubert
René Bouloc	...	Man at Bastille Day party
Jacqueline Chauvaud	...	Helene
Jacques Gheusi	...	Hotel receptionist
Yvon Lec	...	Father Superior
Jean-Pierre Pessoz	...	Soldier
Bernadette Robert
Annie Savarin	...	Le cuisinière
Jacques Sereys
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Éric Burnelli	...	Maitre d'Hotel (uncredited)
Nicole Carrière	...	Mother (uncredited)
Michel Charrel	...	Disquaire (uncredited)
Huguette Faget	...	Mother (uncredited)
Isabelle Kloucowski	...	Madeleine (uncredited)
Lia Wanital	...	Mother (uncredited)

Directed by
Louis Malle

Writing credits
Louis Malle		(written by)

Produced by
Vincent Malle	....	producer
Claude Nedjar	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ricardo Aronovich

Film Editing by
Suzanne Baron

Production Design by
Jean-Jacques Caziot

Makeup Department
Jacky Reynal	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Maurice Urbain	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rida Draïs	....	assistant director
Fernand Moszkowicz	....	assistant director (as Fernand Moscowicz)
Ghislain Uhry	....	collaborating director

Art Department
Philippe Turlure	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jean-Claude Laureux	....	sound
Michel Vionnet	....	assistant sound

Editorial Department
Catherine Brasier-Snopko	....	assistant editor (as Catherine Snopko)
Solange Leprince	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Sidney Bechet	....	composer: stock music
Gaston Frèche	....	composer: stock music
Charlie Parker	....	composer: stock music
Henri Renaud	....	composer: stock music

Other crew
Élisabeth Rappeneau	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF) (co-production) (as N.E.F.-Marianne Films - Paris)
• Marianne Productions (co-production) (as N.E.F.-Marianne Films - Paris)
• Vides Cinematografica (co-production) (as Vides Films - Rome)
• Franz Seitz Filmproduktion (co-production) (as Seitz Filmproduktion - Munich)

Distributors

• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1970) (France) (theatrical)
• Magna-Filmi (1971) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1987) (Finland) (TV)
• Orion Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Arte Vidéo (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Orion Classics (????) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Palomar Pictures International (????) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)

Other Companies

• Éditions Gallimard  publisher: Scenario

Also Known As:

Dearest Love (UK)
Herzflimmern
Il soffio al cuore (Italy)
Murmur of the Heart (USA)

Runtime:

USA:118 min

Country:

France | Italy | West Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | South Korea:18 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Dijon, Côte-d'Or, France

Company:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Trivia:

Writer/director Louis Malle based many aspects of the protagonist Laurent's life on his own experiences growing up. This included his love of jazz, curiosity about literature, the "tyranny" of his two older brothers who tried to introduce him to sex, and having a heart murmur. However, Malle grew up in the 1930's and 40's, not the 50's as Laurent does.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Laurent is getting hosed down, he asks which side he should turn to. The attendant says either one because she'll do both. Only his left side gets hosed down.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Geburtstagskinder der Nouvelle Vague (2007) (TV)

Moving, controversial but lovable film

Louis Malle perhaps has directed his most controversial film about Laurent and his complicated relationship with his mother. Because he is the youngest of three boys, he is still a virgin and coddled like the family baby. The film seems to last forever but in a beautiful moving way. We watch as his beautiful Italian vivacious mother seems to attract admirers even her own son. Without discussing the film's oedipal issues, the film has some very pleasant scenes and some that are not so pleasant. Maybe Malle is trying to bring reality of a young body's sexuality. His two older brothers are not the sympathetic or kind older brothers to him especially. Laurent is truly the film's most important character but his mother is definitely the most important figure in his life. As he comes of age, she has to grasp with losing him to another woman, the inevitable outcome of any mother-son relationship. We learn a lot about Laurent's mother too in this film. While sexuality is another theme in this classic film, there are touching scenes between the Laurent and his mother. As he finds himself attracted to other women, he becomes daring, insulting and even unlikable. I won't give away the ending of this film. But it's worth watching even today more than 30 years later, I cannot believe it's older than me. It seems like it could have been done today and that's why it's a classic film.