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Murmur of the Heart ()

Le souffle au coeur (original title)
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As France is nearing the end of the first Indochina War, an open-minded teenage boy finds himself torn between a rebellious urge to discover love, and the ever-present, almost dominating affection of his beloved mother.
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Awards:
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.
  • See more »
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104 photos

Cast verified as complete

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Clara Chevalier (as Léa Massari)
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Laurent Chevalier (as Benoit Ferreux)
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Charles Chevalier (as Daniel Gelin)
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Father Henri (as Michel Lonsdale)
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Augusta
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Freda (the prostitute)
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Thomas
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Marc
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Aunt Claudine
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Uncle Léonce
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Fernande
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Daphné
Eric Walter ...
Laurent's friend
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Hubert
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Man at Bastille Day party
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Helene
Jacques Gheusi ...
Hotel receptionist
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Father Superior
Jean-Pierre Pessoz ...
Soldier (as Jean Pierre Pessoz)
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Le cuisinière
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Le médecin (Doctor)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Maitre d'Hotel (uncredited)
Nicole Carrière ...
Mother (uncredited)
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Disquaire (uncredited)
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Mother (uncredited)
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Madeleine (uncredited)
Lia Wajntal ...
Mother (uncredited)

Directed by

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Louis Malle

Written by

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Louis Malle ... (written by)

Produced by

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Vincent Malle ... producer
Claude Nedjar ... producer

Cinematography by

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Ricardo Aronovich

Editing by

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Suzanne Baron

Editorial Department

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

Production Design by

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Jean-Jacques Caziot

Makeup Department

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Jacky Reynal ... makeup artist

Production Management

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Maurice Urbain ... unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Rida Draïs ... assistant director
Fernand Moszkowicz ... assistant director (as Fernand Moscowicz)
Ghislain Uhry ... collaborating director

Art Department

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Philippe Turlure ... assistant art director

Sound Department

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

Music Department

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Sidney Bechet ... music
Gaston Frèche ... music
Charlie Parker ... music
Henri Renaud ... music

Script and Continuity Department

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Élisabeth Rappeneau ... script girl (as Elizabeth Rappeneau)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

This is a jolly coming-of-age story about a 14-year-old boy named Laurent Chevalier who is growing up in bourgeois surroundings in Dijon, France. This is France in the mid-1950s rather than America in the 1990s. Thus, Laurent is unharmed by events which would irreparably shatter the self-esteem of a modern American adolescent: he gets drunk, he smokes, he has sex, he is smothered by his mother, he is ignored by his father, a priest makes a pass at him, he gets rheumatoid fever, etc. There's enough scandalous behavior in this film to make 100 made-for-TV movies, and yet this is a very happy and oddly innocent tale. Written by Tim Horrigan

Plot Keywords
Taglines A souffle of a movie! See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Soffio al cuore (Italy)
  • Herzflimmern (West Germany)
  • Murmur of the Heart (India, English title)
  • Murmur of the Heart (Canada, English title)
  • Murmur of the Heart (United States)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 118 min
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Did You Know?

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Trivia According to Pauline Kael, "what makes this movie so different from other movies about bourgeois life is that the director, Louis Malle, sees not only the prudent, punctilious surface but the volatile and slovenly life underneath. He looks at this bourgeois bestiary and sees it as funny and appalling and also - surprisingly - hardy and happy. It is perhaps the first time on film that anyone has shown us the bourgeoisie enjoying its privileges." Also for Kael, "it's a movie not about how one has been scarred but about how one was formed." See more »
Goofs During the chess match, the boys are sitting on what should be the spectator sides of the board, rather than the player sides. It appears that the chessmen were set up along the files rather than the ranks. (The lower right hand corner squares are black, when they should be white.) See more »
Movie Connections Featured in White Man's Burden/Last Summer in the Hamptons/Wild Bill/The Journey of August King/Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995). See more »
Quotes Clara Chevalier: Why not take things as they come?
Laurent Chevalier: Meaning?
Clara Chevalier: I don't know. Begin at the beginning. Wait to experience things yourself. And there's plenty of time. I'm not rushing you. Everyone has to discover love for himself. Lots of things can happen between a man and a woman. Better to find out for yourself, not from a book.
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