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Murmur of the Heart

Murmur of the Heart

Drama · Comedy · 1971

This loosely plotted coming-of-age tale follows the life of 15-year-old Laurent Chevalier 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, 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.

Movie details

Murmur of the Heart

“A souffle of a movie!”

1971 Drama · Comedy 1h 58m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

This loosely plotted coming-of-age tale follows the life of 15-year-old Laurent Chevalier 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, 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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Murmur of the Heart?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Louis Malle

Written by

Louis Malle

Lea Massari

Lea Massari

Clara Chevalier

Benoît Ferreux

Benoît Ferreux

Laurent Chevalier

Marc Winocourt

Marc Winocourt

Marc Chevalier

Fabien Ferreux

Fabien Ferreux

Thomas Chevalier

Daniel Gélin

Daniel Gélin

Charles Chevalier

Michael Lonsdale

Michael Lonsdale

Father Henri

Ave Ninchi

Ave Ninchi

Augusta

Court is in session

Put Murmur of the Heart on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.