Friday, March 16, 2012

Murmur of the Heart

France w/d Louis Malle

A very daring film when released...1971. It's a coming-of-age film focusing on a 15 yo boy...the youngest of three sons in an affluent, rambunctious family. Mom is youthful, uninhibited, frankly sexual, older sons are wildly hedonistic, self-absorbed jerks, dad is a repressed gynecologist. So our hero is having a tough time navigating the throes of adolescence.

The first hour is fast-paced and sets the unsettling tone that eventually leads to the incestuous act that defines the film. It's the overall structure and the completely out-of-control, over-privileged, over-indulged characters that make it work.

Unforgettable.

7

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