Murmur of the Heart

Written, produced and directed by Louis Malle, the 1971 French-Italian-German comedy-drama Le Souffle au cœur, known in English as Murmur of the Heart, is one of the filmmaker's best-known works, drawing on semi-autobiographical elements. It follows the coming of age of 14-year-old Laurent Chevalier (Benoît Ferreux), growing up in bourgeois surroundings in post-World War II Dijon, and his complex relationship with his Italian-born mother Clara (Lea Massari), while Daniel Gélin plays his conservative father Charles.

Screened at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, the film was a box-office success in France and earned positive reviews in the United States along with an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Considered one of Malle's most controversial films for its treatment of incest, it is now regarded as a classic of French cinema.