Murmur of the Heart [1971 film]

Malle claimed this film was a semi-autobiography of his formative years. There was no incest nor an Italian mother and the time frame was wrong, but the rest is pretty close to his life. He did grow up wealthy, was sick with scarlet fever, and had a close relationship with his mother. The way he portrayed the arrogance and smugness of the Chevalier family says a lot about how Malle remembers the snobbery. The point is well taken. But the famous critic Pauline Kael called this film: mellow and smooth, exhilarating, irresistible, with its supremely logical yet witty and imaginative conclusion. Oh, and: ¨in this context incest isn't serious¨ Come on ! Incest, Pauline, is never not serious. But here are some of other real problems: the show more pacing is erratic, there is an attitude that treats adultery as inconsequential and as a source of sheer comedy, (and yet it was not treated satirically!), and the Oedipal scenes between mother & son become tiresome. (Was I supposed to laugh there too?) show less