3 Films by Louis Malle



Few directors have portrayed the agonies and epiphanies of growing up as poetically—and controversially—as Louis Malle. Laced with autobiographical details, Murmur of the Heart; Lacombe, Lucien; and Au revoir les enfants tell stories of youth, set against the tumult of World War II and postwar France. Tragic, amusing, and poignant, these three films are more than just coming-of-age stories. They are the director’s ongoing response to a world gone wrong.
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Au revoir les enfants



Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss between two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle's own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.
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Lacombe, Lucien



One of the first French films to address the issue of collaboration during the German Occupation, Louis Malle's brave and controversial Lacombe, Lucien traces a young peasant's journey from potential Resistance member to Gestapo recruit. At once the story of a nation and one troubled boy, the film is a disquieting portrait of lost innocence and guilt.
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Murmur of the Heart



Louis Malle's critically acclaimed Murmur of the Heart (Le souffle au coeur) gracefully combines elements of comedy, drama, and autobiography in a candid portrait of a precocious adolescent boy's sexual maturation. Both shocking and deeply poignant, this is one of the finest coming-of-age films ever made.
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Disc Features

- New, restored high-definition digital transfers
- New interviews with actor Candice Bergen and biographer Pierre Billard
- Excerpts from a French TV program featuring the director on the sets of Murmur of the Heart and Lacombe, Lucien
- Audio interviews with Malle from 1974, 1988, and 1990
- The Immigrant, Charlie Chaplin’s 1917 short comedy, featured in Au revoir les enfants
- A profile of the provocative character of Joseph from Au revoir les enfants, created by filmmaker Guy Magen, in 2005
- Original theatrical trailers
- New and improved English subtitle translations
- Essays by critics Michael Sragow, Pauline Kael, and Philip Kemp and historian Francis J. Murphy, as well as a filmography

Au Revoir les Enfants is a late eighties entry from Malle that I've been waiting to see for a long time (I haven't seen this one largely because of it's unavailability on DVD). Any thoughts?

I'm afraid I recall this as a tasteful, low-wattage crowd-pleaser. Lacombe, Lucien is a much tougher, much better film, in my opinion, so this release is a bit of a disappointment for me.

I'm taking a film class right now - it's really terrible, actually. Around the room are posters from some "great films" - Bull Durham, Forrest Gump, Shawshank Redemption. All films I like to some extent, but posters I found strange to grace the walls of a film classroom. Next to Bull Durham is a poster for Au Revoir Les Enfants. Kind of sounds like its in fitting company, no? I'd really like someone to come out and tell me how wrong I am, but I am entirely unexcited by the news of this release.

Shit, I've never seen the Malle, but if it's lumped in with Gump and Durham, I'll have to give it a miss.

Whoa now, I wasn't saying it's in their category - I haven't seen the film - but it's sitting right next to the posters for those films in my class. In other words, I don't know, but it don't look too good.

Yeah sorry, I know what you meant, just sounds bad if its poster is stuck next to Durham or Gump.

The fact it's a 2 discer might pursuade me - hard to pass them up...can't wait to see the specs for these, but like I read somewhere else on these boards, makes it a long wait to find out the next titles after these ones...dunno if I can wait another 2 months...

I saw it on PBS years ago, and my vague memories are along the same lines. I remember it being very, very touching, though, and am sort of looking forward to seeing it again.

I was made to watch this film at least once in every French class I took in high school (count: 3). It's really good, despite that.

This is just amazing news! I saw "Au Revoir Les Enfants" a couple of years ago - and it really made a strong impression on me. A great great french film. This is a "blind buy" for me !

I agree that there are any number of Malle films I would have rather seen first. From the same time period in Malle's career as Enfants, my favorite is Milou in May. (MGM????) I'd kill for a DVD of that. I listen to the soundtrack practically once a week. That said, I'm certainly looking forward to Au Revoir Les Enfants.

To the person who hasn't seen it, but is judging it harshly because someone hung its poster next to Gump, do yourself a favor and see it first.

I will definitely do that. It just seemed (because of luke warm sentiment espoused in this thread prior) that the film might not be great. Chances are any preconceived notion I have going into my first viewing will be completely obliterated.

Compared to Le Feu Follet, one may find this film underwhelming. It is more than worth anyone's time, though. Not having seen Lacombe Lucien yet, I can't compare the two however. Annette Insdorf's book on Holocaust films has some good material on Malle's movie.
For the price, I surely hope the DVD is two discs. Or a really good commentary and some nice extras. Maybe a word from Phil French? His book on Malle from Faber is very good.

I love Au Revoir Les Enfants, and this will move immediately to the top of my list of favorite Criterions released this as soon as it comes out (unless it comes out simultaneously with something like Late Spring). This is one of the top two Holocaust movies I have seen. Admittedly, it will seem like a "crowd-pleaser" compared to most Bresson or the like, but that doesn't bother me a whit. It's a moving, intelligent story (I've read based on a real incident from Malle's childhood but I don't know if that is true) and a tasteful, well-made movie.

At last we get some Malle and I've no problem with Au Revoir.. being the first to get the Criterion treatment.

I was in my early teens when I first saw this on television and it stayed with me for years. A more recent viewing was just as enjoyable. I can see many things being levelled at it (overly sentimental being one), but for my money, it's a hard heart that's not moved by this film.[/i]

On Criterion's main page:

I recall the following story from New York Times. A gentleman approached Quentin Tarentino during his days as a clerk in a video store, and asked "Do you have Reservoir Dogs?" with a strong southern accent. Quentin said he did not think so. The gentleman said his wife told him it was a French film. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket that said "Au Revoir les Enfant". Tarentino was immensely amused, and thus found the title of his now-famous film.

Confirmed by Criterion newsletter in early 2006:

Murmur of the Heart
Lacombe Lucien
Au Revoirs Les Enfant

Thus spake the pooch:

Could it somehow be a informal trilogy? But they would release his documentaries in a box set.

I'm wondering if Elevator to the Gallows coming in December, perhaps with Phantom India box set for Christmas. They've already announced 3 releases of Malle in 2006. So I don't see them releasing more than that. Perhaps 1 more.

I am wondering if the Malle box is ever coming out now. Why such a long delay since its announcement?

What makes you sure a box set is coming out? The Eisenstein box set was announced but its been what like 5 years now and we are still waiting for a release.

The Malle releases have already been specified, are being distributed by Janus Films and Criterion, and there's a whole batch of spines in the works, which coincides with Criterion's announcement to release some Malle in early 2006. As far as I can tell, there's absolutely nothing to keep Criterion from releasing these on DVD through restored materials, which is simply not the case with the Eisenstein films, or any classical Russian cinema.

By the way...since this rumored box would seem to be centered around children and young people, might Zazie dans le métro be included in the set? The box that seems to be in the works consists of five spines, but there have only been three Malle films specified by Criterion. If this is a Malle box, there has to be something to complete the five spines. Zazie is the early Malle I want to see the most, but I've only seen two of his films (Elevator to the Gallows and Atlantic City), so this is just wishful thinking on my part.

It's obvious that a Malle box is in the works. I'll bet the five missing spines are the three confirmed titles (Murmur of the Heart, Lacombe Lucien and Au Revoirs Les Enfant) and one of his documentaries, a la the The Dreyer Box or the Bergman trilogy.

I think it's rather a long bow to draw from the certainty of future Malle releases to the certainty of a box set (other than the mammoth Phantom India, which can't really be accommodated otherwise). There's no real precedent for Criterion to assemble anything quite so random as the sort of collections suggested above.