Murmur of the Heart (DVD)

Murmur of the Heart (1971) starring Lea Massari, Benoit Ferreux. Written and directed by Louis Malle. In the spring of 1954, a 14-year-old French schoolboy named Laurent (Ferreux) masturbates compulsively. His two older brothers are hellions whom he's not quite sure he wants to emulate. Meanwhile, his mother (Massari) is not completely happy with her marriage to his father -- in fact, she is having an affair. When Laurent develops a heart murmur due to scarlet fever, he is sentenced to stay in bed and be waited on. Soon, he and his mother journey to a resort, where he is to take "the cure." It's a coming-of-age story such as could only happen in France. The subtitles are necessary, as the film is in French, but they are barely adequate. Grade: B+