3 Films by Louis Malle

This trio of semiautobiographical films showcases French director Louis Malle at his insightful, provocative, and lyrical best, with each film quintessentially Gallic in outlook and rich in atmosphere, character, and observation. Murmur of the Heart (1971) has as its protagonist Laurent (played by Benoit Ferreux), a 14-year-old boy whose sexual awakening coincides with the discovery that his attractive, free-spirited mother (Lea Massari) has taken on a young lover. The story unfolds in the French provincial city of Dijon during the early 1950s, with the Indochina War and the concomitant loss of the French colonies providing a historical backdrop to the action. Lacombe Lucien (1974) takes place a decade earlier, when 17-year-old peasant Lucien (Pierre Blaise) becomes a Gestapo recruit during France's occupation by the Nazis, but ultimately saves the daughter of a Jewish family from execution. This film was one of Malle's most controversial, as it dealt with the thorny subject of collaboration with the enemy during World War II. Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) takes place during the same period and covers some of the same thematic material. Based on a real-life incident Malle recalled as “the most dramatic experience of my childhood,” the story unfolds at a Catholic boarding school in Fontainebleau, where the headmaster oversees the education of well-to-do French boys while at the same time concealing Jewish lads from the Nazis. Perhaps the best of the trio, the film transitions from broad comedy to pathos with deceptive ease and seamlessly works strong social commentary into its unusually rich narrative. Boasting excellent transfers for all three films, this boxed set also features a fourth disc, “The Supplements,” with interviews, a profile of a character from Au Revoir Les Enfants, excerpts from a French TV program featuring the director, and “The Immigrant”—Charlie Chaplin's 1912 short comedy (featured in Au Revoirs Les Enfants). Recommended. (E. Hulse)