Wallflower Press Chapter Title: The Figure of the Mother in May Fools, Au revoir les enfants and Murmur of the Heart Chapter Author(s): Justine Malle Book Title: The Cinema of Louis Malle Book Subtitle: Transatlantic Auteur Book Editor(s): Philippe Met Published by: Columbia University Press; Wallflower Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/10.7312/met-18870.15 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Columbia University Press and Wallflower Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Cinema of Louis Malle This content downloaded from 95.183.180.42 on Tue, 19 May 2020 10:57:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms CHAPTER NINE The Figure of the Mother in May Fools, Au revoir les enfants and Murmur of the Heart Justine Malle ‘If I dared, I’d say my mother may be the most important person of my life.’ – Louis Malle, Parlez-moi d’elle Though it may have occupied a very important place in Louis Malle’s work as well as in his life, the figure of the mother has not been explored critically. Is it one of those themes that are so obvious one no longer sees them? Is it that it weaves together the author’s life and his work in too mechanical a way? A radio interview Malle gave in 1993 about his mother prompted me to investigate the way he represents her in three of his ‘autobiographical’ films where the figure in question plays a central part: Milou en mai (May Fools, 1989), Le Souffle au cœur( Murmur of the Heart, 1971) and Au revoir les enfants (1987).