French film director, screenwriter and producer Louis Malle began his journey in the film industry by writing and directing a couple of short films ‘Crazeologie’ (1953) and ‘Station 307’ (1954). In 1956, he worked as a co-director and cameraman to Jacques Cousteau on the documentary film ‘The Silent World’ and assisted Robert Bresson on his film ‘A Man Escaped’. Malle’s first full-length feature film was the crime thriller ‘Elevator to the Gallows’ (‘Ascenseur pour l'échafaud’, written and directed) which was released in 1958 and made its leading actress Jeanne Moreau an international star. His second film as a director was the controversial drama film ‘The Lovers’ (‘Les Amants’) which released the same year and became a commercial success. It established his reputation as a director in the industry. The film bagged the Special Jury Prize at the ‘Venice Film Festival’ and was also nominated for the Golden Lion award at the festival.
The decade of 1960s saw him writing and directing a number of feature films including ‘Zazie in the Metro’ (‘Zazie dans le Métro’, also producer, 1960), ‘A Very Private Affair’ (‘Vie privée’, 1962), ‘The Fire Within’ (‘Le feu follet’, 1963), ‘Viva Maria!’ (1965), ‘The Thief of Paris’ (‘Le voleur’, 1967) and ‘Spirits of the Dead’ (‘Histoires extraordinaires’, 1968). Amongst these the drama film ‘The Fire Within’ dealt with taboo subjects of depression and suicide. The movie is considered one of his most mature and sophisticated work and once again claimed the Special Jury Prize and the Pasinetti Award at the 1963 ‘Venice Film Festival’. The movie has an IMDB rating of 7.9/10 and Rotten Tomato score of 82%. The crime film ‘Le voleur’ which revolves around a man who becomes a thief to seek revenge was nominated for the Grand Prix award at the ‘Moscow International Film Festival’. In the anthology film ‘Spirits of the Dead’, he directed the segment ‘William Wilson’.
The period also saw Louis Malle writing and directing the documentary series ‘Phantom India’ (1969) and the documentary film ‘Calcutta’ (1969) both of which won him international acclaim. The latter even won the Grand Prix award at the ‘Melbourne International Film Festival’ and was also nominated for Palme d'Or at the ‘Cannes Film Festival’.
His 1971 written and directed comedy-drama movie ‘The Murmur of the Heart’ (‘Le souffle au cœur’) was about an adolescent boy’s struggle between an urge to discover love and the dominating affection of his mother. The movie is considered one of the best coming of age movie ever made and earned him his first ‘Academy Award’ nomination in Best Writing, Story and Screenplay category, apart from Palme d'Or nomination at the ‘Cannes Film Festival’ as well as a ‘NSFC Award’ (National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA) nomination in the best screenplay category. His next film, the 1974 war drama film ‘Lacombe, Lucien’ (written, directed, produced) was about a French teenage boy who becomes an informer for the Gestapo during the German occupation of France. The film won nominations at the ‘Academy Award’ (Best Foreign Language Film) and ‘Golden Globes’ (Best Foreign Film) and bagged the ‘BAFTA’ for Best Film.
Louis Malle then shifted to America and amongst the early films he directed there was Brooke Shields, Keith Carradine and Susan Sarandon starrer 1978 historical drama ‘Pretty Baby’ (also producer). The movie received positive reviews from critics and bagged the Technical Grand Prize at the ‘Cannes Film Festival’. His 1980 romantic crime film ‘Atlantic City’ about a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer won critical acclaim and bagged him the best director award at the ‘BAFTA’ and the Golden Lion Award at the ‘Venice Film Festival’. It also won him best director nominations at the ‘Academy Award’ and ‘Golden Globe Awards’.
The other movies that he directed in the 1980s were ‘My Dinner with André’ (1981), ‘Crackers’ (1984), ‘Alamo Bay’ (1985, producer too) and ‘Goodbye, Children’ (‘Au revoir les enfants’, 1987, writer and producer too). While the first movie was a comedy-drama about two old friends’ dinner table conversation, the last film was an autobiographical movie based in a Catholic boarding school (in Nazi-occupied France) whose kind headmaster secretly shelters a few Jewish students. The latter film was his most critically acclaimed film and bagged multiple nominations and awards. It won the Golden Lion and the OCIC Award at the ‘Venice film Festival’; Best Director award at the ‘BAFTA’, Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay award at the ‘Cesar Awards’ and Best Screenwriter award at the ‘European Film Awards’. In addition, the film also won nominations at the ‘Academy Award’ (Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay), ‘Golden Globes’ (Best Foreign Film), ‘BAFTA’ (Best Film and Best Screenplay) and ‘European Film Awards’ (Best Film and Best Director). His Golden Lion award at the Venice Film festival made him one of the only four directors who have bagged the Golden Lion twice. The movie has a Rotten Tomato score of 97% and an IMDB rating of 8.0/10.
In the 1990s, he directed and produced films like ‘May Fools’ (‘Milou en Mai’, also writer, 1990), ‘Damage’ (1992) and ‘Vanya on 42nd Street’ (his last feature film, 1994).
Apart from the ones mentioned above, Louis Malle directed other documentary films too. These include ‘Human, Too Human’ (‘Humain, trop humain’, 1973), ‘Place de la République’ (1974), ‘Close Up’ (1976) and ‘And the Pursuit of Happiness’ (1986). He directed the television movie documentary ‘God's Country’ (1985) too.
The semi-biographical drama, based on Brigitte Bardot’s life, also known as A Very Private Affair, depicts the story of young actress Jill. After she becomes a famous movie star and has an affair with her divorced friend Fabio, the press and fans intrude in her personal life leading to unexpected complications.
Julien is a student studying at a boarding school that is run by priests. He dislikes his new roommate Jean, but eventually they begin to develop a bond. They share secrets with one another, but eventually, Julien learns that Jean is a Jew, who has been hiding from the Nazis.
Florence is married to Simon, a wealthy arms dealer, but she is having an affair with Julien, an employee working for her husband. When Julien murders Simon, it leads to an unfortunate chain of events.
Alain Leroy is an alcoholic who is working towards recovery at a rehabilitation clinic. Even though his doctors believe that he is now ready to resume his regular life, he wishes to remain at the clinic, since he finds no reason to live. Even though he feels suicidal, he decides to visit his friends for a last time, hoping that he can find a reason to continue living.
Murmur of the Heart is a comedy drama film which tells the story of an adolescent boy who finds himself torn between the rebellious urge to discover love after reaching sexual maturity, and the dominating affection of his mother.
An eighteen year old boy living in a small town in France begins to collaborate with the Nazis, during the time of the Second World War. He soon meets and falls for a girl, who happens to be the daughter of a Jewish tailor.
Sally Matthews leaves her home in Canada and relocates to Atlantic City. She wishes to pursue a career in gambling but her criminal husband is still on her trail. She soon finds an unlikely savior in a small-time mobster.
The Lovers is a romantic drama film which tells the story of Jeanne, a married woman, whose husband is quite busy with his work, and has little time for her. Therefore she spends a lot of time with her lover Raoul and her friend Maggie. However, after accepting a lift from another younger man named Bernard, she finds herself attracted to him.
This comedy film revolves around a ten year old girl named Zazie, who is sent to stay for a couple of days with her relatives in Paris, since her mother is away for the weekend to spend some time with her lover. Things get complicated when Zazie escapes from her uncle’s custody, and sets out on an adventure to explore the city by herself.
Damage is a romantic psychological thriller film which tells the story of British politician Stephen who is in a dull but stable marriage. When he meets the fiancee of his son, he becomes quite attracted to her, and begins an intense affair. As the situation worsens, Stephen finds himself struggling to avoid destroying himself and his family.
Hattie is young prostitute in New Orleans who meets a photographer named Bellocq after he pays a visit to her brothel. He also befriend Hattie’s daughter, Violet, but soon Violet is made a working girl by the brothel’s madam. Violet’s life turns worse after her mother gets married to a wealthy client and moves to Saint Louis. Therefore, Violet decides to get married to Bellocq.
Based on works of Edgar Allan Poe, this anthology horror film tells us three different stories. The first story is about Countess Frédérique, who lives a promiscuous life. She finds herself attracted to Baron Wilhelm, who is her cousin and neighbor, whom she had never before met due to a family feud. However, he rejects her due to her wicked ways, after which she plans revenge. The second story is about an army officer named William Wilson, who decides to confess his crimes to a priest. The last story is about a Shakespearean actor whose career is declining due to his alcoholism.
Black Moon is a fantasy horror film which tells the story of a woman named Lily, who tries to find safety in a world where a war has erupted between the genders, and men and women are killing one another.
The semi-biographical drama, based on Brigitte Bardot’s life, also known as A Very Private Affair, depicts the story of young actress Jill. After she becomes a famous movie star and has an affair with her divorced friend Fabio, the press and fans intrude in her personal life leading to unexpected complications.
A low-paying pawn shop employee, Weslake joins in on a plan by an amateur musician Dillard, an illegal immigrant Ramon, a pimp named Broadwalk, and a homeless man named Turtle to break into the large safe in the pawn shop. But the rewards might not be what they expected.
The semi-biographical drama, based on Brigitte Bardot’s life, also known as A Very Private Affair, depicts the story of young actress Jill. After she becomes a famous movie star and has an affair with her divorced friend Fabio, the press and fans intrude in her personal life leading to unexpected complications.
Louis Malle Awards
| Au revoir les enfants | Best Direction | 1989 |
| Atlantic City | Best Direction | 1982 |
