"The other Louis Malle I chose, my favorite of his and the first one I saw. I was lucky enough to take a class on Malle in university, and so I was exposed to this great filmmaker at a young age. This is by far the best coming-of-age story I have ever seen. The incestuous mother/son relationship is surprisingly underplayed and comical. In a scenario that would otherwise be shocking, Malle doesn’t judge his characters, he just tells their story. Also notable is the beautiful Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker soundtrack. A wonderful, rare movie."

"It was a struggle for me to choose just one Louis Malle film, so I chose two to count as one. This one is particularly exceptional, thanks in part to the amazing performance by Maurice Ronet. Pushed by Malle to lose forty pounds, Ronet gave a hard, hopeless portrayal of a despondent and suicidal man saying good-bye to his disdainful and shallow youth. Though he originally shot the film in color, Malle switched to black and white to more accurately depict the subject matter. Listening to the commentary, I learned that Malle used this film as a sort of exorcism for himself, feeling that he had already done everything at such a young age. Deeply personal, it was his favorite of his own films."

"The first film I would watch over and over again. It’s so full of joy and made with such seeming confidence and love. Louis Malle is one of my favorite directors, and it’s great to see him so well represented at Criterion."

"This is one of my favorite films. The way that Louis Malle shoots Jeanne Moreau—those are some of the most beautiful walking scenes I’ve seen. She’s walking in the rain with her head held high, lost in herself, mumbling, and with that amazing score being played by Miles Davis. There is something so modern about the film, and it feels like it opens so many doors. When I was making A Fantastic Woman, I was trying to get a little bit closer to the elegant approach that Malle used to capture Moreau’s presence."

"I remember the story of Lacombe, Lucien, who was seduced by the German occupiers to be a quisling. They made him feel he was “somebody.” The film, being after the war, dealt with his psychic examination of who he was; many of his contemporaries would not forgive him. I knew director Louis Malle personally, and I know that attracted me to see his film, which was somewhat autobiographical."

"I’m going to go with Murmur of the Heart, the Louis Malle film. That’s one that I’ve seen in the last couple years that has become a new favorite. It’s about a little boy growing up and his love for his mother and the complication of being a child and becoming an adult and living in that liminal space. That movie really broke my heart and surprised me in just one hundred ways."

"In one of the most indelible scenes of the early French New Wave, Jeanne Moreau searches for her lover in rain-swept Paris streets, accompanied by the only film score that Miles Davis ever composed. Her iconic suit was designed by Chanel, as were her dresses in another 1958 Louis Malle classic, The Lovers. The actress and designer saw each other often, loving to share anecdotes and book recommendations in Chanel’s personal library."

"I came across this at a time when I was obsessed with Louis Malle and purchased the box set of films that he made between his features. Vive le Tour shows his passion as a camera operator and cycling fanatic. Malle really gets in the mix with these guys, driving alongside the riders and capturing the race at another time. You can see Eddy Merckx swing into a café for a beer, stuffing a can in his jersey on the way out. Nuns, priests, cats, dogs, and the rest of the population of France gather on the roadside and cheer the racers through the villages on this seemingly national holiday. The film is a poetic series of candid snapshots from one of the best eyes in cinema."