Louis Malle’s talent for home design is less well-known than his cinematic masterpieces like Pretty Baby and Au Revoir les Enfants. Is that all about to change?
Well, no. But for the first time, those outside the extended Malle circle may be able to experience the French screenwriter, director, and producer’s aesthetic: Le Coual, his family’s home nestled in the Lot region of southwestern France, is now available to rent by the week.
When Malle purchased it in the mid-60s, it was a ruin. He had been looking for a country home when one of his friends, a location scout, came across Le Coual (“the raven’s cry”) near the town of Cahors. He phoned the director in Cannes, where he was attending the film festival. Malle drove straight there. So what if it didn’t have a roof? The 19th-century stone manor, complemented by 18th-century turrets and a few more contemporary additions, charmed him.
Today, the estate includes six bedrooms, gracious living rooms, a pool house, and a barn where Malle edited many of his films, including My Dinner with André. In the office, he plugged away at his screenplays, and his artwork and books remain exactly as they were when he died, in 1995. (This will all look very familiar to fans of Malle’s 1975 fantasy-horror film Black Moon, which was filmed there.)
Today, Le Coual is treasured and managed by his three children: Manuel Malle, his son with the German actress Gila von Weitershausen, and his daughters Justine Malle, with Canadian actress Alexandra Stewart, and Chloe Malle, with Candice Bergen. “We spent good chunks of our summers there,” says Manuel. “It’s certainly the place I saw my dad most.”
His artwork and books remain exactly as they were when he died, in 1995.
The women in Malle’s life all left their marks on the place. In the mid-60s, his first wife, the actress Anne-Marie Deschodt, kicked off its renovation. A few years later, von Weitershausen masterminded the pool. (It lacks a deep end, but that’s by design, says Manuel: “The idea is you can walk around carrying a cocktail.”) In the 70s, Stewart revamped the kitchen, centering it around the hearth. “Everyone who loves to cook says it’s one of the great kitchens,” says Chloe. (It’s been modernized over the years.) In the 80s and 90s, Bergen designed the gardens.
Today, Le Coual is a spacious family home, ideal for two families of four, especially those who will relish exploring Lot’s wineries and markets. “For me, the central activity of being there is going to the surrounding villages every day of the week,” says Chloe. Family favorites include Figeac and the medieval village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. “[The region] is very much food-focused.” Because this is France, there are also castles worth visiting, including the 13th-century Château de Duras, and boating on the Lot river.
Getting around requires a rental car, which can be procured from the airport in Toulouse, a 90-minute drive from Le Coual. (The train station in Cahors, just 20 miles away, has options as well.) But once you arrive it will be very tempting to stay put and cook, swim, read, rest, rinse, and repeat. “It’s a very magical and creative place,” says Chloe. Thanks for sharing.
Le Coual can be rented by the week with rates beginning at $6,000. For inquiries, please send a direct message to @le_coual_ on Instagram
Ashley Baker is a Deputy Editor at AIR MAIL and a co-host of the Morning Meeting podcast
