The film was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 36th Academy Awards , but was not accepted as a nominee . In his '' 2006 Movie Guide '' , Leonard Maltin gives the film 3.5 stars ( out of four ) and calls it " probably Malle 's best early film . " Roger Ebert gives the film the same rating , describing it as a " triumph of style . " U.S. director Wes Anderson 's works were generally influenced by Malle , with '' The Royal Tenenbaums '' ( 2001 ) particularly drawing from '' The Fire Within '' . A line from '' The Fire Within '' is also translated into English and appears as " I 'm going to kill myself tomorrow " in '' The Royal Tenenbaums ''
36th Academy Awards
36th Academy Awards
The Fire Within