''It's Not Me, I Swear!'' () is a Canadian
Quebec French-language comedy movie released in
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
on September 26, 2008. It is directed by
Philippe Falardeau
Philippe Falardeau (; born February 1, 1968, in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.
Early life
Falardeau was born and raised in Hull, Quebec. He later studied political science at the University of Ottawa, before trave ...
and is adapted from Bruno Hébert's novels ''
C'est pas moi, je le jure!'' and ''Alice court avec René''.
[.] The film's soundtrack contains original songs composed by
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
musician
Patrick Watson. It was screened at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
, the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
, and the
Kingston Canadian Film Festival.
Synopsis
The story begins with a boy hanging himself in a tree, for fun. Léon is a 10-year-old kid, with a tendency to vandalize, lie, prank, steal or even attempt suicide. He is not necessarily suicidal, but to escape punishments for his other deeds, he uses the suicide trick to get out of blame. When his parents were fighting, he sets fire to the bed, simply to make them stop. The story circulates around the evolving love of Léon, and another girl who lives next door, whose name is Lea. She is regularly beaten by her uncle, and dreams of a normal childhood, specifically showing a desire for Barbie dolls. Their love proves to be difficult however, as at first Leon cannot admit that he likes her, but when he confesses his love, Lea throws him off by replying that she too loves herself. Léon's mother moves away when she and her husband have had a big argument, and leaves the next day for Greece. Léon and his brother struggle to accept this, and try several different ways to get in touch with her, such as running away to Greece, ringing her, or trying to find her home address. Leon follows Lea's plan to go to Greece but really Lea wants to look for her father. Lea runs off to look for her father but her father moved over a year ago, according to the woman living in the house where he once lived. Leon and Lea return but Leon's father is furious and Leon jumps off a high ledge to attempt suicide but fails. One day, a woman who resembles Léons mother arrives from Greece, and delivers both messages and gifts from her. She is most probably a daughter. She also secretly gives Léon's brother the telephone number for her mother, and he telephones her many times in the dead of night; leaving expensive bills for Léon (the chronic liar) to take blame for. The story ends with Léon going to a local bowling alley where he often goes to spend time, but this time he places his head where the bowling ball hits the pins, and awaits the impact of the ball. Though he wakes up, and realizes that life may not be for him, but he is made for life.
Cast
*
Antoine L'Écuyer as Léon Doré
*
Suzanne Clément as Madeleine Doré
*
Daniel Brière
Daniel Jean-Claude Brière (born October 6, 1977) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers. He was drafted in the first round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona ...
as Philippe Doré
*
Gabriel Maillé as Jérôme Doré
*Catherine Faucher as Léa
*Jules Philip as Mr. Marinier
*
Micheline Bernard as Mrs. Brisebois
*Denis Gravereaux as Mr. Pouchonnaud
*Jean Maheux as Bishop Charlebois
*
Évelyne Rompré as Mrs. Chavagnac
References
External links
*
Cinoche profil
*
{{VFCC Award for Best Canadian Film
2008 films
2000s coming-of-age comedy films
Films directed by Philippe Falardeau
Canadian coming-of-age comedy films
French-language Canadian films
2000s Canadian films