''It's Not Me, I Swear!'' (french: C'est pas moi, je le jure!) is a Canadian Quebec French-language comedy movie released in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

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 travellin ...

and is adapted from Bruno Hébert's novels ''

C'est pas moi, je le jure! ''It's Not Me, I Swear!'' (french: C'est pas moi, je le jure!) is a Canadian Quebec French-language comedy movie released in Quebec on September 26, 2008. It is directed by Philippe Falardeau and is adapted from Bruno Hébert's novels '' C'est pas ...

'' and ''Alice court avec René''.Official website of the movie
. The film's soundtrack contains original songs composed by

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

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 largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

, the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

, and the

Kingston Canadian Film Festival The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is an annual celebration of the best in Canadian cinema held in Kingston, Ontario. It is the largest stand-alone showcase of feature films from across Canada. The 2021 festival took place from February 26 to Ma ...

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 Antoine L'Écuyer (born March 26, 1997 in Montreal, Quebec) is a French Canadian actor known for his lead role of Léon Doré in ''It's Not Me, I Swear! (C'est pas moi, je le jure!)'' for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Atlantic Film Fest ...

as Léon Doré *

Suzanne Clément Suzanne Clément (born 12 May 1969) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in Xavier Dolan's arthouse films ''I Killed My Mother'' (2009), '' Laurence Anyways'' (2012), and '' Mommy'' (2014). With Emilie DeQuenne, she shared the Un Ce ...

as Madeleine Doré *

Daniel Brière Daniel Jean-Claude Brière (born October 6, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and executive. He was drafted in the first round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes, and also played for the Buffalo Sabres, Ph ...

as Philippe Doré *

Gabriel Maillé Gabriel Maillé (born 20 December 1995) is a Canadian film and television actor who started as a child actor. Maillé appeared in feature films ''It's Not Me, I Swear! (C'est pas moi, je le jure!)'' and ''1981'' before appearing in a lead role i ...

as Jérôme Doré *Catherine Faucher as Léa *Jules Philip as Mr. Marinier *

Micheline Bernard Micheline Bernard (born May 15, 1955) is a Canadian actress. She is most noted for her performances in the films '' Small Blind (La mise à l'aveugle)'', for which she received a Jutra Award nomination for Best Actress at the 15th Jutra Awards in ...

as Mrs. Brisebois *Denis Gravereaux as Mr. Pouchonnaud *Jean Maheux as Bishop Charlebois *

Évelyne Rompré Évelyne Rompré (born March 4, 1975) is a Canadian actress from Quebec. She is most noted for her performance in the 2010 film '' Twice a Woman (Deux fois une femme)'', for which she received a Jutra Award nomination for Best Actress at the 13th J ...

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