It's Not Me, I Swear!

EXCLUSIVE FIRST RUN! |  Philippe Falardeau, director of The Left Side of the Fridge and Congorama, confirms his status as one of Canada’s finest, funniest and most astute young filmmakers with It’s Not Me, I Swear!, a fresh, fast-paced seriocomic gem that created plenty of buzz — and drew glowing comparisons to the 2005 hit C.R.A.Z.Y. — on last fall’s festival circuit. The film was also selected for Canada’s Top Ten 2008 and, more recently, Canadian Front 2009, the Museum of Modern Art’s annual New York showcase of new Canadian cinema. It’s Not Me is set in the summer of 1968 in suburban Montreal, where 10-year-old hellion Léon (newcomer Antoine L’Écuyer) embarks on a spree of destructive and self-destructive behaviour as his parents’ marriage crumbles. Léon finds a friend and ally in Léa, the smarty-pants girl next door, whose family situation is also troubled. Falardeau’s film offers a highly pleasing mix of humour and pathos, and impresses with its stylish period re-creation, fine performances, and assured, energetic direction. "It may be the most entertaining Canadian movie to hit screens this year, provided you’re able to see the humour in a film that starts with its 10-year-old hero trying to hang himself” (Jason Anderson, Eye Weekly). "Highly sophisticated, often hysterically funny...A touching and amusing meditation on changing mores and family structures...One of the sharpest and most entertaining films you will see this year" (Toronto I.F.F.). Colour, 35mm, in French with English subtitles. 105 mins.