It’s Not Me, I Swear!

Ten-year-old Léon is one unhappy boy. It's 1968 and he lives in a suburb of Quebec where the neighbors are normal and do family things together. Léon simply cannot be like them. His dad is an activist lawyer caught up with causes rather than his wife and boys. His mama is a free spirit who wears long flowing gowns and goes barefoot. She's a frustrated painter who longs for beauty and light and is overwhelmed by the suffocation of her suburban existence. She and Léon share a bond– a longing for the excitement of Odysseus's voyages. In the meantime, she and her husband fight like cats and dogs. Léon cries out mightily for help, attempting suicide, setting fires, and vandalizing neighbors' homes. When his Mama actually leaves them for Greece, the sensitive Léon redoubles his efforts. Together with a playmate who has troubles of her own, he cooks up a plan to get money to go to Greece. But this young Odysseus must first battle his own demons, ford a river, and even come up against a Cyclops. Young Antoine L'Ècuyer turns in an astounding first performance that will make you laugh with one eye and cry with the other. (In French with English subtitles) – B.B.