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It's Not Me, I Swear!

Play trailer Poster for It's Not Me, I Swear! 2008 1h 45m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
During the summer of 1968, Leon, a 10-year-old boy, navigates the hardships of young love, his lunatic mother's whims, and his urges to vandalize the house of his neighbors.

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Liam Lacey Globe and Mail Modest, but resonant, It's Not Me, I Swear!, is a Quebec coming-of-age story that juggles elements of dark humour, pathos and childhood whimsy. Rated: 3/4 Feb 27, 2009 Full Review Peter Howell Toronto Star Impeccable production values help make this family angst unforgettable. Cinematographer Andr Turpin lenses with Ektachrome brilliance. Rated: 3/4 Feb 27, 2009 Full Review Brian D. Johnson Maclean's Magazine As a poetic tale of an outrageous artist-as-a-young-boy, It's Not Me, I Swear is also reminiscent of Lolo, the wonderful 1992 film by the late Jean-Claude Lauzon. Jan 2, 2018 Full Review Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews [Director Philippe] Falardeau carefully weaves [the] varied relationships and plot threads with deft ease. Rated: B Feb 28, 2010 Full Review Liz Braun Jam! Movies Somehow, all this chaos is absurd and often very funny. When it's not heartbreaking. Rated: 4/5 Feb 27, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member This is a real favourite of mine. The late 60's style and colours have a lovely warm feel to them. Surburban life in Quebec never looked so stylised yet dull at the same time. The story is painfully sad, suspenseful and funny in turn. Exploring love, jealousy, childhood confusion and frustration. The main character is accident prone, witty and deceitful. He is also tortured by his Mother's need to escape. I found this film slowed down in the middle and my interest slipped away. But it was caught again and I loved it. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Children movies are what I frequently pick to watch and that is how I ended here. This is somehow a similar kind of movie to 'Dennis the Menace'. Only the character wise, but there are plenty of differences illustrating a boy's nuisance and menace. Yeah, it was about a 9 year old boy and his strange and unexpected bahaviour. Don't think in a serious manner, I was saying kind of cute like the one from 'Le Petit Nicolas'. Leon is not happy for their parents' everyday fights. He thinks he can stop it if some distracting thing happened them around. So decides to try with the dangerous game and make them to blame for it. But everything he attempted goes terribly wrong and one day he also loses his beloved one. Then is main focus turn to bring her back. While preparing for it, he falls in love for a neighbour girl. The mischievous boy with the series of unsuccessful event can turn everything back on track is what explained till the end. ''It's better not to lie, but it's worse to lie badly.'' This was the movie like I desired for. An interesting and playful character is what we expect most from a kid role in an entertaining movie. The story also conveys parental negligence over kids with unorthodox character. As the story set in the late 60s, the atmosphere was flawless and looked surreal. Everyone played well, father, mother, brother and so the girl. One of the unforgettable children's movies if you are a fan of this genre. I am not going to disclose how the story ends, but I will be happy if a sequel explains a few things, especially the romance. With the existing end and a beautiful dialogue before the credits roll up I don't know why I thought of a follow-up. Maybe I am so excited to see Leon again because he was so awesome. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I'm speechless. This is hands down the best cinematic performance I've ever seen a child deliver. This movie was all sorts of beautiful and charming while remaining realistic. Wow. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member "Não Sou Eu, Eu Juro", é um filme canadense que trata muitíssimo bem sobre as perdas e as loucuras de Léon Dóre, um menino de dez anos de idade. Com uma direção muito simples e que busca mostrar a ingenuidade por trás de um garoto que é visto como uma peste, o diretor Philippe Falardeau consegue trazer ao filme delicadas e belíssimas cenas sobre um amor de infância vivido por Léon e por sua vizinha de mesma idade, Léa. E é aí que as duas crianças entram: Antoine L'Écuyer como Léon Dóre e Catherine Faucher como Léa: ambos em ótimas atuações infantis e que trouxeram muita química para este belo e inocente casal. "Não Sou Eu, Eu Juro" ainda trás frases inteligentes e muito divertidas, que se propõem a explorar a ingenuidade das duas crianças: "A vida não é feita para mim, mas eu pareço ter sido feito para a vida."; "Em tempos de desespero, medidas desesperadas." e por fim "Ela esvaziou minhas reservas de amor por uns vinte anos". O roteiro (como já citado) é super competente e consegue trazer aquele tom de "infância triste" que poucos filmes conseguem. É um filme ao estilo de "Meu Primeiro Amor", mas falado em língua francesa. É poético, doce e que desperta a Léa e o Léon que há dentro de todos nós. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member You're a moron if you don't like this movie.STOP Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member In my opinion, the most heartwarming, gut wrenching, beautiful movie I have ever seen. This is rare to say from an English speaking background (considering the movie is in French). Characters are constructed beautifully and everything about this movie is perfect, even down to the score, written by Patrick Watson. Five stars, not a doubt in my mind. If you don't watch this movie, you are seriously missing out. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
It's Not Me, I Swear!

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis During the summer of 1968, Leon, a 10-year-old boy, navigates the hardships of young love, his lunatic mother's whims, and his urges to vandalize the house of his neighbors.
Director
Philippe Falardeau
Producer
Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Screenwriter
Philippe Falardeau
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 11, 2015
Runtime
1h 45m