I Killed My Mother

2009 · 100 min · FR · NR · 7.4 (1,191 votes)

Dir. Xavier Dolan · Starring Anne Dorval, Xavier Dolan, François Arnaud, Suzanne Clément, Patricia Tulasne, Niels Schneider · Music Nicholas Savard-L'Herbier

“Sons forget their mothers can die.”

Drama

Hubert, a brash 17-year-old, is confused and torn by a love-hate relationship with his mother that consumes him more and more each day. After distressing ordeals and tragic episodes, Hubert will find his mother on the banks of Saint Lawrence river, where he grew up, and where a murder will be committed: the murder of childhood.

VIBE

This film is a visceral, often uncomfortable deep dive into the tempestuous, love-hate bond between a mother and her son. It's a raw, angsty exploration of identity and the painful, beautiful process of coming-of-age, steeped in melancholic introspection and volatile emotional outbursts.

angstyrawmelancholicintensevolatileslow-burnintimate character studyFrench arthouseraw emotional dramaparent-child relationshipcoming-of-ageidentityrebelliongrief

parent child relationshipboarding schoolcoming of agemale homosexualityrelationshipoverbearing mothersingle motherargumentlgbtlgbt teensemi autobiographicalmother son relationshipgay themefrench canadianboys' love (bl)absent father