Sous-sol (1996)
English title: Not Me!
Directed by Pierre Gang (Canada - language: French)
Boy actor: Richard Moffatt
This is an interesting film about an 11-year-old boy who catches a glimpse of his parents having sex one night. When he awakens the next morning to find his father dead of a heart attack, he develops an irrational fear of sex and holds his mother responsible for the murder of his father.
The film takes place in Quebec in the late sixties. A beautiful French woman moves in to the apartment upstairs and the boy inevitably falls in love with her. Another plot element involves the mother's lover who moves in about halfway through the film.
Louise Portal, who plays the boy's mother, is one of Quebec's most gifted actresses and she gives a fine performance here. I often had the impression that the film was trying to be another version of Léolo - there are a lot of similarities between the two, although this one is definitely a lesser achievement. Nevertheless, I think it is well worth watching, in spite of a few weaknesses.
The boy who plays the lead is very cute, although you can't really tell from these, the only two pictures I could find online. Sorry I couldn't find anything better - I would make video captures if I had the required technology.
I don't anything about this film's availability outside of Canada or on DVD. CVMC has a copy for rent, but I think it is without English subtitles.
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