I Killed My Mother (2009)

Wow...! What a masterpiece... I prefer to believe that Xavier Dolan is not only a shootin star, but a director, actor and writer for history... "J'ai Tué Ma Mére" is one hell of a brilliant tour de force through emotions, love, identity, sexuality.... Xavier is outstanding (as himself??) fighting against himself and his mom and surroundings - the 'battles' with his mom is unique - and the 'love-scene' after 'painting the wall' is truly a highlight.

Almost can't believe a 20-yr old wrote and directed - and played the leading part in - this excellent movie. Don't know why, but when watchin Xavier I'm thinking of James Dean (Rebel Without A Cause)and River Phoenix (My Own Private Idaho)...

Love you Xavier for this - and lookin forward to forthcoming works. So fu***n GREAT!

Fmovies: I Killed My Mother is a Canadian film in French with English subtitles. The film focuses on the relationship between a 16 year old named Hubert and his mother Chantale. To say that they do not always get along is an understatement. Yet with all the verbal abuse between one another and the tension, they do still love each other and may soon realize that perhaps they can not live without one another. Chantale was not ready to become a mother and in a lot of ways, still is not, even though her son Hubert is now 16. We see Chantale as ego centric sometimes, but mainly just in her own world and the concerns of Hubert are not always hers and when he tells her something, she soon forgets and in a lot of ways she can have temper tantrums and be just as immature as a child at times when things are not going her way. Hubert is a teenager, which anyone can tell you is one of the most complex and stressful parts of one's life and growing up. Hubert is starting to find love and creativity in what he does, but he often feels that Chantale does not appreciate him, let him have his own space, or even acknowledge that he is there a lot of the time and his feelings, needs and concerns mean little to her, or if they have any significance, she soon forgets them. Hubert is coming to a point in his life where he is hiding quite a bit from his mother and perhaps if they were closer this would not be the case, but it makes it all the more difficult for him. One thing that I really liked about the film was that it does not place blame for the poor state of the relationship solely on Chantale and neither does it place all the responsibility, or fault on Hubert. Like any family that is going to work, or be somewhat functional, it takes the efforts and input from everyone involved to make it work, not just one individual alone. The film is told from Hubert's perspective and even he admits that there are things he still loves about his mother and we can see from her body language and the way she acts that deep down she still really cares for him and perhaps the problem is that she has too much other stuff on her mind. The character development and just the handling of the story is fantastically done. It takes a subject most of us would have some insight on in one way or another and gives us different ways of looking at it. At times what we are watching is very unsettling and hard to watch at times, at other times it is very realistic and no matter what type of background, or family you come from, you can not help, but reflect on your own childhood and relationship to your own parent, or guardian. The writing establishing these characters and their own problems, needs and ways of reaching out is pretty realistic and is all the more believable because of fine dialogue and top notch acting. Both, Xavier Dolan (Hubert) and Anne Dorval (Chantale) give fearless performances here going to places with their characters and their psyches and the way they pull it off with energy, sadness, facial and body language is terrific. The script and the film's direction which is also from Dolan is at times haunting, poetically beautiful at other times and it always feels so real and like he has captured life through his art. Not an easy thing to do and here he does an amazing job. Dolan wrote, directed and starred in this film at the age of 19 and this film is just as good as a film from a much older or experienced director, writer or actor. This is a terrific debut for him and mark my words because this guy is going places in a big way. I can not wait till I see what he

I attended a screening of "J'ai Tué Ma Mère" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Based on his own childhood and adolescence in Québec, Xavier Dolan's film probes the relationship between mother and child when the son's sexuality is in question. Awkward early relationships are difficult for any teen, let alone one burdened with his own fears and mother's unwillingness to accept his "difference." Arguments and fight scenes between Dolan and his mom (the stunning Anne Dorval) are painful to watch, but tender love scenes with François Arnaud provide a stark and welcome contrast.

The film is filled with anger, sadness, love, hate, and humor -- lots of it. It's a winner and received a standing ovation here. And some inspiration for budding filmmakers: Dolan wrote, directed, produced, and starred in J'ai Tué Ma Mère at the age of 19.

I Killed My Mother fmovies. "J'ai tue ma mere" seems a little rough around the edges and Xavier Dolan doesn't frame his shots so that they're picture perfect, but it seemed to suit the story. More to the point, what was happening inside the frame was much too interesting, and often moving, and I watched the movie in its entirety from beginning to end.

"J'ai tue ma mere" is the story of a gay teenager and his mother in a single-parent household. Man, do I know that territory well! I don't like the word "dysfunctional" - it's coined psycho-babble. The household depicted here is about as real as I've ever seen in a film. It functions as well as it can given the tight quarters mother and son share. They're continually sparring. Hubert, wary, entirely self-centred and quite the drama queen, goes on rants and tries to push his mother's buttons and test her love, but when he needs a favour, it's back to calling her "mommy". I loved her philosophical stoicism, an attitude she developed, I would guess, to protect herself from hurt, and I was touched by Hubert's back-pedalling when he thinks he's gone too far. Both sweet and raw, this is is a relationship of love. I smiled during the scene when mom brings up his homosexuality and he's caught off-guard. Actually, I smiled for a number of reasons, one of which was because, for once, Hubert was speechless.

The film is open-ended, the way life is, and the way the young view life, far-reaching and full of possibilities. It's a lovely film - warm, frank and not without a little self-deprecating humour and genuine wit (the shot of the Virgin Mary, within a specific context). I was left with the feeling that this was a chapter in a life, a relationship, and I felt optimistic. Perhaps, one day, Xavier Dolan will continue the story on film. I look forward to it.

I just finished watching this film online with poorly translated subtitles which made it difficult to decipher what the characters were saying some of the time, however I got the gist of what was going on.

A few of the reviews I've read have said they couldn't stand the main character and it dragged the film down. I think this film works because the main character is so bratty! He is absolutely wretched to his mother at some points and his mother perfectly nice back to him. One reviewer said they couldn't understand why he was so mean to his mother 'for no reason'. I actually related to Hubert's character getting annoyed at little things because when you're a teenager everything about your parent can annoy you! The first scene is stellar with the mother having cream cheese on her face and it annoying Hubert.

I also believe that him being a 'closeted' gay and wanting freedom from his mother would also have been contributing factors as to why he was such a brat to his mother. The constant struggle between wanting to be independent of your parents but also not being quite old enough to be completely alone and still depending on a parent is what is captured so well in this film. I like that you can see the angst between mother and son from the child's eyes, frustrated yet loving. Hubert is a tortured soul! Everything is a little exaggerated, but wasn't every little problem a big deal when you were 16?

This film was great in my eyes. I got a lot of entertainment from it and it's an amazing effort for the first directorial. It is definitely stylised and borrows from the likes of Wong Kar Wai (violins??) but it suits the film and contemporary setting and interests of young adults today.

Review: I Killed My Mother/J'ai tué ma mère 9*/10

Largely autobiographical, the film details the intensely volatile relationship between a gay 16-year-old, Hubert (Dolan), and his mother, Chantale (Anne Dorval). The film builds through a series of richly hysterical conflicts that find these two characters exceedingly incapable of living with or without one another. Perhaps a viciously honest love story more than anything else, I Killed My Mother gives us an acute and compassionate portrayal of both sides of this complex human interaction.

Dolan stars as a Montreal teen whose relationship with his mother redefines "troubled" — the young hyphenate a natural in front of the camera and a little over-excited behind it.

Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.