Xavier Dolan

If the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight is considered to be a ‘scouting agency’ for the next big thing in filmmaking, the talented Mr Xavier Dolan is surely one great discovery.

Born in 1989 in Montreal, he started out as a child actor and eventually entered the film and television industry while dropping out of school. Moving out of the family home and living on his own during years of “nothingness”, as he calls them, nurtured his creative flair and paved the ground for his first feature, which started as a short novella.

Although there is so far little documentation about Dolan’s life, there’s no better place to explore his temperament than in I killed my mother. Not only the provocative title, but also the semi-autobiographical tone, cannot really let the film pass unnoticed. The story focuses on Hubert (played by Xavier himself), a 16-year-old boy who lives with his mother, who he absolutely hates. The fragile adolescent stage he is going through enhances the lack of communication between them, as they both seem to be coming from different worlds. Their shocking encounters also emanate from Hubert’s homosexuality and are being processed through his sensitive, artistic psyche. However, his attempt to revive his childhood memories of when their relationship was unconditionally affectionate leads him to the realisation of their deep bond.

An exceptionally creative film, I killed my mother comes out more as a manifesto, a tribute to the dark paths of adolescence. In a series of black and white inserts, Dolan confesses his turbulent emotions, an experience which seems to be necessary for him in order to reach a catharsis. However, there is much more love than expected at first glance. Scenes shot on Super 8 that recall the characters’ past memories and dreamy desires are all declaring the inner battle of the child trying to separate from his mother, and eventually, grow up. This attempt to “bury childhood” as the director prefers to call it, makes I killed my mother an optional title, as it could also be altered to I killed my son. Still, if anyone wonders how his mother feels about this project he surprisingly confesses that, although she has not yet seen the film, it was an experience that made them reunite.

Attending the press conference after the screening, Xavier had the uneasy grin of a kid who is expecting his first grades from school (but suspects he did well). A couple of questions were enough to make him relax and explain his work, motives and inspirations. “It was certainly a dream but for sure I was not expecting all this” was his response regarding his presence in Cannes.

Despite his youth his film feels mature, perhaps because he also grew up in the process of making it. And his eloquent and intellectual use of language is certainly an indication that he is in fact an author, if not an auteur. Once you have seen his film you can certainly recognize where all this poetic realism emanates from: he pays homage to Wong Kar Wai, with the use of music and slow-paced movements, and even Michael Haneke (as he admits) in his meticulous, calculating directing methods. But it also seems like he enjoys teasing cinephile audiences and referencing directors he admires, such as Gus Van Sant, Truffaut and Godard. In fact, his next project will be influenced by Pierrot le Fou, and will explore the theme of transsexuality.

The detailed analysis of the film by Dolan himself says a lot about his self confidence and gives the impression that he knows exactly what he wants. The shots in which the characters are placed on the margin of the frame, for example, suggest their loneliness, and the setting is also full of symbols. But even without logical justification, I killed my mother speaks for itself. We shouldn’t forget that this is a diary on celluloid which, as the director states, works as an exercise in self-exposure. I am not sure if this autobiographical debut will promise a bright future, but there was something about Xavier Dolan that felt real. Reading his letter in the press-kit, he quotes his great-aunt by saying: “those without a dream will die from the cold”. I think he will probably keep himself warm for a little while.

Eftihia Stefanidi