1981

Ricardo Trogi's 2009 Quebec film draws on his own childhood. Eleven-year-old Ricardo moves with his family to a new neighbourhood and starts lying constantly to be accepted at his new school: about his father's job, the family's money, the things he owns. The bigger the lies get, the harder they are to hold up. The film builds the daily life of an immigrant family of Italian descent in Quebec in 1981, complete with the period's objects and music; it leans into nostalgia but never lets its child protagonist off the hook. Trogi narrates in his own voice and sets the irony of the adult view alongside the boy's seriousness. It is the first of a series of autobiographical films made the same way. Who it's for: viewers who like Quebec cinema and coming-of-age stories. Who it's not for: anyone who will miss most of the period references and does not share the nostalgia.