I Killed My Mother

Hubert tells this shocking lie during an argument in the car when his mother Chantale kicks him out and tells him to walk to school. In that moment of rebellion and anger, he fabricates the story to his teacher Ms. Cloutier. When the lie is uncovered, Ms. Cloutier chillingly tells him 'you killed your mother,' which later becomes the title of his provocative school essay. The lie represents Hubert's desperate attempt to express the emotional death he feels his mother has already caused him.

Hubert's desire for independence stems from the suffocating tension in his relationship with his mother. He feels constrained by her constant presence and the emotional conflict between them. After experiencing years of strain since his parents' divorce, Hubert believes living alone would give him the space to escape the fighting and finally breathe. However, when he confides this to Chantale, she initially considers it but quickly retracts her approval, declaring him too young.

Hubert's secret relationship with his boyfriend Antonin is revealed not through Hubert himself, but through Antonin's mother. She mistakenly assumes that Chantale already knows about the relationship and mentions it casually. This unintended revelation catches Hubert off guard and adds another layer of tension to the already strained mother-son relationship, as Chantale learns about her son's sexuality from someone else.

Hubert's father Richard summons him for a visit and announces the unexpected decision to send him to a Catholic boarding school in Coaticook. The film doesn't fully explain the motivation behind this choice, but it appears to be an attempt to give Hubert structure or distance from the difficult situation at home. Hubert reacts with fury, feeling robbed of agency in his own life and lamenting that he rarely sees his father anyway, making the sacrifice feel even more unjust.

Hubert decides to run away after experiencing intensified bullying at the boarding school combined with the emotional turmoil of his complicated relationships. He leaves a note for his mother stating he will be 'In his kingdom,' which Chantale understands as their former family home before the divorce. The decision represents his final attempt to escape what he perceives as a suffocating environment and reclaim some sense of control over his life.

When Hubert runs away, he leaves a note telling Chantale he will be 'In his kingdom.' She interprets this as their former family home, the place that represented their family unit before the divorce. The phrase suggests Hubert is retreating to a nostalgic, idealized version of his childhood when things were simpler and his parents were still together, symbolizing his emotional longing for the family he lost.

After Hubert runs away, Chantale eventually tracks him down at the beach where he is with Antonin. This confrontation serves as the emotional climax of the film, bringing all the underlying tensions between mother and son to the surface. The scene encapsulates their fraught relationship, with personal truths and long-held frustrations finally being expressed between them.

Hubert trashes Chantale's room in an emotional outburst after learning that she has decided to keep him at the boarding school for another year. This destructive act represents the culmination of his frustration, feeling trapped, unheard, and powerless over decisions affecting his own life. After the rampage, he restores the room, showing both his anger and his underlying guilt and need for his mother's approval.

While at the Catholic boarding school in Coaticook, Hubert meets another student named Eric and becomes romantically involved with him, effectively betraying his relationship with Antonin who remains at home. This betrayal reflects the confusion and instability in Hubert's life during this period, he is surrounded by new experiences, emotional pressure from bullying, and the distance from both his mother and Antonin. The moment illustrates how the chaos in his home life spills into his other relationships.

The film concludes with a nostalgic home video showing Hubert as a young child happily interacting with his mother in simpler times. This bittersweet ending serves as a stark contrast to the conflict and estrangement of the present day. It suggests that their bond was not always fractured, and acknowledges the loss of what they once had. The ending does not offer reconciliation but rather a mournful look back at a time before their relationship became so painful.

The strain in Hubert and Chantale's relationship stems from multiple factors: the divorce from his father Richard which disrupted their family dynamic, the resulting infrequent visits from his father that make Hubert feel abandoned, Hubert's struggle with his sexuality and identity, and the general friction of a teenager trying to establish independence while his single mother copes with the challenges of parenting alone. The constant emotional friction creates a palpable sense of suffocation for both characters.

After Hubert's lie about his mother dying is uncovered, Ms. Cloutier delivers this chilling line to him. The statement is metaphorical rather than literal, she is suggesting that Hubert's emotional cruelty and rebellious behavior toward his mother is killing her spiritually or emotionally. The phrase haunts the film and becomes the title of Hubert's provocative essay, representing the guilt he carries about the pain he causes his mother despite loving her.