1981 (2009)

Filmmaker Ricardo Trogi recalls the events surrounding his family moving to a new neighborhood when he was 11-years-old.

Director:

Ricardo Trogi

Writer:

Ricardo Trogi

Stars:

Jean-Carl Boucher, Claudio Colangelo, Sandrine Bisson

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Carl Boucher	...	Ricardo Trogi
Claudio Colangelo	...	Benito Trogi
Sandrine Bisson	...	Claudette Trogi
Gabriel Maillé	...	Jérôme Bernatchez
Dany Bouchard	...	Marchand
Léo Caron	...	Plante
Élizabeth Adam	...	Anne Tremblay
Rose Adam	...	Nadia Trogi
Marjolaine Lemieux	...	Aline
Claude-Michel Bleau	...	German Soldier
Claude Despins	...	Anne's Father
Pierre Mailloux	...	Mr. Dagenais
Simone Chevalot	...	School Secretary
Jean-Robert Bourdage	...	Lawyer
Jean-François Boudreau	...	Mr. Vermette

Storyline

Thirty-seven year old Ricardo Trogi narrates the story of a specific time from his childhood about which he still obsesses, it a time that changed his childhood. The year was 1981, when he, then eleven years old, was just starting grade 6. He was obsessed with material possessions, and as he felt his working class parents didn't buy those things for him he wanted so dearly, his most prized possession was the Consumers Distributing catalog from which he made his list of items he wanted, long at the top of the list a $400 calculator watch. These possessions he felt would impress the world. He largely dismissed his waitress mother Claudette, but he admired his father Benito. Although he at the time didn't know what his father did for a living, Ricardo believed he was smart enough to be a lawyer if he had the means to go to college, that belief largely by the stories Benito told of growing up during WWII in Italy. In 1981, the family, which included his adolescent sister Nadia, moved to ...

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Plot Keywords:

boy | class | quebec | k way | calculator watch | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Release Date:

4 September 2009 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-un

Filming Locations:

Centre Cousineau, Saint-Hubert, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD4,625,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Go Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color Black and White (WWII fantasy sequences)

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Aline opens her drawer can see the novel Les Fous de Bassans by Anne Hébert, while this novel was only published in 1982.

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Connections

Followed by 1991 (2018)

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Soundtracks

Don't you want me [Trailer]
Written by Phil Oakey, Jo Callis & Philip Adrian Wright
Performed by The Human League

User Reviews

Interesting, whimsical period piece.

I liked the flick and thought it worked. I decided to watch it because it was set in 1981, and I thought it might be nostalgic. It was. The costuming and sets were excellent. It really does make you think you're back in that era. While I don't speak French, the dialogue as reflected in the subtitles was good, and for the most part I thought the acting was very good, as well. The plot was meandering and whimsical, but so too is the mind of an 11-year-old boy, and that's what I think this film was trying to accomplish. The flashbacks to Nazi-occupied Italy were amusing, especially considering that the boy imagining them wasn't born until 1970.