User Reviews

One of the more interesting concepts for a film coming out of Canada in 2017, Les rois mongols (which was dubiously translated to the more inoffensive title "Cross My Heart") picks up on memories of the October Crisis in Quebec (1970) to explore the issue of children's rights. Fearing being sent to a foster home, Manon and her brother Mimi join their cousins to kidnap an old lady, believing from the news that you can get anything with a hostage.

There's a bit of syrupy sweetness with the old lady willing to act as the grandmother to the kids, and a few laughs here and there and delicate pathos. We have a sympathetic heroine who doesn't understand much of what she sees in the news, but isn't ignorant to her situation. It doesn't come down to an unrealistic happy ending- she's sent to a centre for juvenile delinquents rather than getting off scott free, Teaching Mrs. Tingle/House Arrest (1996) style. She does escape to pick up Mimi from his foster home... but you can't imagine they'll get far, and the story ends on a sad, poignant note.

It's quite rare to see a film that perceives children as autonomous, intelligent and even political subjects, capable of their own actions and advanced life decisions. This is precisely what youth genre should be like in general (instead we mostly have to see children do childish things, going on goofy magical adventures that always end well - someone should tell European tv producers they should stop making ignorant children's and youth films).

The story gets extremely touching towards the end, reminding us a bit of Charles Chaplin's The Kid, where the kids go their own way without the help of the weak adults, who cannot bear their grown-up responsibilities. Instead, the kids assume the roles of grown ups and begin to act within the world, carrying great moral burdon and responsibility. Meanwhile, the adults are caught up in their lifeless, bureaucratic structures, as well as in their stereotypical perceptions, which doesn't allow them to act as agents of their own destinies, and prevent them from having authentic relationships (in the case of Manon's parents). There is much more to the relationship between Manon and her parents that we could say here, perhaps it's enough to say that it's portrayed with great sensibility and doesn't demonize the mother, even though the film's firmly on the girl's side.

The dialogues, story and acting are also of great quality, if not brilliant, and especially notable is the performance of the young leading actress Milya Corbeil-Gauvreau.