Twelve-year-old James is quietly tormented by his guilt over a tragedy in his working-class neighborhood in Glasgow. He spends his days hanging out by a dreary canal, where he befriends Margaret Anne, a timid teenager who gets picked on by bullies. He is also friends with Kenny, who is naïve and has an unusual imagination. Set against the backdrop of the 1970s garbage workers’ strike, first-time director Lynne Ramsay draws inspiration from her childhood in Glasgow in this beautiful and evocative gem, where children find solace and cruelty amidst a broken social order. Ramsay, who cited photography and documentary as key influences in her filmmaking, portrays the brutality and tenderness of growing up in an unforgiving environment with a poetic touch.

M+ Cinema will present a brand new 4K restoration of this film.

Lynne Ramsay (b. 1969, United Kingdom) made several award-winning short films before directing Ratcatcher (1999), her feature film debut. Her sophomore effort, Morvern Callar (2002), starred Samantha Morton as a woman trying to build her life after a tragedy. Her subsequent American films, We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and You Were Never Really Here (2017), won accolades and prizes worldwide, including Best Screenplay and Best Actor at Cannes Film Festival for the latter film.