Acclaimed Japanese director Horkazu Kore-eda, the filmmaker behind Shoplifters and Like Father, Like Son delivers his first film not in his native language with the family drama, The Truth.
Curzon
The films of Hirokazu Kore-eda have, for the most part, dealt with the dysfunctionally functional ties that bind families together. For this first film not in Japanese, those themes remain very much the point of interest, it’s just that the canvas has changed to the home of an old French film star and the rather pragmatic relationship she has with her only daughter.
The film star in question is Fabienne (Catherine Deneuve), an icon of French cinema and beloved by her fans. Upon the release of her memoir, her daughter, Lumir (Juliette Binoche) comes back from America with her family for the first time since her wedding to both reconnect with her mother and call her out on some of the fabrications found within the pages of the memoir.
Much of Kore-eda’s work is very unassuming, and it is through a gentle pace that his work often finds ways to sneak up on you to emotionally devastating effect. The Truth doesn’t quite operate in that fashion. It is a film that is a little more acidic than some of Kore-eda’s other work, with the central relationship between the mother and daughter seemingly approaching a place of compassion and warmth, only for it to be cheekily undercut by one of them trying to best the other in their on-going game of emotional manipulation.
It means we get all the ebbs and flows of their relationship, both mother and daughter clearly not satisfied with the relationship that they have, but affectionate nonetheless. Much of their conflict comes from the past, a past which Lumir feels her mother has buried in her memoir. Much of that conflict is focused around their friendship with another actress many years ago who would compete with Fabienne for roles, and someone who was like an older sister to Lumir. There’s a darkness to this side of their relationship which is never quite pulled into focus enough for you to have a tangible grasp of all the details that led to this friend to take her own life, even when an actress that Fabienne is currently working with stokes memories of her old friend by being a spitting image of her. It is an aspect of their past that is driven by pain and anger, and while the whole details may allude to us, it does deepen this on-screen mother-daughter pair by provoking the sense of a long, complicated history outside of the time in which we see them live.
These moments going from hot and cold emotions, awkward dinner conversations and conversations in between setups on Fabienne’s new science fiction movie which she believes is beneath her all create a drama that isn’t particularly full of incident, but allows for many moments of fine sparring between two great actress like Denueve and Binoche. The context of Denueve’s own star image is used to great effect, allowing Fabienne to feel very authentic. Binoche is her usual wonderful self as Lumir, a woman who isn’t as different from her mother as she thinks she is. Ethan Hawke is also on charming form as Lumir’s American husband, who is often left gazing cluelessly as conversations in French occur all around him.
The Truth is unlikely to resonate as strongly as some of Kore-eda’s previous films. It doesn’t flow quite as well as some of his other films, and part of that comes down to the fact that this doesn’t feel as though it has anything quite as pressing or as personal to say. But what is here is enjoyable to experience thanks to the fine performances that drive it, offering a look at the family life behind a French film star that gives Deneuve the room for one of her finest performances. Exquisitely bittersweet, often operating as if it’s offering you a cup of tea on a chilly Autumn day, all the while refusing to turn the heating on.
The Truth will be available to stream on Curzon On Demand and other services from Friday.
