When you have a cast consisting of French actresses Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche together with American actor Ethan Hawke, that’s attraction enough. Further, a film written and helmed by the Cannes winning Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda (Shoplifters, 2018) adds an intriguing element, as this is his first non-Japanese film shot outside of his home country.
Deneuve plays an aging French film actress, Fabienne Dangeville, who has just written a memoir. Already 50,000 soldββand boasting to her daughter twice that numberββthe success in book sales, however, cannot rescue her from the dimming of her career as a film star.
Reminiscent of French director Olivier Assayasβ Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) where Binoche herself plays a French actress sinking into oblivion as prime acting roles go to the younger and much more popular personalities. But The Truth is lighter in mood and sprinkled with comedic effects and subtle humour.
Fabienneβs daughter Lumir (Juliette Binoche), a screenwriter living in New York, comes all the way to Paris on the occasion of her motherβs book publishing, her husband Hank (Ethan Hawke), an actor, and daughter Charlotte (ClΓ©mentine Grenier) in tow. To Lumir, itβs a homecoming after a long while. Cracks between her and her overbearing mother surface as soon as she enters the house.
First off, sheβs upset that Fabienne didn’t let her read the manuscript before publication as she had promised. Now reading it for the first time that night, anger replaces disappointment. She confronts her mother the next morning:
βWho are you kidding? I canβt find any truth in here.β
Fabienne, of course, doesnβt care what her daughter thinks. Itβs her memoir, her take. In the book, she presents herself as a loving mother, like finding joy in picking her daughter up from school. Lumir says itβs untrue, for her mother had never picked her up from school, always her dad Pierre (Roger Van Hool) or the familyβs faithful servant Luc (Alain Libolt). Her memory of Fabienne is an absent mother who basks in the limelight of her own stardom. In reply, Fabienne says:
βIβm an actress. I wonβt tell the naked truth. Itβs far from interesting.β
As for Hank, effectively played by Hawke, his duty seems to be there only to support his wife. Not knowing French, Hank is a complete outsider. And in the eyes of his celebrity mother-in-law, he can hardly be called an actor. Daughter Charlotte has a few delightful scenes on the subject of truth and fantasy.
The next day, they all follow Fabienne to the studio for the rehearsal of a film sheβs in, but playing a minor role with the major star being a younger, reputed actress Manon Lenoir (Manon Clavel). Now the conflict shifts from mother daughter to that of the fading star and rising talent.
The studio setting is another layer Koreeda has created to bring out cinematic βtruthβ. The green screen itself by its very function works as a fake background, βdeceivingβ in its purpose. Further, special touch up can alter even the eye colour of the actor. And most hilarious of all, but all wrapped in a serious tone, what we see is an intense scene between two characters alone on screen is actually hovered over in a short distance by a horde of people who are not in costume doing their real-life job. Sarcasm and humour are the subtle effects from scenes like that. Koreedaβs insight is astute in revealing what filmmaking is: fiction pretending to be real.
The middle part of The Truth about the studio shooting is a little weighed down as a play-within-a-play based on a short story by the acclaimed science fiction writer Ken Liu. This section of the movie is complex and multi-layered. While intriguing, it requires more than one viewing for clarity. This too, could well be Koreedaβs intension as he directs a French film, inserting a story within a story, which is a French artistic device, the mise en abyme. Like standing between two mirrors, one can see multiple images.
Overall, The Truth is a light-hearted feature, leisurely paced with embedded humour. Koreedaβs intention might be more cerebral than comical. The cast in itself is appealing enough, presenting a piece of cinema veritΓ© showing that truth is elusive even among the closest of family or the most sincere of artistic expressions.
~ ~ ~ Ripples
The Truth is now on Netflix.
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In participation of Paris in July hosted by Tamara at Thyme for Tea
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Sounds like an enjoyable one, thanks for the shout out!
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That is a good choice for Paris in July!
best…mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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Thanks for stopping by, Mae. Hope you’ll find this one enjoyable.
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Juliette Binoche seems to be ageless doesn’t she? Will look out for this Aarti.
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I think she’ll be fine for a long while. Catherine Deneuve is an exemplar. π
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I will look for this movie on Netflix. Thank you for this comprehensive review.
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Thanks Deb for stopping by. The middle part needs some deciphering. But that adds to the intrigue. π
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I have been longing for a subscription to Netflix, although my husband is opposed to their moral foundation and refuses to subscribe. I didnβt know Catherine Deneuve was still making films, what an icon! And I love Juliette Binoche. Thank you for bringing this film to my attention; I may have to get Netflix for my iPad.π
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I first saw the film at TIFF 2019, so surprised to find it on Netflix now, it being an artsy French film. As for Netflix, one account can have 5 different users. Mine is tagged onto a friend’s account. So maybe you can find some family or friends to tag on just for a trial before you actually subscribe it yourself. I don’t watch it that much as I’m very selective. So I find tagging onto someone else’s account is a good way to watch those I like for free. π
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Oh this sounds like fun!
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And clearly my typing is in dire need of help! π
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Help has been rendered. π
Actually, the middle section with a sci-fi film shooting in the studio, it takes some deciphering. But just watching them playing against each other is entertaining.
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This looks like something I’d really like — acting, France and that fabulous cast. Family dynamics always make for an interesting drama — light or otherwise. I’ll definitely add this to the watchlist.
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I’d say the cast and director are the main attractions. Not much outdoor scenery of Paris, mostly indoor scenes and in the middle section, inside a studio. But it’s interesting and a first for Koreeda, who specializes in family relations such as Our Little Sister, Like Father Like Son, and of course, his Palme d’Or winning Shoplifters.
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