This film is not what one may expect. Trailers leave one to think it's dramatic, but it's mostly a dramedy (comedy/drama), leaning more towards comedy. Deneuve has impeccable comedic timing, and it's a surprising side of her that many don't get to see in her numerous other films. Some reviews describe her character, Fabienne, as a narcissist, but those are clearly people who don't know what true narcissists are like. One can say that Fabienne is somewhat self-absorbed, though given that she's an actress, she is rather self-aware and not as selfish as one would expect (if you know the entertainment industry). Binoche and Deneuve have excellent chemistry on screen, and the difficulty in their relationship plays off well: both stylistically and emotionally. The film is a gentle view of a mother-daughter relationship that has been built on misunderstandings from two people who are quite different in their approach to the world around them. There are many laughs, but a few tears, awaiting the audience. It's one of Deneuve's best roles in a few years and she gives it her all. Binoche provides the more tangible emotions of the film, but don't let Fabienne (Deneuve) fool you into thinking she doesn't care or feel much at all. And that is the Truth.
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Holli_Would18 December 2019
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planktonrules3 November 2019The Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda is famous for focusing on some of the darker aspects of what it is to be Japanese. Some folks in his homeland (including some politicians) have criticized his films for exposing these problem....though many film buffs have loved these same films. It's surprising, then, when you watch "The Truth"....not just because it has an all French and American cast but because unlike his films such as "Like Father, Like Son" and "Shoplifters", he DOES pull his punches and more often than not avoids pushing boundaries! As a result, my daughter and I enjoyed the film but were also very disappointed.
The film stars Catherine Deneuve and Juliet Binoche as a self-absorbed mother and her frustrated daughter during a visit. And, amazingly, by the end of the story, nothing much happens....few sparks and the big confrontation scene you expect (because the daughter deservedly resents her mother) never really materialize and the mother somehow receives absolution though she did little to merit it....again, NOT like what you'd expect in a Hirokazu Koreeda movie.
Overall, the acting was good but the story itself a bit flat. -
justinelh5 January 2020Whilst the cast was good I was not impressed as the movie was a bit "blah" no highlights really and all in all a bit monotonous. Maybe harsh but that is my view.
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Catherine Deneuve without stretching plays a French cinema goddess, Fabienne, a diva who is the unremitting self-center of a family. All that and she underplays her to great effect that endears us to her as to her fans.
Although it's possible this comedy is a take on Deneuve's life, such an inference is unnecessary given Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda's (Shoplifters) universal vision. Not only is Fabienne the essence of the superstar, she also represents the matriarch we all think of when we envision transcendent mom power.
Daughter Lumir (Juliette Binoche) and family visit mom in Paris to celebrate Fabienne's autobiography and role in a sci-fi where mother never grows old-now how fitting is that background? Given the scenery Deneuve could chew up, she has none of it. She softly throws in bits of sarcasm and bitchiness yet generally with an even temper, almost self-effacing, except she makes sure everything goes her way.
For cinematic reference points, strong mothers are countless; two come especially to mind: echoes of the mother's visit in Bergman's Autumn Sonata and an actress's moving in with mom in Postcards from the Edge. Koreeda's difference is the almost peaceful turns that could have been harrowing but end up being the natural flow of any family, not even an artistic one for that matter. You just need a strong mom.
Fabienne can't stop the aging process, which shows especially in her diffidence about her acting. However, none of this concern about aging detracts from her charm. To see the embodiment of an ageless French film icon and enjoy the central role a mother plays in all our lives, The Truth is, it's all true here with the work of a gifted Japanese director and a true film goddess. -
alicankunt25 January 2020A lackluster screenplay from an otherwise a very talented director gives way to this underwhelming drama with actors of star levels on their own. The film is structured mostly as a drama but the comedic undertones point at such a wonderful potential for a straight out clever comedy, it's frustrating to see the film never goes there. With a few tweaks on the screenplay, adding a few smart jokes to the dialogues this film could have been a great heart warming comedy with deep dramatic undertones. 6/10
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reubenstojan6 January 2020The most interesting element to come out of this film is a Japanese director taking on a French speaking film. Certainly an unexpected turn for Hirokazu Koreeda, director of the highly regarded Shoplifters, but there's nothing especially stimulating about the Truth. It has good performances, it's shot nicely and yes, it has things to say about stardom and it's impact on family, but not much else to elevate it from just being ok.
The only strong reaction I had for this film would be my complete destestment of the main character Fabienne played by Catherine Deneuve. She is an absolutely repulsive person who cares purely about her glory and her disappearing stardom. You see, Fabienne was a huge French star who has gone the way of the dinosaur and feels lost in a world that seems to be moving on from her. While a lot of material to work with here, Fabienne does not make it easy to like or even relate to her. Which is a problem when you can't quite convince yourself why her poor daughter played by Juliette Binoche is at her side for the runtime. She is a horrible person to be with and it doesn't quite make for an enjoyable experience when you detest her the entire film.
There are some generally nice moments sprinkled in the film especially the ones involving Fabienne's grand daughter who shines a light in all the falsity and horribleness of the actor world. Ethan Hawke is also a very charming presence in the film playing the wannabe actor/husband of Fabienne's daughter.
The film making scenes where it revolves around Fabienne starring in a science fiction film about an immortal young mother (Which has some thematic resemblance to Fabienne's real mother) are also well choreographed and generally interesting. The rest however sort of meanders on, not really finding any strong footing to land on. It purely floats around a character who isn't particularly likeable, sympathetic or for that matter, interesting.
I can't say it's bad. If you are looking for a sort of reflective and quiet look at a celebrity struggling to be still relevant and the dramas she puts her family in as a result, then sure it will pass the time well. I can't say it's going to be remembered long after though. More likely you'll remember how much you wanted Fabienne to receive punishment for being such a horrible person. -
crumpytv12 October 2021Stellar performances all round, particularly Clémentine Grenier. A star in the making.
The story, such as it was, left to the viewer to try and work out and unravel.
On the whole it was slow and in the end, just stopped.
I stuck with it, my wife gave up. -
jromanbaker3 October 2021What is the truth, and what is your truth about another person when they have their own truth about you ? The eternal question, and as we all have different perceptions of others and they also have of you the question is what it is - a simple question. This film, directed rather badly in my opinion by Hirokazu Kareeda is not that interesting, and the film is saved by Catherine Deneuve's excellent performance, and she plays to a certain extent ( perhaps ) certain aspects of herself as an actor who has always been in control. It is also a film about making a film, and here I found the dialogue tiresome and rather boring to watch. Juliette Binoche is not at her best and badly supported by the ( to me ) annoying Ethan Hawke. They play daughter and son-in-law to Deneuve and have an annoying child with them. A ping pong match of both the English language and the French language ensues and this too is distracting and not necessary, and all for Ethan Hawke's supposed inability to understand French. Roger van Hool makes an appearance as Binoche's father ( he played Deneuve's lover in ' La Chamade ) and he certainly reminded me of how fleetingly time goes by, and in his eccentric performance deeply moved me. There are far too many other actors and mostly the film lost focus, with the exception of scenes such as a dinner party for the ' family ' which tries to ferret out truths and old recriminations. This subject matter has been seen before and perhaps too much so, but as I said Deneuve gets a 7 from me for her presence alone. The soundtrack music is frankly bad, and to sum up this is a pretentious film that rarely rises above the mainstream.
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zekigiritli6 October 20196,3 is a little bit mean for this film. At least the acting is wonderful. Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche have very successful performances. The subtle humor through the film makes it more lively. The plot is not super innovative but it is still interesting to see the dilemmas of an actress.
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mehobulls12 September 2020Koreeda in his best when making a low-key family drama with a dash of comedy in it. 'The Truth', or 'La Vérité', is a solid proof that he able to do it with the singular quality no matter what the language is. Charming, witty, melancholic and eventually heartwarming.
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I'm not a super picky movie goes but this was just slow, boring, and obnoxious. The acting was ok. The little girl, played by Clementine, was absolutely adorable. The theme of the movie/story of the self absorbed, famous, actress mother who never seemed to be there for her daughter, or anyone else, physically or emotionally, has been done much better in many other films. The film plodded along. Most of the script was spoken in French, with subtitles and some lines were in English. There were a few redeeming scenes, but not enough to save the film. Honestly, there are much better films to spend your time on IMHO!
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Xstal8 May 2020If you wrote your own book to tell your own story how close would your memories be to reality and how much would you conjure up, especially in relation to your relations and relationships. An incisive piece of film making that may lead you to further reflection of your own, on how you've arrived at where you are today and any distortions you may have invented for sustenance, survival and to cover and embalm the scars.
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Bachfeuer22 October 2019Early on, Deneuve's movie star character is being interviewed by a magazine journalist who asks boring, pedestrian questions. She comments that the film (within a film) that she is making will not be a major one. That goes for the actual film as well. The old stars play their parts deftly and confidently, hitting their marks every time. But that pales in comparison to what they did in their respective heydays. For anyone who knows those classic movies, this one is highly interesting. I hope it is their way of saying farewell, before making way for newer talent. The stand-out in this film is Clémentine Grenier, a child actress so young that she still has all her baby front teeth. By stealing scenes left, right and center, she shows the elderly actors up. C'est la Vie!
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rookmaker8 June 2020Although the shooting is good, the cast is promising, the story does not come out well. Movie is too slow, roles are not sharply defined, dialogues are shallow
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Gordon-1119 September 2020I didn't get into the story at all. I find the film rather boring. Ethan Hawke is an insignificant vase in this film, which is quite a waste of his acting skills.
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tm-sheehan24 February 2020Er daughter Charlotte played so delightfully by Clémentine Grenier when she tells her Grandmother of her desire to be a great actress like Fabienne. This young actress had never set foot on a movie set before yet gives one of the most natural child performances I've seen in a while I hope we see more of Clémentine in future movies. In the most significant male role in the film Ethan Hawke as the not so famous actor but loving husband and father is also impressive especially at the family dinner scene when Fabienne keeps filling his glass full of red wine after his voluntary abstinence.
While subtitles have improved greatly I felt some of the subtlety of the original language must suffer in any Foreign Language film. I remember many years ago at a Cinema in Paris watching the Graduate and Howard's End dubbed in French but with English subtitles and some of the translation was ludicrous but International films in their original language are so worth seeing .Even if we lose a little of the intended script in subtitles. I'm sure if you understood Korean fluently that the English subtitles in the film "Parasite" would have some strange interpretations. -
ferguson-62 July 2020Greetings again from the darkness. Surely every movie lover will savor the chance to watch two of France's screen titans go at each other as combative mother and daughter. Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche don't disappoint in this latest from writer-director Hirokazu Koreeda, who was previously Oscar nominated for SHOPLIFTERS (2018).
Ms. Deneuve stars as Fabienne Dangeville, an aging French Oscar winning actress who has recently published her memoir. To celebrate the book, her daughter Lumir (Ms. Binoche) is coming with her family for a visit. Husband Hank (Ethan Hawke) is a self-admitted second rate actor, and their daughter Charlotte (newcomer Clementine Grenier) is awfully cute and meeting her grandmother for the first time. Lumir is a scriptwriter, and harbors less-than-favorable childhood memories of dear old mom.
The personalities of mother and daughter are pretty easy to ascertain. Fabienne admits "I'd rather be a bad mother, a bad friend, and a good actress." She's a petty and sometimes nasty woman, who's quite self-aware. Lumir is the type that has critiqued her mother's memoir with post-it notes throughout, and calls her out on the false claims of being a doting mother. Most of the movie deals with memories, honesty, and family relationships. It's not just Lumir who is bothered by book. Fabienne's long time handler Luc (French screen veteran Alain Libolt) reacts strongly to being omitted entirely, as if he never existed.
Fabienne waves off the criticisms by claiming she's an actress, so the naked truth is not expected ... whereas interesting stories are. The film opens with Fabienne being interviewed by a journalist (Laurent Capelutto, "Black Spot"), and between this interview and what we learn of the memoir, we can't help but chuckle at some of the real life similarities. First, Ms. Deneuve's real middle name is Fabienne, and there are teases of her multiple lovers and "almost" movie with Alfred Hitchcock.
A large portion of the film is spent on the film-within-the-film that Fabienne is working on. It's a science-fiction film (from a short story written by Ken Liu) that focuses on an unusual and difficult mother-daughter relationship. Lumir spots the obvious symmetry, but we are never really sure if Fabienne does, as she's so busy firing barbs at the lead actress played by rising star Manon Lenoir (the first feature for Manon Clavel). For the elder Fabienne, acting has always been about being a star, so she struggles seeing the younger actress take a role she herself would have embodied 50 years prior.
Other supporting work comes from Christian Crahay as Jacques, Fabienne's live-in cook (and more); Roger Van Hool as Pierre (man, not turtle) as Lumir's father who is listed as deceased in the book; and Ludivine Sagnier (SWIMMING POOL, 2003) who plays a younger version of Fabienne's character in the film-within-the-film. One key character we never actually see is Sarah, a deceased woman who was a friend and fellow actress to Fabienne, and a kind of surrogate mother to Lumir when she was a young girl. Sarah's memory still hovers over the lives of Fabienne and Lumir, and may be at the heart of any possible reconciliation. Koreeda is a terrific director, and watching the performances here is quite entertaining. We do have the feeling that the script could have gone deeper emotionally had it not attempted to tackle so much. Additionally, many scenes felt like they were begging for more biting comedy than what was there. This is mostly played straight, which leaves Ms. Deneuve and Ms. Binoche to carry the load - a burden they handle quite capably. -
lasttimeisaw24 March 2020"Mise en abyme is the first thing comes to your reviewer's mind, not just because Deneuve seems to inherently play a version of herself - "Fabienne" is actually her middle name, who ascends to the top rung of the acting vocation, at the expense of almost everything else (maternal duty, matrimonial harmony, etc.), now her daughter returns from abroad with a mild grudge, especially after the latter discovers that in Fabienne's memoir, facts are completely editorialized at its subject's will -, but also in the movie-within-the-movie, it is Fabienne's own quest to reconcile with her (screen) mother that reflects the strained affinity she forges with Lumir, now, finally, it is high time for an egocentric prima donna, who has seldom deigned to bother the earthly worries, to descend from the pedestal (which means to take off the magical guise and reveal her true feelings), and perhaps it is not too late for Fabienne to find some domestic bliss in her wintry years."
read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks -
paul-allaer7 July 2020"The Truth" (2019 release from France; 106 min.) brings the story of Fabienne and her forty-something daughter Lumir and her family. As the movie opens, we see Fabienne being interviewed at her house in Paris. She is a past winner of 2 Cezannes (the French Oscars) and is about to start a new film. And oh, she also has a new memoir out called "La Verite" ("The Truth"). Shortly thereafter Lumir and her husband Hank and their young daughter Charlotte arrive at Fabienne's house. Lumir reminds Fabienne that she didn't keep her promise to send an advance copy of the memoir's manuscript to her (she lives in New York; Fabienne blames the mail). When reading the memoir, Lumir finds one fabrication after another. She confronts her mom, but Fabienne brushes her off: "My memories, my book." At this point we are less than 15 min. into the film but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest film from Japanese writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda (he won the 2018 Cannes Festival Palm d'Or for "Shoplifters"). Here he really goes outside his comfort zone, working for the first time on a non-Japanese spoken film. As big a challenge as that had to be form him (since he doesn't speak French himself), it only brings out the best of him and his all-star cast. Catherine Deneuve shines as the cranky ol' actress who seemingly always must have the last word (or does she?). Ethan Hawk is underused as Hank. But the real star here is surely Juliette Binoche, who is absolutely brilliant as the frustrated daughter who ended up going to New York to escape the never-ending shadow of her mom the star actress. A special kudos as well to the perfectly bilingual little girl playing Charlotte, jumping between French and English without as much as a single literary "faux pas". There are many other aspects of the movie that make this a delight to see and enjoy, but I don't want to spoil anything accidentally. In the end, just sit back and watch these giants of French cinema (Deneuve, Binoche) go at it. True acting royalty is what these ladies are.
The trailer of "The Truth" was playing in theaters in early March and then of course the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, bring the movie industry to a screeching halt. Now 4 months later, my local art-house theater has cautiously reopened (with strict adherence to all COVID-19 measures, including social distancing and wearing a mask). "The Truth" opened this past weekend. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended so-so (5 people in total, including myself), which which was just fine but you gotta wonder how financially viable it is for theaters to operate under thee conditions. Meanwhile, if you are in the mood for a top-notch foreign film, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD (most likely), or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion. -
jamesmoule8 January 2020Fabienne, an ageing French film star (Catherine Deneuve) has written an autobiography which disappoints her colleagues and puzzles her screen-writer daughter (Juliette Binoche). It appears to be a work of fiction "based on a true story". (Think "The Moon's a Balloon" by David Niven). But what is "the truth"? Is it how we remember the past or is it immutable? As Rudi Giuliani would say "Truth isn't true"? There isn't much plot development but the character depth is wonderfully exposed. Who was loyal? Who was faithful? The acting is outstanding, as one would expect, seeing the cast list. Particularly impressive is the bilingual dialogue, especially from Binoche who seems to speak both English and French as a native. Also outstanding is the child actress playing Binoche's daughter. This is a thought-provoking work, a tour de force by mature (and junior) professionals.
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stephen-62430 December 2019Gotta hand it to Kore Eda, taking on the French language and La Reine Catherine at the same time. Not surprising that he is bested somewhat.
There's enough to like. I smiled when the Deneuve character disses the Hawke character as an actor. Same could be true in real life. But the Hawke character does riffs on the "Before Sunrise" franchise he was in, also fun.
Some of Deneuve's film-within-a-film scenes are true and affecting. But I agree with other comments, that the partial mother-daughter reconciliation at the end is out of whack with what's gone before. Lessens the whole movie. -
This is a bad, rough, meaningless and disappointing movie. The subtitles and lips and scenes were completely off. A movie has no craftsmanship, no soul and no any artistic merits.Don't waste your 140 min of your precious life to watch.
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Come-and-Review18 November 2019The italian title, which translates to the plural form "Le Verità" the singular form of the original french 'La Vérité', encompasses perfectly the topic of the film. On the surface it might seem an average comedy, but with this idea in mind, a viewer can decode a set of very interesting hints that are well-hidden (or well shown) throughout the motion picture.
La Vérité reminded me much of an Ingmar Bergman film that is dear to me, Autumn Sonata. There are several common elements: both films focus on a mother-daughter relationship, in both films the daughter has to cope with the difficulties of her mother being a celebrity, both films are spacially tight. Bergman's movie is definitely a timeless masterpiece, but Koreega's movie still manages to stand on its own.
The premise of the plot is that Catherine Deneuve's character wrote an autobiography in which she seems to embellish her past, specifically, her motherhood. Juliette Binoche's character, the daughter who came in visit with her family, soon finds these alterations and tries to inquiry about them. Next to this, Deneuve's character accepted a role in a movie solely to work with an emerging actress who resembles a now deceased friend of her.
Quite obviously, truth is the central theme to the movie. Being an actress, Deneuve's character is continuously hard to read. As she strumentalizes real emotions to enhance her acting performance, her truth is always nebulous, she sometimes seems to be honest, but lies about her feelings. On the other hand, her daughter gradually gets to know her better and is able to figure some form of truth. The combination of the two elements drives on the plot. Truth(s) is an element that comes up everywhere, starting from a certain pet turtle that lives in Deneuve's character's garden, up to the continuous alternation of reality and fiction while the actress is on the film set, up to the point that she has to rely on her acting skills to sincerely apologize to a beloved character. Saying more would spoil the movie.
Female characters receive most space in the movie: not only Deneuve's and Binoche's, but also Manon Clavell's character, the actress who Deneuve works with, as well as Deneuve's character's niece, all have a central role in the story. Ethan Hawke's character feels tosses to the side and frankly irrelevant. The otherwise well-known and talented actor gets very few lines, and has to rely on a sometimes maybe too exaggerated set of gestures and expressions.
I haven't seen other Koreeda films. This movie was interesting enough though to make me consider seeing his other works. -
w-7147430 April 2020As the "truth" of the title, in fact, it has provided the core clue for reading this work. The misplacement between other things and the truth, as well as the characters 'efforts to get closer to the truth, have constructed Zhiyu and the most complicated intertextual maze to date. The family plot that he is good at is just a single wall in this maze.
The protagonist of this film, Fabienne, is a famous French actress. It is difficult for us to associate this character with the actor Catherine Deneuve who played her. Taking advantage of the publication of her memoirs, her daughter Lumir (Juliet Binoche) returned to Paris with her husband and children. However, this journey revealed a series of memories of mother and daughter mixed with pain and injury.
During Lumir's visit, Fabienne was still shooting a film called "Memories of My Mother". This "play-in-play" is adapted from the science fiction novel of the same name by Chinese writer Liu Yukun. In this novel, a mother who is seriously ill and has only two years of life, in order to be able to witness the growth of her daughter, took a spaceship to join the universe, trying to slow down the time process.
From this novel, we can realize the first kind of dislocation discussed in "Truth"-the dislocation of space-time and truth.
If the dislocation of time and space maps to the dissipated real world, then the dislocation of narrative maps to the void in which the signifier and the signified refer to the effortless search for meaning structures. Her daughter traveled thousands of miles to Paris just to find "your own story", and her mother's writing of memoirs was also to finalize "your own past". But it is clear that they failed after all.
Of course, in this intertextual labyrinth that uses the "meta-film" structure, the most complicated is still the misalignment of art and truth.
In Liu Yukun 's novel, the sick mother chose the "extended" spaceship as a refuge. For Fabienne, film art is both a disease and a refuge. Will circuitous rhetoric and polished aesthetics really be more reliable than one-sided narratives?
Fabienne is undoubtedly a quite conceited actor, but she also has conceited capital. For her, suffering is the material of creation, and all the pain is to help her create better performances. But from another perspective, the movie has also devoured her life, making her family and friendship a victim.
But the movie did not help her find the truth. Like an undead, Sara's incarnation still haunts her. Catherine Deneuve used that amazing performance to show us a bit of hesitation hidden under the rocky iron surface. For her, the movie may always be "the asymptote of truth". -
franklindf9 April 2020I don't have much context for writing this review. I don't speak French or know any of the actors except Ethan Hawke. So maybe I am missing something, but this movie did nothing for me. The story seems to focus on the family matriarch, an elderly actress that I would describe as a battleaxe. For the most part she seemed snide, condescending, and bitter with no apparent concern for others. She wrote an autobiographical memoir but took great liberties with the facts, which explains the title of the movie. Most of the cast seem tired and unengaged. I like Ethan Hawke but he's mostly like a supporting character in this and just phoned most of it in, so to speak. There is a lot of dialogue but it's mostly just chatter - not really funny or inciteful. So not really seeing much to like here.