It is common for parents and their children to butt heads over things, over time those tiffs and arguments are replaced with respect and admiration. However “The Truth” sees the tensions rise between an actress and her screenwriter daughter.
The film is directed by Palme D’or 2018 winner Hirokazu Kore-eda, who won the award for his film “Shoplifters.” The mother and daughter already have a strained relationship, and when a memoir about Fabienne (played by ‘8 Women” actress Catherine Deneuve) is published, things between her daughter Lumir (played by “The English Patient” actress Juliette Binoche) reach boiling point.
As mentioned, this is Kore-eda’s first film outside of Japan and screened at this year’s Venice Film Festival. In a statement, Kore-eda spoke about how he wanted to challenge himself using a new setting. He said, “If I wanted to take on the challenge of shooting a first film abroad—in a language not my own and with a totally French crew— it is because I had the chance to meet actors and collaborators who wished to make a film with me.”
Kore-eda also spoke about what the questions the film will raise, saying, “What makes a family a family? Truth or lies? And what would you choose between a cruel truth and a sweet lie?”
He added, “I hope who see it will seize the opportunity to find their own answers.”
As with most fans, he wants the audience to make up their own minds on what the film means to them.
The film also stars Ethan Hawke (“Training Day”), Ludivine Sagnier (who also starred alongside Deneuve in ‘8 Women) and Belgian actor Roger Van Hool (“As Above, So Below”).
Here is the synopsis:
Fabienne is a star of French cinema. She reigns amongst men who love and admire her. When she publishes her memoirs, her daughter Lumir returns from New York to Paris with her husband and young child. The reunion between mother and daughter will quickly turn to confrontation: truths will be told, accounts settled, loves and resentments confessed.
“The Truth” will be released on March 20, 2020. Watch the new trailer below.