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!

"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

The 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.