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There are many reasons to see The Truth (or La Verite). It takes place in Paris. It’s the newest tale from Japanese film master, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, who made last year’s charming Shoplifters (but it’s not in Japanese—it’s in French and English). It’s one of those delightful films that has another film story embedded in it. The cinematography is discreet and serviceable with not an unnecessary show-off shot. Most importantly, it’s a rare chance to see two French femme stars sharing screen time. Watching Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche interact with one another has got to be one of the cinematic highlights of the year. Fabienne (Catherine Deneuve), the still radiant French cinema legend, has just published her long-awaited memoir. Arriving at Fabienne’s Parisian mini-estate from New York to congratulate her is her estranged daughter, screenwriter Lumir (Juliette Binoche), with her B-list actor husband (Ethan Hawke ) and their adorable daughter (Clementine Grenier). Lumir is appalled to realize from the memoir that her mother has brazenly fantasized their relationship to impress her adoring public. The truth is that Fabienne was neglectful, distant and abusive. For motherly kindness, Lumir turned to Sarah, her mother’s friend and rival, who killed herself after Fabienne stole a role from her. Lumir is devastated to discover that Fabienne doesn’t even mention Sarah. Showing up at the house also is Lumir’s father – who is amused to discover that Fabienne claims he has died! While Fabienne is blithely lying to the world about everything, she’s playing an eeriely similar role in a sci-fi movie. A young woman (Manon Clavel), who is deathly ill, goes into outer space where she never ages. She comes back to Earth every several years, where both her daughter and her mother are aging in Earth years. While Fabienne plays the challenging role of the story’s mother, she deals with her jealousy of the younger actress and Lumir’s growing fury at her. Since both Fabienne and Lumir are civilized, fireworks don’t fly, but the hidden tensions between them are smoldering hot enough to make you squirm. Hirokazu Kore-Eda gives the story his all--he directs, writes and edits the film, which is why every scene is exquisite. While you marvel at Fabienne’s ability to enchant everyone, like the magic creature in her famous film The Witch of the Vincennes, you also witness the agony of everyone caught in her web. I personally did not believe the sorta-happy ending, but I hope everyone who sees The Truth will decide for themselves if families can ever truly heal. Rated PG for thematic and suggestive elements, and for smoking and brief language. Languages: French and English. Length: 106 min. Opens in select theatres and most digital and cable platforms on July 3, 2020.