(^32) Film and Streaming
TheTruth
Dir:Hirokazu Kore-eda(1hr47mins)(PG)
★★★★
StarringCatherineDeneuveasimperious
Frenchmoviestar FabienneDangeville,this
wittyand“keenly-observed” drama of
“extendedfamily life”isthe first filmthat
JapaneseauteurHirokazuKore-eda(winner of
the Palmed’Or atCannesin 2018 )hasmade
outside hishomeland,saidRobbieCollin in
TheDailyTelegraph.Fabienne isaboutto
publish amemoir thatsharesthefilm’stitle–
The Truth–butwhich is“awash” withself-
servinglies andhalf-truths.Herdaughter,
Lumir(JulietteBinoche)arrivesfromNewYork
withher ownsmallfamilyandawell-thumbed
copyofthe manuscript.She’s furiousthat the
bookglossesover Fabienne’s neglectofherin
childhood, andthetragicdeath, longago,ofa
classic-erascreenrivalwhomFabienne cheated
outof a“career-defining”role.
TheTruthstartsoutas a“droll”tale, but
becomes “strangerandmoreelusive”,saidPeter
Bradshawin The Guardian–acquiring“ahint
of fairy-talemagicrealism” thanks inpartto
Fabienne’slatest actingjob, inasci-fifantasy
film.Lumircomesonsetto watchas she plays
theelderlydaughterofamotherpossessedof
eternalyouth–a“topsy-turvy”spectacle that
inspires inLumirtheidea ofa“dramatic ploy”
to gainpowerin their relationship.Binoche
bringsan“indomitableintensity”toherrole,
saidKevin MaherinThe Times,EthanHawke
ison “fineform”asher husband, analcoholic
actor,and Deneuveembracesher “scene-
chewing”tendencies inafabulouslyhaughty
performance that nonethelessdescribesa
womanof “immensefragility, who isdesperate
notto beseen”.
FireWill Come
Dir: Óliver Laxe (1hr 26mins)(12A)
★★★
Aprize-winnerin theUn CertainRegard
sectionat last year ’s C annes (intendedfor
films outsidethe stylistic mainstream),French-
Galician film-maker Óliver Laxe’s “sombre”
and “lovely-looking”third feature begins with
the release of its taciturn, middle-aged
protagonist,Amador(AmadorArias) from
prison,said PeterBradshawinThe Guardian.
In hismount ainsidevillage innorthwest Spain,
he resume satough, mostly solitaryexistence
tendingcabbages andinjuredcows with his
ageing mother ,Benedicta (BenedictaSánchez).
Localsjeer at hi mfor his crime–he was
accusedof startingaforest fire in thehillssome
yearsback –but it’sneverquiteclear why, or
indee deven whether, he didit –a“coylynon-
committal” approach to storytelling that can
feel exasperating.
Laxeuses non-professional actors andvery
sparse dialogue, dwelling onthe dailyslog of
rural life inamode of “gaunt,unvarnished
realism”,said Jonathan Romneyin Sight and
Sound. Amadoravoids hisneighbours,and
abrief flirtationwith alocal vet (ElenaMar
Fernández) comes to nothing. Butwe sense
afireburns withinwhen herailsagainst the
imported eucalyptus treeswhose dense roots
strangle endemicplants –theyare “worsethan
the devil”,hesays.And givensuch threatsto
the landscape, there’sasense of inevitability
when destructionreturns, said SimranHans
in The Observer.Falling treeshave “a gnarled
grandeur”, andwet soil andspark ling ash are
“treated with awe”in the spectacularand
“terrifying” final reel.
Both films are availablefrom Curz on Home
Cinema (curzonhomecinema.com)
Best TV series New releases to watch at home
Boredwith self-isolating?
Nowisanideal timeto catch
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Badtoldthe storyofWalter
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InBetter CallSaul,Bad’s
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BleakHouseStarringAnna
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Amazon.
Fire Will Come: “gaunt, unvarnished realism”
Like Julian Fellowes’ best-known
work,Downton Abbey,this six-
part Netflix drama series about
the birth of modern association
football puts social class “front
and centre-forward”, said Victoria
Segal in The Sunday Times. Set in
1879, when “gentleman” players
dominated the game and decided
the rules, it followsaLancashire
mill team as they compete in the
FA Cup against Old Etonians FC.
The Etonians play dirty, but the
millworkers haveasecret
weapon–two Scottish players,
including Kevin Guthrie’s Fergus
Suter, who teach themamore elegant way of
playing, promising them victory and the hope
that football could turn out to be “a
subversive agent of social change”.
Ithought it was “terrible”, says
Lucy Mangan in The Guardian. The
characters are straight out of central
casting–“caddish and bounderish”
toffs, honest northern millfolk
plagued by “t’rickets, t’TB and
t’whippet fever”–and dialogue
that is beyond clunky. “Subtle it is
not”, said Anita Singh in The Daily
Telegraph, butIfoundit greatfun
all the same, with nice turns from
Craig Parkinson as the mill boss,
and Edward Holcroft as “the
superstar footballer of his day”, an
Old Etonian who–thanks to his wife’s prompts
–dares to confront the injustice in the game.
TheEnglish Game:how modern footballwas born
Kevin Guthrie as Fergus
THE WEEK 28 March 2020
SOURCES: THE GUARDIAN/THE SUNDAY TIMES/THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
axel boer
(Axel Boer)
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