Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth may be the first of the filmmaker’s works made outside of Japan, but he’s lost none of his unblinking honesty about the nature of family and the deep wounds we inflict upon one another over the years. On the surface, it’s a film that can feel slight and superficial – like any number of dramas centered around family and relationships. But as you keep peeling back the layers and examining what Kore-eda is doing with memory and the pain embedded within family dynamics – not to mention the weighted symbolism of playing Juliette Binoche off of Catherine Deneuve – you begin to see just how rich and complex a story he’s telling here. And unlike the acerbic comedies you’d get from a more European aesthetic, there’s a quiet honesty to Kore-eda’s approach with this story and a generosity that allows each character a moment of grace and their own reasons for action or inaction. This is an absolutely marvelous film.