The Truth

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lucca b A fascinating, stylish, intriguing and compelling exploration of feminism, patriarchy, toxic relationships, moral and social corruption, mental health, and the hypocrisy and flaws of the legal system and its members, which is further anchored by its impeccable production design, assured direction and excellent performances from its talented cast, particularly the legendary Brigitte Bardot. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review david f This is a thoughtful look at a woman on trial for murder and the generational differences and hypocrisies of polite society when the free-loving youth clashed with the grey men of the Fifites. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Strongly reminiscent of the decadent Parisian milieu of Claude Chabrol's Les Cousins (1959) which also sees a young person from the country come to the big smoke to get involved in the decadent life on the Left Banke. However, this time we follow Brigitte Bardot and it is sometimes difficult to know whether the film is meant to be provocative cheesecake or something deeper. Bardot's story is framed by a courtroom drama, since she is accused of murdering her ex-lover, a young classical conductor, recently engaged to her sister. There is no doubt that she is the killer, only whether she deserves the death penalty or something lighter (the French system of jurisprudence seems rather different than the US version, with the judge posing questions and more than one lawyer pitted against her and her team). Most of the movie is composed of flashbacks detailing Bardot's version of events, describing how she toyed with the young conductor who eventually became tired of her endless cheating. Bardot certainly commands attention and runs the gamut of emotions, both in the flashbacks and in the courtroom - but she isn't likeable. The "truth" being pointed out is that society is wrong to judge young people seeking a different life for themselves, those who don't want to conform to past or current norms. The lawyers present both sides, for and against the new freedom; Bardot is caught in the middle. The director, H. G. Clouzot, known for Les Diaboliques, The Wages of Fear, and Le Corbeau, doesn't really distinguish himself, although the film does capture its time and place. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member View of judiciary process and look into life of probably most complicated character Bardot ever played. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member martin.hillstad@gmail.com Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Henri-Georges Clouzot never fails to slap his audience in the face by showing them the bleakness of the moral universe they seek to affirm. In that sense, he is the opposite of Hollywood, even though he uses very succesfully the genres, tropes and techniques that American cinema uses. In La Verite the genre he uses is the court drama and he does it masterfully; however, the finalle does not resolve the tensions of the plot in a morally upbeat way, where everything returns in order (moral and social). On the contrary, the film ends with an unresolved conflict - that between the true, passionate feelings of Brigitte Bardot's character towards the man she loved and killed and the cold, moralizing juctice who lacks understanding. Clouzot never brings us too close to his characters, never tries to make us identify totally with them as we would in a Hollywood court drama in which we would know where we stand in relation to them, but his cool eye and distance gives the spotlight to the social conflict itself: the young vs the old, the free sexuality vs the moral uptightedness, the bohemian vs the employed, true love vs fake love, good-parenting vs bad-parenting etc. Clouzot is a satirist deep down; he delights in degrading the noble picture society makes of itself and he does it with deadly seriousness. But, no matter how serious he is as a filmmaker, he is also very playful, making his films full of small, amusing details, such as the security-lady who comes as a witness claiming she always checks who passes from the entrance into the building. The most impressive thing in La Verite is its sincere portrayal of youth culture, of new sexual ethics emerging at the time and the bohemian Parisian life. Clouzot neither glorifies these characters, as some films of the Nouvelle Vague did, nor condemns them. Closing, the performances are excellent and Brigitte Bardot is exceptional here. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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