Secrets & Lies (re-release)
In the buildup to the premiere of Hard Truths, Lumière is revisiting Mike Leigh’s magnum opus, a tragicomedy about a neurotic white woman who one day meets a successful Black woman who claims to be her daughter.
In the buildup to the premiere of Hard Truths, Lumière is revisiting Mike Leigh’s magnum opus, a tragicomedy about a neurotic white woman who one day meets a successful black woman who claims to be her daughter.
After her adoptive parents have died, Hortense, a young black woman, goes in search of her birth mother. Who turns out – to her surprise – to be white: Cynthia, a fragile, nervous middle-aged woman. Initially, Cynthia is afraid to confront the past she has been hiding deep inside. Later, when it does come to a meeting between the two women, it also arouses strong emotions among the other family members.
The ‘secrets and lies’ from the title refer to the feelings that are expressed hardly or not at all in everyday interactions between people: love, but also doubts, fears and frustrations all of which come to light during a family reunion.
Also with this film – which at times resembles a documentary – Leigh again provides a penetrating look at the lives of ordinary people in British society. Winner of the Golden Palm and the award for best actress (Brenda Blethyn) at the Cannes Film Festival, and nominated for five Oscars. (bw)