"Secrets and Lies" is a movie directed by British director Mike Lee in 1996. The film won the 49th Cannes Palme d'Or and the Best Actress Award.
It is worth mentioning that the film has no script. The director just called each actor over and told them the characters’ experiences and emotions. The rest of the lines were improvised by the actors. And the secrets and lies of the film are really only known by the actors themselves. Therefore, after taking the perspective of God, the actor's performance has a more documentary quality, and the emotional changes and performance appear extremely sincere.
But even if there is no script, the final story presented in the film is complete. The film is divided into four acts, and its main line is "Hortons Seeking Mother". Beyond this, it shows the living conditions and hidden contradictions of a family like Cynthia.
The story of the film is said to be small and small, and in essence it is more like a TV drama-style parent-child. But what is interesting is that Mike Lee set up such a pair of mother and daughter with different skin colors. Although the issue of skin color itself can make the story more revealing, it is clear that the director is not willing to stay at this level, but focuses on showing the human nature and emotion of a larger format. This is also the "big" part of the film story.
And those plots that are extremely slippery to the blood, are also dispelled by a large number of detailed descriptions and delicate psychological portrayals, and become noble. Although it is a group play, the director can show the life state and emotional changes of these characters in an extremely clear, concise and powerful way. And every scene is closely tied to the theme of "secrets and lies".
Two sets of contradictions, two lies, and the film revolves around them. People hide secrets and tell white lies because of their feelings, but such behavior can only intensify conflicts time and time again. And it is the feelings between people that can finally resolve the contradictions. So secrets and lies seem so unnecessary. Several characters in the film seem to suffer from this. In contrast to them, Hortons. Her frankness to herself and the brave behavior of facing her biological mother saved her from experiencing these pains and became the calmest force in the film.
View more about Secrets & Lies reviews
