I will review two items this week—first the Apple TV + series “Truth Be Told” and the film “Confetti.”
“Truth Be Told”
Descend into the world of true crime podcasts. Season Two of Apple TV + “Truth Be Told” is engaging television for those interested in podcasts and suspense and follows Octavia Spencer as podcaster Poppy Parnell, who risks everything—including her life—to pursue truth and justice. Poppy dives into a new case that deeply involves her childhood friend, media mogul Micah Keith (Kate Hudson). As developments unfold, their lifelong friendship is put to the ultimate test.
“Truth Be Told” is an intriguing series that features a celebrated Black ensemble, whose head is Ron Cephas Jones—Leander “Shreve” Scoville—to which Spencer is attached by blood. Other cast members include Merle Dandridge, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Beach, Andre Royo, Tami Roman and Tracie Thoms, among others. Each season, Poppy takes on a new case. In the upcoming season, she is hard-pressed to remain objective while she investigates, along with the help of ex-Oakland, California, cop Phifer, Markus Killebrew, the murder of Micah’s husband and grown son.
As the episodes unfold, more and more “peeling of the orange” is needed by Poppy, which puts her, her family and those around her in great peril. But she is determined to figure out just who committed the murders. This NAACP Image Award-winning series is worth a look.
Season Two begins August 20, on Apple TV +. For more info, visit [www.apple.com/apple-tv-plus/] and search for Truth Be Told.
“Confetti” is a new film starring Zhu Zhu, Helen Slater, Harmonie He, Li Yanan, George Christopher and Amy Irving that asks the question: How far would a mother go to reverse her child’s fate? Based on writer/director Ann Hu’s story, that’s the question facing Lan (Zhu Zhu), who travels with her 9-year-old daughter Meimei (Harmonie He) from their small town in China to New York City.
Inflicted with a learning disability, Meimei is considered a strange and dumb girl, an outcast in her school and community. What no one recognizes, however, is that she possesses a gift waiting to be unlocked. The world seen through her eyes is unique and filled with magic. When her mother learns that Meimei suffers from dyslexia, as do 1 in 10 people worldwide, she will stop at nothing to help her, including leaving her life in China behind and venturing alone with Meimei to New York City, braving a place she knows nothing about and speaking not a word of English.
Their pursuit of the impossible is a rollercoaster, impacted by the numerous people who come into their lives and affect their journey along the way, including Helen (Amy Irving), a wheelchair user, an outspoken writer who reluctantly takes them in. Navigating schools for a recent immigrant requiring learning accommodations presents unique challenges, and ultimately Lan’s low-wage factory job and visiting immigrant status endangers Meimei’s acceptance at a special school. What Lan and Meimei discover is that in a world where people are judged and often not seen, their courage to believe in themselves against all odds will eventually lead them to people who do see them for who they truly are.
I loved this film, and although not every mother would be courageous or financially stable enough to go across the globe to seek help for her child, the film highlights the lengths to which moms go through all over the globe to ensure that the best education is possible for their children—and it turned out to be a learning experience for both mother and daughter.
Confetti could be used to describe the inner workings of Meimei’s brain. Thoughts just fly in free form until they mesh together to bring about good results.
What is unknown is that Lan has had a learning disability since childhood, and that is why she’s so bent on creating a better life for her daughter.
The father is patiently waiting back in China to hear back from New York on whether Meimei is finally accepted in the prestigious school with good results all around in the end.
“Confetti” premieres at theatres everywhere on August 20. For more information, visit www.confettifilm.com.
