Since premiering
early this year at the Cannes Film Festival, Natalie Portman's directorial
debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness has been flying under the radar, which could
raise a few questions, especially since it doesn't have a release date yet. But
bad omens aside, the trailer for her adaptation of Amos Oz's autobiographical
book about a boy growing up in Jerusalem in the 1940's during the conflict
between Israel and Palestine grabs you with its power imagery courtesy of Oscar
nominated cinematography Slawomir Idziak (Black Hawk Down), even if you don't
understand what actors are saying.
I would recommend not
reading the synopsis below as it contain massive spoilers, and wait for the
subtitled trailer to arrive.
A Tale of Love and
Darkness stars Natalie Portman as Fania, Amir Tessler as young Oz, and Gilad
Kahana as Arieh.
A family saga and a
magical self-portrait of a writer who witnessed the birth of a nation and lived
through its turbulent history. A
Tale of Love and Darkness is
the story of a boy who grows up in war-torn Jerusalem, in a small apartment
crowded with books in twelve languages and relatives speaking nearly as many.
The story of an adolescent whose life has been changed forever by his mother’s
suicide. The story of a man who leaves the constraints of his family and
community to join a kibbutz, change his name, marry, have children. The story
of a writer who becomes an active participant in the political life of his
nation.
Will watch when available. Wish I could ask Miss Portman a few questions starting with "why now?" She said she would never do a picture playing upon her Jewishness. What changed?
ReplyDelete