Review: A Tale of Love and Darkness
If nothing else, Natalie Portman's choice to take on Amos Oz's A Tale of Darkness, a personal perspective on the political turbulence of Israel's early years, displays a passionate affinity not only to Oz's work but to her home country to which her directorial debut serves as a love letter. It's an ambitious undertaking, made all the more brave for her decision to tell it entirely in Hebrew, but ultimately a somewhat noble failure.
Narrated by the adult Oz as he reflects upon his childhood during the early Forties when Israel was under British rule, the film focuses on his parents Arieh (Gilad Kahana) and Faina (Portman), who represent differing views on the present and future state of the country. Arieh is a writer, overly serious and nationalist in his sentiments. Faina, raised with some privilege in Poland, dreamt of living in the land of milk and honey with a strong man by her side. Her actual reality, with the exception of young Amos (Amir Tessler), has been one of bitter disappointment. Disapproval surrounds her at every turn, both sides of her family pelt her with critical slings and arrows, and the fantasies on which she subsisted are nourishing her no longer.
From her son's point of view, his mother's dread becomes a premonition of Israel's ensuing violence and moral uncertainty. Though he takes on his father's vocation, he is his mother's son, well aware that change is mere perception. "A fulfilled dream is a disappointed dream," he concludes, and it's a statement that faintly echoes his early assessment that "Jerusalem is a black widow who devours her lovers while they are still inside her." Even a seemingly hopeful sequence in which young Amos connects with an Arab girl during a party is underscored with the tensions that are never too far from the surface.
For all of Portman intriguing insights (she also wrote the screenplay), she cannot quite make the blend of the emotional and the intellectual coalesce. Perhaps the film is too reverential for its own good. Shot in deeply dolorous tones, A Tale of Love and Darkness works best when it gives itself over to a more literary poeticism, such as images of Faina in a desert landscape surrounded by swarms of birds. Even a simple image of the elderly Oz as he notes that he is now old enough to be Faina's father has a stirring resonance that is noticeably absent for most of the film.
Nevertheless, Portman shows great potential as a filmmaker and her portrayal of Faina as her radiance curdles into despair is moving and heartfelt.
A Tale of Love and Darkness
Directed by: Natalie Portman
Written by: Natalie Portman; adapted from the memoir by Amos Oz
Starring: Natalie Portman, Gilad Kahana, Amir Tessler, Makram Khoury, Yonatan Shiray
