'She suffers perhaps a little too beautifully", says Scott. I'll add, and TOO MUCH.
The second half of the film sucks the energy out of the thrilling first part.
I will agree with Scott that there are many lovely moments, and even more beautiful images, the birds transforming for one,the spectacular skies, and many others.
Another strong point of this review is the 'film breathes a little more freely when it leaves the claustrophobia of the household.' Yes it fell flat for me in the end.
Many things lacked insight, the relationship between Portman and her husband seemed to not expand much. His affairs went unexplored, tho clearly he wanted an escape from his suffering wife(as did I).
I loved the scene between the Israeli boy and the Arabic girl, which was clearly symbolic: no matter how hard they try to get along something always divides them.
History buffs will of course say the film just pays lip service to the Arabs displaced by the new settlers. YEs, the film was not about that but Arabs were on the land and eventually displaced.
The second half of the film sucks the energy out of the thrilling first part.
I will agree with Scott that there are many lovely moments, and even more beautiful images, the birds transforming for one,the spectacular skies, and many others.
Another strong point of this review is the 'film breathes a little more freely when it leaves the claustrophobia of the household.' Yes it fell flat for me in the end.
Many things lacked insight, the relationship between Portman and her husband seemed to not expand much. His affairs went unexplored, tho clearly he wanted an escape from his suffering wife(as did I).
I loved the scene between the Israeli boy and the Arabic girl, which was clearly symbolic: no matter how hard they try to get along something always divides them.
History buffs will of course say the film just pays lip service to the Arabs displaced by the new settlers. YEs, the film was not about that but Arabs were on the land and eventually displaced.
3
@bocheball
I don't understand how you can say "his affairs went unexplored." She told him explicitly to go out and find female companionship. How did you miss that?
An incredibly sensitive and haunting film, and pulled off something very challenging. The use of a personal struggle with dream vs reality as a subtle metaphor for the dream vs. reality of Israel, the perfect and sparing use of powerful observations about life and nationhood, were nothing short of brilliant.
6
I went in skeptical and came out quite enthralled and sad. I was moved by the sensitive performance of Amir Tessler. I wonder how Portman could get out such a performance from him. He really carries the weight of the film, for his face has to register all the emotions of a child going through very very trying circumstances. I did not see Portman's character as too romanticized, she seemed pretty sick to me, quite pathetic. Watching her wither away must have been a very debilitating and soul crushing experience for an only child. The father's character was a bit of a caricature, though. It was surprising to me to read that after Fania's death, father and son never once mentioned her again. To me the film is really about this very sad and dark mother and child love story, not so much about the bigger story of Israel which may be better delineated perhaps in the book. A bow to Ms. Portman.
4
I have much less sympathy or empathy for Israel in the past ten years. Its government is driven by expansionism and terrorism
7
irrelevant
32
@ Robert
I knew that a film with Israel as its context would bring comments like this out of the woodwork. If that is how you feel, don't go to see it, but your antipathy to Israel has nothing to do with this movie. This is just unnecessary.
I knew that a film with Israel as its context would bring comments like this out of the woodwork. If that is how you feel, don't go to see it, but your antipathy to Israel has nothing to do with this movie. This is just unnecessary.
14
RUN DON'T WALK TO SEE THIS FILM.Just saw the film tonight in New York. It was a Brilliant work of art and passion. A Trifecta of Acting, Directing and writing the screenplay for Natalie Portman The movie was astonishing in its poetic heart wrenching story, all involved in this film served the story so magnificently. The Cinematography is breathtaking.Ms Portman had the rights to the book 10 years ago, she said in her Q@A. Ten years where she perfect every vision she had to create a masterpiece. Brava!!!
15
Oz, from page one and holding tension until the last page of this memoir, says that his mother commits suicide when he is a young adolescent. This was one reason, and only one, that he changed his name from his father's, to "oz," courage.
How could the reviewer leave out that central theme of the memoir, especially when Oz confesses that it took him so many decades until he had the courage to write this powerful tale.
How could the reviewer leave out that central theme of the memoir, especially when Oz confesses that it took him so many decades until he had the courage to write this powerful tale.
12
Maybe so that people who haven't read the memoir would not be spoiled by the information?
13
Oz approved highly of the depiction of himself.
2
Thanks a lot. :-(
1
Natalie Portman's directorial debut deserves deep admiration. She embraces her heritage with a story from her heart. I am not Jewish but I feel proud we have an American actress with such intelligence and grace.
31
Want to add that I was fortunate to hear her speak at a screening in LA. She was gracious explaining her love of the material and acknowledged many of the people who worked on the film such as her language coach, fellow actors, and cinematographer. Appreciation is an admirable quality.
14
Amos Oz is a master in conveying ambiguity and gray shades with intensity. I hope Ms. Portman has done his book justice. This is clearly a work of love for her. Brava.
12
Mr. Oz loved it.
2
Along with this movie, I would recommend Ari Shavit's My Promised Land, both of which humanize the complexity of Israel's founding.
18
Natalie's butterfly is emerging.
love,SDS
love,SDS
15
Telling the story of the founding of the modern state of Israel from the point of view of a boy born in 1939 runs up against the establishment of the state in the early 1920s by the Allied Powers. There has been since then a long process, not yet finished, of determining what territory that entity will have, but Israel existed as a member of the nation-state system long before 1948.
The perspective needed to understand creation of the modern state of Israel is therefore not that of a boy born in 1939 but rather that of British policy makers looking at the eastern Mediterranean with an eye to access to India via the Suez Canal, during the long period of decline and then fall of the Ottoman Empire, Russian expansion, and Arab nationalism through the late 1800s and into the 1900s.
Nonetheless, Ms. Portman's movie probably has all the good qualities of elegance, intimacy, and literary feeling that Scott's review finds in it.
The perspective needed to understand creation of the modern state of Israel is therefore not that of a boy born in 1939 but rather that of British policy makers looking at the eastern Mediterranean with an eye to access to India via the Suez Canal, during the long period of decline and then fall of the Ottoman Empire, Russian expansion, and Arab nationalism through the late 1800s and into the 1900s.
Nonetheless, Ms. Portman's movie probably has all the good qualities of elegance, intimacy, and literary feeling that Scott's review finds in it.
10
Mr. Ryan: Israel did not exist until 1948 when the people who took over the land and dispossessed the inhabitants declared themselves a new state. The British, who had promised the Palestinians a sovereign state as a reward for their help against the Turks in WWI, reneged on the deal in response to Jewish demands, political connections, and terrorism. In 1910, Jews made up only 10% of the inhabitants of Palestine. Just as they are now doing in Lakewood, NJ, the Jews bought land, created a formidable voting bloc, and built a two class citizenship, one Jewish, one not. The 1930's consisted of Jewish intimidation and violence against the native people, which resulted in native emigration to complement the Jewish mass immigration.
Read the 6th book of the Old Testament if you want to go further back to the creation myth of a noble Israel. In that account, a genocidal maniac kills every inhabitant of a land God promised him because he cut off his foreskin (Genesis 17). Please, before responding, remember that anti-Zionism is not anti-semitism. You can be against the very bad idea of creating a theocracy in an already inhabited land without being anti-Semitic.
Read the 6th book of the Old Testament if you want to go further back to the creation myth of a noble Israel. In that account, a genocidal maniac kills every inhabitant of a land God promised him because he cut off his foreskin (Genesis 17). Please, before responding, remember that anti-Zionism is not anti-semitism. You can be against the very bad idea of creating a theocracy in an already inhabited land without being anti-Semitic.
14
conflating issues. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
3
An apple a day...I'd suggest a visit to the doctor.
4
Good luck to you, Ms. Portman. I look forward to seeing your film - this rather condescending review, notwithstanding,
17
I've got to see this!
17
I'm not understanding why the reviewer calls "A tale of Love and Darkness" a difficult book. I found it to be exquisitely written; a memoir of profound depth, compassion, and insight. I heartily recommend it. It will not disappoint you; once you start reading, you won't want to put it down.
33
That's because a piece of literature with profound depth, compassion, and insight is largely considered "difficult" by today's low standards.
2
Forsythia, it took me a very long time to read Oz's book (several months), because it was like trying to drink a gallon of honey. It was densely sweet, and I could only ingest small, measured amounts at a time. Fundamentally, you and I both value this work deeply, but I would agree with the reviewer that it was "difficult" to read. A benign matter of interpretation, perhaps?
3
I believe Natalie Portman is a Sabra, a native=born Israeli. Since it's unlikely to get to the mall multiplexes, I can only hope that I will eventually have a chance to see this film.
14
(Not Mark) Netflix is great for movies that don't have a wide distribution.
1
This movie will go a long way toward achieving the Zionist dream, as introduced by Mr. Hertzl .
Six million Jews live in America, and another six million Jews live in Israel as is, together comprising 80 percent of world Jewry.
If Zion is to be achieved, one population of six million Jews must join the other population of six million Jews. This is simple arithmetic. The only question is which direction will the populations move. Where will the re-settlement be located? That is the question.
Will American Jews resettle to the Middle East site of Israel, or will Israel's Jews resettle to a location carved out of America's vacant land, and join hands with their brethren there.
Zion in Americacan be financed with the hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid projected for the next fifty years. It will also prevent further trillion dollar wars with Islam.
Zion will produce a world of peace and prosperity. Who can object to that?
Six million Jews live in America, and another six million Jews live in Israel as is, together comprising 80 percent of world Jewry.
If Zion is to be achieved, one population of six million Jews must join the other population of six million Jews. This is simple arithmetic. The only question is which direction will the populations move. Where will the re-settlement be located? That is the question.
Will American Jews resettle to the Middle East site of Israel, or will Israel's Jews resettle to a location carved out of America's vacant land, and join hands with their brethren there.
Zion in Americacan be financed with the hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid projected for the next fifty years. It will also prevent further trillion dollar wars with Islam.
Zion will produce a world of peace and prosperity. Who can object to that?
7
What reasonable person could object to a world of peace and prosperity? That having been said, how many states can one name which, once established, voluntarily acceded to auto-dispossession of the territory occupied by those states? How much less likely is such self-abnegation to be implemented by the citizens of a state of which a founding principal was that said territory was given their ancestors by the god they worshipped and which said citizens (or most or many of them) still acknowledge?
1
Just please let us know in advance which state are we getting here in America. We would like to be able to refuse some locations, based on the locals level of trashiness.
Also, some homework wouldn't hurt. Jews have past the six million mark in Israel long long time ago.
Also, some homework wouldn't hurt. Jews have past the six million mark in Israel long long time ago.
6
Why not Germany where the actual Holocaust took place? Palestine should be the homeland of the freedom fighting, long suffering, perpetually occupied Palestinians.
8
Unfortunate that your review totally avoids any discussion of how, or if, the film addresses the Palestinian flip side of the period portrayed. I'm not looking for any particular position, just whether the film even treats the complexity of those events. If the film is as silent as the review, then it would be of little interest; just another limited treatment of a tragic and complicated time. It seems unlikely that the point of the book or film was to portray a family oblivious of the world around them. I hope not.
31
Why won't you read the book first then and comment on "oblivious family" after?
10
It is unfortunate that, in your zeal to highlight "fairness", you demonstrate the confounding problem that many supporters of Palestinians display. Nothing, absolutely nothing about Israel - not even art - is of interest unless it includes balance regarding a Palestinian position. A book, a movie, a painting, however, is art - not a debate, not politics. An artist chooses his topic, his point of view, his statement. Since when must each & every artistic endeavor include the perspective of someone who sees the world differently from the artist? Please show me examples - indeed even a single example - of a book, a movie, a play or a painting about the Palestinian struggle that shows even a shred of interest or empathy towards the struggle of Jews, JUdaism, Zionists or Israelis. It is not necessary that such a piece exist because art need not be a political statement. Perhaps, if you would watch this movie or read the book with upon which it is based, with open eyes and an open heart, you would gain a new perspective about a side of humanity that before was "of little interest" to you. And, should you choose to read, see & watch more examples of Israeli art, you would find that many artists do choose to present multiple points of view - including sympathetic treatment of Palestinians and their quest - in their art.
34
Let's be intellectually honest here. There is no dearth of political or artistic expression of the "Israeli" point of view; not so for the Palestinian experience.
I did not express zeal, but rather a simple desire for full context, and a question, not criticism, as to whether this was the case in this book and movie. Please don't read an attitude into my comment that simply is not there, but that you seem to be assuming.
I'm glad, and aware, that there are other works that address both perspectives. Is that not exactly what I was inquiring about?
Read the words as written please.
I did not express zeal, but rather a simple desire for full context, and a question, not criticism, as to whether this was the case in this book and movie. Please don't read an attitude into my comment that simply is not there, but that you seem to be assuming.
I'm glad, and aware, that there are other works that address both perspectives. Is that not exactly what I was inquiring about?
Read the words as written please.
2
A beautiful review for a beautiful film...
a film respectful to the wonderful book
by Amos Oz.
a film respectful to the wonderful book
by Amos Oz.
12
"...romantic European temperament was unsuited to the hard realities of the Middle Eastern desert:.
Amos Oz grew up in Jerusalem. This hardly qualifies for Middle Eastern Desert. Harsh realities perhaps but not a desert. Oz's mother , who apparently suffered from depression committed suicide when Oz was 12.
Immigration for whatever reason can often cause damage to delicate psyches. A good parallel to Oz's mother would be Roger Cohen's mother, who attempted suicide in London after the family moved from South Africa. That attempt also apparently had a great influence on Cohen.
Amos Oz grew up in Jerusalem. This hardly qualifies for Middle Eastern Desert. Harsh realities perhaps but not a desert. Oz's mother , who apparently suffered from depression committed suicide when Oz was 12.
Immigration for whatever reason can often cause damage to delicate psyches. A good parallel to Oz's mother would be Roger Cohen's mother, who attempted suicide in London after the family moved from South Africa. That attempt also apparently had a great influence on Cohen.
12
("Wenn ihr wollt, ist es kein Märchen")