• Home
  • Meetings
  • Events
  • Blog
  • E-Board
  • Around Boston
  • Join
Northeastern University's Film Enthusiasts Club
.

Anu Gulati on A Tale of Love and Darkness

8/28/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​The Arab-Israeli Wars are barely taught in secondary schools; it’s actually more likely that they’re not mentioned at all. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is one of the world’s major sources of instability, and most Americans are unaware that the U.S. is providing Israel with at least $10.2 million per day in military aid during the fiscal year 2016. Focused on the time around the First Arab-Israeli War (1948) against the backdrop of the last days of the Mandatory Palestine in Jerusalem, Natalie Portman’s directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness has a whole lot of Portman’s heart dedicated to the material, but too much of a self-conscious somberness hangs over the film, holding it back from the real emotional poignancy it so needs.

Based on the acclaimed memoir of the same name by Amos Oz, A Tale of Love and Darkness follows narrator Amos (Amir Tessler) recounting stories about growing up post World War II in an attempt to dissect his mother’s unsolvable, mystery malaise. Portman focuses less on the setting and time period, and instead on the setting and time period’s effect on Fania (Natalie Portman), Amos’s mother who would certainly be classified with clinical depression today (it’s timely accurate that the word “depression” is never mentioned throughout the movie, since that was a disorder not properly classified or taken seriously at the time). Fania is often found staring broodily out the window in muted grey dresses, sitting in the rain like it’s her natural habitat, and doesn’t say much to her child or husband regarding her condition. She is constantly haunted by her memories of living carefree with her sisters in Ukraine, a land that is not so caught up in conflict and confusion as Jerusalem.

Scenes with her bring the movie and audience down, as they should given the mental disorder being shown on screen. Fania’s dreams of moving to Israel involved marrying a handsome farmer or soldier, but she instead feels suffocated by the normalcy and nerdiness of Amos’s father, a Lithuanian literary critic. The stability and happiness of Amos’s father and Amos is a dream itself, but a dream come true is inevitably a disappointment, which is a common Zionist idea. In his book, Oz often speaks on how Israel as a place for Jewish people was more of a hopeful dream than a reality, and would just eventually lead to disappointment as dreams too-good-to-be-true eventually end up. Portman attempts to play out this idea with Fania and the supporting characters, but there’s not enough material there for the message to be properly conveyed, and instead Fania’s depression is shown in melodramatic visual cliches.

With the pulling source material and important setting/time period, it’s a slight disappointment that Portman couldn’t do more with what she was given. A Tale of Love and Darkness does have hints of promise in Portman’s work, and I’m eager to see where she goes next. Her decision to adapt Oz’s memoir because of her Israeli pride is one of genuine compassion, and I’m interested to see what other films of this ilk she can produce in the future. The Israeli-Palestine conflict is topic not often covered in classrooms, films, and mass-media news, but films like A Tale of Love and Darkness are necessary reminders of the harsh realities and absolute dreariness that reside there every day.

GRADE: C-
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    AJ Martin
    Andy Robinson
    Anime
    Anthony Formicola
    Anu Gulati
    Arjun Agarwal
    Arzu Martinez
    Ben Garbow
    Brandon Isaacson
    Brian Hamilton
    Carter Sigl
    Dan Simeone
    Discussion
    Elizabeth Johnson Wilson
    Eliza Rosenberry
    Emily Fisler
    Erick Sanchez
    Eric Tatar
    Essays
    Festivals
    Gabrielle Ulubay
    Haley Emerson
    Here's Some Movies
    Ian Wolff
    IFF Boston
    IFFBoston 2015
    Interviews
    Isaac Feldberg
    Kunal Asarsa
    Library
    Lists
    Marguerite Darcy
    Marissa Marchese
    Mary Tobin
    Meghan Murphy
    Mike Muse
    Mitch Macro
    Neel Shah
    Netflix Instant Watch
    Parth Parekh
    Patrick Roos
    Profiles
    Reviews
    Short Films
    Television
    This Week In Movies
    Tyler Rosini

    Want to Write for Us?

    Contact NUFEC President Ian Wolff at nufecblog@gmail.com if you're interested in writing for this blog!

    Archives

    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.