Any actor turning to directing requires a certain amount of courage to withstand the scrutiny and criticisms that will surely come, particularly when ambitions are high —just ask Ryan Gosling about “Lost River.” And while Natalie Portman‘s feature length directorial debut “A Tale Of Love And Darkness” isn’t so great, as I noted in my review, “Portman shows an assured hand behind the camera.” Essentially, if she chooses to make more films, her craft will only grow stronger, and perhaps seeing that nascent talent on display is reason enough to give ‘Darkness’ a shot.
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Based on the autobiographical novel by Amos Oz and co-starring Gilad Kahana and Amir Tessler, the story tells of the author’s relationship with his mother in the years following World War II. Here’s the official synopsis:
Based on the international best-seller by Amos Oz, A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS is the story of his youth, set against the backdrop of the end of the British Mandate for Palestine and the early years of the State of Israel. The film details the young man’s relationship with his mother and his beginnings as a writer, while looking at what happens when the stories we tell become the stories we live.
“A Tale Of Love And Darkness” opens in limited release on August 19th.