Tessler does manage to have impact in two standout scenes without Portman, whose own powerful yet distancing performance too often overshadows his. At one point, Amos goes to a party held at the home of an Arab family. Their pretty daughter takes a liking to him. He tries to impress her by declaring, “There’s enough room in this country for both peoples. We just need to learn to live together in peace and mutual respect.” She smiles and suggests he should be a lawyer based on the way he talks. But the accord between the children is shattered when Amos’ attempt to imitate Tarzan by climbing a tree ends with the girl’s toddler brother getting hurt when a swing breaks free—an obvious though somewhat effective metaphor for the conflict that continues to this day. Later, he will rely on his interest in Tarzan’s adventures again as he employs his ability to spin yarns to distract a gang of school bullies who want to beat him up.
For anyone expecting to learn details about the founding of Israel, there is a bare minimum of actual background beyond what is heard being transmitted by radio broadcasts and seen in newsreel footage. There is also little in the way of humor that might have managed to strike a welcome balance before the mood is enveloped by darkness as Fania begins to fall into a depression that eventually snuffs out her desire to live.
While Portman excels at sensitive depictions of smaller moments, she struggles to root her directing debut with a broader-scale “you-are-there” authenticity, one that grabs our attention and make us feel as passionate about this slice of personal history as she does. Still, as someone who was cast in her first film at age eleven, the actress has probably picked up more than a few pointers after working alongside such heavyweight helmers as Mike Nichols, Michael Mann, Woody Allen, Anthony Minghella and Milos Forman.
All it takes is one breathtaking shot near the conclusion of “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” when the aged Amos stares helplessly at his troubled mother through a pane of glass coated with teary rivulets of rain, to know Portman has an artistic vision worth sharing and developing.
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