AT the end of the screening of A Tale of Love and Darkness at The City Club in Alphaland Makati Place, Israeli Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau playfully asked the packed crowd if they have questions, and that he was willing to spend the rest of the night answering them.
The movie, which Natalie Portman directed and starred in, was one of six movies that are currently being screened as part of the ongoing 14th Israeli Film Festival.
Ah, Natalie Portman. She is Jewish, one of the most recognizable movie stars, and a really talented actress. If you are a man and have your head in the right place, Portman is your perfect partner for life.
Aside from her breathtaking looks and talent, did you know that she could also speak five different languages, including Hebrew, French, Japanese, German and Arabic? She also has a Harvard degree in psychology, and took up graduate courses at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Portman coauthored two research papers that were eventually published in scientific journals. She studied ballet and modern dance at the American Theater and Dance Workshop, and attended the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts.
Yes, she is an epitome of beauty and brains, and she is probably way out of the league of most men out there. Her husband, Paris Opera Ballet Director of Dance Benjamin Millepied, is one lucky individual.
I watched her commencement speech during the 2015 Harvard University graduation, and I was blown away. She came in a simple dress, and there was no fanfare in her at all. But she delivered a moving and inspiring speech. Here are some parts of it.
“Even 12 years after graduation, I am still insecure about my own worthiness that I have to remind myself you are here today for a reason.”
“I felt like there have been some mistakes, and I was not smart enough to be in this company and every time I open my mouth, I would have to prove that I was not just a dumb actress.”
“Sometimes your insecurities and your inexperience may lead you to embrace other people’s expectations, standards, or values. But you can harness that inexperience to carve out your own path. One that is free of the burden of knowing how things are supposed to be. A path that is defined by its particular set of reasons.”
“Take joy in the challenge of the game, the improvement upon practice, the satisfaction of doing something well, and feeling the accomplishment in achieving the game’s goal.”
“Prizes serve as false idols everywhere. Prestige, wealth, fame and power—you will be exposed to many of these, if not all.”
“Achievement is wonderful when you know why you are doing it. And when you do not know it can be a terrible trap.”
“I was completely overwhelmed and thought that reading a thousand pages a week was unimaginable. That writing a 50-page thesis was just something I could never do. I had no idea how to declare my intentions. I could not even articulate it to myself.”
“I realized that seriousness, for seriousness’ sake, was its own kind of trophy, and a dubious one at that.”
“It is not about quantity. It is about taking pleasure in the perfection and beauty of the particular. I am still learning now that it is about good and maybe never done. That the joy, work ethic and virtuosity we bring to the particular can impart a singular type of enjoyment to those we give to and, of course, to ourselves.”
“If I had known my own limitations, I would never have taken the risk.”
Every one of us, from elementary students all the way to those working their butts at work every day, could learn a thing or two from her speech. Take those words to heart and maybe, just maybe, you might find your true path.
People, she is not just an actress. It would take most of us more than one lifetime to achieve what she has already accomplished. And she is not even halfway done yet.
Oh, and in her Harvard speech, Portman also talks about A Tale of Love and Darkness.
In her own words, she said: “I was quiet blind to the challenges ahead of me. The film was a period film completely in Hebrew in which I also act with an 8-year-old child as a costar. All of these are challenges I should have been terrified of as I was completely unprepared for them.
But my complete ignorance to my own limitations looked like confidence and got me to the director’s chair. Once there, I had to figure it all out and my belief that I could handle these things contrary to all evidence of my ability to do so was half the battle. The other half was very hard work.”
Well, she figured it all out when she turned the book originally written by Amos Oz into a movie.
The movie was so compelling in many ways and the heaviness it brought to my heart, while watching it was, something else.
The one image that stuck in my mind was toward the end of the movie, when an ambulance rushes in the streets, a child who was with her mother happily jumped up and down on a small pond of water on the side of the street caused by the rain.
There is just something to a child’s innocence that just crosses through whatever tough times individuals, families, or a nation is going through. If we could only see the world through a child’s eyes, then we would not have made this world so complicated.
Matityau said their country started making movies to promote patriotism. He said they were propaganda movies in the beginning, until they realized that movies can be fun and can touch different cultures.
He also said their invasion of Hollywood was when some of their nationals got involved in the production of the Rambo franchise and all those Chuck Norris action flicks.
I hope that I heard it correctly when he said Chuck Norris, because I want to hear the full story next time we see each other, because I can imagine a Chuck Norris joke there somewhere.
Anyway, the 14th Israeli Film Festival will go through the Film Development Council of the Philippines Cinematheques in Manila, Baguio, Davao and Iloilo. It will also visit several schools, including University of the Philippines Diliman, De La Salle University Manila, University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University Manila, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Philippine Women’s University, Film & Media Arts International Academy and University of San Carlos.
Now, I want to ask Matityau when are they bringing Portman to the Philippines.
Image credits: Rodel Alzona