The Tale (2018)
RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
13 wins & 38 nominations total
The Tale handles its extraordinarily challenging subject matter with sensitivity, grace, and the power of some standout performances led by a remarkable Laura Dern.
The Tale” is a movie that will leave you feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck, but in a good way. It’s a raw and honest portrayal of one woman’s journey to come to terms with her own sexual assault as a child. The film is not afraid to delve into the darkest corners of the human psyche, and it does so with a deft hand. While it may not be the easiest movie to watch, it’s an important one that will stay with you long after the credits roll. So grab some tissues and buckle up, because “The Tale” is a ride you won’t soon forget.
Production Company(ies)
Eye Steel Film Téléfilm Canada Rogers Group of Fund,s
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic elements, some violent action and partial nudity
Year of Release
2013
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Datasat Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Japanese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): May 27, 2018
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Laura Dern, Elizabeth Debicki, Laura Allen, Jason Ritter, Ellen Burstyn, Common, directed by Jennifer Fox, written by Jennifer Fox, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Hannah Strong, Robert Daniels, Verne Gay, Emily Nussbaum, Alison Willmore, Robbie Collin, Taylor Baker, Milana Vujkov, Kshitij Rawat, CJ Sheu, Poulomi Das, produced by Laura Rister, Sol Bondy, Lawrence Inglee, Mynette Louie, Oren Moverman, Simone Pero, Regina K Scully, MPAA rating, sexual assault, memory, horse farm, journalist, professor, mother, coaches, relationship, truth, sensitivity, grace, standout performances, Jennifer Fox’s autobiographical debut, harrowing, essential viewing, psychological power, anger, inspiring streak, mastering a story, right way to tell it, damaged, coping, resolution, instigation, trust, memory, sexual assault, deeply personal, hard-to-watch story
Worldwide gross: $24,706,166
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $31,385,429
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,529
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,422,620
US/Canada gross: $974,913
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,238,479
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,134
US/Canada opening weekend: $54,915
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $69,761
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,083
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): ¥5,000,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Elizabeth Debicki – Mrs. G
Laura Allen – Nadine
Jason Ritter – Bill
Ellen Burstyn – Nettie
Common – Martin
Director(s)
Jennifer Fox
Writer(s)
Jennifer Fox
Producer(s)
Laura Rister, Jennifer Fox, Sol Bondy, Lawrence Inglee, Mynette Louie, Oren Moverman, Simone Pero, Regina K. Scully
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
13 wins & 38 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (79) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (78) | Rotten (1)
Jennifer Fox’s autobiographical debut makes for harrowing but essential viewing.
December 19, 2018
Hannah Strong
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
For Fox, and for all of us, The Tale is a spot in time worth finding.
August 27, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
Robert Daniels
812filmreviews
TOP CRITIC
Jenny’s reluctance to stare down the horror gives “The Tale” an ineluctable psychological power.
August 23, 2018
Verne Gay
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
The Tale is lit up by a clarifying anger, but it has a stirring, inspiring streak-it’s about mastering a story by finding the right way to tell it.
June 26, 2018
Emily Nussbaum
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
It is, instead, a startlingly effective act of fiction, in which [Jennifer] Fox turns her abuser into an accessory in her own narrative, a means to an ending.
June 7, 2018
Alison Willmore
BuzzFeed News
TOP CRITIC
Even viewed from the sofa, it makes an IMAX-sized impact.
June 7, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
…that she will always be damaged and telling herself a story to cope.
August 22, 2021 | Rating: 78/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
On how abuse comes not in the guise of the obviously monstrous, but through the beautiful, deceitful object of affection.
July 29, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Milana Vujkov
Lola On Film
This is no sanitised version of events. This is harsh reality laid bare – unsparing, unstinting.
March 9, 2021
Kshitij Rawat
The Indian Express
Perhaps it’s too much to ask of such a raw and brutally honest film that it deal with resolution as complexly as it does with instigation.
July 1, 2020
CJ Sheu
Review Film Review
By emphasising how little Fox could trust her memory, The Tale forces us to discern that when someone is assaulted, so is their mind – blocking their own memories becomes not only their language, but also their instant cure.
July 17, 2019
Poulomi Das
The Hindu Business Line
The Tale is a deeply personal and at times hard-to-watch story of a woman coming to terms with her own sexual assault as a child.
May 15, 2019 | Rating: 9/10
Kaitlyn Booth
Bleeding Cool…
Plot
An old man makes a living by selling bamboo. One day, he finds a princess in a bamboo. The princess is only the size of a finger. Her name is Kaguya. When Kaguya grows up, 5 men from prestigious families propose to her. Kaguya asks the men to find memorable marriage gifts for her, but the 5 men are unable to find what Kaguya wants. Then, the Emperor of Japan proposes to her.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Laura Dern delivers a remarkable performance in The Tale.
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