Jolie plans to take break from films

Angelina Jolie, pictured 21 May 2007, plans to take an entire year off from acting to spend time with her family in 2008, the actress was quoted as saying in a report on Tuesday.[AFP]

CANNES, France - Angelina Jolie says she plans to take a year off from filmmaking to spend more time with her partner, Brad Pitt, and their children.

"We're getting work out of the way at the moment," said the 31-year-old actress, who has been shooting the thriller "Wanted" in Prague, Czech Republic.

After that, she said, "I take two months off, then I work for two months. Then I take a year off."

Jolie and Pitt, 43, have four children: 5-year-old Maddox, who was adopted from Cambodia; Pax Thien, 3, from Vietnam; 2-year-old Zahara, from Ethiopia; and daughter Shiloh, who was born to the couple last May 27.

She told a Vietnamese newspaper in March that she would stay at home to help Pax adjust to his new life. "I have four children and caring for them is the most important thing for me at the moment," the Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper quoted her as saying.

The celebrity supercouple are in Cannes to promote the Michael Winterbottom-directed "A Mighty Heart," in which Jolie plays Mariane Pearl, widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Pearl was abducted by Islamic militants while researching a story in Pakistan in 2002 and later beheaded.

Pitt is a producer on the movie, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday. Jolie has drawn praise for her portrayal of Mariane Pearl, a strong woman put under unbearable pressure.

The two women are friends, and Jolie said she felt a responsibility to get the depiction right.

Jolie, who has visited Pakistan three times as a United Nations goodwill ambassador, said she hopes to return to do more humanitarian work.

"I have a deep love for that part of the world, and I'm saddened to see that every day it seems to be breaking more and more apart," she told a small group of reporters Tuesday at a cabana overlooking the Mediterranean near Cannes.

Jolie said "A Mighty Heart," which was shot in India and Pakistan, had made her "even more determined to go to those areas and spend time with those people and look for great relationships across the world and look for different truths and try to understand deeper."

The actress said Daniel Pearl's grisly fate had made her think about the risks of traveling to troubled parts of the world — but it wouldn't stop her.

"I don't want to live inside a box," she said. "I will be smart, but I will lead a very bold life and I will learn about the world."