Cast of Characters:
Gemma - Penelope Cruz
Diego - Emile Hirsch
Gojko - Adnan Haskovic
Aska - Saadat Aksoy
Pietro - Pietro Castellitto
Armando - Luca De Filippo
Psychologist - Jane Birkin
Director - Sergio Castellitto
Screenplay - Margaret Mazzantini & Sergio Castellitto
Based on the novel Venuto al mondo by Margaret Mazzantini
Rated R for violence including a rape scene, sexuality/nudity, language and some drug content
Academy Award winner Penelope Cruz and Emile Hirsch star in romantic war drama Twice Born, based on the novel by Margaret Mazzantini.
Gemma (Penelope Cruz) has returned to Sarajevo with her son Pietro (Pietro Castellitto), sixteen years after the city was torn apart by war. Pietro's father Diego (Emile Hirsch) died years before during the Bosnian conflict.
We then flashback to all those years ago, where a younger Gemma first meets the idealistic photographer Diego. The two fall in love, yet unfortunately Gemma is unable to conceive a child. Despite pushing Diego into the arms of surrogate Aska (Saadat Aksoy), through which a child is conceived, Gemma is overcome with guilt and jealousy.
Twice Born is your typical war-drama-romance kind of film that breaks a number of the mandatory cliches we normally see in films like this while also containing a few third act twists. Of all the war periods portrayed in film, the conflict that took place in Bosnia is one of the few that is rarely visited, so it's a bit of a shame that the tragedies that took place take a back seat to the sweeping melodrama that we see here. We do, every now and then, get a grim portrait provided by Italian director/co-writer Sergio Castellitto of the horrors that took place, but there's not as much as we should get. That said, in spite of the weaknesses of the story, the film is elevated by a mesmerizing performance from Penelope Cruz. What an amazing turn from Penelope. Whether she's playing the lively, younger Gemma, the middle-aged Gemma filled with heartbreak over the fact she can never conceive a child, or the older Gemma reflecting back on the decisions she made that brought her back to where it all began, Cruz hits all the right notes and conveys every emotion of her character perfectly. If the story doesn't move you, Cruz and her character will. Emile Hirsch is a fine actor and has turned in two great performances already this year with Prince Avalanche and The Motel Life, but here he seems a bit over-the-top. Playing someone so young, idealistic and full of himself, yeah, you can maybe forgive that, but he didn't bring any believability to the romance with Cruz (you also have to wonder if Gemma would even bother with someone like Diego) and just seemed to lay it on tad bit too thick with her. Then again, Penelope Cruz ages like a fine wine and will still be rockin' it at the age of 156. If I was in her presence and had a chance to win her over, I would lay it on like molasses too, so who am I to talk?
The story is not entirely without its strengths. There are a few genuinely moving moments where the melodrama steps aside and Sergio Castellitto does a solid job at constructing the way the film flows through present day to flashback. I just wish the film contained a little less melodrama. At the end of the day though, this is Penelope Cruz's film and despite the flaws that it contains, she carries this film with an effortlessly terrific performance. Her performance alone is reason enough to still watch this film. It's one of her best. I give Twice Born a B (★★★).
Twice Born is your typical war-drama-romance kind of film that breaks a number of the mandatory cliches we normally see in films like this while also containing a few third act twists. Of all the war periods portrayed in film, the conflict that took place in Bosnia is one of the few that is rarely visited, so it's a bit of a shame that the tragedies that took place take a back seat to the sweeping melodrama that we see here. We do, every now and then, get a grim portrait provided by Italian director/co-writer Sergio Castellitto of the horrors that took place, but there's not as much as we should get. That said, in spite of the weaknesses of the story, the film is elevated by a mesmerizing performance from Penelope Cruz. What an amazing turn from Penelope. Whether she's playing the lively, younger Gemma, the middle-aged Gemma filled with heartbreak over the fact she can never conceive a child, or the older Gemma reflecting back on the decisions she made that brought her back to where it all began, Cruz hits all the right notes and conveys every emotion of her character perfectly. If the story doesn't move you, Cruz and her character will. Emile Hirsch is a fine actor and has turned in two great performances already this year with Prince Avalanche and The Motel Life, but here he seems a bit over-the-top. Playing someone so young, idealistic and full of himself, yeah, you can maybe forgive that, but he didn't bring any believability to the romance with Cruz (you also have to wonder if Gemma would even bother with someone like Diego) and just seemed to lay it on tad bit too thick with her. Then again, Penelope Cruz ages like a fine wine and will still be rockin' it at the age of 156. If I was in her presence and had a chance to win her over, I would lay it on like molasses too, so who am I to talk?
The story is not entirely without its strengths. There are a few genuinely moving moments where the melodrama steps aside and Sergio Castellitto does a solid job at constructing the way the film flows through present day to flashback. I just wish the film contained a little less melodrama. At the end of the day though, this is Penelope Cruz's film and despite the flaws that it contains, she carries this film with an effortlessly terrific performance. Her performance alone is reason enough to still watch this film. It's one of her best. I give Twice Born a B (★★★).
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