Twice Born

source: Twice Born

Twice Born tells the story of interconnecting parallels stories upon one within the context of a story art. The film toggles between present-day scenes depicting the mother and son's complicated relationship and flashes of the tragic love affair between Gemma and Diego (Emile Hirsch) in the early 1990s that led to Pietro's conception. The boy's birth was the product of rather bizarre and secretive circumstances that places his biological kinship under suspicion, and the point of Gemma's trip is to reveal to him the truth about his filiation, but it turns out that she herself only knows half the story, if not less. We are then later to come in between. We then see Gemma and Diego's love is the sort that only seems possible in Europe. The beginning of their story has the gravitas of the destine-bound love at the center of Julio Medem's Lovers of the Artic Circle, but none of its focus, as Twice Born quickly turns out to be more interested in reveling in the secrets of its storyline than in its sentiments. Gemma and Diego grow apart as she discovers she can't have children and is scared that her sterility will make him chase other women. Although it does spark some chemistry and connections, the later scenes have a separate distance from one another, and it appears to feel more so all over the place. Twice Born does extend and could have been a little shorter, however there are an audience of these type of films.

A movie with a confusing time-line might not be everyones cup of tea. It should be clear early on (though the time-lines do not change every other minute, most of the time), if you are into the storytelling that is handed to you. It seems unfair, that this movie did not get as much notice as some others. But hopefully when you discover this for you, you can treasure it more. Speaking of treasuring things: the movie does have many nationalities and play in a war zone (at one time-line, which is the mid 90s) and has many languages it goes through. If you don't watch a dubbed version, I hope they imprinted subtitles on your version, otherwise you might have problems following the movie. It might be about 50% in English, the rest is quite a lot of European languages (including, Italian, some French and many others). The story is tricky, but still easy enough to follow. Great performances by everyone involved and no fear to look "ugly" (if Penelope Cruz can be accused of being able to look ugly that is).

Twice Born (2012) The original Italian title, "Venuto al mondo," translates as "Come to the World," and I think it's a better title. Because this is an intense, emotional journey of several characters each trying to find a reality, a world, that is livable. Set in and around wartime Sarajevo, the large cast of characters interweave in creative ways to make a powerful if clichéd story that has significance for how we see ourselves in the worst of crises. It isn't always an easy ride. The direction, by the Italian actor Sergio Castellito, is pushy, as if he knew the story was big and he made it bigger. Actors overplay some of their moments, editing is forced to pump up the adrenaline. And the plot is pushed to an extreme as well—love, , conception, war, rape, mistaken fatherhood, duplicity, and rebellion. It's all here, and if it's what makes this movie worth watching, the screenwriter, Castellito again, is trying too hard. Luckily the momentum of the events is compelling. And the setting, in the mountain laced capital of Bosnia and the dramatic coast, is interesting at every turn. The acting, too, is engaging even if overwrought. The leading man at first is an American who is a kind of idealist and optimist (and who is derisively called Jesus Christ at one point, which is about right, as his last scene will confirm). Played by Emile Hirsch with unbridled enthusiasm, we have to believe him. There is no other side to his character, and the endless earnest cheer is necessary in the rough surroundings. More dour is the woman, an expatriate Italian played by Penelope Cruz. That they hit it off is not unlikely, and the odd, intense nature of their relationship makes up the first half of the movie. We see the bohemian artist set of the city, we pay a visit to her father in Rome, they consider children in different ways. The strain grows, but the relationship doesn't crack. Until a combination of infertility and war intercede at the same time. Here the plot approaches the incredible, even though the ravages of war, and the famous rapes of that particular war (this is the 1990s), are well known. The human spirit persists in differing ways in the cast, which grows slightly, and the plot becomes both more fragmented and more fascinating. It all crashes and burns and yet there is beauty and resolution, too, by the end, and something satisfying in all the sacrifice and compromise. It's not helpful, I'm sure, to say this is the kind of material that might have made a classic masterpiece of a movie, but that's what sustains this one —the best of it is really terrific. It's hobbled mostly by the inexperience (or just the artistic limitations) of Castellito, who had such a huge role in the feel and scope of things the great cast wasn't enough to compensate. And to note, the novel this was based on was written by the director's wife, the son in the movie is played by his son (from what I can tell), and the director himself plays one of the secondary characters. Quite the family affair. See it? Yes, if this sounds at all compelling. It's in some large category of romanticized love-war epic with "The English Patient" or "Gone with the Wind" or the troubled "Atonement," but at a very different level of success.

One of the best movies I've watched in my life. The soundtrack is perfect , the acting is extraordinary and the script is magnificent. I don't know how fifty shades of gray has a better note in meta.score than this movie... How is this possible? Is there something wrong with me? It is a film that conveys so much emotion. We are able to hate and love a character. A movie that makes us cry with excitement. If you are reading this and you doubt me, watch the movie, Trust me! For me this is one of the most underrate films in history. Can you believe that this movie has received one of the worst rewis in rotten.tomatos: It holds an 18% rating on Rotten.tomatoes based on 22 reviews.

Don't know where to start. Yes this might contain spoilers so don't read it you don't wanna know :) I read the book from Margaret twice. The impact the book had on me was enormous. Beautifully written with characters you immediately felt in love with and which are very hard to forget. The movie did bring the characters and the book alive. To certain extend. The truth is it is hard to come even close to emotional impact the book had. The feelings the main protagonists had in the book was only partly shown in the movie. Actually the casting was spot on. I wouldn't choose better. They were clearly chosen with great care. They did act perfectly. The story Margaret wrote is hard to stomach. The drive to be a mother can be incredibly strong. And Gemma had this strong drive, but also she wasn't able to have the child. Diego loved her. Until the end. There was part in the book and in the movie as well where one would think that he stopped loving her. But as he was pure and good to the core he never stopped. He made sacrifices and he saved a child in process. He also was coward in the moment he should act. This is the beauty of the movie. It shows the war and the incredible impact it has on people. It shows that people can turn into cowards and heroes. Aska's story was particularly difficult to watch( even worse in the book). There were parts in the movie which really broke my heart. The part which showed how happy the people were in Sarajevo before the war. How beautiful and cheerful. And how quickly it was turned into a nightmare. I can't imagine how difficult has to be to watch movies like this who actually went through all of that in Bosnia. Aska's fate which was fate of many women in the war. The one thing I missed was more of Gojko's story.. Adnan was wonderful in Gojko's story but there were parts I really missed and which were in the book. Also more of Gemma's father he was very important in the book. The movie might be hectic at times & hard to follow. Also I don't know whether I could connect to the characters as I did if I hadn't had read the book first. I felt that the story line was little bit rushed. This might be an issue for some people. Hard to watch movie. Makes you thing, cry but also brings hope. Well worth 2 hours of your life.

I just saw "Twice Born" and I have to say that it is one of the best movies I've seen this year. The incredible thing that emerges is an extraordinary naturalness of the characters. The approach taken by Castellitto to build the love story between Gemma (Penelope Cruz) and Diego (Emile Hirsh) is absolutely brilliant and incredibly close to human being. In addition, the relationship between Gemma and Diego is always kept in the foreground; since it could easily sink in that huge and tragic reality of the war. In fact, Castellito takes great care in setting up the relationships of these characters. Otherwise the Italian director pushes his actors near the point of over-acting, I can say that especially about Emile Hirsh, who seems to over-acts in the personality of this free spirited artist, but still in a beautiful way. Penelope Cruz is simply amazing. Mazzantini's story is meticulously constructed, the shifting between past and present is well constructed and clear from the beginning. There are some beautiful scenes, the football match under the rain is a piece of absolute beauty (despite being a war), it's a reflection of two generations which belong to two different realities. I appreciated the cinematography and musics. In conclusion, I have to admit the incredible mastery of Castellitto in directing a complicated story, supported by a great cast. This movie makes me think and hope. I'm gonna watch it again.

this movie sucked, Unless you don't care for happy endings. Here i was, with my husband, looking for a movie to enjoy on our day off. we watched the trailer, it looked like a nice romantic movie with a bit of heartache, but over all i thought it was going to be romantic. It IS NOT. It is so depressing, everyone in this movie has a tragic life. yes, life is not always a happy ending but guess what, if i wanted to watch real life id have watched a documentary. was looking to escape real life by watching a nice movie with my husband with a happy ending. let me tell you this, i was sobbing at the end of the movie, i watched it last week, and i still get sad just thinking about it. i think i have Post traumatic stress disorder after watching that movie, i feel so sad and angry for every character. Penelope's character is a nagger, but in the end she pretty much gets left with a baby and her husband just abandons her because he feels pity over the other girl, which he ends up falling in love with. that other girl gets brutally raped. the husband just leaves his wife, and kills himself. just an all around depressing movie. Don't watch it unless you truly wanna cry over somebody else's tragic disturbing life.

When watching this film it reminded me a lot of "Incendies". Not only because of the story but also because it was almost as tough to watch. It almost felt too realistic, never giving you a chance to get comfortable. That's what makes this movie exceptional. The acting is top notch, really impressed by the performance of Penelope Cruz and Hirsch. The Make-up makes the age-differences look totally authentic. The Soundtrack also gives the film an extra dramatic feel. Even though it is over 2 hours in length you never feel bored, always keeps you excited. 8/10 stars

Amazing acting from Penelope Cruz, she shows the true feelings of being a mother in an ironic sense. A woman's desire for motherhood has been well illustrated! Her facial expressions throughout the movie are emotionally penetrating and make you think about this movie for quite a while. The movie has a perfect story-line. The shifting between present and past is done is professional way so you would connect the events without loosing the line. Watching this movie is like a heart-rending ride, but cinematography and acting are rewarding. The background music faultlessly matches all episodes of the movie. In one word, it's a well-directed and well-acted Italian movie.