. . . that keeps the viewers guessing until the end. Not unlike SOPHIE'S CHOICE, this movie, while based on a more recent conflict, deals with the long-term ramifications of war. TWICE BORN does not vilify the side opposing its main characters, unlike another recent Balkans War flick, the Russian-made AUGUST '08 (mistitled AUGUST EIGHTH on this site). Whereas the latter feature reduces the "enemy" to Baby Bayonetters akin to WWI propaganda newsreels, TWICE BORN leaves its counter forces mostly cloaked in the anonymity of snipers and artillery men. No effort is made to present either the Serbian or Muslim side of this conflict; the circle of friends at the center of this movie's focus includes a Muslim woman married to a Jewish professor. The rape scene and female sex slave warehouse are more generic war horrors than the Russian effort to lay the grounds for ethnic cleansing and\or the reemergence of Apartheid. The only stumble for TWICE BORN is a little too much emphasis on the ovaries of Penelope Cruz's character, Gemma, and her constant histrionic screaming fits, which should have been toned down a tad.
Review of Twice Born
