Review of Twice Born

Twice Born (2012)
7/10
Intense drama co-produced by Italy/Spain , including an enjoyable love story among a young couple during Bosnia war
14 April 2014
¨Twice Born¨ is a thought-provoking war drama crammed with thrills , intrigue , family relationship and an agreeable love story . It tells the story of Gemma (Penelope Cruz), an Italian single mother who decides to bring her teenage son, Pietro (Pietro Castellitto) to battle-scarred city of Sarajevo, where his father died in the Bosnian conflict years ago . There they see the country where he was born and where she fell in love with Pietro's now-deceased father, photographer Diego (Emile Hirsch). It's a tense arrival, one that foreshadows the struggles Gemma must face as she relives her past. Scenes of the present are intercut with those of the past, when Gemma was a student working on her doctorate in Sarajevo in the early 1980s. The two had formed a romance in a very different Sarajevo during the 1984 Winter Olympics . But when the Balkan war loomed , Gemma was forced to flee to Italy with her infant son. As she tours the city 18 years later, she uncovers a terrifying hidden truth . There , she was introduced to the passionate American photographer Diego by her zany Bosnian poet guide, Gojko (Adnan Hasković) kickstarting a steamy romance that leads to marriage but, unfortunately for them, a lack of children leads to unexpected consequences .

This interesting film deals with a tragedy of human emotions pushed over the edge . This wartime movie picture is an enjoyable tale with an interesting characterizing about a few characters , tragic drama , emotion and including some war scenes . Its style is pretty much sour , dry and realistic as well in the atmosphere as in the fresh dialog . Sergio Castellito returns to top form, with an intelligent and engaging script which uses dramatic situations to give us a good movie in a high sense and intimate sensitivity and that kept me entertained for the almost two hours and some of duration . This stirring as well as intimate story is a passionate retelling and a touching love story between Cruz and Hirsch interrupted by a fateful war . Storyline relies heavily on the continued relationship among them ; in spite of , the movie results to be better than average , being surprisingly good and compellingly realized . Rightly enjoyable and fun-filled , milestone drama which neatly combines tragedy , drama , entertaining situations and unexpected finale . Flawless story with a quartet of sensational protagonists , all of them give fine performances , as Penélope Cruz , Emile Hirsch , Adnan Haskovic and Saadet Aksoy . Unforgettable Penelope Cruz , she parades sexily at her best and more relaxed and enticing than ever . The hit of the show is undoubtedly for the fetching Penelope who gives one of the best screen acting , she pays a nervous and aged woman who flies to Sarajevo with her son , marking the first time they've been back since escaping the Bosnian War 16 years earlier. I liked everyone in the excellent cast, and the male and female actors , especially Penelope Cruz , were all very attractive . I have seen many, Hollywood-dramas that couldn't compare with this one, but many give them a higher rating because they are Hollywood-made . Here Penelope Cruz adds the Italian language to a resume full of English and Spanish speaking roles. ¨Twice born¨ seems to be be a family film , because it has been written , produced and directed by parents ; as Penélope Cruz acted and produced , her brother Eduardo Cruz composed an adequate soundtrack ; Sergio Castellitto played , wrote , produced and directed , his wife Margaret Mazzantini wrote the novel and their son Prieto played an important role .

This attractive Italian/Spanish film was well produced by Guido De Laurentiis, Piero Amati ,Jaime Ortiz De Artiñano , Roberto Sessa , Fernando Bovaira , which got critics and moviegoers polarized in their opinions. The R-rated drama film was screened in a handful of theaters in the U.S. but its biggest audience is on the DVD. The motion picture was well directed by Sergio Castellitto . He is an actor and writer, known for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), The star maker (1995) and Don't move (2004) in which he also directed to Penélope Cruz . Sergio has been married to Margaret Mazzantini since 1987 , a known writer who wrote this film and Don't move , they have four children , on of them results to be Pietro Castellitto . Rating : Above average , worthwhile watching .
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