Twice Born (2012)

A mother brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where his father died in the Bosnian conflict years ago.

Director:

Sergio Castellitto

Writers:

Margaret Mazzantini (novel), Sergio Castellitto (screenplay)

Stars:

Penélope Cruz, Emile Hirsch, Adnan Haskovic

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Penélope Cruz	...	Gemma
Emile Hirsch	...	Diego
Adnan Haskovic	...	Gojco
Saadet Aksoy	...	Aska
Pietro Castellitto	...	Pietro
Mira Furlan	...	Velida
Jovan Divjak
Vinicio Marchioni	...	Gemma's husband
Branko Djuric	...	Doctor (as Branko Duric)
Jane Birkin	...	Psicologa
Luca De Filippo	...	Armando
Sergio Castellitto	...	Giuliano
Bruno Armando
Fausto Russo Alesi
Juan Carlos Vellido	...	Official Ministry

Storyline

The fervent affair of the Italian Gemma and the American photographer Diego will be put to the test by the insurmountable problem of infertility, as the couple's desperate desire to conceive will prompt them to make difficult choices. Now, sixteen years after the 1992 siege of Sarajevo, Gemma--after accepting her old friend Gojko's invitation--will return to the once war-torn city accompanied by her 16-year-old son, Pietro, only to unearth powerful memories and bottled-up emotions. But, there, decades after her perilous escape, Gemma is also in for a terrible and tragic revelation--one that will uncover the true horrors of war and the full extent of her loss.

---

Plot Keywords:

female nudity | bare breasts | pubic hair | male pubic hair | sarajevo | 

---

Taglines:

A story of love. A story of war. A story of life.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence including a rape scene, sexuality/nudity, language and some drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

Italy Spain

Language:

English Italian Bosnian

Release Date:

6 December 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twice Born

Filming Locations:

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Box Office

Budget:

€13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,947, 8 December 2013

Gross USA:

$14,947

Company Credits

Production Co:

Medusa Film, Alien Produzioni, Mod Producciones

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Emile Hirsch (Diego) is the only American in the cast.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Gemma: [on phone] Hello?
Gojco: [on the other end] May I speak with Gemma?
Gemma: This is Gemma.
Gojco: Gemma? Gemma, is that really you?
Gemma: Gojco?
Gojco: Yes, Gemma. It's me
Gemma: My Gojco?
Gojco: Your Gojco.
[laughs]

---

Soundtracks

Ninnahanna
Written by Arturo Annecchino
Voice by Angelica Ponti
© & (P) Alien Produzioni S.r.l.

User Reviews

A wonderful film of emotional depth

First off I want to say there will be no spoilers.

I was lucky enough to catch the premiere screening of "Twice Born" at the premiere at TIFF. I didn't know anything about the film and the only person involved that I recognized was Penelope Cruz. This is a very ambitious film. It intertwines many different stories from present day, and back about 20 years in the past. It follows Penelope Cruz's character Gemma as she goes to Sarajevo with her son on a vacation. This bring backs memories, and we are shown all the events that took place in her life about 20 years ago.

Now, I don't think I've ever commented on the makeup of a film but I have to applaud it here. The characters makeup is so good, that you totally by the time gap between the 20 years. The script of this film is good. Not anything amazing. What brings me to give this film such a high rating, and one of the best films of 2012 (even though I've yet to see The Master, Looper,Argo, To the Wonder, etc) is the visuals. This film is shot so beautifully that it reminded me of the best film of 2011 "The Tree of Life".

An odd thing to point out is that for about the first hour and a half of this film I had my eyes on giving it a 7/10. The last half hour or 40 minutes is so magnificent and executed to near perfection that I recommend anyone to see this film for this alone.

The performances (led by Penelope Cruz) are great, and the characters all have a distinct and widely different personality's. Go into this movie with an open mind not knowing anything about the story and i'm sure that you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Like the review written before mine, I would like to salute the cast, crew, and especially the director for pulling off such a wonderful film. I hope you anyone reading this review will go out to see this film, as I'm sure it will land on my list of 10 greatest of the year.