The Double Hour

The Double Hour is a very interesting film. One of those rare pictures in which every scene counts. It's hard to review it without spoiling anything, since a lot of it's brilliance lays in a very surreal and terrifying sequence of events. The film is a lot of things; a twisted thriller, a unique and intense romance and a character study of two different individuals who find exactly what they need in each other. It works on every level that it attains towards, thanks primarily to a very intelligent script and superb performances from Filippo Timi and especially Kseniya Rappoport. The film has a lot of twists and a lot of, "what the hell is happening?" scenes, but thanks to the script it never gets too far ahead of the audience. It's easy to stick with, while still being intellectually stimulating. I wasn't bored for a second, from the huge shock of the opening scene until the interesting final one. There's a lot of great aspects that are involved throughout, the film really knows how to give it's two main characters some very emotional and enlightening arcs. They both go through a world of emotional distress and in the end they are completely changed while remaining in the same basic place that they started off. It asks a lot of questions and leaves the audience to debate them long after the film is over. Can you ever truly trust someone? What is the nature of revenge? How do you move past losing a loved one? There are many more and the film keeps you guessing all the way through. Tons of twists, great characters and interesting moves from a structural standpoint. It's a very unique film and a very fantastic one.

Fans of Alfred Hitchcock and followers of the more recent "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" series, would likely be pleased with this nail-biting psychological thriller from Italy, which delivers many unexpected twists during its 96 minutes of running time.

If suspense isn't your cup of tea but you enjoy art films with non-linear and unpredictable plots, you'll probably end up drinking the whole pot of this satisfying brainteaser from newcomer director Giuseppe Capotondi.

"The Double Hour" is actually a love story between a lonely immigrant, Sonia (a chambermaid at a high-end hotel in Turin) and the also lonesome Guido, an ex-cop working as a security guard at an art dealer's estate. The two meet at a speed-dating event and just as they are beginning to fall in love, a crime happens, and their relationship is cut short.

But before that, during their first date, Guido looks at his watch, which marks 23:23, and he tells Sonia that it's a double hour and that she should make a wish. This detail early on, serves as a metaphor for the double life of the characters and the double storyline of the film you are about to embark on. And it's details such as this one that you need to pay attention to, because every one of them is important to decipher this riveting puzzler that won't let you get too comfortable in your seat.

Acted to perfection by Ksenia Rappoport and Filippo Timi "The Double Hour" is making its way quietly now through art-house theaters in the United States. Don't miss it!

This taut, splendidly acted and directed thriller knows how to play its audience. You can't help but want Sonia, a chambermaid whose life exhibits some bad karma, to pick lost-soul Guido out of the crowd at speed dating. Finally, something positive seems to go their way. But if so, why am I jumping at the least provocation, and what is making me feel so uneasy? Of course, it's a good kind of uneasy.

It's first-rate suspense. Every little detail seems to count, coming back later in the form of an I- get-it-now moment.

I don't know who their competitors were, but Filippo Timi and Kseniya Rappoport earned their best acting awards at the Venice Film Festival, as did the director Giuseppe Capotondi. Did they miss the deadline for submission into other film competitions? Did they forget to sign the forms? I can't understand why it didn't enter and win more accolades. It could have been an Oscar contender for foreign language film, it is that good.

First of all, the performance of "Kseniya Rappoport" in the role of Sofia is remarkable. The strong point of the film is avoiding extremism to attract the audience in the manner of cinematic techniques that are seen in most films in this genre. The film consciously avoids emotionalizing the audience. It does not give slogans of moralism. The end of the movie is different and good. Moreover, the soundtrack of the film is well prepared. Overall, it's an average movie, but this movie and the movies before it show the promise of a tasteful director. At the Venice Film Festival, the film has received attention.

The basic plot is sound; Sonia (a Slovenian immigrant) and Guido (an ex-policeman) meet and connect at a speed dating event, they start a relationship, then an unexpected happening changes everything, including what we know (or seem to know) about the characters and their motivations. Unfortunately, the script throws in a number of unnecessary red herrings and intentional misdirections. Some of them are just distractions, some are not even explained at the end, at least one is not explainable. Not a good thing in this kind of movie.

On the positive side, direction by Giuseppe Capotondi is fluid and dynamic, acting is excellent with special mention for Russian actress Kseniya Rappoport, who is on screen most of the time. One cannot avoid feeling that if the script had been edited and unnecessary complications pared down this could have been a first rate movie. As it is, one remains unconvinced and feels manipulated at the end.

Argentine nostalgics will enjoy a photographic view of Puerto Madero, one of the touristy spots in Buenos Aires.