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Twice Born

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Wikipedia article




'Twice Born' is a 2012 film directed by Sergio Castellitto. It is based on the novel 'Venuto al mondo' by Margaret Mazzantini which won the Premio Campiello literary prize in 2009.

Plot



Oft-married Gemma visits Sarajevo with her only child, Pietro. The two of them had escaped the city sixteen years ago, just days after his birth during the Bosnian War. Diego, her second husband and Pietro's father, remained behind and later died. As they travel with her wartime friend Gojko, she tries to repair her relationship with Pietro, asking her third husband (by phone) if she should tell Pietro that she did not give birth to him. Gemma is later stunned by the revelation that Pietro's real mother, Aska, is still alive and married to Gojko. Aska reveals that, contrary to Gemma's long held belief, Diego was not Pietro's father, as she had been a sex slave to a garrison of the Serb Volunteer Guard. Gemma must face loss, the cost of war and the redemptive power of love.

Cast



* Penlope Cruz as Gemma

* Emile Hirsch as Diego

* Adnan Haskovi as Gojko

* Saadet Aksoy as Aska

* Pietro Castellitto as Pietro

* Luca De Filippo as Armando

* Sergio Castellitto as Giuliano

* Vinicio Marchioni as Fabio

* Mira Furlan as Velida

* Jane Birkin as Psychologist

* Branko uri as Doctor

* Isabelle Adriani as Giornalista

* Moamer Kasumovi as Zoran

* Milan Pavlovi

Production



The film was shot over 15 weeks in digital using the Arri Alexa system.

Release



The film had its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

Reception



The film received negative critic reviews. It holds a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews.

About the film, 'The Hollywood Reporter' wrote, "Dripping with floridly phony dialogue that no actor should be forced to speak, this paternity mystery uses the Bosnian conflict as the manipulative backdrop to a preposterously overwrought and overlong melodrama." 'Variety' added that the film had "little to offer beyond some pitiful twists." 'Screen International' went on to write, "director Sergio Castellittos adaptation of Margaret Mazzantinis novel leaves no clich unturned, yearning for big emotions that are consistently flattened by the lumbering storytelling."

References




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