Twice Born

Twice Born

Director: Sergio Castellitto

Rating: 2/5

The trope of love blossoming amid war is as old as cinema itself, with many of these films achieving classic status (Casablanca, Atonement, The English Patient – to name a few). Plenty more, however, have struggled to depict romance against the backdrop of conflict without lapsing into melodrama and ham-fisted clichés (think Pearl Harbour and Cold Mountain). Unfortunately, Twice Born falls into the latter category – it is a scattershot mess of genres, attempting to be a historical narrative, fertility drama and erotic romance all in one, with wildly mixed results.

Unnecessarily told via flashback, Jemma (Penelope Cruz) narrates the origins of her romance with Emile Hirsch’s American photographer – an underwritten part – as they combat infertility, infidelity and poverty amid the chaos of the Bosnian War and attacks in Sarajevo circa 1992. The war element of the film doesn’t emerge until the second half (it could have used some judicious editing and is at least half an hour too long), as the first half consists mainly of Hirsch/Cruz’s attempts to elicit some chemistry (which never really emerges).

Perhaps realising the film has lingered too long on their courtship, it then attempts to cram as many obstacles as possible into the second half. Consequently, the tone veers wildly from the established romance to a commentary on the ethics of adoption, as Cruz’s son investigates his origins in present-day Italy.

On paper, the talents of the principal cast and the depiction of a conflict that has hitherto received little coverage in cinema is very alluring. In reality, this is a messy, convoluted affair, whose only reason for existence is the talented performance of Cruz, who helped get the project off the ground. Unfortunately the film itself, like the conflict that spawned it, is a sad waste.
This article first appeared in Issue 17, 2013.
Posted 4:45pm Sunday 28th July 2013 by Jonny Mahon-Heap.