User Reviews

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.

As I liked a lot the last movie directed by Castellitto and with Penelope Cruz based on a book by Margaret Mazzantini, I was sure I would like this one, even if I know the story would not be an easy one and quite a tragic one.

I absolutely adored the performance of Emile Hirsch, wonderful actor, absolutely great in the role he had her, wish there would be more movies with him. Cruz is also fantastic. And, as as someone very interested in the Bosnain war, and who wishes to visit Sarajevo so much, it was also interesting that the story was settled there, in a war forgotten by the world.

The whole story can be at some point difficult to understand, but this movie is absolutely worth to be seen.

I hadn't read the novel by Margaret Mazzantini, but was enough prepared for the toughness of the story, however, I was deeply shocked by the harshness of the drama. The movie is certainly well built, being the director the novelist's husband, he could probably render best the real substance of the story and the characters. Moving forward and backwards in time is not something new, but always a gripping technique, letting the viewer catch the progress of the story little by little. Indeed, there's no haste in a sometimes too slow movie, the second part far better than the first, with a very good historical reconstruction of a debased Sarajevo under siege, because of a war we Europeans have forgotten too quickly. I liked the performances offered by Penelope Cruz, very intense but well balanced, Emile Hirsch is really great and there's a good empathy between the two. There's also an international variety of incisive, unconventional musical choices, from Nirvana to Bruce Springsteen. Sometimes overenthusiastic, they undoubtedly prove very forceful and the scene of bombing on the notes of "Something in the way" leaves the mark. On the whole, a very dramatic movie, where the horror of war and of the human species certainly prevails, but with a sense of hope which I found soothing and in a way necessary.

Margaret Mazzantini's very popular novel 'Venuto Al Mundo' (English translation 'brought into the world') has been transformed into a screenplay by the author assisted by the director (her husband) Sergio Castellitto, the film in English is now called TWICE BORN. It is complex story, beautifully sculpted with interlocking flashbacks that cover a 30 year period, photographed with great skill by Gianfilippo Corticelli, and a cast that makes this carefully integrated story of varying timeframes work splendidly. Much of the film's beauty is in the complexity of the manner in which the story develops and revealing too much of that story would spoil the experience for new viewers. Very basically the story relates a mother who brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where his father died in the Bosnian conflict years ago. But more needs to be added.

Italian professor Gemma (Penélope Cruz) visits Sarajevo with her son, Pietro (Pietro Castellitto, son of the writer and director). The two of them had escaped the city sixteen years ago while the boy's father, photographer Diego (Emile Hirsch) remained behind and later died during the Bosnian War. As she tries to repair her relationship with Pietro, Gemma is forced by revelations to face loss, the cost of war and the redemptive power of love. She re-acquaints with her dear friend Gojco (Adnan Haskovic) and together they relive the horrifying experiences of the war in Sarajevo, Gemma's attempt to provide her beloved Diego with a son (she is sterile), the eventual plan to have Diego use musician gypsy-type Aska (Saadet Aksoy) as a surrogate for the couples much desired child, and the consequences that plan takes on, leading to a series of identity crises that the now older Gemma must face with her teenaged son Pietro. The story is structured on alternate scenes from the trip taken in present in Bosnia by Gemma and her son and flashbacks from the two time periods (of the first encounter and the war), a technique that at times is difficult to follow but that definitely enhances the tension of the story.

The cast is extraordinary: Penelope Cruz is dazzling, Emile Hirsch gives his most sensitive performance of his career, and Adnan Haskovic, Saadet Aksoy and Luca da Filippo (as Gemma's father) are outstanding. This is a difficult film in message but a profoundly moving drama. Highly Recommended. In English, Italian, and Bosnian.

Grady Harp

¨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 .

This time the translation in Hebrew got it right, following the original Italian title which says 'Come to the world' rather than the English title 'Twice Born'. The film is indeed about bringing children to the a world in conflict, and it's a powerful love story taking place during one of the most tragic and absurd war in Europe in the 20th century (but what war is not absurd?), a war that placed one against the other neighbors and friends who were the same blood and spoke the same language, the differences being buried back in history, mostly of religious origins. 'The best stories are sometimes the weird ones' tells one of the characters, and this is indeed a strange and a complicated, but also a very emotional love story taking place in tragic circumstances.

The story alternates between the time today, the period back 30 years ago when Communist Yugoslavia still existed and Sarajevo was known to the world as the location of the 1984 Winter Olympics, and the city 10 years later when it became the battle place in one of the most bloody episodes of the ethnic wars in the Balkans. It tells about the obsessive falling in love of two young and idealistic 'western' professionals Gemma and Diego (Penelope Cruz and Emile Hirsch) who happen to meet in Bosnia, then part of Yugoslavia, attracted there mostly by the original culture of the Balkans and by its people. They soon meet a group of mostly young and idealistic artists of the same kind who seem to live happily, aiming to create and make their world better. For much of the first half the story focuses on the love story of the couple, and the hurdles they meet on the road (they cannot have a child of their own). And then war breaks in this area which was not only the crossroad of the empires, but also their battlefield. The empires are gone, but the conflicts continues perpetuated by religion and by politicians. The world of the heroes blows apart.

The story is structured on alternate scenes from the trip taken in present in Bosnia by Gemma and her son and flashbacks from the two time periods (of the first encounter and the war). I liked the way director Sergio Castellitto kept perfect balance between the love story, the descriptions of the falling of Bosnia into war and the war itself, and the coming to age of the son (the directors own son Pietro Castellitto acting) – all three threads are clear, articulate, and conclude in a way that makes sense. To the excellent acting of Cruz and Hirsch I need to add the name of the Bosnian actor Adnan Haskovic who is playing the colorful and passionate Gojco, their friend of blood.

The conflict in Bosnia, and the wars in the former Yugoslavia already generated many films, some of them good, including the ones produced by artists from the area themselves. 'Venuto al mondo' is a co-production, mostly made in Italy, with local participation. It will probably stay as one of the solid and sensible films made about those mad years. This is a film which will also stay with all these who will have the chance to see it.

Twice Born (2012)

The original Italian title, "Venuto al mondo," translates as "Come to the World," and I think it's a better title. Because this is an intense, emotional journey of several characters each trying to find a reality, a world, that is livable. Set in and around wartime Sarajevo, the large cast of characters interweave in creative ways to make a powerful if clichéd story that has significance for how we see ourselves in the worst of crises.

It isn't always an easy ride. The direction, by the Italian actor Sergio Castellito, is pushy, as if he knew the story was big and he made it bigger. Actors overplay some of their moments, editing is forced to pump up the adrenaline. And the plot is pushed to an extreme as well—love, , conception, war, rape, mistaken fatherhood, duplicity, and rebellion. It's all here, and if it's what makes this movie worth watching, the screenwriter, Castellito again, is trying too hard.

Luckily the momentum of the events is compelling. And the setting, in the mountain laced capital of Bosnia and the dramatic coast, is interesting at every turn. The acting, too, is engaging even if overwrought. The leading man at first is an American who is a kind of idealist and optimist (and who is derisively called Jesus Christ at one point, which is about right, as his last scene will confirm). Played by Emile Hirsch with unbridled enthusiasm, we have to believe him. There is no other side to his character, and the endless earnest cheer is necessary in the rough surroundings.

More dour is the woman, an expatriate Italian played by Penelope Cruz. That they hit it off is not unlikely, and the odd, intense nature of their relationship makes up the first half of the movie. We see the bohemian artist set of the city, we pay a visit to her father in Rome, they consider children in different ways. The strain grows, but the relationship doesn't crack.

Until a combination of infertility and war intercede at the same time. Here the plot approaches the incredible, even though the ravages of war, and the famous rapes of that particular war (this is the 1990s), are well known. The human spirit persists in differing ways in the cast, which grows slightly, and the plot becomes both more fragmented and more fascinating. It all crashes and burns and yet there is beauty and resolution, too, by the end, and something satisfying in all the sacrifice and compromise.

It's not helpful, I'm sure, to say this is the kind of material that might have made a classic masterpiece of a movie, but that's what sustains this one —the best of it is really terrific. It's hobbled mostly by the inexperience (or just the artistic limitations) of Castellito, who had such a huge role in the feel and scope of things the great cast wasn't enough to compensate. And to note, the novel this was based on was written by the director's wife, the son in the movie is played by his son (from what I can tell), and the director himself plays one of the secondary characters. Quite the family affair.

See it? Yes, if this sounds at all compelling. It's in some large category of romanticized love-war epic with "The English Patient" or "Gone with the Wind" or the troubled "Atonement," but at a very different level of success.

This movie was panned by the critics. It a has 19% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The audience gives it 73%. The audience is right. This movie is a treasure. Most of the negative reviews come from Americans who, I am sure, never watched this lovely film. The Americans make a habit of lying. Their film critics are no exception. There is no way that all of those negative reviews come from people who have seen this movie. I often marvel at the factual mistakes in mainstream press reviews and have long suspected that they will review a movie they have not seen. This movie proves my thesis. Audience reviews are a much better barometer of whether a movie is worth one's time or not. This is definitely worth your time. Easily among the best of 2012. It never puts a foot wrong and builds to a most unexpected but satisfying conclusion. Perhaps love does not conquer all but it is the most resilient of our gifts as this film so ably shows.

When watching this film it reminded me a lot of "Incendies". Not only because of the story but also because it was almost as tough to watch. It almost felt too realistic, never giving you a chance to get comfortable. That's what makes this movie exceptional. The acting is top notch, really impressed by the performance of Penelope Cruz and Hirsch. The Make-up makes the age-differences look totally authentic. The Soundtrack also gives the film an extra dramatic feel. Even though it is over 2 hours in length you never feel bored, always keeps you excited.

8/10 stars

The only appreciable thing about this movie is probably the soundtrack and the cinematography and the ending where they put it all together. Otherwise it's a horrible display of badly written characters and horrible screenplay with horrible editing. You almost feel like it could've been a great movie, but throughout the film you know that something is missing, something is quite not right in the sense of filmmaking. People who understand what good filmmaking is like, will know exactly what's wrong with this movie.

Amazing acting from Penelope Cruz, she shows the true feelings of being a mother in an ironic sense. A woman's desire for motherhood has been well illustrated! Her facial expressions throughout the movie are emotionally penetrating and make you think about this movie for quite a while.

The movie has a perfect story-line. The shifting between present and past is done is professional way so you would connect the events without loosing the line.

Watching this movie is like a heart-rending ride, but cinematography and acting are rewarding. The background music faultlessly matches all episodes of the movie. In one word, it's a well-directed and well-acted Italian movie.

We just saw "Twice Born", and I would have to say it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. I shared an office with a Croatian during the Yugoslavian war, so I had a good idea what kind of details this "love story" would have... but the mix of history, great performances, and an arresting plot, brought home the reality of what war means to civilians caught up in it.

I could nitpick - there were a few things about the movie that I did not understand... but there is no doubt that the movie hit me.... hard.

Don't expect to come out of the movie feeling happy...

I just downloaded the book that the movie was adapted from to my Kindle this morning. I want to know more about the characters.

As another review stated, this is a "lovely overlooked film". Penélope Cruz' performance was exquisite. The story intense and beautiful. A story about obsessive love and motherhood. It had me from the very first image until the very last. Music is stunning. If you enjoy tough stories that take you from the sublime to the horrors of war, from the grotesque actions of man to the perfection of birth, this film will take you there and to so many other levels. I cannot believe that this film did not garner more kudos then it did. I don't even remember its release in the U.S. Cruz has done some amazing films and some not so amazing films. This is one of her amazing films. Accurate in its depiction of the war in Sarajevo and the ugliness that never got enough press, much like this film. I want to watch it again. See it!

As an actor, Sergio Castellito brings out the very combination of duality and simplicity; as a director, he moves his audiences by confusion and despair ever present both in human life and on screen. Based on the novel by the director's wife, Margaret Mazzantini, TWICE BORN is, above all, a display of various characters, even on the cost of the historical context of the most recent and so cruel war in Europe, the Balkan conflict of the 1990s.

The New York Times reviewer A.O. Scott criticizes the movie for "missing any sense of history or politics;" David Rooney in Toronto Review observes that "the story reeks of cheap sentiment masquerading as social and political engagement" labeling it as an "overwrought and overlong melodrama;" however, what strikes us most from the very beginning are the characters - "this luckless generation" imprisoned in their 'worlds' of inner conflicts and dualities surely influenced by the very historical and political situation. The latter aspect is, to some extent, significant. Many are the victims of the conflict, the most touching one is young girl of incredible athletic abilities. But this purely political aspect remains in the background. The story is played against the backdrop of historical context and appears to serve as a manifestation of a labyrinth-like drama that life very often is.

The true embodiment of this labyrinth-like drama seems to be, at first sight, the protagonist, Gemma (Penelope Cruz), a woman whose destiny is shaped not only by the nationality that represents 'freedom' to the whole context (mind you the scene when everyone is supposed to say the most important word for them) but also by all the people around her, in particular Diego (Emile Hirsch) and 'her son' Pietro (Pietro Castellito), a neurotic character with notes of coming of age drama. Excellent vitality to the story is contributed by her old friend Gojco (Adnan Haskovic) and a Bosnian woman Aska (Saadet Aksoy). Thanks to them, the movie almost bursts out with emotions. It is sometimes overwhelming and sometimes terribly confusing how we, as viewers, discover the motives that govern the characters. The story, built primarily on flashbacks and sometimes even flashbacks within flashbacks, occurs to manifest the blending past and presence in order to keep a viewer alert and supply the desirable tension.

The performances of the cast of quite multinational backgrounds appear to be very well fit to the tension of the drama. Penelope Cruz, having already played under Castellito's direction in DON'T MOVE, portrays a rather sullen character of a mother amidst the ruins of conflicts and war. She also depicts a character of interesting choices, especially as a wife. Closer to the end we get, more need for display of emotions there is, and Ms Cruz handles that with exceptional vitality and subtlety. One of the most powerful scenes of the movie is her reunion with Aska, actually, a biblical "Hagar-like" substitute mother... Emile Hirsch underlines some interesting aspects of his character as well, being particularly convincing and absorbing at the psychologist scene. There, you get the essence of who the couple are...another fine manifestation of the past hidden within the walls of subconsciousness. Aska, in that case, is a highlight.

Interesting music score, striking cinematography by Gianfilippo Corticelli, production designing by Francesco Frigeri contribute to the pluses of the movie's influence on the senses. Violence, however, seems to create tension of moments in a flawed manner. The scenes of war cruelty or the rape ae depicted in a too graphic way excluding any hints of deduction. From the short scenes of pregnant Aska or the very birth give a slight undertone of viewers' supposing conclusions that Diego is not the father. Nevertheless, not being prepared for any facts, you may be taken with some moments, especially Diego's insane behavior facing the protesters.

After all, TWICE BORN is worth seeing as a highly emotional screen production. What can a man be amidst the roar of hatred? What can human voice for peace be? Merely a glimpse of a moment like a dove that carries a brighter message? We cannot skip that moment; we must give him time and moment to speak up...

One of the best movies I've watched in my life. The soundtrack is perfect , the acting is extraordinary and the script is magnificent.

I don't know how fifty shades of gray has a better note in meta.score than this movie... How is this possible? Is there something wrong with me?

It is a film that conveys so much emotion. We are able to hate and love a character. A movie that makes us cry with excitement. If you are reading this and you doubt me, watch the movie, Trust me!

For me this is one of the most underrate films in history.

Can you believe that this movie has received one of the worst rewis in rotten.tomatos: It holds an 18% rating on Rotten.tomatoes based on 22 reviews.

Deeply touching, thought-provoking and highly emotional, Twice Born explores themes of love and war in a story that depicts the brutal realism of the events that took place in Bosnia in the early 1990s. Penelope Cruz is remarkably captivating in the leading role, as she gives a tremendously tender performance portraying a woman that is reminiscing about her past love and the events that transpired during the Bosnian conflict. The film smoothly switches between the different timelines, and expertly uses poignant twists to create a story that is both romantic and utterly gripping, but above all else has a profound emotional impact of the viewer. Not only is the essence of the story immensely powerful, it is also underpinned by a very moving soundtrack, one that further adds to the intensity of the film, making Twice Born a very emotionally challenging cinematic experience.

A very good scenario and an atmosphere that gives you the best sense of the stunning reality of the war in bosnia. a film that definitely feels like a war

One of the finest movie I've ever seen. Don't believe in those negative remarks. It's truly good.