Film Review: Venuto al Mondo (‘Twice Born’) (2012) (Patreon)

IMDB 

Venuto al Mondo is directed by Sergio Castellitto and tells the story of Gemma (Penélope Cruz) who takes her teenage son Pietro (Pietro Castellitto) to Sarajevo where his father Diego (Emile Hirsch) died years earlier in the Bosnian War. When they arrive, Gemma meets an old friend named Gojco (Adnan Haskovic) and as they reminisce, Gemma reconnects with past events and Pietro learns about his father. 

To tell you more than this would be a shame; I knew very little going into this film and, even though critics didn’t seem to like it, was pretty much blown away by this story. It is told mostly through flashbacks in which we get to see the unfolding love story between Gemma and Diego as they’re falling in love and trying to conceive a baby against the backdrop of the Bosnian War, but they are presented in a non-chronological way (not unlike some of Christopher Nolan’s films for example) and the film makes some interesting choices in the  information it holds back because of this structure. Because of its structure however, I thought some characters came across a little unsympathetic on my first viewing, but there is a moment towards the end that is absolutely heart-breaking and really makes everything falls into place (this also made my second viewing much more enjoyable). 

I am not that familiar with the Bosnian War and the film doesn’t really dive too deep into it, I’ve seen some negative reactions on it being biased but I personally didn’t think it unnecessarily glorified or demonized one side; the story is really centered around the experiences of a few individuals and how their lives were impacted by a war they had little to do with. I also can’t really judge its historical accuracy because again, the film isn’t really about the war itself and doesn’t address it in all too much detail. 

About the filmmaking, there is definitely a lot to admire here. First off; the cinematography is absolutely stunning! The film has scenes all around Europe and a lot of it seems to be shot on location. The soundtrack is also pretty amazing and features some well-known musicians like Kurt Cobain, Max Richer and Sia whose music is used to create some highly memorable moments. The performances are also fantastic and I especially admired the make-up, which is something I usually barely notice but because the story spans multiple decades make-up had to be used to make the actors look younger in the flashbacks and older in the present time, and it’s done in such a subtle and non-distracting way that it always looks believable. 

Ultimately, it is a film about dealing with the past, dealing with trauma and learning to move on. Even though it’s only about 2 hours in length, the amount of time it covers; from youthful love to reflective adulthood, makes it feel like you experienced a much grander epic (I do have a weak spot for films like this). I honestly have no idea why this film flew under the radar as much as it did but it moved me deeply when I first saw it and it has stayed with me ever since.

This was my brief review of Venuto al Mondo. If you haven’t seen the film, I hope you’ll get a chance to check it out. If you have, please let me know your thoughts on it in the comments below (but please be mindful of spoilers)!