imdb-3022 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.

jotix100 Sonia, a chambermaid working in an upscale Turin hotel, gets the shock of her life as she enters to make the room of a young woman. Sonia insists in coming back later, but the girl assures her it is fine to clean the room. While doing the bathroom, Sonia hears a sound, goes to the room and through the open window she watches the dead guest ling on a roof in a pool of blood. Sonia, a single woman from Slovenia, frequents a place where unattached people go to meet others. The talks between prospective partners are timed, so the last person Sonia chats with is Guido, a widower recovering from the death of his wife. It is clear Sonia and Guido like each other, as they decide to go to his place for sex. Passing a digital clock displaying time in the twenty four hour fashion, Guido sees it is 23.23, a magical time in which to make a wish. We never get to know what his desire was.The attraction between Guido and Sonia is evident. He is a private security guard overseeing a country estate. Deciding to take Sonia to spend some time with him, they are surprised by a group of robbers who have brought a truck to steal the contents of the palace-like place. Overpowering Guido and Sonia, the man in charge, makes a move which indicates he recognizes her. When a shot is fired, Guido is killed and the bullet graces Sonia's forehead. "La doppia ora", directed by Giuseppe Capotondi, is not an easy film to sit through because it demands the viewer's full attention. This Italian film who was a favorite in the Venice film festival, deserves a second viewing in order to get all the clues that are so subtly placed within the narrative. The screenplay was a collaboration between Alessandro Fabri, Ludovica Rampoldi and Stefano Sardo. Much of the confusion a casual viewer will experiment stems from what is in Sonia's mind after she falls into a coma-like state at the hospital. As she visits Guido's grave, there is a funeral taking place in which a priest looks at the passing Sonia, as though recognizing her and later on, turning up again in her neighborhood and on another occasion. The screenplay mixes genres. Clarity was not in the mind of the writers, or in Mr. Capotondi while the film was being shot. It is a film that relies more on the different styles to create the thriller atmosphere.Ksenia Rappoport, the Russian actress, makes an excellent impression of her Sonia. She never disappoints as the mystery surrounding her makes her contribution to the film more exciting. Handsome Filippo Timi is wonderful as Guido. There is good chemistry between the two stars to create the passion and suspense that keeps this film going. Tad Ratcliffe's photography is right on target as well as Pasquale Catalano's musical score. Giuseppe Capotondi's film debut impresses.

aharmas It seems we have to get out of the States to see Noir cinema again, to be able to get that corrosive and disturbing feeling that appears to be the essence of a good mystery. In a world populated by individuals with lives that are full of mystery and characters flaws. It is a requirement of good film noir that no one is perfect. This become painfully obvious from the first frames, as we observe how even love might never be anything but flawed, feeble attempts at meeting the right person.The two main characters are introduced in a club where simple dates, relationships might develop. It's because of the director's sure hand, the writer's clever development of the story, and primarily an amazing set of lead performers that don't mind being led in impossible directions as we unravels the mystery.Two souls find love in the unlikeliest of places. They get to know each hesitantly. In a very ironic twist, lives are destroyed, literally and psychologically. This even before the end of the first act, when before mysteries are revealed, there is much to learn and try to understand.What are we witness to? a clueless group of people who might or not be involved some organized group, or is it just someone's hyperactive activity? Or is it just an old-fashioned ghost story? We take the same twisting turns in the movie we are watching. We pick a favorite, and we hope she or he is not involved with the masterminds who orchestra the murder of a policeman.It is challenging, frustrating, and a bit long, it keeps us watching, and we haven't seen this kind of pull in a movie for a long time.

Sindre Kaspersen Music video director Giuseppe Capatondi' feature film debut which was written by Italian screenwriter Ludovica Rampoldi, Italian screenwriter and actor Stefan Sardo and Italian writer Alessandro Fabbri, premiered In competition at the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009, was screened at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival in 2009 and is an Italian production. It was shot on location in Turin, Italy and was produced by Italian producer Francesca Cima and Italian producer Nicola Giuliano. It tells the story about Sonia, a Slovenian woman who makes a living as a maid in Torino. Sonia is looking for a male companion, and through a dating bureau she meets security guard Guido and chemistry sparks. Guido and Sonia has found one another, but as they are getting to know each other their evolving relationship is interrupted.Precisely and subtly directed by Italian Giuseppe Capatondi, this finely paced and somewhat romantic fictional tale is a character-driven and plot-driven drama mostly narrated from the protagonist's point-of-view. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions and the brilliant production design by production designer Totó Santoro, this invariably intriguing thriller which depicts two merging studies of character is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure and the engaging acting performances by Russian actress Kseniya Rappoport and Italian actor and screenwriter Filippo Timi. A riveting and suspenseful mystery which gained, among other awards, the Volpi Cup Award for Best Actress Kseniya Rappoport at the 66th Venice International Film Festival in 2009.