The Double Hour ("La Doppia Ora")

Bea says: Aside from the great location (the cinema at Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, Mass.), this was a diverting if eminently forgettable film - in fact I just had to get Cecil to remind me what it was all about before blogging!

This Italian thriller features a young Polish woman (Kseniya Rappoport) who meets a man (Filippo Timi) at a speed dating session, and they develop a relationship. Together, they become a victim of a tragic heist at his place of work. But as the film progresses, more and more questions are posed as to the reality of what we are seeing- what is real, what is not, what are we hearing that is true, what is false? Unfortunately, at about 20 mins in I figured out which way the plot was going to twist and got a little bored waiting for it to happen. The significance of the "doppia ora" (double hour, ie 10.10 or 23.23) seemed a bit tangential, or perhaps I missed something after all?

Nice cinematography. Nicely directed with good performances all round. Great knitwear! Not a bad night out - but a little predictable.

**1/2

Cecil says: Well, I clearly haven't read as many crime novels or seen as many thrillers as Bea, because it took me a lot longer to guess what was going on.

In fact, coming on the back of the last film we had seen: the Juliette Binoche one about reality and fake (see: Certified Copy); I much preferred this one, which was also, as Bea says, about what is reality, what is true and what is in the mind. It was kind of like the TV series "Life on Mars" without the clever 1970s historical references, but with two good-looking lead actors and a setting in northern Italy instead.

But there's not a lot to say about it, as Bea says. And I also haven't a clue what the significance of the 'double hour' is, especially as nobody in the States ever speaks in the 24-hour clock, so that changes the whole notion over here. And that, somehow or other, seemed to be the point of the film...Oh well...

Having said all that, fantastic that the Plymouth 'Plantation', which is kind of museum reality experience area, lets the cinema on site show arty films once a day. Maybe other museums could follow suit in towns where there is no independent cinema?

***