The Double Hour
Encyclopedia
The Double Hour is a 2009 Italian romantic thriller film. It is directed by Giuseppe Capotondi
, produced by Francesca Cima and Nicola Giuliano, and stars Filippo Timi and Kseniya Rappoport
. Principal photography
began in October 2008 in Turin
, Italy
. The film opened in Italy on October 9, 2009, after premiering in competition at Venice Film Festival
in September 2009, where it eventually won the Volpi Cup
award for Best Actress for Rappoport. It was also screened at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival
. Samuel Goldwyn Films released The Double Hour in the US on April 15, 2011 .
, is cleaning a guest's bathroom when the guest apparently jumps out the bedroom window to her death.
Later, Sonia attends a speed dating
event where she meets Guido (Filippo Timi), a former policeman who now works as a security guard. They strike up a friendship, and spend some time together after the event. As they part, Guido notices that the time is 23:23 - a double hour, when the hour and minute are the same. He believes that at such times, one may make a wish and it will be granted - although he admits to Sonia that it doesn't always work.
Some days later, Guido takes Sonia to the country villa where he works. The villa has an elaborate security system, but Guido disables part of the system so that the two of them can go for a walk in the grounds.
In the woods, they are ambushed by an armed man and Guido is knocked unconscious. Waking up in the villa, he is forced by armed men in balaclavas to disable the security system. The robbers systematically loot the villa of its art treasures. Afterwards, the leader of the armed gang menaces Sonia, suggesting he is about to rape her. Enraged, Guido launches himself at him. They struggle, and a shot is fired but it is not known what happened.
Sonia is shown back at work, then visiting Guido's gravesite. She is distracted at work, frequently seeing glimpses of Guido's face, sometimes at a double hour. She is questioned by Dante, a policeman and former colleague of Guido, who suspects the robbery at the villa may have been an inside job. Dante gives her a photograph which appears to show her with Guido in Buenos Aires
, although she has never been there.
Sonia feels her sanity slipping away as her visions of Guido become more frequent and elaborate. Finally she is devastated when she hears that her friend and workmate, Margherita, has committed suicide by jumping out a window.
At Margherita's funeral, Sonia is distraught when the officiating priest names the deceased as Sonia instead of Margherita. Bruno, a regular guest at the hotel, takes Sonia away in his car. He gives her a flask which he says contains coffee and a hint of liqueur. Sonia drinks, and is drugged. Bruno drives to a wooded area and drags Sonia out of the car, wrapping her in a plastic sheet and burying her in a shallow grave. Sonia blacks out, and is at the point of death when Guido digs her up and rescues her.
Later, Sonia recovers consciousness in a hospital. She learns that only three days have elapsed since the robbery, and everything she experienced since then was in her imagination as she lay in a coma. Guido and Margherita are both alive.
Guido becomes suspicious of Sonia when Dante tells him that she has a criminal past, and when the organizer of the speed-dating event tells him that Sonia specifically asked to meet him. He follows her surreptitiously, and sees her meeting the leader of the robbery gang, whom she embraces and kisses, and who bears a resemblance to Guido. He eavesdrops on their conversation with a shotgun microphone, and learns that he was not supposed to have survived the robbery.
Later that day, Sonia boards a flight to Buenos Aires using a false identity. She notices that the boarding time is 20:20 - a double hour. In the final scene, she and the gang leader are photographed together in Buenos Aires.
During the Venice Film Festival
the cast and director joked with journalists about the possibility of an American remake with Clive Owen
and Naomi Watts
in the main roles.
Giuseppe Capotondi
Giuseppe Capotondi is a director of music videos and commercials signed to Oil Factory in USA and Factory Films in the United Kingdom...
, produced by Francesca Cima and Nicola Giuliano, and stars Filippo Timi and Kseniya Rappoport
Kseniya Rappoport
Kseniya Aleksandrovna Rappoport is a Russian actress. She graduated in 2000 from Saint Petersburg's Academy of Theatrical Arts and was immediately invited to join the...
. Principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began in October 2008 in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The film opened in Italy on October 9, 2009, after premiering in competition at Venice Film Festival
66th Venice International Film Festival
The 66th annual Venice Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, was opened on September 2, 2009 by Baarìa - La porta del vento. International competition jury, led by Ang Lee, awarded Leone d'Oro to Lebanon...
in September 2009, where it eventually won the Volpi Cup
Volpi Cup
The Volpi Cups are the principal awards given to actors at the Venice Film Festival. Formal acting awards were introduced in the second festival . Initially they were called Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment. The name Volpi Cup was introduced the following year...
award for Best Actress for Rappoport. It was also screened at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival
2009 Toronto International Film Festival
The 34th annual Toronto International Film Festival, was held held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 10 and September 19, 2009. The opening night gala presented the Charles Darwin biography Creation...
. Samuel Goldwyn Films released The Double Hour in the US on April 15, 2011 .
Plot
Sonia (Ksenia Rappoport), a maid in a hotel in TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, is cleaning a guest's bathroom when the guest apparently jumps out the bedroom window to her death.
Later, Sonia attends a speed dating
Speed dating
Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry. "SpeedDating", as a single word, is...
event where she meets Guido (Filippo Timi), a former policeman who now works as a security guard. They strike up a friendship, and spend some time together after the event. As they part, Guido notices that the time is 23:23 - a double hour, when the hour and minute are the same. He believes that at such times, one may make a wish and it will be granted - although he admits to Sonia that it doesn't always work.
Some days later, Guido takes Sonia to the country villa where he works. The villa has an elaborate security system, but Guido disables part of the system so that the two of them can go for a walk in the grounds.
In the woods, they are ambushed by an armed man and Guido is knocked unconscious. Waking up in the villa, he is forced by armed men in balaclavas to disable the security system. The robbers systematically loot the villa of its art treasures. Afterwards, the leader of the armed gang menaces Sonia, suggesting he is about to rape her. Enraged, Guido launches himself at him. They struggle, and a shot is fired but it is not known what happened.
Sonia is shown back at work, then visiting Guido's gravesite. She is distracted at work, frequently seeing glimpses of Guido's face, sometimes at a double hour. She is questioned by Dante, a policeman and former colleague of Guido, who suspects the robbery at the villa may have been an inside job. Dante gives her a photograph which appears to show her with Guido in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, although she has never been there.
Sonia feels her sanity slipping away as her visions of Guido become more frequent and elaborate. Finally she is devastated when she hears that her friend and workmate, Margherita, has committed suicide by jumping out a window.
At Margherita's funeral, Sonia is distraught when the officiating priest names the deceased as Sonia instead of Margherita. Bruno, a regular guest at the hotel, takes Sonia away in his car. He gives her a flask which he says contains coffee and a hint of liqueur. Sonia drinks, and is drugged. Bruno drives to a wooded area and drags Sonia out of the car, wrapping her in a plastic sheet and burying her in a shallow grave. Sonia blacks out, and is at the point of death when Guido digs her up and rescues her.
Later, Sonia recovers consciousness in a hospital. She learns that only three days have elapsed since the robbery, and everything she experienced since then was in her imagination as she lay in a coma. Guido and Margherita are both alive.
Guido becomes suspicious of Sonia when Dante tells him that she has a criminal past, and when the organizer of the speed-dating event tells him that Sonia specifically asked to meet him. He follows her surreptitiously, and sees her meeting the leader of the robbery gang, whom she embraces and kisses, and who bears a resemblance to Guido. He eavesdrops on their conversation with a shotgun microphone, and learns that he was not supposed to have survived the robbery.
Later that day, Sonia boards a flight to Buenos Aires using a false identity. She notices that the boarding time is 20:20 - a double hour. In the final scene, she and the gang leader are photographed together in Buenos Aires.
Cast
- Filippo Timi as Guido
- Kseniya RappoportKseniya RappoportKseniya Aleksandrovna Rappoport is a Russian actress. She graduated in 2000 from Saint Petersburg's Academy of Theatrical Arts and was immediately invited to join the...
as Sonia - Antonia Truppo as Margherita
- Gaetano Bruno as Riccardo
- Fausto Russo Alesi as Bruno
- Michele Di Mauro as Dante
- Lorenzo Gioielli as a hotel manager
- Lidia Vitale as Rossa (speed dating)
- Giampiero Judica as a man (speed dating)
- Roberto Accornero as a man (speed dating)
- Lucia Poli as Marisa
- Giorgio Colangeli as an elderly priest
Awards and nominations
- 66th Venice International Film Festival66th Venice International Film FestivalThe 66th annual Venice Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, was opened on September 2, 2009 by Baarìa - La porta del vento. International competition jury, led by Ang Lee, awarded Leone d'Oro to Lebanon...
:- Won: Best Actress (Kseniya RappoportKseniya RappoportKseniya Aleksandrovna Rappoport is a Russian actress. She graduated in 2000 from Saint Petersburg's Academy of Theatrical Arts and was immediately invited to join the...
)
- Won: Best Actress (Kseniya Rappoport
Remake
In 2009, the producer of the film Nicola Giuliano announced that there are a lot of requests from the US to buy the rights to produce an English-language remake.During the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
the cast and director joked with journalists about the possibility of an American remake with Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
and Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
in the main roles.