On Friday, Dec. 6 Penelope Cruz's latest film "Twice Born" will open.
The film is based on the book by Margaret Mazzatini, and tells the story of a single mother who brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where his father died in the Bosnian conflict years before.
The movie premiered in 2012 at the Toronto and San Sebastian Film Festivals but struggled to get a distributor in the United States due to bad reception. However, the film was released in Spain and Italy where it received a number of awards including a Best Actress nomination for Penelope Cruz at the prestigious Goya Awards.
Reviews were negative with A.O Scott from the New York Times stating, "Whatever thoughtful instincts Mr. Castellitto might possess are undermined by his addiction to cinematic prettiness."
Sam Adams from Time Out New York gave the movie two stars out of five and said, "The movie's nagging inconsistency goes from merely grating to flat-out jaw-dropping, courtesy of late-game plot twists that squander whatever benefit of the doubt may remain."
Boyd van Hoeji from Variety wrote, "This mostly English-language tale about the difficulties of parenthood and loving photographers in wartime has little to offer beyond some pitiful twists."
The film was directed by Sergio Catellitto who directed "Love & Slaps" and "Don't Move" and also stars Emile Hirsch, Jane Birkin and Pietro Castellitto.
Cruz was most recently seen in Pedro Almodovar's "I'm So Excited," and Ridley Scott's critically-panned "The Counselor," which also starred Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt. She is best known for her work in "Nine," "Vicky Christina Barcelona" and "Volver."
"Twice Born" will be distributed by Entertainment One and is rated R for violence including a rape scene, sexuality/nudity, language and some drug content.