TIFF ‘18 WORLD PREMIERE: Twin Flower

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By Athena Yuan
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Twin Flower (Italian: Fiore Gemello) is a dark tale which will leave the audience enwrapped in fear even hours after watching the film.

Twin Flower directed by Italian director Laura Luchetti, is a film about two protagonists, Anna (Anastasiya Bogach) who is the daughter of a migrants’ trafficker, and Basim (Kalill Kone), who is an illegal migrant. Their interactions result in an unexpected yet inseparable bond as they travel together across the harsh and beautiful Sardinian landscape.

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Laura Luchetti, who also wrote the screenplay says:

“I am naturally drawn to stories about lost innocence and the struggle to regain it.” 

However, for me, the story is more about loneliness and companionship. Every character in this film is woefully lonely in different ways, so try to desperately hold onto something. 

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​But Anna – a beautiful, fragile and innocent girl is also lonely as she struggles to escape Manfredi (Aniello Arena), whose fury is unleashed into a pursuit like that of a wild beast on the trail of its prey - when Anna runs away from him. Luckily, she finds her “twin flower”- Basim, just how the movie says: “It is rare, but they have to stay together.”

The director Luchetti creates ension and nuanced emotions throughout the film, but the highlight is Anna’s character played Anastasiya Bogach. We don’t know if either Anna lost her voice or chooses not to speak till the end of the film - yet the young actress Bogach never overacts with her body language and facial expressions. 

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She gives her character the power to calm Basim’s fear and let the audience construct the belief that the two teens have the inner strength to make it past this time in their lives.
 
Just how like the tiger in the Life of Pi walks into the jungle without looking back, Anna and Basim disappear in the woods in the final scene. We don’t have any hints on how they managed to survive as an illegal immigrant and a girl who couldn’t speak, but what we know is that they found each other, and they might never be alone again.

For more insight on Twin Flower, watch the Q & A below :

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*Editor’s note: Twin Flower was originally screened at the Toronto International Film Festival ‘18