The Double Hour 2009

Sonia, a hotel maid in Turin, finds herself entangled in a series of mysterious and unsettling events that blur the line between reality and hallucination. The story begins with Sonia cleaning a guest’s bathroom when she witnesses a shocking incident: the guest appears to have leapt out of the bedroom window to her death. This traumatic event sets the tone for the film’s exploration of perception and reality.

Later, Sonia attends a speed dating event where she meets Guido, a Filippo Timi, a man who used to serve as a policeman but now works as a security guard. Their connection quickly deepens, and they spend more time together after the event. Guido, noticing that the time is 23:23 – a “double hour” when hours and minutes are the same – shares with Sonia his belief that such moments are auspicious for making wishes, although he’s quick to admit that not every wish comes true.

Several days later, Guido invites Sonia to his country villa, which is equipped with an advanced security system. In a gesture of trust, Guido disables a part of the security so they can walk freely in the estate’s grounds. During their walk in the woods, their peaceful outing is violently interrupted when they are ambushed by an armed man. Guido is knocked unconscious, and when he regains consciousness back at the villa, he finds himself being coerced by masked robbers. The intruders systematically ransack the villa, stealing valuable artwork and other treasures. As they prepare to leave, the gang leader threatens Sonia with assault. Enraged, Guido attacks him, leading to a struggle that culminates in gunfire—though the true outcome remains ambiguous.

In the aftermath, Sonia returns to her routine at work but becomes increasingly haunted by visions and glimpses of Guido—sometimes at the digital clock’s double hours, and sometimes as a face in her mind. She visits Guido’s grave, seeking closure, but her mental state deteriorates as her visions become more vivid and convoluted. Her distress reaches a breaking point when her friend and colleague, Margherita, commits suicide by jumping through a window. During Margherita’s funeral, Sonia is shaken when the priest mistakenly refers to her as Margherita, adding to her confusion and grief.

As Sonia’s grip on reality loosens, she is taken away by Bruno, a hotel guest played by Fausto Russo Alesi, who offers her a drink containing alcohol and sedates her. Bruno then drives Sonia to a remote wooded area, where he buries her alive in a shallow grave. Just when she seems to be on the brink of death, Guido unexpectedly digs her up and rescues her.

However, this ordeal is revealed to be a hallucination. Sonia, now in the hospital, learns that only three days have passed since the villa robbery. Her injuries and the gunshot wound she sustained caused her to slip into a coma, during which her mind created a complex tapestry of visions—of Guido, the robbery, her fears, and her past. The truth surfaces: Guido and Margherita are both alive and well.

Guido is later informed by Dante, a Giorgio Colangeli, that Sonia has a criminal past, involving a robbery she committed 12 years earlier with her boyfriend, helping him break into her father’s home. Despite this revelation, Guido asks that they be left in peace. Meanwhile, Guido visits the organizer of the speed-dating events to inform her he no longer wishes to attend, but she reveals that Sonia specifically requested to meet him. Driven by curiosity and unresolved feelings, Guido finds himself at Sonia’s apartment, where they sleep together. The next morning, Sonia announces her intention to visit Margherita, and Guido, suspecting she might leave him as Dante hinted, secretly follows her.

In a tense moment outside the airport, Guido overhears Sonia meeting with the gang leader—who bears a striking resemblance to him—and sharing an intimate moment with him. Guido eavesdrops using a microphone, learning that he was not supposed to survive the robbery. As Sonia and the gang leader go into an elevator, she notices Guido sitting in his car, calling Dante. Their eyes meet briefly, filled with uncertainty, before the elevator doors close on her. Guido, torn and conflicted, chooses not to intervene, leaving her fate uncertain.

Sonia boards a flight to Buenos Aires under a false identity, reflecting her desire to escape her troubled past. She notices that the boarding time is 20:20 — another double hour — prompting her to pause and reflect. Meanwhile, Guido is shown back at the speed-dating event, looking forlorn and lost. The film concludes with scenes of Sonia and the gang leader being photographed together in Buenos Aires, suggesting a complex interplay of past memories, secrets, and unresolved feelings that continue to haunt them.

Throughout the narrative, the film delves into themes of memory, perception, and the elusive nature of truth, leaving viewers questioning what is real and what is a construct of Sonia’s fractured mind. The story masterfully intertwines moments of suspense, emotional turmoil, and introspection, creating a compelling exploration of how trauma and secrets shape our reality.