Review of The Zero Hour (2010) by Mikael K — 18 Oct 2012
Action, farcical comedy, politically conscious drama and melodramatic tragedy join forces in Diego Velasco's hyperactive film "La hora cero". The story is set during 1996 at the time of "the zero hour," the strike of government employed doctors during which nobody who couldn't afford private care had to go without medical treatment. The government is uncaring as the situation only affects the inconvenient people living in embarassing poverty.
A sequence of events kick starts with a hectic sequence where a pregnant woman in a slum is carried by Parca, a feared thug and hitman. The woman is bleeding to death from a gunshot wound. With his gang Parca hijacks a doctor from a local public clinic and a cab and drives it to a hospital. The gang invades the hospital, takes the staff and patients hostage and demands treatment for the dying woman who already gave birth in the cab. A media circus ensues.
Velasco shows tremendous directorial talents with this feature. He tells the story in innovative and effective ways. Music is used smartly, the cinematography is fresh and beautiful. But the script is somewhat less perfect. The mix of many different genres results in disorienting shifts in tone that don't quite work. "La hora cero" comes very close to being a dynamic and colorful movie loaded with content, but instead of a mosaic that works as a whole we end up with a mix of different elements, some good, some less so, that don't quite fit together. It has hart and it has brain, but even with its vast achievements the movie communicates in cacophony of voices that makes it difficult to get a solid grip of what's been conveyed.
This review of The Zero Hour (2010) was written by Mikael K on 18 Oct 2012.
The Zero Hour has generally received very positive reviews.
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