| The Zero Hour | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Diego Velasco |
| Written by | Diego Velasco Carolina Paiz |
| Produced by | Rodolfo Cova Carolina Paiz |
| Starring | Zapata 666 Amanda Key |
| Cinematography | Luis Otero Prada |
| Edited by | Otto Scheuren |
| Music by | Freddy Sheinfeld Gabriel Velasco |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Venezuela |
| Language | Spanish |
The Zero Hour (Spanish : La hora cero) is a 2010 Venezuelan action film directed by Diego Velasco that takes place during a medical strike in Venezuela.
In Caracas in 1996, a medical strike takes place. Parca (Zapata 666), a self-described Grim reaper [1] and regular sicario, [2] brings a pregnant injured woman (Amanda Key) to his gang; the locals are unsympathetic to the doctors' reasons for strike and kidnap a doctor (Erich Wildpret) from the picket line, but the child is born in the back of a car. Witnessing this, Parca becomes invested in helping the needy, holding-up a private hospital and taking hostages to release in return for treatment of those from the slums. [1] Eventually, this violent scheme collapses on him and the people around him. [3]
The production mimicked the story of the film, facing troubles involving the kidnap of three crew members, [1] including its co-producer, [2] director Velasco being held-up at gunpoint, and the assassination of an actor shortly before recording his parts. [1] [2] Despite the themes, a co-writer said that they "want viewers to digest and interpret the movie’s ideas, not to put ideas in their heads". [2]
By 2016, it was the highest-grossing Venezuelan national film, [4] getting $3.5 million in box office takings in Venezuela. [5]
The film was well-received in the Americas, both North and South. [5] It was given as an example in the book The Precarious in the Cinemas of the Americas of a "socially-engaged thriller [...] that [makes] use of mainstream cinema techniques, such as MTV-style, fast-paced editing and the inclusion of violent scenes to call attention to the collective responsibility for social inequalities". [6]
The film won three international awards, "Best Action Sequence Martial Arts Feature" at the US Action On Film International Film Festival (2011); the Audience Choice award at the Jackson Crossroads Film Festival (2011); and the Best Film at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (2011). It was also nominated for the Best Latin-American Film award at the Mexican Ariel Awards in 2012.[ citation needed ]
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