Filmstalker: Thirteenth Hour sounds familiar

The announcement of the purchase of the novel Thirteenth Hour for adaptation into a film flashed some recognition with me when I read the blurb. The story is about a man who is accused of murdering his wife and is given the chance to travel back in time in one hour increments in order to try to save his wife's life.

As he goes back for each hour he puts together clues for who killed her and why. When I read that there were a number of films that popped up in my mind.

There's Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes) (Filmstalker review), Memento and Déjà Vu (Filmstalker review) (and on Blu-ray) spring instantly to mind, but I'm sure there's more.

The novel The Thieves of Heaven is yet to be completed by Richard Doetsch and the producer of the film, Michael De Luca, says through Variety of the story that...

“It has a great cinematic structure that unfolds in reverse”

It's an interesting concept, and one that's been much visited. I'd be interested to hear from anyone that's read the novel and can reveal if it does have something different to it than these stories.

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"Thieves of Heaven" is being described as "a breakneck journey into the heart of the Vatican."

Dealing in underhanded diamond trading, Michael St. Pierre is a retired master thief taking on one last score—knocking over the Vatican. When his beloved wife, Mary, is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Michael reluctantly agrees to a burglary for a mysterious German businessman, August Finster (the Devil, naturally).

Finster will pay all of Mary's medical expenses if Michael steals a set of keys, one gold and one silver, from the Vatican. Michael pulls off the job, but naturally there's more to it than a simple robbery: Finster has sinister plans for the keys, which hold the power to keep humanity out of heaven forever. But with the help of Michael's cop buddy and a Vatican priest, Michael must steal the keys back from Finster and return them to Rome.

Some plot elements don't hold to close scrutiny (the Devil/Finster is omnipotent only when it's convenient to the plot).

Posted by: Frederick Richardson | September 10, 2008 8:13 PM

Thanks Frederick. That doesn't sound like the time travelling story that's being made into a film though. In fact it sounds more like a Dan Brown novel than anything.

Posted by: Richard Brunton | September 10, 2008 9:38 PM