Movie Session: Hours

1) The movie is set right after Hurricane Katrina, how did it affect New Orleans?
2) What happened to the hospital? What did the doctors have to do?
3) What did Nolan have to do to save his daughter?
4) What happened when the helicopters arrived?
5) What role did Sherlock have in the story? How did he help Nolan?
6) What did the looters do at the hospital? How did Nolan get rid of them?
7) What happened to Nolan after he got rid of the looters?
8) Write a film review following this structure (and remember to use Past tenses)
Paragraph 1: Introduction (Name, year, director, country)
Paragraph 2: Synopsis (tell a summary of the plot)
Paragraph 3: Analysis (what does it intend to make you feel/think? What are its
highest and lowest points?)
Conclusion: Recommendation (or not!)

1) Hurricane Katrina was one of the most powerful natural disasters that occurred in the
USA, causing a lot of deaths and forcing the evacuation of the biggest part of citizens of
New Orleans.
2) Because of the intense wind, the hospital light was cut off and the power generators
stopped working, so the doctors had to move away and relocate the patients and their
families. At the same time, the water that was in the streets began to flood.
3) The birth of Nolan’s daughter had several complications because his wife died during
the process. That’s the reason why the baby had to stay for at least 48 hours in an
incubator, before she could breathe on her own. To keep her alive, he uses a generator
that is able to manually charge its battery, but only for a few minutes.
4) Nolan tried to get their attention by shouting at them from the rooftop, but other
people shot the helicopter so the pilot got distracted and couldn’t see him.
5) Sherlock was a rescue dog Nolan found frightened and hungry in one of the rooms. He
took care of it. At the end of the movie, the dog brought two paramedics to save the man.
6) They broke into the hospital to steal food, some drugs and a specific serum type that
was vital for the girl. Nolan get rid of them with the help of Sherlock and later on he shoots
one of the looters in the head.
7) After the fight against the last pair of looters, Nolan faints since he hadn’t slept for more
than 36 hours and only stayed awake by being injected with adrenaline. Then, the
paramedics brought by Sherlock save him and Abigail from death.
8) This film review is about the movie “Hours”, directed by Eric Heisserer on December
2013 in the United States.
The story was set in New Orleans, when Hurricane Katrina hit the city and the main
character was with her wife at the hospital because she was about to give birth. During the
process, the woman died so the baby had to stay in an incubator for two days
approximately, at least till she could breathe on her own. Because of the electricity deficit
and floods, the doctors decided to evacuate the place and the man had to stay with his
baby. Nolan had to look for food to avoid starving, found a way to be rescued during the
disaster and tried to keep the little girl alive.
The movie tries to show the value of life, and that no matter how hard are the
circumstances, the chances of getting through them if you don’t give up are really high.
Also, it shows all the things a parent can sacrifice to protect his children.
Concluding, it’s a film I would highly recommend. Personally, I really liked it,
because it is very touching.

Ornella Stampacchio, 6ºH.