Hummingbird (2013) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Joey breaks into Damon's apartment while fleeing thugs and discovers the owner has been away for months. Rather than running, he sees an opportunity to escape his homeless existence and use Damon's life as cover while searching for Isabel, the person he was separated from on the streets. He starts using Damon's mail and credit card to rebuild his circumstances while maintaining his wartime past hidden.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Joey living on the streets, drinking heavily, and being chased by violent thugs, establishing why he would seize any opportunity for stability.

• joey
• damon
• identity
• apartment
• homeless
• london

Isabel is a woman Joey was torn away from on the streets of London. The exact nature of their relationship is ambiguous, but she clearly meant everything to him. After assuming Damon's identity, Joey uses the new cover to actively search for her, eventually learning from a police photo shown by Cristina that she has been murdered.

Foreshadowing: Joey's first priority after settling into Damon's apartment is finding Isabel, establishing her central importance to his character.

• isabel
• joey
• search
• murder

After demonstrating his combat skills during a street fight outside a Chinese restaurant, Joey catches the attention of Mr. Choy, who hires him as a driver and enforcer for his criminal operations. While Joey uses the money for charitable acts like ordering pizzas for the soup kitchen, he becomes entangled in collecting extortion payments and delivering drugs, pulled back into the violent world he tried to escape.

Foreshadowing: His military background and combat prowess are established early, making his recruitment into criminal work a logical consequence.

• mr choy
• criminal
• job
• money
• underworld

At the barbecue behind the Chinese restaurant, Cristina shows Joey a police photo of Isabel, revealing that she has been murdered rather than simply missing. This devastating news fills Joey with anger and intensifies his pursuit of vengeance against those responsible for her death.

Foreshadowing: Cristina hesitates before showing Joey the photo, suggesting she knows the revelation will trigger a violent response.

• isabel
• photo
• murder
• police
• death

Max Forrester is revealed as Isabel's killer. The film shows him brutalizing a sex worker, establishing his violent character. On October 1st, Joey locates Max at a rooftop cocktail party and throws him off the roof, killing him in an act of vengeance. This violent payoff represents Joey choosing revenge over the possibility of a new life with Cristina.

Foreshadowing: The neighbor intercepts the rooftop invitation connected to Max, drawing Joey toward this fatal confrontation on October 1st.

• max forrester
• isabel killer
• vengeance
• murder
• rooftop

On October 1st, the same date Damon returns to reclaim his apartment, Joey faces a choice between the hopeful future Cristina represents and avenging Isabel's murder. Despite Cristina waiting for him after leaving the ballet early, Joey is pulled toward the rooftop party where Max Forrester is present. He ultimately chooses the intoxicating pull of vengeance, throwing Max off the roof and destroying any chance of redemption with Cristina.

Foreshadowing: The October 1st deadline looms throughout the film, with the ballet tickets symbolizing a possible new beginning versus Joey's inability to escape his past.

• revenge
• cristina
• ballet
• october 1
• choice

Cristina, a nun who has been dealing with police questions about Joey's vigilante activities, had already asked the Mother Superior for a transfer to Sierra Leone before the rooftop confrontation. Her decision to leave is driven by multiple factors: the strain of Joey's violent path, her own traumatic past of killing her rapist in Warsaw, and her realization that Joey cannot escape his cycle of vengeance. After Joey kills Max and she finds him broken on the curb, she departs for Africa, leaving Joey a note saying he has paid his debts but is homeless again.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Cristina tells Joey she was raped in Warsaw and killed her gymnastics instructor in self-defense, showing she understands violence but has chosen a different path.

• cristina
• africa
• sierre leone
• departure
• transfer

October 1st serves as the film's critical convergence point when multiple storylines collide. It is the date Damon returns to reclaim his apartment, forcing Joey's constructed identity to crumble. It is also the date of the ballet performance Cristina invited Joey to, representing his chance at redemption and a new life. Most importantly, the rooftop cocktail party connected to Max Forrester takes place on this date, drawing Joey toward his act of vengeance. The film cuts between these three storylines on October 1st, making it the turning point where Joey's choices determine his fate.

Foreshadowing: Cristina specifically tells Joey about the ballet ticket for October 1st early in their relationship, establishing the date as a symbolic deadline.

• october 1
• ballet
• damon return
• rooftop party
• convergence

Despite working as an enforcer for Mr. Choy's criminal operation, Joey uses his earnings to perform small acts of charity, ordering pizzas for the soup kitchen where Cristina works, buying necessities for her, and giving money to his ex-wife Dawn. These acts represent Joey's attempt to maintain his humanity and create a positive identity beyond Damon and his criminal work. The homeless community notices this shift and begins calling him "Crazy Joe," transforming his reputation from threat to guardian.

Foreshadowing: Joey's bond with Cristina at the soup kitchen is established early, showing he still values connection and goodness despite his circumstances.

• charity
• soup kitchen
• pizza
• crazy joe
• helping

The ending depicts Joey's complete return to his starting position, he has killed Max Forrester and paid his debts of vengeance, but he is once again wandering the streets of London as a homeless man, with the police closing in. His choice of revenge over Cristina and redemption has cost him everything. The cycle is complete: he traded a fragile but hopeful life built with Cristina for the same destructive path that defined his past. Cristina leaves for Africa, uncertain whether to stay and face an uncertain future or pursue a new beginning away from Joey's darkness.

Foreshadowing: The film's dark, bleak tone and Joey's inability to escape his past are established from the opening scenes, making this cyclical ending feel inevitable.

• ending
• homeless
• police
• cycle
• redemption
• fate