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TIMECRIMES
An unusually clever and nimble but also extremely dark time travel thriller from Spain. It’s an impressive accomplishment, though not especially deep or profound.
The Package
Already a favorite on the festival circuit, having won prestigious awards
at the Fant-Asia and Amsterdam festivals, this 2008 film was picked up for US
distribution by Magnet for their 6-Shooter Film Series (kicked off with the
stunning LET THE RIGHT ONE
IN). TIMECRIMES (LOS CRONOCRIMENES) was written and directed by
Nacho Vigalondo, an Academy Award nominee (for his short film 7:35 DE LA MANANA)
who announces himself as a distinct and vital talent. He also acts in the film,
ably playing Chico the nerdy time machine operator.
TIMECRIMES, FYI, has been inked for an inevitable Hollywood remake, to be
directed by Oscar winner Steve Zallian. Just be sure you catch the original
first!
The Story
Hector, a seemingly unflappable yuppie, is sitting out on his deck one
afternoon with binoculars. In the woods bordering his house Hector spies a dude
with a bloody bandage wrapped around his head canoodling with the apparent
corpse of a naked woman. Leaving his beloved wife Clara behind, Hector goes to
investigate, and gets stabbed in the arm by the bandage-head. The latter chases
Hector to a nearby laboratory, and into a control room manned by Chico, an
eccentric young man who encourages Hector to “hide” in a watery chamber.
It turns out the chamber is a time machine that thrusts Hector back earlier
in the day. He is now Hector 2, with Hector 1 going about his business unaware
that his double from the future is spying on him. Driving home, Hector 2 spots
the woman he saw being manhandled, and slows his car...only to be driven off the
road by a red van that immediately drives away.
Hector 2 is severely injured in the accident and wraps a bloody bandage
around his head, thus becoming the figure he spied in the woods. He decides to
reenact everything he saw earlier in order to keep Hector 1 from knowing the
truth of what’s happening, and so gets the woman to strip and play dead.
But the woman runs off and Hector 2 chases her back to his house. In the
ensuing melee he ends up apparently killing his own wife, and so heads back to
the time machine. He asks that Chico the operator send him back before the mess
began, but Chico is reluctant to do so.
The reason for Chico’s reticence? Hector 3 has already gotten in touch
with Chico, and told him to call off the whole thing, as there’s further trouble
on the horizon. Hector 2, however, demands to be sent back, and the operator
grants his wish...
The Direction
Many critics have overpraised this film, which is clever and diverting,
certainly, but almost entirely plot-driven. We never learn much about the
central character or his relationships, much less the time machine that sets
everything in motion.
But I can’t fault the narrative drive, which is fast, sprightly and
consistently inventive, with just four characters and a mind-boggling series of
time travel convolutions that nonetheless seem entirely plausible. The opening
scenes, in the manner of quite a few time travel movies, initially seem dull,
but turn out to be vitally important in setting up the succeeding twists.
By the time it’s all over the film has grown downright
hypnotic. It’s also unexpectedly grim, with several jolting scenes of violence
and nudity, and a decidedly bleak trajectory that sees the hero commit a truly
despicable act as part of his final redemption.
Think of TIMECRIMES as a dark variation on BACK TO
FUTURE (in particular the sequence in which Michael J. Fox witnesses himself
going back in time). It possesses about as much depth as that film, but also
contains an abundance of energy and inspiration, which in this case is reward
enough.
Vital Statistics
TIMECRIMES (LOS
CRONOCRIMENES)
Magnet Releasing
Director: Nacho
Vigalondo
Producer: Eduardo Carneros
Screenplay: Nacho Vigalondo
Cinematography: Flavio Martinez Labiano
Editing: Jose Luis Romeu
Cast: Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernandez, Barbara Goenaga, Nacho Vigalondo, Juan
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