Film Review – Timecrimes (2007)
Spanish Time Travel Mystery Thriller, also called Los Cronocrimenes
May 19, 2009
The concept of time travel is a device that’s been used thorough the history of literature and once film became the premier storytelling medium was assimilated there also. There’s been Marty McFly’s paradox causing exploits in Back To The Future, trying to assassinate the human’s saviour before he realises his destiny in The Terminator films, The Evil Dead trilogy gave in and used it and it has even become fundamental to the plot of ABC’s Lost.
The central theme is typically based around one question; if you could change the future, would you?
A Time Travel Thriller of Car Crashes and Pink Bandages
Timecrimes (or Los Cronocrimenes to give its real title) is a Spanish science fiction film about a regular bloke called Hector (Karra Elejalde) who’s just moved into a new house with his wife (Candela Fernández) and after a day of unpacking decides to have a rest in his back garden. Soon he ends up being stuck in a time travel tale involving voyeurism, car crashes, strange phone message and being chasing by a crazed man wearing a pink bandage around his face.
The concept of travelling through time and space has been used ad nauseum on screen but the difference with Timecrimes is that the machine Hector discovers at a nearby facility only sends the participant back an hour into the past, which sets of a whole chain of events he is unable to control. Or can he?
Director NachoVigalondo Crafts a Smart Thriller on a Shoestring Budget
It is interesting to see just how the story plays out. Like Memento the replay value of Timecrimes is upped by the reasons behind it all as you notice more of the clues that reveal just what is happening to Hector, his wife, the scientist who become’s his unwitting collaborator (played with conviction by director Nacho Vigalondo) and the woman on the bike (Bárbara Goenaga).
The whole thing is tied together by Elejalde’s performance as the ordinary guy whose curiosity gets the better of him and whose motives become questionable.
For his first feature length outing Vigalondo has crafted a smart thriller on a shoestring budget and even thrown in touches of horror in the scenes when Hector becomes part of a strange cat and mouse game with the bandaged man. At just under 90 minutes it gets to the point early on although everything up to that moment is somewhat dreary.
A Time Travel Story with a Message
What is also unique is that it’s one of the few time travel films that says such an concept is immoral and should never exist. As Hector races around franticly trying to avoid situations but inevitably making them occur the underlining message is that you can’t change what has come before and that some things should just be left alone. Perhaps this is a comment on science’s never-ending quest of discovery and how it may destroy the world.
If Timecrimes sounds interesting see it before the Americans ruin another fine European film with a remake (this is already on the cards) for people too lazy or ignorant to watch something in a foreign language. Here’s advice for any non-US directors out there: don’t make a film that is actually any good because Hollywood will only take your original, low-budget spirited fare and create a dumbed down, multi-million dollar franchise all in the name of profit.
- Starring Karra Elejalde, Bárbara Goenaga, Nacho Vigalondo, Candela Fernández
- Directed and Written by Nacho Vigalondo
- Running time: 88 minutes
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