Crónicas

It's hard to rate a movie that you find intensely disturbing and a bit nauseating. I saw this at the Philadelphia Film Festival, and the friend who saw it with me was equally disturbed - we both wanted to give it a rating of F***ed Up. Then again, if you spend the next two hours talking about how much a movie bothered you, that means it was well acted and directed, right?

The reporter (Leguizamo) crosses the boundaries of morality and goes too far in pursuit of his story, and the movie ends on a very unsatisfactory note. Still, the bad guy is very good at being a psychopath, and the reporter and his crew are very good at being morally bankrupt. See Cronicas, but brace yourself for unpleasant subject matter.

In case you are not familiar, Sebastian's first big movie was Ratas, Ratones y Rateros. That was a great movie, it showed a side of Ecuador that hadn't been explores or showed before. He had the magic of showing a probably not unique story in a unique way, a Latin and Ecuadorian way.

In Cronicas, he does this and more. First, it shows a reality that may even be unknown for some Ecuadorian. It escapes from big cities and nice stories towards the forgotten towns that are only remembered for unethical journalism or plain mockery. Second, now it is not just a story showing themes particular to a Latin audience but applicable and important for viewers anywhere: masks and the true self, the blurry gray region between good and bad, the relevance of regret... and more.

One friend told me, before watching the movie: You will not see TV the same way again. In many ways it is true, Cronicas takes you to the untold and un"spelled-out" stories behind the fractioned images in TV.

I am looking forward to Sebastian's next movie.

Crónicas (2004) written and directed by Sebastián Cordero, is a grim movie about a grim subject. John Leguizamo plays Manolo Bonilla, a Miami-based TV reporter who is covering the story of a "monster" who is torturing and murdering young children in Ecuador.

Manolo is a good detective as well as a reporter of sensational news, and he thinks he may have discovered the identity of the murderer. The question is, Should a reporter just report, or should he be a participant in the story he is covering?

Leonor Watling is excellent as Marisa Iturralde, Manolo's producer and possibly his lover. Camilo Luzuriaga is excellent in the supporting role of Capitan Bolivar Rojas--"the only honest cop in Ecuador."

This is not a movie for the squeamish--it contains violence, scenes of humiliation, and graphic--but unromantic--sex.

On the other hand, how often do you find a movie from Ecuador playing in Rochester, New York? Even at our excellent Little Theatre, films from South America are rare, and often--as in this case--worth seeking out.

Finally, if the views we get of prison conditions in Ecuador are accurate, I wouldn't even risk a parking ticket there, let alone anything more serious. Trust me--you just don't want to be in that particular Ecuadoran jail.

Damián Alcázar (The Crime of Father Amaro, Lord Sopespian in Prince Caspian) gives a truly remarkable performance in a compelling film by young writer/director Sebastián Cordero.

There are two stories going on at the same time. One is a story of a vicious rapist/serial killer who preys on young boys and girls; and the other is about the role of the media in our society.

John Leguizamo plays a star reported that knows who the killer is and is trying to get the confession for a news story. In the meantime, events transpire that result in the killer's release before he accomplishes this.

Leonor Watling (La mala educación, Paris, je t'aime) plays the producer who wants to tell what they know, while Leguizamo fights to keep it a secret and play off the hero status he gained. Who will win? Will his conscience get the better of him? That is the real story here, as we debate the role of media. Are they reporting the news, and becoming part of the news.

The view of rural Ecuadorian life is also a big plus to the enjoyment of this film.

Compelling.

This film is one of the more important films of this age, especially for countries such as the United States where new stations such as Fox News dominate the airwaves. I am very surprised that a film with stars such as John Leguizamo giving great performances, and the support of Alfred Molina, that this film isn't receiving wide distribution in the United States.

The film exposes the fringes of Ecuador by setting the story in one of the country's poorest areas, the province of Los Rios in its filthy capital Babahoyo. Against this backdrop we see a group of journalists from a Mexican news station known for its program "Una Hora con la Verdad (An Hour with the Truth)" confront some of the harsh realities present in these areas. In their efforts to expose the life in los Rios, they learn how little they actually know about the people there and how difficult it can be to provide the Truth for their viewers.