Review of Cronos (1993) by Jordan W — 16 Feb 2011

Guillermo del Toroâ(TM)s first full-length feature film âCronosâ? is a portal into the mind of a creative genius. It showcases del Toroâ(TM)s ability to weave deeply resonant characters and human themes into supernatural happenings. It is not a great film, but it is a very good one. As a filmmaker, del Toroâ(TM)s storytelling ability is great, and to the audience, it is truly a gift.

Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) is an elderly antique shop owner. He is a simple, hard-working man who lives with his wife and young granddaughter, Aurora (Tamara Shanath). Jesus and Aurora are close, and share a very loving relationship. He brings her to the shop on workdays, and we get immediately get the impression that wherever he goes, Aurora follows eagerly behind.

One day, Jesus comes into possession of a small statue of an angel. Inside of the statue, he finds a small golden device shaped like a beetle. This is the âcronosâ? device, which the prologue tells us was invented by a 16th century alchemist who was hired to design a key to immortality. The prologue then cuts to 1937, where a vault has collapsed in a building, and in the rubble lays the alchemist, still alive, but with a stake pierced through his heart.

While examining the device, Jesus is punctured by what appears to be a metal stinger. He soon begins to feel and even look more youthful. He shaves his moustache, unbuttons his shirt at the collar and rekindles a lost passion for his wife, who accepts her reinvigorated husbandâ(TM)s advances gladly. Aurora sees that something is not right. With the imagination of a child, she understands that the small golden beetle has done something to her loving granddadâ"something bad.

Immortality has always been one of manâ(TM)s deepest desires. So of course, there is another entity in del Toroâ(TM)s story who wants the device for himself, a dying man named De La Guardia (Claudio Brook) who has somehow come into possession of the alchemistâ(TM)s journal. The journal documents the invention of the device, instructions on how to use it, and there is even a drawing of the angel statue in which it is hidden.

De La Guardiaâ(TM)s is bedridden, and his bedroom is a sterile, white tomb that resembles the blinding white bedroom at the end of Stanley Kubrickâ(TM)s â2001: A Space Odyssey.â? It is the center of operations from which he orders around his brute nephew, Angel (Ron Perlman). Angel is commanded to bring back statues resembling the one in the book, and after it is detected that Jesus has one, Angel is hot on his trail.

I was surprised to discover that âCronosâ? is not primarily driven by a narrative, but by the characters. As the film examines the choices that people make based on obsession, aggression and sometimes love, it gets away from the initial presumption that del Toro is telling us a particular story with a beginning, middle and end. This affects the film both positively and negatively. I have gotten so used to enjoying the beautiful stories that del Toro writes, whether it be in his films or in his book series, âThe Strain Trilogy;â? I anxiously await the third entry, and still need to read the second.

But âCronosâ? doesnâ(TM)t rely too much on a concrete story, and so in such a character-based movie, the performances are critical. As Jesus, the grandfather who, after being confronted by the temptation to live eternally, must relearn a lesson about the value of the life he has, Luppi is excellent. His performance is incredibly moving, and as his character is thrown into this world of alchemists and thugs, blood lust and death, Luppi manages to flawlessly maintain the characterâ(TM)s authenticity and resonance.

Luppi has worked with del Toro on many of his projects since âCronos,â? including âThe Devilâ(TM)s Backboneâ? and the great âPanâ(TM)s Labyrinth.â? Perlman, another del Toro regular, has such a terrific screen presence. When he enters this film, he brings with him such comic energy and timing that it is no wonder that del Toro has continued to work with him on the âHellboyâ? movies and on âBlade 2.â? Particularly worth noting is Angelâ(TM)s urgent need to get a nose job. It is a very funny bit, but the irony of what happens to his nose again and again is just priceless, and Perlman plays it great.

Like all of his films that followed, âCronosâ? reveals del Toroâ(TM)s respect and belief in the power of the imagination. It begins with an eerie, extraordinary tale of an alchemist concocting the secret to eternal life, and then settles down to introduce us to some everyday people living an unremarkable but content existence. Del Toro is such a romantic at heart that he is able to effortlessly balance his human themes of identity, eternal life and death with his horror elements and some very black humor, referring to a scene in the back of a funeral parlor.

There is a vampiric element to this, but like Tomas Alfredsonâ(TM)s âLet the Right One Inâ? and Katheryn Bigelowâ(TM)s âNear Dark,â? the material rises above convention and becomes a very moving story of love, obsession and the depths of the human soul. The idea that eternal life could be more a curse than a blessing is not a new one, but del Toro explores it which such rich, exciting vigor that we are thrilled to join him on this adventure, and on any other journey that he invites to experience.