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Cronicas (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:70
Fresh:50
Rotten:20
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: An unsettling and absorbing cautionary tale with John Leguizamo playing an unscrupulous TV reporter who uses the medium to further his own goals.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence, a scene of sexuality, and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Jul 8, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $138,868
Synopsis: The hot and humid village of Babahoyo, Ecuador is besieged by an elusive serial killer. The police have no clues but this mystery has become an obsession for Miami-based tabloid television reporter... The hot and humid village of Babahoyo, Ecuador is besieged by an elusive serial killer. The police have no clues but this mystery has become an obsession for Miami-based tabloid television reporter Manolo Bonilla (John Leguizamo) who is convinced breaking this story will make him a star. Bonilla has traveled to the remote village with his producer, Marisa (Leonor Watling) and cameraman, Ivan (José Maria Yazpik) to cover the story for the tabloid TV show "One Hour With The Truth". Manolo has dubbed the killer as the "Monster of Babahoyo" on the show and is determined to uncover the killer's true identity. Tension in the town reaches a boiling point when Vinicio Cepeda (Damián Alcázar), a poor traveling salesman, accidentally runs over a child, and an angry mob led by the child's father, Don Lucho (Henry Layana), attacks him in the streets. Both Vinicio and Don Lucho are arrested. Manolo, who happens to be present during the incident, interviews both men inside a jail teeming with violence. Vinicio tells Manolo that he has information about the "Monster," but in exchange for it, he wants Manolo to do a story exposing his unjust arrest to sway public opinion. After checking out Vinicio's information, Manolo immediately suspects that Vinicio himself could be the killer, but chooses not to tell the corrupt local authorities; he'd rather use the information to make a great story for his show. How far will Bonilla go to get his story? Where is the line between a journalist revealing the truth and inventing it? How powerful is the media? Palm Pictures and Anhelo Productions present CRONICAS, written and directed by Sebastián Cordero (RATAS, RATONES, RATEROS) and produced by Alfonso Cuarón (HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN) and Jorge Vergara (Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN) and Guillermo del Toro (HELLBOY), Bertha Navarro and Isabel Dávalos. The executive producer is Frida Torresblanco. Cinematography by Enrique Chediak. Music by Antonio Pinto. --© Palm Pictures [More]
Starring: John Leguizamo, Leonor Watling, Alfred Molina, Damián Alcázar
Starring: John Leguizamo, Leonor Watling, Alfred Molina, Damián Alcázar
Director: Sebastian Cordero
Director: Sebastian Cordero
Screenwriter: Sebastian Cordero
Producer: Alfonso Cuaron, Jorge Vergara, Guillermo Del Toro
Composer: Antonio Pinto
Studio: Palm Pictures
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Reviews for Cronicas
An ambitious social-commentary melodrama that works about half the time -- until it engages in the very behavior it sets out to condemn.
Though Crónicas starts as a stark tragedy about widespread suffering, it morphs into a preachy, languorous treatise on manipulative media.
An efficient but not-terribly-surprising crime drama that spins off a Silence of the Lambs-like dynamic.
Cronicas is two thirds of a really good movie – someone let me know when they find the rest.
Nothing in this would-be thriller grabs you by the throat, never mind reaches down to your guts.
We've seen this cautionary tale before, and the outcome, while chilling from an ethical perspective, is almost a foregone conclusion.
For a film shot in Ecuador, Crónicas feels curiously American in design.
A scathing indictment of writer-director Sebastian Cordero's ability to put together a credible story.
The movie is devoid of subtext because every idea is expressed with bold punctuation.
It never quite achieves the level of journalistic condemnation it so clearly seeks.
An honest effort that is too dramatically slack to sustain more than average interest.
Latest News for Cronicas
November 09, 2005:
RT Interview: "Crónicas" Director Sebastián Cordero
It played in just over 100 theaters back in July, so you can be forgiven if you haven't heard a whole lot about "Crónicas" just yet. But the Ecuadorian crime thriller... More...
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