Click to read the article
Cronicas (2005)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:14
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.3/10
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
Get This Movie
Reviews for Cronicas
A riveting exploration of good and evil where the line between the two is unclear.
Nothing in this would-be thriller grabs you by the throat, never mind reaches down to your guts.
An ambitious social-commentary melodrama that works about half the time -- until it engages in the very behavior it sets out to condemn.
[Cordero's] lens is focused on a larger ethics, on what makes human beings heroes and monsters.
Cronicas is the kind of tense, terrific suspenser that screams for a Hollywood remake. Only the remake won't be anywhere near as good, so check out the original.
Cronicas is the kind of movie that grabs you while you're watching, even if later you wish it had grabbed a little harder.
Who could've guessed subtitles would make John Leguizamo a better actor?
Cronicas has a cracking good plot, a central moral issue and John Leguizamo speaking Spanish. What more does a film need?
Though Crónicas starts as a stark tragedy about widespread suffering, it morphs into a preachy, languorous treatise on manipulative media.
The movie is worth seeing for Leguizamo's sinewy urgency, Alcázar's desperate cleverness as the killer, and the squalid, frantic atmosphere of Latin American hunger.
This film offers a probing look at corruption in TV journalism and focuses on a country rarely glimpsed in movies.
Reasonably absorbing and a provocative if familiar commentary on media manipulation, with Leguizamo terrific in a serious, intense performance.
The movie is devoid of subtext because every idea is expressed with bold punctuation.
A scathing indictment of writer-director Sebastian Cordero's ability to put together a credible story.
His Manolo is a hair's breadth from being booed off the screen, yet Leguizamo retains audience sympathy and shows us a flawed, conflicted man who will probably never get a decent night's sleep again after the decisions we see him make.
Writer-director Sebastian Cordero keeps the moral conundrums on low boil while allowing the ominous, sweltering atmosphere to seep beneath your skin.
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



