Cronos reviews
Review by on 26 Sep 2010
The title of Guillermo Del Toro’s CRONOS conjures up a variety of images and themes, eternity, ageing, death, all of which it does contain. But the word Cronos does not bring to mind themes like family or sacrifice, which are both arguably the centrepiece theme of the film. Del Toro set out with CRONOS to make a film about vampires yet disregarding sex, instead choosing to focus on themes such as age, disease, greed, addiction and death. He succeeded not only with incorporating all these mature and relevant themes into his black fairytale, but also produced a brilliant piece of cinema. CRONOS both entertains and stimulates, bringing into focus a much more mature and relatable character, afflicted by vampirism rather than gifted by it, exploring the effect that un-death would have upon an elderly man with a lot to lose. The relationship between the cheekily named Jesús Gris and his Granddaughter Aurora is particularly touching. Those who enjoy Twilight or True Blood will not enjoy CRONOS, as it has mainly deep emotional appeal and little in the way of Hollywood chick flick-esque predictability. Del Toro does, despite the grim topic, manage to bring a lot of light hearted humour into the film, making CRONOS a joy to watch as well as emotionally gripping. The use of sound is spot on to guide the emotion of (and envelop) the viewer. Del Toro merged the fantasy of childhood with the harsh reality of ageing to create a triumph, the first of many in his career.
Max Elgar
Max Elgar
Film details
Cronos
DEL TORO
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Actor: Federico Luppi
Actor: Ron Perlman
Actor: Claudio Brook
Actor: Federico Luppi
Actor: Ron Perlman
Actor: Claudio Brook
Mexico, 1993.
94 mins.
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