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.
