by John Bear
Daily Lobo
"Cronicas" avoids the trappings of protagonists who stand firmly on moral high ground, choosing an alternate path where no one comes out squeaky clean.
The film features hyper-ambitious journalists who seek out the truth only if it will further their own careers and a loving family man who may be the infamous serial killer, The Monster of Babahoyo. It becomes clear early in the picture that no typical movie heroes reside here, just ordinary people with all their inherent flaws and shortcomings.
The film documents the work of Manolo - in a superbly understated performance by John Leguizamo - a tabloid journalist from a Spanish-language television show reminiscent of such American tele-trash like "Access Hollywood" and "A Current Affair."
While in Ecuador searching for the killer, Manolo and his crew witness a savage lynching in the muddy streets of Babahoyo. It seems a traveling Bible salesman, Vinicio, played by Damien Alcazar, has just run over a boy leaving the funeral of his brother, the killer's latest victim.
Believing Vinicio is attempting to flee, an angry mob responds how any angry mob would: They drag him out of his car, douse him in gasoline and set him ablaze. Manolo eventually intervenes and a badly burned Vinicio and Don Lucho, the dead boy's father and the man who lit the match, are both hauled off to jail.
After a failed attempt on his life, Vinicio, now slathered in his own feces as a last ditch defense against Lucho, begs Manolo to do a story about his unjust incarceration in exchange for information about the killer who he claims to have met. Manolo reluctantly agrees after Vinicio discloses the location of an undiscovered body.
This is where the plot gets as muddy as the roads in Babahoyo. Manolo begins to suspect Vinicio who seems to have a preternatural knowledge of the crimes. The manner in which Vinicio speaks about the killer arouses suspicion. He describes inner workings of the killer's mind in explicit detail, things it seems only the killer could know.
But Vinicio clearly lacks the demeanor of a pyscho killer. He is a reformed alcoholic, a family man, well liked by local children. But there is something undeniably creepy about him.
Manolo struggles to find the truth before the anchor of his television show runs a story portraying Vinicio as a poor innocent schlub caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, perhaps freeing a murderer.
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There is no easy answer.
"Cronicas" is not the typical whodunnit serial killer flick. None of the characters in the movie can be considered "the good guy." The journalist and producer, the film's protagonists, are self-serving philanderers, certainly not beyond reproach. The police are corrupt, the townspeople are all too eager to drag someone out of a vehicle and torch him in broad daylight.
The film is beyond grimy in texture, similar to "Y tu mam† tambiÇn" in appearance, with shaky and sometimes jarring editing.
It often juxtaposes images of cleanliness and filthiness. The characters become slathered in mud and in Vinicio's case, feces. The sheer amount of grime present in this film seems to comment on the ethical uncleanliness of its main players, for example, the blossoming affair between Manolo and his married producer.
All the actors, especially Leguizamo and Alcazar, deliver excellent performances and the grittiness of the surroundings - if ever in Ecuador, do not get arrested - make for a genuinely unsettling movie.
Bottom line: This is the best serial killer flick in some time.
