''Crónicas'' ("chronicles") is a 2004 Ecuadorian thriller film, written and directed by

Sebastián Cordero Sebastián Cordero Espinosa (; born 23 May 1972) is an Ecuadorian film director, screenwriter and editor, often recognized for his work in '' Ratas, Ratones, Rateros'' (1999), ''Crónicas'' (2004), and '' Europa Report'' (2013). His films have b ...

. The film was produced by, among others,

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

, director of '' Pan's Labyrinth'', and

Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...

, director of ''

Children of Men ''Children of Men'' is a 2006 dystopian action thriller film co-written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The screenplay, based on P. D. James' 1992 novel '' The Children of Men'', was credited to five writers, with Clive Owen making uncredi ...

''. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the

2004 Cannes Film Festival The 57th Cannes Film Festival started on 12 and ran until 23 May 2004 in film, 2004. The Palme d'Or went to the United States, American film ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' by Michael Moore. The festival opened with ''Bad Education (2004 film), La mala educa ...

Overview

Set in rural Ecuador, the movie follows a television journalist named Manolo Bonilla (played by John Leguizamo) as he investigates the rape and murder of children in the area. The film also stars Leonor Watling and José María Yazpik as Manolo's

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and cameraman, respectively. The film was the official Oscar selection from Ecuador in the Best Foreign Language category.

Plot summary

After traveling to a small village in Ecuador, Miami tabloid news reporter Manolo Bonilla (Leguizamo) witnesses the death of a local boy after Vinicio Cepeda, a traveling salesman, hits the boy with his pickup truck. When Cepeda attempts to back his truck away from the boy, a mob, led by the boy's father, Don Lucho, pulls him from his car, severely beats him, and sets him on fire before the local authorities intervene. After both men are arrested, Cepeda is examined at the jail

infirmary Infirmary may refer to: *Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital *A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution *A dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization ...

and taken to his cell where, later that night, he is attacked by Don Lucho and severely injured. The next morning Manolo Bonilla comes to the prison to interview the men involved. After agreeing to an interview alongside Cepeda, Lucho attacks Cepeda a second time and is taken away. The interview with Cepeda is cancelled due to concerns about Manolo's safety; however, before the reporter leaves, Cepeda notifies him that he has information on the Monster of Babahoyo, a notorious murderer and rapist in the area, and tells him the location where one of the murderer's victims, a nine-year-old girl, is buried. Manolo agrees to interview Cepeda and attempts to free him from prison in exchange for information about the murders. Later that evening Manolo and his cameraman Ivan drive to the location Cepeda mentioned and dig up a shallow grave, indeed containing the body of a small girl. Over the following days Manolo begins interviewing Cepeda, as well as Cepeda’s wife, son, and babysitter. While interviewing Cepeda, Manolo begins to suspect that Cepeda is, in fact, the Monster of Babahoyo and using him to exonerate himself. After Manolo attempts to get Cepeda to incriminate himself, Cepeda tells him to leave and never come back. Manolo then informs Cepeda that the interview which would free him will not be aired. Manolo calls the authorities and tells them that he had been receiving anonymous calls about the location of the girl's grave. He discovers circumstantial evidence placing Cepeda at the locations of the murders on the dates they occurred; however, despite Manolo's request, the news agency airs Cepeda's interviews which help set Cepeda free. After being interviewed by authorities, Manolo and his crew return to Cepeda's home in search of him only to find that he left his pregnant wife alone at their house and took their son to school before leaving the area. Manolo is offered his own show on the news network and, after deciding against turning over the evidence to the police, the team arrives at the airport and parts ways.

Cast

* John Leguizamo as Manolo Bonilla * Leonor Watling as Marisa Iturralde * Damián Alcázar as Vinicio Cepeda * José María Yazpik as Iván Suárez * Alfred Molina as Victor Hugo Puentes *

Henry Layana Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

as Don Lucho *

Tamara Navas __NOTOC__ Tamara may refer to: People * Tamara (name), including a list of people with this name * Tamara (Spanish singer) (born 1984) * Tamara, stage name of Spanish singer Yurena (born 1969) * Tamara, stage name of Macedonian singer Tamara Tod ...

as Doña Etelvina *

Washington Garzón Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

as Joseph Juan *

Rosa Alina Ortiz Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: People *Rosa (given name) *Rosa (surname) *Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places *223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, Ge ...

as Amiga Don Lucho * Raymundo Zambrano as Cura *

Camilo Luzuriaga Camilo Luzuriaga (born in Loja, Ecuador 1953) is an Ecuadorian film producer, actor, writer, photographer, and director. Filmmaking Luzuriaga has produced, directed, edited, and written various movies, short films, and documentaries. Luzuriaga ...

as Capitán Bolivar Rojas *

Peki Andino Peki is a town in the South Dayi District in the Volta Region of Ghana. It comprises eight subtowns, each with a subchief - Tsame, Avetile, Afeviwofe, Blengo, Dzake, Wudome, Dzobati and Adzokoe. All of these subchiefs swear allegiance to a paramo ...

as Sargento Saltos (as Peky Andino) * Luiggi Pulla as Robert

Awards

''Crónicas'' was Ecuador's submission to the 77th Academy Awards for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

References

External links