Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) finds a golden egg hidden in the statue of an archangel in his antique shop. When he winds it up, eight legs emerge and pierce his hand, and a stinger gives him the unwanted gift of immortality. But Jesus is not left alone to deal with his new vampiric nature as he has his loving granddaughter, Aurora (Tamara Shanath) to help him. He also has problems in the form of a dying industrialist, Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook), who wants the “Cronos device” and sends his violent nephew, Angel (Ron Perlman), to get it.
Cronos was the introductory feature from stylish, Mexican director, Guillermo del Toro, who went on to direct Mimic, Blade II, and Hell Boy. It is hard to say what makes his work so individual, but there is something recognizable in all of del Toro’s films. They are harsh, without being gritty. He’s an art-film director, who finds fangs, demons, and gore beautiful, and films them that way.
Cronos is an incredible looking film, particularly for its small budget. Every shot is filled with rich colors, odd objects, and original images. While the film is a feast for the eyes, it isn’t so kind to brains. It feels deep and meaningful while viewing, but afterwards I found there was nothing there. A majority of films leave without implanting anything of significance, but Cronos poses as something more. As it sacrifices pacing and character coherence for this, I’d have like to have gotten something…anything.
With loads of religious symbols (archangel statues, characters named Jesus and Angel, prayer, a stigmata), it would have been nice for Cronos to say something about spirituality or faith. If I were to strain, I could say that Jesus is being tempted by immortality and he must overcome this temptation to reach heaven. But he’s never tempted. He didn’t want immortality to begin with and has little interest in it once he’s got it. Any intended religious messages as well as those about time and eternity are lost long before the picture ends.
The story is slight and doesn’t go far: man finds object; object infects man; bad man tries to steal object; man and bad man have confrontation. That’s about it. Much is made of the secret instructions for using the Cronos device (Dieter has them, Jesus does not), but apparently all they say is “drink blood and stay out of the sun after you get pushed off of a cliff.” No other information appears to be pertinent. Dieter tells Jesus that his skin can be peeled off to expose new flesh, but he’d have figured that out in another hour or two on his own.
The characters do things without any kind of logic or thought. Dieter knows that Jesus has the device, but never searches his home or threatens his family. The only time he sends loutish Angel after Jesus is at a big party. Jesus goes to see Dieter, knowing that this man is a violent criminal, and doesn’t expect any kind of trouble. Worse, he doesn’t get any as he’s allowed to run away. Later, Jesus breaks into Dieter’s room at night (bringing his young Granddaughter), and it never occurs to him that Dieter might be in the big bed. It probably doesn’t help that Jesus must be deaf. That’s the only way to explain his inability to hear Angel approach him in the restroom (where the floors are hard and Angel is wearing dress shoes) and Dieter getting out of bed and shuffling across the room during his breaking and entering excursion.
If Cronos is a character study, as is often stated as an excuse for its plot, then I would have expected reasonable character behavior. But the film supplies little of the necessary information to know these characters. I was halfway through the film before I knew the woman Jesus lives with is his wife. I thought she was his sister or older daughter, or maybe just a landlady. The behavior of the characters should at least make it clear who is married to whom.
The relationship between Jesus and his granddaughter isn’t interesting, but it is entertaining and provides the highpoints of the film. Instead of a typical child, Aurora’s only trait is her unconditional love for her grandfather. Her scenes are sweet, but in a way that puts her one step away from Wednesday Adams, such as when she tucks her decaying vampire grandfather into her toy chest with a doll and a plush bear. Besides being the emotional center for the film, it is also funny. I could have used more of that humor.