Cronicas (2004)
9/10
Austin Movie Show review
6 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Remind me never to be a journalist in South America. Not only are you putting your physical well being in danger, but the psychological trauma must be unbearable! John Leguizamo gives the strongest performance of his career as Manolo Bonilla, a Miami journalist who goes to Ecuador to investigate a serial killer called "The Monster" who has raped and murdered over a hundred children.

Cronicas opens with the funeral for three of the latest victims. When a child runs into the street and is hit by a car, the driver of that car, named Vinicio, is attacked by a mob that beats him, douses him in gasoline, and sets him on fire. All the while, Manolo is filming every second of the attack, but he eventually intervenes and saves the man's life.

Vinicio is sent to prison where he covers himself in his own excrement to keep from being attacked by other inmates. Manolo offers to help Vinicio get out of prison if he gives him information about "The Monster." Through the power of the media and the sway of public opinion, Vinicio is set free. But has justice actually been served, or has this reporter helped to free a vicious serial killer? Cronicas is dark, twisted, and positively rife with dramatic irony… the kind that makes you want to scream at the screen, "Noooooooooooooo!!!!!!" But the actors never listen, do they?
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