VLAFF is pleased to present the digitally restored copies of the first films of two of the most unique and talented filmmakers in the world, Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu. CRONOS is the first film of del Toro, which premiered in 1993 at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize.

poster of Cronos

CRONOS
Mexico, 1993
Spanish with English subtitles | 94 min 
Director: Guillermo del Toro

Tuesday, July 31
7 PM 
The Cinematheque, 
1131 Howe Street (btw Helmcken & Davie)

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Guillermo del Toro made an auspicious and audacious feature debut with Cronos, a highly unorthodox tale about the seductiveness of the idea of immortality. Kindly antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) happens upon an ancient golden device in the shape of a scarab, and soon finds himself the possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers, as well as the target of a mysterious American named Angel (a delightfully crude and deranged Ron Perlman). Featuring marvellous special makeup effects and the haunting imagery for which del Toro has become world-renowned, Cronos is a dark, visually rich, and emotionally captivating fantasy.

“…there is an element of religious allegory to “Cronos” — del Toro describes himself as a quiet atheist in a fiercely Roman Catholic country. There is also a light touch of political satire, but more than anything, the film is a poetic exploration of the perils of immortality. It is clearly horror, but just as decidedly art.” – Richard Harrington, The Washington Post

En 1535, un alquimista construye un extraordinario mecanismo encapsulado en un pequeño artefacto dorado. La invención, diseñada para brindar vida eterna a su poseedor, sobrevive a su fabricante hasta 1997, cuando es descubierta por el anticuario Jesús Gris. Fascinado, Gris no se da cuenta de que más de una persona anda en pos del extraño mecanismo. La promesa de vida eterna se ha convertido en una obsesión para el viejo y enfermo Dieter de la Guardia. Tanto él como su sobrino Ángel harán lo que sea con tal de conseguir “la invención de Cronos”. 

Guillermo del Toro logró crear un debut auspicioso y audaz en el cine con Cronos, su primera cinta, la cual es definida como una historia poco ortodoxa, sobre la seducción a la idea de la inmortalidad.