Directed by Nacho Vigalondo (2007) Starring: Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernandez, Barbara Goenaga, Nacho Vigalondo
Time Crimes is one of a slew of smart science fiction from the past decade that is making me wonder if we’re going through a genre revolution the same way the late sixties had a stylistic change in film. Instead of the American Independent movement, I think this one will be international in scope. As a genre, Science Fiction will become known for its sharp plots, which for Time Crimes is its selling point.
As one sustainable time loop, set in the same location the film introduces a lot of itself within the first fifteen minutes. Hector (Elejalde) has just moved into his new house with his wife Clara (Fernandez). He gets a mysterious phone call that afternoon, but ignores it. Later, he spies a woman in the woods and follows her, but is attacked by a man wearing a bandage across his face. While trying to escape, he runs into a mad scientist and gets caught up in his time travel experiment.
While we don’t get a big glimpse into a future filled with flying cars or a mining station on the moon, Time Crimes is every bit as imaginative. It takes the idea of time travel and controls it to a tight loop, where every event has to occur exactly as it happened to Hector originally. He has to deal with the idea that there are multiples of himself existing in one time frame and it drives him a little nuts. It’s a tight Spanish thriller and an excellent watch for a summer night.
