June 01, 2009

MOVIES: Timecrimes (2007/US 2008, Nacho Vigalondo)

A Spanish time-travel story with all the usual plotholes you expect from the genre, but with such energy and brisk pacing that you don't have time to notice until it's over.

Hector is lounging in the back yard of his new country home, gazing through his binoculars into the nearby woods, when he spots a topless young woman. He wanders into the woods to investigate, and finds her unconscious; when he bends over to see if she's even still alive, he's stabbed in the arm by an unseen assailant. He runs from the attacker and winds up at a nearby research facility; one young scientist there is studying time travel, and sends Hector back in time about 90 minutes.

From there, we get all of the fun we expect from time-travel -- multiple Hectors, details which had seemed insignificant on the first go-round that take on new importance later, the desperate attempt to set things right -- done with great style, a fine sense of humor, and a marvelous Vertigo-esque plot twist at the end.

Timecrimes is also a sterling example of how to make a movie on a low budget. There are no special effects, a handful of locations, and only four speaking roles; writer/director Nacho Vigalondo (who also plays the scientist) has come up with a clever device that makes it easy for us to tell which version of Hector we're seeing at any moment, and also allows him to show multiple Hectors without expensive digital trickery. There aren't any blindingly original ideas to be found here, but Vigalondo's take on the theme is clever entertainment.

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