Cronos

This is a tale of an ancient precison instrument that inexorably tick-tocks its way into the soul of its owner. Del Torro's film is pieced together like clockwork using imagery familiar to those who have seen Hellraiser.

The story telling machinery is constructed with two key elements: Firstly, witholding information to create suspense and secondly, keeping family life and routine intact in order to suspend our disbelief in the supernatural. In the final scenes, however, the incongruous actions of the main character occur outside this framework. The viewer is left puzzled and bemused. It would have been preferable if, as in Nosferatu, our leading man rode out into the night leaving his ex-framework actions to the imagination.

Watch now if you are not squeamish. When the plot no longer seems to make any sense there is no need to carry on watching. 3 Stars.

Fitzcarraldo

Get our of bed, sail 600 miles down the Amazon, go to the opera, sail back, go to bed, wake up the following morning, buy a vast area of virgin jungle in Peru that can only be reached by taking a steam ship over a mountain, then take said ship over mountain and sail back to pay your creditors. Sometimes life can be hectic, but Fitzcarraldo manages to do all that at a hypnotizing, relaxing pace.

Make sure that you leave enough time to watch the whole film as it is (satisfyingly) long. Get it now.

PS It was all filmed with a real steam ship during a war between Peru and Ecuador!