Haven't I Seen Your Face Before? (Timecrimes (DVD))

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	Timecrimes (DVD)
Date:	01/10/09 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, twists, thrilling

Disadvantages: Subtitles, paradoxical like all time travel films

Time travel is a science fiction concept that is well worn and well loved. I always have an issue with it as by its very nature the concept cannot work. If you find out about your future, you have already changed it! The entire concept is a paradox and one that cannot exist in a single timeline; therefore all films, books and TV shows that report to be about one single story of time travel are false! The only way that time travel can work in any sort of linear media is to use the concept of parallel universes; by jumping from one to another you are following one coherent thread and ignoring many others that are not as convenient. This means that there are countless other outcomes to what happens in 'Back to the Future', 'The Time Traveller', etc. Of all the films I have seen about travelling through time perhaps 'Timecrimes' is the closest I have seen to getting it right?

Hector and his wife have just moved into a new house in the peaceful countryside. When looking through binoculars in his new back garden Hector sees the strange sight of a topless woman apparently in distress! Rather than get his wife to call for help he sends her to the shops and goes to investigate himself. On arriving at the scene the girl is gone and Hector is attacked by a mysterious man wearing pink bandages around his face. He flees to a nearby building which turns out to be a laboratory. Here he meets a nervous scientist and is told to hide inside of a large bowl. The lights flash and Hector wakes up the day before. What is going on? Why is he in the lab, but another version of him is at home? Who is the bandaged man and what became of the distressed girl?

'Timecrimes' is a classic time travel film in that it's a mind scramble! With an extremely modest budget it is up to Director Vigalondo to stretch what he has to make a compelling film - and he does. This is a film without fancy special effects and instead relies on the reactions of the main character Hector. Played by actor Karra Elejalde, Hector is not your usual film hero as he is chubby, balding and middle aged. This lack of finesse in the character only adds to the gritty nature of the film as you are drawn in by its realistic feel.

Being a Spanish film the concept of time travel and its peculiarities are heightened. The use of subtitles throughout gives it a further unreal feel and really add to the atmosphere. I don't feel like such a low key film could have worked if filmed in England - it needed the foreign influence to work. Some people may be put off by having to read subtitles. It was not an issue for me as they were clear. It also helped that many of the elements of the film were visual and did not require dialogue.

Like with most time travel films I felt at the end it did not make true sense as it was too paradoxical. This didn't stop me enjoying the film and my partner and I had a nice debate afterwards to what actually went on in parts. We even went back to watch segments of the film to try and pick up some of the reveals and clues that Vigalondo had left. As we follow Hector through several trips through the day they start to overlap. At this point you realise that elements that occurred on 'day 1' are due to what happened later. It is an exciting feeling when you realize that something has already happened and you know exactly what is coming next.

It is the ability to keep the twist and turns coming, whilst still having a coherent storyline, that makes 'Timecrimes' stand out. If you look into it too deeply you are bound to find more holes than a pair of twenty year old underpants, but this does not matter so much when you are having such fun. Director/writer Vigalondo manages to get a lot of content into a film that has a low budget and actually enhances it using the grungy handheld cameras. The film also benefits from being in Spanish as this heightens the otherworldly nature of proceeding. This is a must watch for fans of science fiction, but is also a good thriller for fans of crime.


Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Year: 2007
Cert: 15
Starring: Karra Elejalde
Price: Amazon uk £5.98
Play.com £5.99



Extras

Not a huge number of extras, but there was a subtitled featurette of the making in the version that I saw. The low key special effects and handheld camera work means that the film does not lose anything from being on DVD and not BluRay.

Summary: A great little sci fi film