Last weekend Film 4 showcased 3 of Guillermo Del Toro most personal films Cronos, The Devils Backbone and Pans Labyrinth.
I have tried to watch Cronos quite a few times but I tend to full asleep, but his time I saw it in full.
It tells the story of The Cronos device which gives its user eternal life unless there heart is pierced.
Summary extract taken from imbd
In 1535, an alchemist builds an extraordinary mechanism encapsulated into a small golden device. The invention, designed to convey eternal life to its owner, survives its maker until 1997, when it shows up with an antiques dealer. Fascinated with the strange device, Gris (Luppi) doesn't note that there's more than one person looking for it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104029/plotsummary
Gris an ageing antique dealer stumbles upon the device and accidentally uses it, is pursued by Angel played by Ron Pearlmen. Jesus Gris is a man way over his head, you spend half of the movie hoping he will make it through and not be killed forever and the half hoping he will not resorting to killing other people for their blood. The most poignant scene for me in the movie is after he has escaped the funeral home is reduced to raiding dustbins for scraps of clothes to cover his appearance and then he picks up a paper which has his obligatory in it.
In the end Jesus Gris most, confront his tormenter to save his family life, followed by his loyal Grandaughter Aurora, he defeats his enemy and destroys the Cronos device to save people from himself.
In the 3 films I have seen directed by Guillermo Del Toro, their is a theme that yes there is greed and desire and wicked adults but the innocence of childhood can restores our humanity, and inspire others to finally do the right thing.
I think this is illustrated perfectly in The Devil Backbones, that the meek Professor Casares comes back as a ghost to save the surviving children from Jacinto, when he failed in life to protect the orphanage and Carman his love.
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