Timecrimes (2007)

Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes) is a 2007 Spanish-language sci-fi thriller written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo. It’s a tight, mind-bending tale of time travel, consequence, and inevitability, built on a relatively small budget but with massive narrative ambition. Unlike flashy blockbusters, Timecrimes thrives on tension, detail, and an unrelenting domino effect that keeps the viewer on edge.

Detailed Summary

Initial Mystery: The Man with the Bandaged Face

The film opens with Héctor, an average middle-aged man who has recently moved into a countryside home with his wife, Clara. While relaxing in his backyard, he sees something suspicious in the woods—a glimpse of a naked woman. Driven by curiosity, he investigates and discovers her lying unconscious. Before he can make sense of it, he is stabbed in the arm by a mysterious figure with a bandaged face.

Frightened and injured, Héctor flees and stumbles upon a nearby scientific facility. There, a young scientist helps him hide in what appears to be a large vat or tank. The tank, however, turns out to be a time machine, and Héctor emerges several hours in the past.

Realization and Identity

Héctor is now Héctor 2, coexisting with his past self, and must avoid encountering himself. However, in trying to fix things, he ends up becoming the very bandaged man he was originally attacked by. This chilling revelation—that he was running from himself—adds a psychological twist to the physical danger.

His attempts to prevent the events from happening only solidify them. In order to preserve the timeline and return things to “normal,” Héctor 2 must replicate each previous event, down to exact detail, including orchestrating his own chase and injuries.

Enter Héctor 3

The situation spirals further when his efforts to control the chaos lead to even more unintended consequences, including the accidental death of a woman. Seeking to undo this, Héctor decides to go back once again, creating Héctor 3, a third iteration of himself. Now deeply tangled in a loop, he takes more drastic, ethically questionable actions to ensure his original self follows the “correct” path—thereby maintaining the cycle and avoiding paradoxes.

Movie Ending

The final stretch of the film is both fascinating and disturbing. As Héctor 3, he realizes that the only way to restore the timeline and prevent catastrophe is to replace the woman who dies (believed by Héctor 2 to be his wife) with another person. Héctor tricks a young woman into taking a specific route that leads to her death, using her body to make Héctor 2 believe that Clara has died—motivating Héctor 2 to follow through with the sequence of events that will preserve the loop.

In a cruel twist, Clara never dies—she’s hidden safely by Héctor 3 to avoid her involvement. But the young woman dies unnecessarily to sustain the cycle. Héctor, fully aware of the consequences and his role, sits beside his unconscious wife, exhausted and haunted, as sirens approach in the distance. The movie ends with no dramatic explosion or escape, just the bleak realization that in attempting to fix time, Héctor has condemned himself morally and emotionally.

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No, Timecrimes does not include any post-credits scenes. The story concludes with a quiet, haunting final shot, and the credits roll without further narrative additions.

Type of Movie

Timecrimes is a science fiction thriller with strong elements of psychological drama and low-budget time travel mechanics. It’s cerebral, minimalistic, and largely set in a single location—intended more to provoke thought than to dazzle with spectacle.

Cast

• Karra Elejalde as Héctor
• Candela Fernández as Clara
• Barbara Goenaga as The Young Woman
• Nacho Vigalondo as The Scientist

Film Music and Composer

The score was composed by Eugenio Mira, who crafts a suspenseful, unsettling atmosphere that subtly underscores the film’s mounting tension. The music is minimal, mostly used to enhance specific moments without overwhelming the story.

Filming Locations

Timecrimes was filmed in Navarre, Spain, specifically around rural countryside and industrial buildings. The isolation of the location is central to the film’s tension—no outside help, no escape, and only a few characters locked in an ever-tightening loop of cause and effect.

Awards and Nominations

• Fantastic Fest (2007): Best Picture and Best Director
• Sitges Film Festival: Best Screenplay (Nacho Vigalondo)
• Goya Awards Nomination: Best New Director
• International acclaim followed, especially among sci-fi and indie film circles, for its clever writing and economical storytelling.

Behind the Scenes Insights

• Nacho Vigalondo not only directed and wrote the film, but also acted as the scientist—partly due to the film’s limited budget.
• The script was meticulously designed to avoid paradoxes, with every action having a reason, even if it’s not initially clear.
• Filming took less than a month, and the film was shot in chronological order to help the actors keep track of the complex timeline.
• The makeup for the bandaged face was reused across iterations to emphasize that Héctor 1, 2, and 3 are the same person at different points.

Inspirations and References

• Inspired by classic time-travel literature and cinema such as H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine”, La Jetée, and 12 Monkeys.
• Thematically, it draws on existentialist philosophy, particularly ideas around determinism and moral compromise.
• It also mirrors the cyclical fatalism found in some works by Philip K. Dick.

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

There are no known alternate endings publicly released. The film is tightly constructed with very little filler. However, Vigalondo has spoken about earlier drafts where more explanation was provided—these were scrapped in favor of leaving ambiguity and trusting the viewer to piece things together.

Book Adaptations and Differences

The film is not based on a book, though its structure and plot feel literary. However, it was adapted into a novelization after the fact due to its cult status. The book expands slightly on internal monologues but remains very faithful to the film.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

• Héctor 1 watching the woman in the woods, unknowingly entering the time loop.
• The transformation of Héctor into the bandaged figure.
• The moment Héctor 2 realizes he is the threat he was running from.
• The tragic death of the young woman who is mistaken for Clara.

Iconic Quotes

• “You’re the guy with the bandage… that’s you.”
• “You can’t change anything. What’s happened has happened.”
• “There’s no going back. Just forward—to where we already were.”

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

• The number of Hectors (3) matches the 3 acts of the film, and the structure mimics a narrative loop.
• There’s a moment early in the film where a pair of binoculars appears twice—once in the hands of Héctor 1, then subtly used by Héctor 2.
• A line spoken by the scientist about “not playing God” is a subtle nod to Frankenstein, another story about unintended consequences of science.

Trivia

• The movie was made on a budget of less than €300,000.
• A Hollywood remake was once in development, with Tom Cruise reportedly interested, but it never materialized.
• The title Los Cronocrímenes literally means “The Time Crimes,” which is more direct than its English title.
• The director originally pitched the movie as a short but expanded it when producers saw its potential.

Why Watch?

Timecrimes is a masterclass in minimalist sci-fi storytelling. If you’re tired of CGI-filled spectacles and want a film that respects your intelligence, this is a gripping, twist-laden puzzle that gets better with each viewing. It forces you to think about how every decision causes a ripple—and how attempts to fix the past often trap us further in it.

Director’s Other Movies

• Colossal (2016)
• Open Windows (2014)
• Extraterrestrial (2011)

Recommended Films for Fans

• Primer (2004)
• Coherence (2013)
• Predestination (2014)
• Triangle (2009)
• 12 Monkeys (1995)
• La Jetée (1962)
• The Endless (2017)