Cronofobia

For most of us, just the idea of the clocks going forwards or backwards by an hour is confusing if not anxiety inducing enough; the title Cronofobia refers to the specific fear of time passing; it’s not a term that’s used directly by the characters in Francesco Rizzi’s accomplished debut feature, but the notion of elision infuses the entire story.

Rizzi’s film is about two people, a man and a woman, who have a tangential connection to the kind of concerns that most of us have. Frequently wearing a false moustache and seemingly living in a van, Michael (Vinicio Marchioni) is a man whose occupation is deliberately obscured. Is he a hit-man, a thief, a personal shopper, a serial–killer, what? This man’s furtive manner, his strange behaviour helps keep the audience on edge, particular once he meets the equally elusive Anna (Sabine Timoteo).

It’s not quite a meeting cute, as Michael is waiting in his van outside of her house, but his motives towards her remain obscure for most of the film. She is widowed, vulnerable, insomniac, and has her own complex issues, but the relationship between the two is constantly fascinating, often hard to pin down as they both slip through different characters and identities against an unfamiliar background of mundane Swiss locations.

Cronofobia has a little of Christopher Nolan’s The Following, but the gleaming visuals and edgy mood have an energy all of their own, and the central performances are striking. Rizzi’s film was something of a find on the festival circuit (screenings in Locarno and Rhode Island followed on from Edinburgh and Tallin) back in 2018/9, marking him out as a fresh and original talent who creates something personal and poetic from the most cryptic and anonymous of situations.