Review of Amores Perros (2000) by Trevor W — 28 Jan 2014

*Thumbs Up!*.

Warning, if you love dogs and hate to see them get harmed in any fashion, stay away from this film. You'll regret it sorely. Amores Perros is my first stop on Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's trilogy of death. It is the first film of the trilogy. The others are 21 Grams and Babel, which I'm highly anticipating since this film was amazing. The film is often referred to as the Mexican version of Pulp Fiction, and I can definitely see where the line is met. Both films are told in non-linear functions while also switching to a different story. However, I think it resembles more of a Crash-esque feel, due to the fact that it's all connected through an accident. However, unlike the very moronic Crash, Amores Perros is not an exercise to sit through.

3 people's lives all connect through one car accident. Octavio, a middle classman who falls to the clutches of infidelity, lives in an apartment with his brother. He loves his brother's wife and begins an affair. They plot on running away with each other and leave Octavio's brother behind. However, Octavio doesn't have enough money to provide the escape. With his back against the wall, Octavio falls into the deep ring of dog fighting. In another part of Mexico, Daniel abandons his family to be with a model named Valeria. All is going great until Valeria loses her leg in a car accident. Soon, Valeria is beginning to lose her beauty, scaring Daniel. In another part of Mexico, there is a homeless man by the name of El Chivo. He is hired to hunt down and kill a man for money. However, he is interrupted by a car accident. All 3 stories are interconnected through this, and that is their only connection.

Director Alejandro Inarritu is the true star of this film, mainly due to the shots he creates during this film. He definitely took a couple lessons from Tarantino while having a hint of Pasolini thrown into the shots. The world he creates in this film is dark, brutal, and very depressing. It may affect viewers who have a soft spot for dogs very much because, well, many dogs die throughout the film. The many dogs' death felt very realistic. It attracted a pretty huge controversy over the very realistic deaths. If it's any consolation to those who watch, the dogs were not killed. Though the soft hearted ones might not fare well with this, those willing to watch will be amazed. In hindsight, this film is not much of a disrespectful view of life, but rather, a statement that life should be celebrated. The three characters El Chivo, Octavio, and Valeria are all 3 very different people. El Chivo represents the lower class of Mexico. Octavio represents the middle class. And Valeria is the upper class. There is severe segregation throughout the country, separating all 3 of them from actually interacting. If it weren't for the accident, they would never meet. The upperclass is victimized in Amores Perros even when they are the ones perpetuating crime, for instance, El Chivo is hired to kill a man's business partner and eventually decides to leave both men to fight it out themselves. Although Ramiro works at a grocery store, he also participates in the underground economy by committing robberies. Octavio, and El Chivo participate in the underground Mexican economy as well, in order to secure untaxed income and bring stability to their lives.

Amores Perros is a strange, strange film indeed. And the dog fighting sequences are pretty tough to sit through at times, especially with the brutal realism. However, what really drives this film home is the focus on characters over plot. Now, I love when films have great stories, but if they have useless characters, then I can't get into the film. Props to Guillermo Arriaga Jordan for the script because this film truly wouldn't have been good if someone else wrote it. All the characters were tragic in their own sense. Octavio, who I felt the most sorrow for, loved the woman he had, only to be wronged by her. Inarritu, rather than telling you, shows you the terrible consequences of infidelity. He doesn't restrain anything back and while the message is handed heavily, it works for the best in the end. It works mainly cause if you handle tough material with too much care *cough* Crash *cough*, it comes off terribly.

Overall, Amores Perros is a very brutal, realistic film. Dog lovers or people with weak stomachs better stay away because it can get a little too rough at times. However, with all the Hollywood BS that we've been given for the past decade, we need a little gritty film, with no restraints. The film is masterfully shot by Inarritu. I really hope 21 Grams and Babel can live up to the high standard set by this film. The script from Guillermo Jordan is wonderful, creating tragic and likable characters. The acting was great all around, especially Gael Garcia Bernal's portrayal of Octavio. It gives off a Pulp Fiction feel, only if Pulp Fiction was more realistic. That's not to say Pulp Fiction sucks or is inferior to this film because it isn't. It's actually the opposite of that. While feeling unfortunately inferior to Tarantino's film and to some of Pasolini's, Amores Perros provides us with a great addition to thesse non-linear films.