Review of Amores Perros (2000) by James H — 27 Apr 2013

What can I say? Pretty much all of the characters have hated qualities about them, and it gets tough to care. However, Inarritu pulls it off. The title couldn't be more perfect (or maybe it could be called Everyone's a Bitch?).

It really makes you focus on the dog side stories. The fighting, getting lost, and killing; each had something to do with the characters they were paired with. I felt most compassionate towards the "homeless" man.

I felt like Bernal's character was mostly a misogynistic jerk. He claims to love his brother's wife, but what does he do when he finally has that moment to show he cares about her? He puts his hand up her skirt then has sex with her! No true emotion whatsoever.

Perhaps he was just jealous that his brother got someone he was once interested in, so he had to pursue her until she was his? It was really hard for me to care for his character after putting his dog through the fights then pulling that crap.

Overall the movie was written and directed beautifully. The second part with the model doesn't seem to flow as well as the other two stories. If I could change one thing, I would have taken out the title cards.

We don't need to know the two people we are about to focus on; let us figure that out ourselves. But this movie features characters that are real, actors who put on great performance, great cinematography, and a beautiful score.

I'm just not too sure if it flows well enough.