Review of Amores Perros (2000) by Todd P — 24 Oct 2009

An interesting and entirely involving prototype to the "hyperlink" film that's had more than its share of attention in Hollywood lately. Even though this is probably one of the quickest two and a half hours I've ever spent with a movie, I do wish that the film was created with more economy.

Obviously Amores Perros would not exist or function to its fullest if one of the three stories was abridged or removed, but the division of time between the rather large cast of main characters creates an unusual effect.

I found that though I had developed a great interest in these people, I wasn't truly connected to them, feeling more like a detached observer than someone genuinely invested in their plights. They are elegantly rendered portraits, if only through virtue of some amazing acting; Inarritu gets flawless performances out of every single one of his actors here.

It goes a long way in glossing over some of the heavier writing, such as Gael Garcia Bernal's caricaturally demonic older brother or the rather limp Abel-Cain scenario at the end. In the scope of the story he wanted to tell, I don't think Inarritu could have done much better, and overall the movie is a ringing success.

Perhaps not a masterpiece, but an exciting and unique experiment in a narrative structure that would later be beaten into the ground.