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Directed
by: Alejandro Gonzalez Inniaritu
Film
is Rated R for violence/gore, language and sexuality. Running
time is 153 minutes.
"Amores
Perros" (translated to be "Love's A Bitch") is just fresh
off its Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language
Film. Unfortunately, it was nominated in a year where a behemoth
of a movie called "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was also
in the running, so it had zero chance of winning. However,
"Amores Perros" is an impressive debut by Inniaritu, and Mexico
can be proud of this one.
Buy this poster!
The
film starts off with a major car collision in the streets
of Mexico City, and this becomes the unifying event that ties
in three overlapping stories. We are then slowly introduced
to each character and their situations unfold.
Octavio
(Gael Garcia Bernal) is in love with his siter-in-law Susana
(Vanessa Bauche), and with his budding and highly profitable
career in dog fighting, he plans to whisk away Susana from
her abusive and low life husband Ramiro (Marco Perez). Daniel
(Alvaro Guerrero) is a successful advertising guy who leaves
his wife and kids to be with an enchanting young model Valeria
(Goya Toledo), until something happens and Daniel is forced
to reassess his life. "El Chivo" (Emilio Echevarria) is an
ex-guerilla who gets paid to kill while disguised as a hobo,
but soon his past catches up to him. Every character is involved
in tales of love going awry, whether it be envy, loss or regret.
Many
have already compared "Amores Perros" to "Pulp Fiction" because
of its non-linear narrative and spurts of violence. Although
it's not nearly as great as the latter, this film has many
good things going for it.
The
film is rife with intense moments of brutality, yet it doesn't
forget the humanness of its characters. Their dire situations
are compounded with the troubles they have with their emotions.
Not all the characters are likable, but the stories are all
engaging and we can't help but feel sorry for their plights.
The director captures the right tone and mood for each scene,
and the cinematography is great having that nitty-gritty and
intimate look.
I
thought the movie could have used a bit more editing though
for it is a bit too long at 153 minutes, but nevertheless,
"Amores Perros" is an engrossing piece of work from a promising
director.
Mazzyboi
Mazzyboi's
Movie Reviews
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