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AMORES PERROS Send This Review to a Friend
At the outset, a disclaimer assures audiences that no dogs were injured in making "Amores Perros," which is smart, because in this dynamic new film from Mexico there are vicious simulated dogfights that can be off-putting. But such violence is endemic to a film that unflinchingly portrays Mexico City life the way excitingly talented director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu sees it.
"Amores Perros," which was showcased by the New York Film Festival and was an Oscar competitor among foreign language films, takes off from a harrowing car crash, and through interlocking flashbacks traces the lives of those involved. The film has amazing energy, and even though there are some rough spots, the total impact heralds the breakthrough of an important directorial talent. It has justifiably churned enthusiasm and won acclaim.
Gael Garcia Bernal is appealing as Octavio, who falls in love with his brother's wife Susana (Vanessa Bauche) and can't stand the way he has been treating her. He schemes to raise money in hope that she will run off with him. Another section of the criss-crossing events deals with Daniel (Alvaro Guerrero), who leaves his family to move in with Valeria (Goya Toledo), an exquisite young advertising model. The most fascinating character is El Chivo (Emilio Echevarria), who has been a revolutionary and is hired as a hit man.
An undercurrent of violence permeates the film, whether it surfaces in bloodshed or relationships, and the dogfights run by a crass entrepreneur become a metaphor for the dog-eat-dog atmosphere that is shown to prevail among certain strata in the turbulent city. Most of this works very well, although a sequence with a cute pet dog that is lost under the floorboards of the apartment shared by Daniel and Valeria runs on much too long to be logical.
The whirlwind of a film makes a powerful impression, both in its cynical viewpoint and its character portrayal, and using a screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga, Inarritu has done a distinctive, jolting job.
Meeting with press in New York, Inarritu spoke of the extent of violence in every day life in Mexico City and that the chance of being assaulted is so great that nearly everyone has had such an experience or knows someone who has been a victim. "When you go out in Mexico City you don't know if you'll return at night." That may seem extreme, but at any rate, this is the sort of atmosphere that the film projects.
The director lucked out in the casting of Bernal as Octavio, as he is a handsome 22-year-old actor with much charisma. It is his first feature. When he visited New York to talk to the press, he described going to special training centers for dogs. "We learned how to handle these dogs, especially when they become angry." But he stressed that in the film scenes the dogs were playing. "I'm proud of this film," he added. "It means a lot for Latin America because this is our story and we are telling it in Spanish." A Lions Gate Films release.
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