Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo
An amateur dog fighter, a supermodel, and a derelict assassin, all separately struggling to find love, find their lives transformed by a devastating car wreck in Mexico City.
‘Amores Perros’ tells three stories that interconnect. The first story is called ‘Octavio and Susana’. Susana is married to Ramiro, who works at a supermarket. To provide for them he robs stores. Ramiro’s brother, Octavio, lives with them. When Susana accidentally lets Ramiro’s dog Cofi out, Cofi kills Poncho – a fighter dog owned by Jarocho. Realizing Cofi’s capabilities, Octavio starts dog fighting with Cofi. (Many of these scenes will be too sensitive for dog lovers, as it was for me, even if shown merely for a few seconds). Octavio is secretly in love with Susana and – with Susana being ill-treated by Ramiro – Octavio asks Susana to run away with him. There are a few unexpected twists, though.
The second story is called ‘Daniel and Valeria’. Caught in a loveless marriage, Daniel is having an affair with model Valeria. When he eventually leaves his wife and buys an apartment for him and Valeria so they can finally be together, a car accident leaves Valeria seriously injured, causing her sponsors to cancel her modelling contract. With tension rising between them – being aggravated by Valeria’s dog being stuck under the floor boards! – their newfound freedom proves to be anything but the happy life they were hoping for.
The third story is ‘El Chivo and Maru’. El Chivo might look like a hobo – with a love for dogs – but there is more to him than meets the eye. We discover him and his wife separated years ago, telling their daughter, Maru, he was dead, but now El Chivo is trying to make contact with Maru again. As it turns out, El Chivo is a hitman, and pursuing his next target.
All these stories and characters interlink throughout the film. Prepare yourself, though, this is no feel-good movie. On the contrary, it is quite depressing, but it is a good film. Each story takes unexpected turns, and the film captured my attention from beginning to end.
‘Amores Perros’ earned $20.9 million on a budget of $2.4 million. It received 79 award nominations, winning 55 including Best Editing, Best Special Effects, Best Make-Up, Best Set Design, Best Cinematography, Best Actor in a Minor Role, Best Director, Best Film, and Best Screenplay. It received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
In Spanish.
Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.
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