Review: Amores Perros

****

Dogs, of all things, are the interlinking motif that ties together the three stories in Amores Perros. They are not entirely separate (though each has its day in the sun), but rather filmed ala Pulp Fiction.

So basically, Gael Garcia Bernal plays a young man in love with his brother's wife. His brother is a bit of an asshole: he robs pharmacies, yells a lot, beats his wife, and threatens to kill his brother multiple times. So we're rooting for Gael, even if he decides his way out of this is to enter his poor puppy into intensely violent dogfights. Warning: animal lovers take heed when watching this film. Although, I am nothing if not an animal lover, and I made it through okay, largely by reminding myself that all the dead dogs were courtesy of the Prop Department. There is an explicit announcement at the beginning of the film that no animals were harmed.

Moving along, Gael gets into a bit of a car crash where he injures a famous model who happens to be having a bit of an affair. She is recovering in her apartment when her precious dog chases falls into a hole in the floorboards and mysteriously disappears. This is definitely the weakest of the three arcs, but it's not nearly as silly as it sounds, and it fits well with the general theme (more on that later).

Finally, an old homeless man collects stray dogs and goes about his business as a ... well, this part I don't want to spoil for you. Needless to say, he has a colorful past and is up to trouble now. He's on a quest to reconcile with his estranged daughter, and ends up getting involved in Gael's life along the way.

Essentially the theme of the whole thing, as I see it, is that striving for something more than you have earned (greed) will be your downfall. This is seen in"one last dogfight", the extra-marital affair, and the loss of a family. The script is nearly flawless, with a whole chunk of poignant lines and scenes. One in particular that comes to mind is the confrontation between the homeless man, his "boss", and his "job".

But the most magnificent thing about the film is the direction. The stories are mixed together with such elegance that it would have taken years for any par-level director to achieve. The film is also visually stunning. The sets are rich in detail and there are dozens of awe-inspiring shots.

The tagline for Amores Perros is "Love. Betrayal. Death." These are seen in each of the arcs, and all are executed superbly. This is one of the best films of the decade.