Film: Amores Perros
Release date: 24th September 2001
Certificate: 18
Running time: 154 mins
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico
Three un-connected stories collide when a car crash in Mexico City changes the lives of everyone involved. The debut of young director Alejandro González Iñárritu, the film won the BAFTA award for Best Film Not In The English Language, despite originally being labeled “un-releasable” in the UK. In an exploration of human suffering in three different walks of life, Iñárritu uses the protagonists’ relationships with their dogs to symbolize their common struggles and fall from grace.
The first of the three interwoven stories follows young working-class Octavo, played by Gael García Bernal, as he watches his older brother, Ramiro, mistreat his young wife and neglect their baby. All living together in the same house, Octavo’s sense of chivalry takes over and he decides to rescue Susana (Vanessa Bauche) and her child. To do so, he needs money, and gets himself involved with underground dog fighting, whilst secretly pursuing a relationship with Susana behind his brother’s back. Things do not go as planned, however, and a spiraling set of events land him in a car chase which causes the plot-central accident, triggering the other two narratives. This film was Bernal’s big break that led to projects such as Y Tu Mamá También, making him a popular Mexican poster boy. He has now acted in six Oscar-nominated films.
The second story follows Daniel (Alvaro Guerrero) and Valeria (Goya Toledo). Daniel is a successful man who leaves his wife and children to live with Valeria, a supermodel, in a new apartment he’s bought for them. The apartment faces a billboard with Valeria on it, and though at first their love seems genuine, their life is soon broken down and shown as superficial. Valeria is injured in the car accident, putting her in a wheelchair, whilst her dog Richie gets lost down a hole in the apartment floor. Their harmonious life begins to fray apart as these struggles put their relationship to the test.
The final story follows El Chivo (Emilio Echevarría), an ex-guerilla who now works as a hitman. Surrounded by his dogs, El Chivo is bitter and disenchanted with life, having lost his family when he chose to fight for his cause. Now, without the cause, he has nothing. We see him long for redemption in the form of reconciliation with his daughter, whilst meanwhile handling a hit on a powerful businessman. This storyline is very different to the other two, and as El Chivo watches the affects of a violent life upon his dogs, it leads him to search his soul about which life he will chose to lead…
Amores Perros has been dubbed by some as the Mexican Pulp Fiction, both because of its interweaving narratives that take us back and forth in time, and also because of its dark tones and controversial scenes. The dogfight scenes, in particular, raised concerns with censors, and extensive investigations had to be made due to their disturbing realism. However, this concern only raised the film’s notoriety, and after the scenes were deemed lawful, it helped contribute to the film’s success.
This comparison with Pulp Fiction is misleading. Do not expect any of Tarrantino’s sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek violence; Amores Perros is a gritty, challenging film that tests audiences both with its length, as well as it’s bare, up-close portrayal of suffering. The colours are as muted as the story is bleak, with close-up shots drawing the audience in to the claustrophobia of the character’s situations, particularly noticeable in settings such as Octavo’s crowded, tension-filled home. It rarely lets up, but in a film as well-written and well-executed as this, the journey is gripping and well worth the ride.
The film’s strongest points are its authenticity and its symbolism. It manages to be an emotive piece of socio-realism cinema, whilst at the same time delivering a moral to each story, neatly reflected by the fate of that story’s dog. This is a premise that could sound too kitsch to work in such a grim film, but is in fact similar to a classic storytelling technique in Mexican cinema – that of magic realism, where the real world is seen side by side with the fantastical and fairytale like. The use of dogs as a mirror to the corruption of their humans plays off of their innocence, similar to del Torro’s frequent use of a silent, observant child (Pan’s Labyrinth or Cronos). Their innocence is a foil to the protagonists’ flawed behaviour, and as this corruption affects the blank canvas of the dogs, it shocks both their owners and the audience.
The quality of the acting and scripting allow this technique to be used without softening the tone of the movie, by giving such a believable, life-like delivery. The entire cast deliver strong performances, working alongside the grungy mise-en-scène and often hand-held camerawork to give the audience an awkward sense of voyeurism. This makes the violence and suffering all the more harrowing, and twists such as the interesting turns in El Chivo’s story all the more thrilling. Echevarría’s performance is one of the strongest in the film, communicating with very few words, and often holding the screen alone. Subtle, skilled acting was required to evoke sympathy for an easily condemnable character, and being the third segment of the film, it is vital that the audience care for him and are taken in by his conflicts and changes. Vanessa Bauche also tackled an important role, portraying another morally grey character that the audience needs to care for, so that we’re with Octavo in his efforts to save Susana.
Academy Award winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla’s (Babel, Brokeback Mountain) score is beautifully delicate, and often moving, being both edgy yet understated, skillfully picking up on the mournful emotions of the characters. These few, brilliant tracks are intercut with various international artists, many of whom contribute eclectic rap or club music, picked out by former-DJ Iñárritu. This creates a soundtrack of contrasts, communicating the characters’ struggle to succeed in a dangerous world, as well as the quiet hurt secretly felt by all in it, which marries it to the tone of Amores Perros perfectly.
Some criticize the disjointed nature of Amores Perros’ narrative, following three minor plotlines instead of one fully fleshed narrative, but it is in the comparison of these three narratives that we get the sociological statement. Three very different groups of people are shown to be equally vulnerable as well as equally flawed, and essentially equally human – something which connects us all despite how far apart we can seem. This challenging of the class system is a common feature in Mexican cinema. However, touching though this sentiment is, it can feel disjointed to watch - each story is told too much in isolation, in long, separate sections instead of frequently cutting back and forth. Though this does make them easier to follow, the audience gets too settled into one story and can then feel culture shocked each time it changes. This can also make the length of the movie hard for some to digest. Yet, this film shows Iñárritu’s talent through consistent production quality and some creative and innovative direction. For example, the opening car scene instantly draws us into the chaos with its confusing, hectic nature, fading volume and image in and out to disorient us as much as the characters. Though the film could arguably benefit from some editing, no scenes are excess or weak links in the chain (with the possible exception of the slightly too comedic cries of “Richie” when the wheelchair-bound model loses her dog). Overall, this is an experience of consistent quality.
Trapping us from the get-go, Iñárritu takes us on an uncomfortable, but also touching journey. Whether you want characters to care for or getting pumped on action, something you can analyze or just a score to jam to, Amores Perros delivers a strong hand. It’s a stunning debut for a director, and a must-see for students and film enthusiasts. Not something to stick on if you want a nice easy evening in, but definitely a film that will stay with you. If you enjoy the bittersweet over the saccharin, watch it – you won’t be asking for the time back again. AIB
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