I had always heard that this was an amazing film,
and with Iñárritu's new film, 21 Grams,
getting much critical and award notoriety, I thought I would
check out his debut venture. To tell you the truth, I was expecting
to be disappointed, because quite frequently people speak very
highly of foreign films and then I see them and they're second
rate with subtitles. Being in a foreign language does not automatically
make a film good. Anyway, this film was not one of those movies.
Amores Perros tells three stories, all
connected through a single horrible car crash. After Octavio
(Gael García Bernal) enters his pet in a dogfight to
earn some much needed cash, he flees the ring in a hurry, causing
a fatal crash with another car. Valeria (Goya Toledo),
a fashion model, loses her leg as a result, and struggles to
maintain her way of life despite her new handicap. Witnissing
the whole event is a homeless man with with a soft spot for
stray dogs (Emilio Echevarría). Through the twists
and turns of life, these three souls become inseperably connected
among the millions of inhabitants of Mexico city.
The strengths of the film were definitely the
script, performances, and cinematography. Not that there were
really weaknesses, but that's what struck me as I was watching
it. The script, with its simlutaneous stories, connected through
one event, the car accident, was reminiscent of films like Pulp
Fiction, Go, and Short Cuts. The numerous
subtle crossovers of the three storylines added a necessary
life to the style and made the larger crossover points more
acceptable from a viewer's perspective.
While the film was edgy and raw, it never left
the realm of acceptability and none of the violence or disturbing
content ever felt forced or over the top, which is rare in today's
film industry. It would have been very easy for the film to
spin out of control, but Iñárritu successfully
wrangled all the elements into a perfectly cohesive entity.
His work with performers, namely Bernal (Y Tu Mamá
También) and Emilio Echevarría, was quite
impressive as well, though some of the female performances seemed
a little awkward, perticularly that of Vanessa Bauche (Susana).
I loved the handheld camerawork, even though there
were times that it became a bit too evident. I prefer non-intrusive
handheld work (think the opposite of Dogme) and for the most
part Amores Perros did this, but occasionally the line
was briefly crossed. I also thought the use of generally natural
lighting and tinting was effective. So often in these types
of films, the stylization of the look of the film overpowers
the actual images and the story they are meant to support.
I think my favorite element of the movie, though,
was how it really centered around the dogs. While each of the
three stories was an example of how "love is a bitch"
and how life does not work according to one's plans, it was
also to some extent a love affair with a canine pet (or several
in the case of El Chivo.) I thought it added a real air of humanity
to the characters and the film overall, while also making reference
to the film's title. This humanity was injected to just the
right degree that it prevented the movie from being a cathartic
grenade like the similar Requiem for a Dream of the
same year.
At the very least, this film has solidified my
desire to see 21 Grams before the Oscars next month.
At the most, it will be placed on a higher echelon than many
other foreign edgy films in my vast and expanding list of films.
Iñárritu is an artist to watch, displaying a passion
for his work evident in every frame of of Amores Perros.
Let's hope his love's no bitch and it rewards him with many
more movies of this calliber in the future.
