Amores Perros Review
by SSG Syndicate (Ssg722 AT aol DOT com)April 26th, 2001
http://www.susangranger.com/
Susan Granger's review of "AMORES PERROS" (Lions Gate Films)
This entry in Oscar's Best Foreign Film category lost to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but it's an amazing breakthrough for Mexican cinema. Beginning with a catastrophic car crash in the center of Mexico City, it spins into a trilogy of tales about those involved - and their dogs! In "Octavio and Susana," a young punk (Gael Garcia Bernal) wants to raise money to run off with his abused, pregnant sister-in-law (Vanessa Bauche) by entering his pet mutt in hideously brutal, bloody dog-fights. In "Daniel and Valeria," a businessman (Alvaro Guerro) leaves his wife and family for a beautiful supermodel (Goya Toledo) whom the crash turns into a paraplegic and, while she's convalescing in a fancy loft, her pampered toy poodle vanishes under the floorboards, where he's threatened by rats. And in "El Chivo and Maru," an elderly, itinerant assassin (Emilio Echevarria) adopts a wounded Rottweiler. First-time director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga are obsessed with the fero cious cruelty of human nature, illustrated by the various reasons that the cars are at that intersection at exactly that time. And, clearly, they have been influenced by the grim realism of Quentin Tarantino, particularly "Pulp Fiction." Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto's shaky camerawork conveys a feverish immediacy, while the eclectic soundtrack, masterminded by Gonzales who was in the music business before making movies, mixes Mexican rap with the cries of Celia Cruz. Running three hours in length, it cou ld use judicious editing, and the title means "Love's a Bitch." On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Amores Perros" is a compelling, savage 8. It's obvious why it won the Grand Prize at Cannes Critics Week but it's not recommended for those who are repelled by violence.
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