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Amores perros (2000)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
3/15
3/15:
Technique-wise, 2004's Crash is a rip-off of Amores perros (Spanish for
Love's a Bitch) which is also a rip-off of Pulp Fiction.
Since it's a drama anthology, there are three vignettes which converge to a single point, namely the car accident. Only one,
that is "Octavio y Susana," is worth watching and should've been the whole film. The other two are a waste of time.
My take is it's a movie about dumb characters who make idiotic decisions while embarrassing themselves continually, no
matter what. There's imbalance throughout that becomes more noticeable after a lot of time has been spent on "Octavio y Susana."
After telling the story of "Daniel y Valeria," Alejandro Iñárritu begins to lose his grip on the narrative and thus fails to
make a point in the grand scheme of things. "El Chivo y Maru" is the worst as it adds nothing and can be safely discarded.
I've been constantly asking myself, "So, what's it all about? And what do the stories have to do with each other?" Perhaps
the hidden answer is: it's all about the tricks, especially when it comes to the storytelling and editing. The cinematic elements
are in place, but it's the sum of parts that don't have anything to do with each other.
During "Daniel y Valeria," the couple should've went to the hardware store and bought some plywood to cover the floor. It's
obvious they didn't care about Richie because if they did, they would've tried to get him out within the first few hours.
But they lose credibility by expressing their solicitude for the dog while prolonging the appropriate course of action. After
they rescue Richie, he appears fine and healthy with no signs of rabies. That's manipulation. Plus, none of the neighbors is
bothered by the constant barking.
"Octavio y Susana" bothers me because of the Rottweiler surviving the gunshot wound. After losing so much blood and getting
no treatment for hours, it isn't possible anymore that the dog is still alive. The sight of the old man putting a Band-Aid on
the wounded area is comical and insulting at once. So is the car accident involving three independent sets of characters who
happen to have a dog! There's no way Richie would've survived it, either.
Although the cinematography isn't bad, the shaky camera is annoying to put up with. There are many close-ups with some being
too extreme. The reason why Gael García Bernal has an extensive amount of close-ups is that he wants the world to know how pretty
his green eyes are. He's just an overrated actor with the knack of getting naked with some girl in every Mexican film I've seen.
Normally, I'll let the dogfighting scenes, however unconvincing they are, slide if they add a certain meaning to the film,
but in this case, they've been pointless. That's why the director should've stuck with "Octavio y Susana" as the main feature.
All in all, Amores perros is a ridiculous Mexican melodrama.