Amores perros was released on June 16, 2000 in Mexico, priemiering at Cannes on May 14 of the same year, and is the first film in director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's trilogy of death (the other two films are 21 Grams and Babel). It was written by Guillermo Arriaga, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Vanessa Bauche, Alvaro Guerrero, Goya Toledo, and Emilio Echevarria.
I was interested in this film, because I wanted to see more foerign films, as I said in my review of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This time, the film was Mexican, not Chinese. I literally knew nothing about the film, aside from the fact that it was Mexican. However, two days before watching it, I heard that it had dogfights in it, and I became worried. While I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm an animal lover to the extent of PETA, I do genuinely care about animals, and it hurts me to see them in pain. This film has brutal dogfights.
Within 10 minutes, I wanted to put this film off. Just because of the dogfights. They were harsh, they made me hurt, and quite frankly, they were rather brilliant. Despite it being hard to watch, I found myself emotionally invested in this film, because of how hard it was to watch. I was almost crying at many points, and not just from the dogfights. Very rarely has a film gotten me this emotionally invested, and due to that, I applaud this film as the best film I have seen so far. And if you're wondering if the dogfights are the only stuff that got me emotionally invested, it isn't. All across the film, the film makes you wince with pain, feel for the characters more than you've ever felt before, and genuinely enjoy this film.
The film has three parts: Octavio y Susana, Daniel y Valeria, and El Chivo y Maru. In the first part, we meet Octavio and Susana. Susana is Octavio's sister-in-law, and Octavio is in love with her. In order to make enough money to run away with her, he joins the dogfighting world. In the second part, we meet Daniel and Valeria. Daniel is a magazine publisher who left his wife and two daughters to be with Valeria, a supermodel. In the third part, we meet El Chivo and Maru. El Chivo is a hitman, who pretends to be a homeless man, and Maru is his estranged daughter, who he hasn't seen since she was two years old. They are all connected (except for Maru, who has a very small role in the film) by a car crash that opens the film, and changes the lives of all characters.
The things that really make this film brilliant are the acting, the writing, and the cinematography. The acting from all actors is brilliant, particularly Alvaro Guerrero and Goya Toledo, who play Daniel and Valeria. Due to the car accident, something very serious happens to this couple, and you see their relationship initially in strong hands. Their love is strong. But as time goes on, you see their relationship becoming more strained. It's great acting. You can see them become more annoyed with each other, and eventually starting to loath each other. It's absolutely brilliant. The writing is also a big factor in this, which is great all around. All of the main characters (Octavio, Valeria, and El Chivo) own dogs that they deeply love. Their dogs are their best friends. It's a great way to connect all the characters, aside from the crash. But in particular, I think the cinematography is the greatest thing about this film. It consists of a bunch of long shots that follow the characters wherever they go. I don't know how to describe it, but it just works. The cinematography in this film is some of the best I've seen, just because of the long shots. It made me feel more emotional about the film, and made me care about it so much more. I can't explain why, it just did.
Overall, Amores perros was absolutely brilliant, but extremely tough to watch. As I already said, I wanted to turn it off in the first 10 minutes, but stuck through. I can only recommend this film if you really want to see it, and are 110% sure you can handle it. It's extremely tough. Overall, this film earns a score of 10/10, and so far, it is the best film of this list I have seen. This film earns a Seal of Brilliance, and is the first to do so. Congratulations, # 492, Amores perros, you have earned a Seal of Brilliance.
Next time, I'm watching Ben-Hur, the Biblical epic starring Charlton Heston, and winner of most Academy Awards (11, tied with Titanic and Return of the King).
No comments:
Post a Comment