Directed by:
Alejandro González IñárrituScreenplay:
Guillermo ArriagaCinematography:
Rodrigo PrietoComposer:
Gustavo SantaolallaCast:
Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche, Humberto Busto, Rosa María Bianchi, Adriana Barraza (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Told in three separate chapters--OCTAVIO AND SUSANA, DANIEL AND VALERIA, and EL CHIVO AND MARU--the film deals with love in the lives of several individuals residing in modern day Mexico City. Octavio (Gael Garcia Bernal) has fallen in love with his brother's wife, Susana (Vanessa Bauche). He begins entering his dog in illegal dogfights in order to save up enough money to run away with her, but eventually learns a powerful lesson when she fails to keep her word. Meanwhile, Daniel (Alvaro Guerrero) has left his wife and daughters for the gorgeous model Valeria (Goya Toledo), but when she is hurt badly in a car accident, the strain on their relationship is stretched to its limits. Finally, El Chivo (Emilio Echevarria) is an ex-revolutionary who has become a paid assassin. Saddened that he has lost all contact with his daughter, he takes one final stand when an intended act of kindness turns brutally tragic. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (9)
A debut that, despite having a few errors, as a whole is an excellent affair and mainly shows great promise for the future. If it weren’t for certain inconsistencies in the characters’ fates and no rising tension in the story, there isn’t much to criticize. In acting terms perfect, the screenplay marvelous and the director brilliant. Slightly disappointing that Iñárritu gives you the strongest moments right at the very beginning of the picture, but it doesn’t reduce the huge quality of Amores Perros overall.
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I’ve grown suspiciously fond of the type of films where various individual storylines intersect at one point. I enjoyed the film even twenty years after its creation, not even noticing its terrifyingly long runtime. I wasn't bored at all, only my original excitement was replaced by a much more sober approach (well, technically, I was sober even the first time I saw it).
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The first and most personal message from the pen of Guillermo Arriaga and the perspective of A.G. Iñárritu. The individual stories are captured and presented in a manner so tremendously experienced and substantive that together they form something quite extraordinary. They are an incredibly true and painful confession about the transience of life, happiness, love, joy, confidence, trust... The viewer has the opportunity to watch Iñárritu's mosaic toy with the unbalanced Octavio, who is desperately in love with his brother's wife and begins to make money for their future together in a less than humane and honest way, which he ends up paying for badly, or in another part, the complete emotional and physical deformation of a woman who is forced to reassess her previous priorities and, eventually, her seemingly perfect relationship with a married man, which is put to a very severe test. In the last piece of the mosaic, we follow the efforts of an old, unhappy, and emotionally empty man to rebuild his relationship with his daughter, while at the same time re-evaluating his previous life and desperately trying to make amends and reconcile two brothers who wanted to have each other murdered. Money, hatred, calculation, and desperation figure in everything here. Iñárritu tells a beautiful but ruthless and hard-hitting story of human emotion, love, and betrayal. Amores Perros is, for me, one of the most sophisticated and satisfying dramas ever made.
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Iñárritu has directing down to a science again, interweaving a trio of intricate stories with such dexterity as if he's been doing nothing but running with a camera through the urban jungle since birth. I can only point out to two big weaknesses in this outing, namely that he plays too much for effect in some places, giving up his captivating authenticity as a result, and then things get quite boring at the end and, due to the exorbitant runtime, there’s nothing that would break the viewer out of their lethargy. I liked the first two stories and generally enjoyed how beautifully everything was working out for Alejandro, but on the other hand I was very disappointed that the most interesting passage about the hitman went completely to waste, as did the attempt at emotional softening at the end. It's a very good film no doubt, probably worth the 150 minutes, but nothing groundbreaking or outright unusual. At least it showed what an untouchable ruler Pulp Fiction is in this circle of films. 75%
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I consider the first story to be an example of perfect filmmaking craftsmanship and I considered Alejandro González Iñárritu a genius while I watched it, someone whom I would confidently entrust any subject because his visual ideas and alternation of contrasts are absolutely flawless. My enthusiasm faded after the remaining two stories, which are not bad, just not as disturbing or captivating for the viewer's senses as the first one, and instead focus on gradual psychological development of the characters. Unfortunately, most of the time it's a bit too gradual, and almost tedious.
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