Amores Perros (2000)

75.

★★★★★

Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Written by: Guillermo Arriaga
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal and Goya Toledo

Amores Perros (which translates to ‘Love’s a bitch’) opens with Octavio (Garcia Bernal) caught in a high speed chase with a dog bleeding to death in the backseat. Guns fire, Octavio speeds through a red light, and we collide into the stories of two other characters who become involved in the scene of the car accident. It’s an opening like you’ve never seen before, and the rest of the film is just as satisfying and spellbinding.

Octavio and his piggy bank

Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2001 Academy Awards, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros is a compelling ride into the curious lives of characters whose desperation and unique situations capture our attention, imagination, and empathy. As Amores Perroscrosses into different shades of emotional terrain – divided into the three stories of the characters like three short films, tied together by the car accident – Alejandro González Iñárritu proves to be a master in projecting atmospheres and emotional states through powerful visual and dramatic language . The effect on the audience is not only deeply felt, but also deeply engaging.

Powerful and almost hypnotic in its storytelling, Amores Perros deserves to be one of the most talked about films in film criticism and theory.