Alejandro Inarritu's "Amores perros" was the opening film of a film festival held here a few months back. There was a good number of filmgoers who attended, but the film actually started late (about 7: 45 pm, from the supposed-to-be 7: 00 pm---it was alright, for I also came in late) . The film ran for about two-and-a-half hours, but there was never a single moment where I felt my eyes to be already asking for one good snooze. This Oscar-nominee for Best Foreign-Language Film is so powerful, so moving and so gritty that to divert your attention from it even for a few seconds would be a big mistake (the Academy Award jurors had already committed one by giving the "bald man" to Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") .

In essence, "Amores perros" contains three stories; though the characters (there are two brothers who become rivals for the love of one woman; there is an ad model who suddenly loses her "market value" because of an accident; and there is an unkempt and odd hitman who is abandoned by his family) move within the same urban landscape, they in fact have nothing to do with one another---they appear as total strangers to each other as is common in a cityscape. They have their own stories to tell---except for that fatal car accident at a city intersection which becomes their "common fate." That accident was actually "triggered" by the dog owned by one of the brothers (Octavio) , as he and his friend were on a rush to bring it to the hospital after it was shot during a dogfight.

The fateful incident brings each of the characters to a re-examination and readjustment of their lives, making decisions that, whether they intended the outcome or not, would ultimately help them in finding meaning in themselves and their situation: for Octavio, that an adulterous love can't really go through, even if the feelings are sincere and affectionate---what can be of help for the moment is to live on one's own; for the model (Valeria) , that the value of one's being can't be measured in terms of the glitter and glamour of a commercial and material enterprise, for they're only momentary and superficial---what can really mold her being is the love and companionship offered by the man closest to her; and for the hitman (El Chivo) , that the fatherly love he can show to his only daughter is his one remaining redemption.

And this, while they are all affectionately tied to their dogs!

A non-linear narrative, an alert and nervous hand-held camerawork, a gritty photography, a well-written script and first-rate performances---plus the dogs---all these serve the film well.

And the reply? "God can laugh, but I still have my plans."

Is God laughing at the characters in "Amorres Perros?" They all fail in love, don't they? Octavio loves his brother Ramiro's wife, but does he confuse love and sex? Daniel leaves his wife and daughters for the shallow model Valeria. Chiva, the revolutionary failed miserably, and regretted leaving his family... Gustavo who would pay to have his half brother murdered... Dogs tie the characters, and the scenes of the movie together.

It's violent, bloody and emotional. It was hard to watch, especially at first. The car crash is very realistic, and they don't skimp on blood. If you love dogs, then the fight scenes are difficult. But they are staged, I believe that, and I saw the short clips where they explain how they staged those scenes.

It's a very good movie, and it differs in the realism and the violence, from most American movies. If you aren't afraid of reading subtitles, then the movie is very easy to follow and understand. Comparisons won't do justice to "Amores Perros," but its style is similar to "Pulp Fiction," especially the scene in the beginning with all the blood in the car, the car crash itself, the inter-relation of the scenes and seemingly unrelated characters, and finally the use of music. But nowhere does "Amores Perros" try to be as cool as "Pulp Fiction." I say give it a chance, know what you are getting into, and accept the movie as fiction and the violence as staged.

If 5 was perfect, I could give it a 4, with a caveat that the violence in the film can be unsettling if you are not prepared for it.

No matter how many critics call Amores Perros a masterpiece, no matter how many viewers shower it with adoration, it will never make the actual movie any better or any less boring. The film attempts to be something of a Mexican Pulp Fiction (1994), but director Alejandro González Iñárritu is not Quentin Tarantino and Amores Perros is not even close to the quality of Pulp Fiction. Tarantino's masterpiece has an all-star cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, John Travolta, and Uma Thurman. The dialogue is incredibly witty, very funny, and the characters are compelling, interesting, and seem real. The plot and pacing are wonderful as the various threads of the story come together with marvelous ease. Amores Perros lacks any of the elements of greatness than Pulp Fiction has in abundance.

Picking apart exactly what is wrong with Amores Perros seems the best way to explain why it fails utterly at providing entertainment, at becoming an artistic masterpiece, at providing useful commentary, or at anything else that movies are supposed to do. The primary problem is the editing and pace, which are really horrible. The film is more than two-and-a-half hours long and it honestly is slower than watching the seasons change. It is one of the most boring films ever made. The first story, about Octavio and Valeria, seems to be pretty good at least, but the middle act is atrocious. The acting is terrible, the dialogue is painful, and it looks just like what someone might find while flipping channels past the Mexican station during the daytime soap operas. The ugly scenery and depressing atmosphere just make the film all the more boring and nearly impossible to watch.

Most significantly, the three stories really have nothing at all to do with each other. Nobody, even people who love the movie, can argue that the characters lives are delicately intertwined or that somehow their stories are all supposed to be told together. It just is not true. The stories are only tied together by the freak car accident, where all of the primary characters are present. The idea of starting a movie with a scene that connects the storylines and repeats several times throughout the film is not at all unique. As mentioned, Pulp Fiction already used that device and is just a far superior film. Snatch (2000) also had a similar feel to Pulp Fiction and succeeds because of its exceptionally strong screenplay and acting, which are two aspects critical to the success of a movie such as Amores Perros, but neither are present.

The violence and gore shown in Amores Perros are also pretty disturbing, specifically the opening scene, which is just gruesome. The first act of the movie also contains numerous scenes of dogs fighting each other to the bloody death while people place bets on the outcome. The gratuitous sex scenes and extremely high total of swear words do not add to the film, either. Instead of creating atmosphere and adding to the realism of the movie, which is what the swearing and violence accomplishes in Pulp Fiction, it seems just totally overdone in Amores Perros.

The movie is also guilty of not having an intriguing plot because the characters are all pretty ordinary and their stories are not interesting. Nothing of significance really happens in the entire film. Another problem is lack of humor in the film, which really drove both Snatch and Pulp Fiction, even in scenes that are not as meaningful. Amores Perros is a candidate for worst film of the new decade. If Amores Perros is all Mexico can offer, stick with real masterpieces such as the Chinese Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).

How unpleasant? Because of the film's graphic dogfight scenes, The Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals filed a complaint to the British Board of Film Classification. Now, a disclaimer stating that no animals were harmed in the making of the movie comes at the beginning instead of being buried in the end credits. This is to assure audiences in advance that the dogs aren't tearing each other to shreds.

This might be reassuring if the movie wasn't so well made. Movies should convince us of the content, and "Amores Perros" does. The dogfights look so real, the animals might as well be ripping the flesh off each other's backs. We don't want to submit ourselves to such horrific images.

Many praised this movie for its relentless audacity and perverse nature. Why? Just because an artist takes risks doesn't mean he deserves acclaim. We all should encourage filmmakers to try new things and explore unique subjects. But sometimes an experiment fails. This is one of those times.

The movie opens with a car chase. Two lowlifes dodge heavy traffic, escaping several dangerous thugs. As the passengers shout obscenities, a dog bleeds to death in the back seat. The scene concludes when the driver smashes into another vehicle at high speeds. This accident forever changes the lives of those involved.

We cut to a scene where more lowlifes gamble at a dogfight. Their dog tears the other dog to pieces. Soon afterward, we are happy to learn that another dog has killed their beast. What kind of movie evokes this kind of pleasure?

Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu inventively structured his film by overlapping and intersecting several narratives. Throughout the 153 minutes (!), we meet the characters who were in the car crash. Although the film does get progressively interesting as each of three scenarios reveal something new about the story as a whole, the gritty nature of the production makes it anything but fun to watch.

In English, the title means "Love's a Bitch." This movie doesn't justify those words. It certainly shows the downside (way down) of life, but it wouldn't know love-or emotion in general-if it bit it in the nose. It's about behavior beyond reason. Reaction without impulse. For a movie to portray separation from love, it needs to know what love really is.

When two people have sex, it's raw and cold. Yet an uplifting melody fills the soundtrack. "Amores Perros" doesn't know a thing about passion. This director obviously has a big grudge against the world. If filming his aggression helps him work out these issues, that's fine. But why expose the rest of the world to this brutal therapy?

Perhaps I'm too hard on the film. It's engaging at points. Its themes gradually take solid form. It's obvious Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is a talented, fearless filmmaker. The movie leaves us with a lot to chew on. By the end, we are oddly touched and amazed how everything fits together, but we don't know what to make of it all.

Before I saw this film, I thought of myself as a fan of Gael Garcia Bernal. Now I just don't know. I had seen Y Tu Mama Tambien a few days before & just adored Bernal. So I rented Amores Perros, and I was DEVASTATED! There was not a single character that I liked, and the whole movie upset my stomach. That it upset my stomach should say quite a bit, as I have watched "Last House on the Left" more times than I can count. The only redeeming feature of the film is its innovative storytelling. All the characters are doomed and unsympathetic. At no time did I truly understand the characters, nor did I want to. This has got to be the most joyless piece of cinema I have ever seen. In general I love foreign film, but not this tripe dressed up as art. I have read other's comments and find it shocking that this sort of ultraviolence and cruelty to animals is acceptable. I give it a 1 out of 10, only because of the narrative element I mentioned earlier.

In a season of several mediocre movies, it's nice to have a movie like this lying around. Amores Perros, or "Love's a Bitch" (I though perros was dog in Spanish), is a excellent if sometimes unnerving foreign film that may have a not too original formula (the different stories is similar from Pulp Fiction, Traffic and Magnolia, not that those movies are mediocre) but is original with it's elements.

It tells three stories- 1 of a guy who uses his brother's dog in dog fights and falls in love with his sister in law; a model gets in a car crash (the crash re-appears at times and is the end point for part 1) and has to recuperate and find her dog which falls under the floor boards; and 3, a story of an old hitman who will do one final job before seeking redemption. The characters sometimes pop up in each others stories, but this is in no way to make it conventional and the acting is superb to match. Sometimes hard to swallow (some animal lovers will find horror in the dog fight scenes), but overall a unique achievement in the new millennium of film, in particular for Mexican film. Also, the best Mexican film I've seen since El Mariachi. A+

Maybe for most of you, people outside third-world countries like Mexico or Colombia, my home, movies like this one are only representations of another world... something away from you. My city, medellin, is one of the most dangerous cities on the world. Mexico city can be as dangerous as medellin. I'm not talking about politics. maybe you haven't lived violence as near as I have, but I'm gonna tell you something, that is the main reason I voted 9 this movie: Amores perros is not fiction. Its a perfect peep to what life is here. We have expensive models that go to stupid TV shows, we have dog fighting, we have Mercedes, we have old trucks, we have killers, businessmen, we feel love, we have houses... our life, as you can see in the movie, isn't as different as you think. Amores perros can show you that life is not easy here. but that's it. What you saw is thousands of people life. that's why it's so magic to you. You're seeing what you will never live there, in London, new york, Seattle, Paris, Berlin... reality is weirder than fiction... see it on amores perros, and you'll believe me... live it here, and no movie will surprise you.

This film is based around a car accident, told by three different perspectives in three different stories. Each story is told by one (or two) of the people who were involved directly and indirectly in the accident. Like in Kieslowski's films, in each story we see the characters of the other two.

Bitter love and betrayal is everywhere in this film. Octavio, the young boy desperately in love with his brother's wife. He saves money to run away with her (but in the end she runs away with his brother and the money). The young and beautiful model who loses a leg as a result of the crash and tries to get used to her new life and condition (and as a result gets mean to her lover, a married man who left his wife and children for her sake). The old hit-man, who as a result of his activities got jailed and lost contact with his wife and daughter (and bitterly regretted it in the end).

Amores Perros is well filmed, fast scenes and some equally fast music, and very thoughtfully arranged. It will make you see Mexican film-making from a different perspective...

Been reading the comments posted... To all the viewers who angrily ask "what is all the excitement about?" (or questions along those lines) I here now have an answer: It's about life in the core of the largest city on the planet. That's all, but of course, if you've never been in Mexico City I can see how understanding this film can be tough.

The problem is that we are so used to watching commercial Hollywood productions that only serve the purpose of entertainment (if at all) that we forget there's an entire world out there where LIFE is different and where the movie industry has very limited funds. This film does a superb job at portraying real lives (read it again: REAL) in Mexico City. This is Gonzalez-Inarritu's gift to us. When countries that are not particularly known for they film industry come up with something like AMORES PERROS, it is my opinion we should simply rejoice. (For a list of -the very few- good Mexican films please see my comment on "Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN".)

Let us be grateful that we have these kind of movies that make us think about, reflect on, and realize DIFFERENCE. Of course AMORES PERROS is hard to watch... so? Isn't life hard to live?... but you and I are still waking up every morning.

AMORES PERROS is no Pulp Fiction, and comparing it to Traffic makes absolutely no sense at all. Gonzalez-Inarritu's opera prima stands proudly on its own.

Mainstream Hollywood productions live on our noses, yours and mine (it's unavoidable.) So when we get the chance to witness a foreign film of this caliber, we should learn to place our senses way beyond the nose and maybe then we'll begin to understand what all the excitement is all about.

This is a masterpiece; I saw the film in a cinema in Mexico City, and I feel to say that this movie deeply paints many particulars of the Mexican way of life, called mexicanidad". All the characters are constantly looking for something, this kind of loneliness, sadness and strong action is something you find traveling in Mexico. The class of super-rich people who CRASHES with the two guys from very poor families, the constant aim to get a lot of money and get out of the s**t, the genuine sound track (taken from local music bands) that reflects the ultimate styles... I feel this movie will open a new school of cinema in Mexico, sort of realism. I find lot of similarities with the style of the movie Black Cat, White Cat from Emir Kusturica. Despite the fact that Mexico is in America, I think this kind of cinema closer to the European style, rather than the US style. Last thing: don't forget to learn some Mexican swearword before watching the movie.

Will someone please tell me what all the fuss is about? If the presence of gore is the gauge of cinematic skill, then yes, AMORES PERROS is a masterpiece. But surely one first-time director's fascination with maimed dogs and Mexicanismo does not a 21st-century film template make. Granted, it's a somewhat cleverly crafted story, but this blood-guts-passion trip through Mexico City fails to make any real point or leave the audience with much to ponder. (Though I did find myself contemplating how they managed to locate all those dead-dog body doubles for the live dogs...)

AMORES PERROS, which the film translates as "Love is a Bitch," might be better rendered "Love is Like a Dog," or "Some of These People Actually LOVE Dogs," or "If You Love Your Dog, Don't See This Movie." It opens with a truly gruesome car crash in which blood and guts swirl around liberally. If you happen to walk in late, never fear: the scene will replay twice more. With this event as the anchor, the film flashes back and forward on the lives directly and tangentially involved--what led up to this bloody wreck and how it affects all concerned.

Driving the offending vehicle is Octavio (Gael García Bernal), brother of the abusive Ramiro (Marco Pérez) and lover-in-waiting of his wife, Susana (Vanessa Bauche). Octavio's role is basically to hang around the house panting at his sister-in-law, until he decides to make money by entering Ramiro's vicious mastiff in dog fights. The car he's slammed into conveys supermodel Valeria (Goya Toledo), whose successful career ends on impact. She is mistress to Daniel (Álvaro Guerrero), who's gone middle-age crazy and separated from his wife to live with Valeria 24/7. The supermodel's true love, however, is her moplike Lhasa apso, Richie.

The triptych's third panel focuses on El Chivo (Emilio Echevarría), a former revolutionary. Imprisoned while his daughter was born, he has never met her, though he's remained obsessed with images of her for more than 20 years. He moons over her while alternately practicing his assassination skills and living with his own pack of canines.

AMORES PERROS is the debut film of director Alejandro González Inárritu, a Mexican DJ who's apparently seen PULP FICTION a few times. While it doesn't slavishly imitate Tarantino, it noticeably cops a few of his moves. Like a bad case of coffee nerves, the film functions best at high velocity and on razor's edge. There's plenty of speeded-up action, trick cuts, and always the threat of imminent gore. With many scenes rife with tension, AMORES often strays into telenovela territory, though it's tough to tell if the melodrama is intentional.

Yet, strangely enough, after all this adrenaline puts us on red alert, we are thrust into an extremely tedious middle portion, in which Valeria's dog gets trapped beneath floorboards and the hapless couple can't reckon how to retrieve him. Richie whines night after night, Valeria whines night after night, fights ensue, she stages a minirevolt from her wheelchair--and we're left with a yawning, "And your point is...."

Is love a bitch? Sure. Do people treat their loves like dogs? Sometimes. Is this a rich metaphor that bears 2 1/2 hours of graphically violent exploration? Not really. Does this represent, as raves the NEW YORK TIMES, "the first classic of the new decade"? I'd hate to think so.

The opening sequence of "Amores Perros" instantly hurls you into the adrenaline rush of violence and chaos. Ordinarily, a chase scene comes in the last third of a film, but here it initiates the viewer to the unexpected and uncontrollable world we are about to enter. Octavio, (Gael Garcia Bernal) drives fast and recklessly as Cofi, his dog, lies bleeding in the backseat. Where he is going? We don't know. Who is chasing him? We don't know. After the tremendous impact at the conclusion of the scene, the director, Alejandro Inarritu, takes us back in time to the lives of a poor Mexican family getting by on armed robbery and dog fighting. But this film is not content with telling only one story. Inarritu weaves three main stories all connected by a collision at an intersection. The collision will be replayed again and again, each time showing it's effect on another character in the film. The intersection becomes the place where all disconnected lives converge and change irrevocably.

All of the characters own dogs. The dogs are companions, and bread winners. The fight scenes are so gruesome that I had to be reassured at the end that no animals were harmed in the making of this film. Most of the dogs are an outward extension of the hot-blooded volatility exhibited by the men in the film. There are other dogs too, gentle and peripatetic. Unfortunately, the dogs themselves never become characters in the film. Except for Cofi, the other dogs in the film are pretty much indistinguishable. The dogs are integral to the lives of the characters but the emotional connection to them is implied and not explored. The tramp, El Chivo, (Emilio Echevarria) has a pack of mongrels that nip at his tattered heels. Their somewhat predictable fate is lessened because we can't tell one from the other, or exactly how many there are. However, El Chivo is obviously devoted to them and what happens apparently has a cathartic effect on him. His story is long in telling, and he is complex and unsavory. He is a hit man, killing businessmen in a newly emerging capitalist society, who also stalks his long lost daughter. He takes one last job, and the Cain and Abel twist is gleefully ironic. But El Chivo, as interesting as he is, remains remote. If the scene where he invades his daughter's home and leaves a heartfelt message on her answering machine is to be effective, we should see him as something other than a brute. Yes, he loved his dogs, but that in and of itself doesn't make him likeable.

Valerie is a beauty and a model, selling perfume on billboards all over town. Her lover has left his wife and two daughters to take up residence with her in a newly acquired apartment with one huge flaw in the floorboards. When her life is shattered by the collision and her beauty is in question her life falls apart, and her lover gradually comes to see the foolishness of his haste to throw away his family. The fate of furry little Richie is ingenious and mirrors the entrapment Valerie feels after her accident.

Alejandro Inarritu has made a film that has many lasting images and compelling insights. I wish I could have connected to it on less a visceral and more an emotional level. But it certainly made for a fascinating 153 minutes.

A Mexican foreign film (It was Oscar-nominated, but didn't stand a chance against flying Chinese warriors and the Green Destiny sword), *Amores Perros* tells three tales of love and loss, all connected by a car crash. Thematically, it's pretty depressing, of course, and the stories share common themes of love, loss, and dogs. They all involve dogs, metaphors for the characters in the film and their relationships. Although the stories intertwine loosely, the movie feels like three short films strung together rather than one long movie. Pacing is an issue. It's one of the few movies that I actually think has an issue of pacing rather than being just "slow," like *Eyes Wide Shut*. Another example of a movie with pacing issues is *Screamers*, just so you know. In any case, the film gives you a glimpse of the Mexican underworld, the underbelly of humanity. It is interesting because *Moulin Rouge* celebrates love in all its glory, and then *Amores Perros* comes and illuminates (in a gritty grey brought to us by the shaky camera characteristic of independent film) that sometimes, love and life just ain't that grand.