Amores Perros (Love`s A Bitch) (UK)

Not "A Dog`s Life."

Pursued by gun-wielding thugs, a car driven by a young man speeds through the streets of Mexico City. In his back seat lies a badly bleeding dog. Running a red light, the young man's car crashes hard into a vehicle driven by a woman. This is the exciting opening of "Amores Perros," a Spanish-language movie that was a big hit at film festivals, and when I watched it recently on DVD, I could certainly see why: I loved it!

The automobile accident that opens "Amores Perros" is the point at which three interrelated stories intersect. All of the stories are about some form of love, and all involve dogs in some way. The film has a dramatic unity that kept me enthralled throughout. In flavour and structure, the film owes some gratitude to Quentin Tarantino, but Iñárritu brings his own ability to draw the audience deeply into the lives of his characters, many of whom are working or middle class people that many film-goers can relate to. In this sense, his film is a richer experience than either Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction.

This movie features a wonderful collection of actors who make each character believable and help to create fascinating cinema. The standout is Echevarna, who exhibits a poignant, human nature in El Chivo that generates several classic moments. Gael Garcia Bernal brings a fresh exuberance to Octavio`s unflappable love for Susana that makes his naivete touching. Marco Perez exudes plenty of sliminess as the callous Ramiro, and Goya Toledo provides significant depth beneath her attractive physique. The entire cast takes Jordan`s effective screenplay and provides additional weight to each role.

There is no doubt that this can be a tough film to watch at times. The dog-fighting sequences are done with some intensity and even though care has been taken to not show any graphic exchanges, the sound effects are realistic and some shots of the aftermath of fights are a little gory.

At least two of the three stories presented could be considered to be downers, so if you`re looking for a feel-good experience only, I`d look elsewhere.

"Amores Perros" is a compelling film that stylishly intertwines three stories that hinge on a violent car crash. Long, but hard to take one`s eyes off it, this debut effort by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu is highly recommended. Lions Gate`s DVD is a pretty good effort that particularly shines on the audio side and in its fine director/writer commentary.

A car accident, dogfights and the rough Mexican city are the three common things in these three-stories-made-into-a-single-movie.
Each of the story is rather ordinary (not to say - boring) as a standalone story, but I was kinda hoping the combination of the stories will manage to make them more interesting. Well, it doesn`t.
The movie takes forever to develop and last way, way too much (apx. two and a half hours), but most importantly - the stories vary too much to have anything in common. It simply doesn`t work.
The video transfer is good. There are no visible compression signs and the picture is nice and clear.
The DD 5.1 soundtrack is ok. The surrounds are used occasionally. Nothing major, though.
The menus are animated with sound.
The extras include 12 deleted and extended scenes, a short behind the scenes featurette, 3 music videos and a picture gallery.
Bottom line - with enough (hopefully simulated) dog violence to last a lifetime, this so-called Mexican gem is utterly overrated.