Love's a bitch = Amores perros [DVD] (D)

Perhaps the only successful commercial Mexican release in contemporary cinema, “Amores perros” is action-packed and hard-hitting from the first frame. Divided into three separate but overlapping narratives (a la Altman and Tarantino), each explores themes of loss, survival, despair and the constant battle of life and change. The three strands are linked by a horrendous car accident that also symbolises the frenetic and explosive nature of life in this urban jungle. The first story focuses on the young Octavio (played by Gael Garcia Bernal), who is also entangled in the local dog-fighting scene, his infatuation with his sister-in-law, a young mother juggling school and an adulterous, criminal husband. The second centres on supermodel, Valeria (Goya Toldeo), whose life is turned asunder when she is seriously hurt and the strain this places on her relationship with a man who has just left his wife and children for her. Finally, the last and most poetic narrative strand centres on a former political fighter now a homeless, contracted hitman who longs for his family. Hand-held camerawork, fast editing and music inserts work hard to keep the drama intense and frenetic. Thematically, “Amores perros” explores the idea of life as an endless struggle where humans are like ‘animals’ in their sheer attempt to survive. In fact, both ‘dog’ and ‘human’ undergo mutilation and abandonment throughout the film and are pushed to the extreme in their ability to endure a world of hard-knocks. Mexican cinema and television has a long history of melodrama and ‘Amores perros’ clearly emerges from this tradition, infusing strong doses of story melodrama with modern storytelling and edgy stylistics. If its ‘life lessons’ are at times cliched and heavy-handed, the film is still an engaging, commanding experience. In Spanish with English subtitles. Note: Contains violence against animals and human mutilation and carnage.