A DIVE INTO AMORES PERROS
My Personal Opinion
Just outright, I'd like to start by acknowledging what is absolutely incredible film-making. Iñárritu presents these emotionally complex and distinct story threads and weaves them all together with an incredibly gritty, visceral, and intimate film style. The visual language of the film presents a world of incredible love and devastating loss that is also wracked with violence and poverty.
From the film's highly energetic opening sequence, starting the film in media res, the washed-out color palette is sharpened by the deep, dark, unsettling red of the incredibly well-done practical blood effects. Every actor must also be praised for absolutely knocking it out of the park. Aside from the brilliant and emotional performances of the main cast, all of the supporting actors feel much more like people we just don't know as well and could be the main character of their own film.
Absolutely stellar performances across the board, but I wanted to specifically refer to Octavio (Gael García Bernal), Valeria (Goya Toledo) and El Chivo (Emilio Echevarría) for giving some of the most moving and emotive performances I've seen this year.
Even while balancing three incredibly sophisticated and weighty plot lines, the film does not compromise on big visually stunning set-pieces. The chase that leads to the car accident is an exceptionally exciting sequence that is shot both clearly and aggressively, the weight and urgency of the event being highlighted by the handheld camera movement, bobbing and weaving as it follows the chase.
The dog fights, though not glamorous, are important events and serve as times of great change for the opening plot. As seen in the 3rd story, the gunfire and action direction are perfectly suited to the film. It's brutal, its destructive, and it's aesthetically unappealing. The movie's effectiveness would have been marred by visually appealing action, as that is a choice that undercuts the true horror of depicted violence. Although heavy and gruesome, the film's depictions and meditations on love are so powerful and the experience of watching the film is so thrilling that its content is never too much.
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I'm going to be spending a lot of time thinking about this film and will likely watch it again. One of my favorite filmmakers, Denis Villeneuve, said that it was one of the best films of the 21st century, and I must say he may be right. I absolutely loved this film, and will be rating it 5 bags of popcorn, it's a must-see.
Top 5 Scenes:
My absolute favorite scene of the movie was the scene in which El Chivo is interrogating the person he was hired to kill about who he thinks hired him; its brilliantly acted by both people as they play this mind game that no one is quite sure how it will end. It's heightened when he also captures the man who hired them, and things become far more serious when he leaves them alone.
Daniel Finds Richie
The scene in whihc Daniel once again finds Richie and rescues him out from the floorboards was absolutely wonderful. After all this time, I was a cynic on whether or not he was going to be alive, and it made me very happy when he was. Richie's reintroduction made me feel as Daniel felt, like now that Richie was back, maybe things could be good again, and the ending of the film seems to agree with this assessment, though there is no guarantee the peace will last.
Susana rejects Octavio
In the epilogue to the first story, after the accident and after Octavio's brother's failed robbery/death; Octavio confronts Susana once more about running away with him. He is aggressive and pushes himself on her, and she finally resolves to tell him that she will not run away with him and that she will be naming her baby after the late father. It isn't until he's left alone at the bus station that Octavio truly realizes that she was being serious, and he plays devastation beautifully. The whole epilogue sequence is a bitter-sweet moment of heartbreak and self-actualization.
The Opening Chase
Straight off from the first few minutes of the movie, it starts with an amazingly shot chase sequence that is both realistic and exciting, exchanging the super high speeds for frenetic camera work and a really interesting driving path that keeps the viewer engaged without indulging in too much fantasy.
El Chivo leaves a message
In one of his final scenes, El Chivo gets himself cleaned up, breaks into his daughter's apartment and leaves her a pile of money, a photo album, and a phone message. The message is everything he wanted to say, before getting cut off right at "I love you." It's another bittersweet scene as, despite its imperfections, El Chivo seems content with what he has done for his daughter, and walks off into the sunset with Blackie .(formerly Cofi) Two old dogs who know only violence, finding love with one another.