Amores Perros (2000)

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Writer: Guillermo Arriaga

Stars: Goya Toledo, Gael Garcia Bernal, Emilio Echevarria, Alvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche, Jorge Salinas

Three stories play out at various levels of Mexican society: a supermodel (Goya Toledo) faces the consequences of a devastating accident, a young man (Gael Garcia Bernal) becomes involved in the world of dogfighting to finance a dream, and a homeless man (Emilio Echevarria) turns out to be more—and less—than the wretch he seems to be.

 

This was director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu’s first film.

With his screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, he has made a complex hyperlinked narrative whose characters live in different strata of society but whose lives are connected through a number of commonalities: a terrible accident, the human weakness of betrayal, and the presence of that most loyal of companions, the dog.

The human characters in these stories are put through the wringer, and their canine companions are not spared the consequences, so much so that the film displays a “No animals were harmed” disclaimer at the beginning of the film instead of burying it in the ending credits.

Our actions have effects that radiate through society in unpredictable ways, and the fact that these effects can unjustly damage others is highlighted by the sometimes cruel fate that awaits some of these dogs.

Watch out if you’re triggered by simulated animal cruelty.

Otherwise, highly recommended.