Amores perroes (2000), directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, is a Mexican movie containing three different stories. The first part, Octavio and Susana, tells the story of a young man (Octavio), who cares for and is in love with his sister-in-law (Susana).
Susana, who is married to Octavio's brother, Ramiro, is convinced by Octavio to leave her abusive husband. Together, they would start a brand new, happy life together, but Octavio would need to raise some money first. He decides to use his dog to partake in the underground business of dog-fighting. Everything goes wrong, however, when his dog is shot in the middle of a fight by an opponent dog owner. In retaliation, Octavio stabs and kills the man, then flees the scene. A car chase ensues which ends in complete disaster. Octavio's frantic escape causes an accident in the middle of an intersection which leaves his best friend dead and himself badly injured.
The second part of the movie, Daniel and Valeria, tells a story which is just as sad, if not much more, than the first. Daniel, who is a big-time magazine publisher, and Valeria, a famous and beautiful model, move into a new apartment together, despite Daniel already having a family. Everything is fine and dandy for the two until Valeria is seriously injured in the same car accident caused by Octavio's getaway from the first story. As a result, Valeria is no longer able work as a model and even ends up needing a leg amputation. Her relationship with Daniel falls apart and she is left lonely and depressed, especially when her dog gets stuck underneath the floor of the apartment.
The third and final part of the movie, El Chivo and Maru, is the story of a mysterious man, who first appears to be a homeless bum, who takes care of stray dogs. Later in the story, however, we find out that he used to be a school teacher, who then became involved with guerilla activities, which resulted in him going to prison for twenty years. We also learn that in the current time of the movie, he works as a secret hitman. Numerous times, he tries to get in touch with his long lost daughter, Maru, who is actually unaware of her father's past and thinks that he is dead. El Chivo is hired for a hit and is on his way to get the job done when he witnesses the car crash from the first and second stories. He decided to steal Octavio's wounded dog and care for it. However, one day, he comes back to find that this dog killed all the other ones he was caring for. He then goes out to accomplish his task, capturing his target. He then finds out that his target and the one who hired El Chivo for the hit are half-brothers. El Chivo captures both of them and lets them decide their own fates, chaining them both up to walls and leaving a gun in the middle.
One constant and obvious theme in this movie, which appeared in all three parts, was a love for dogs. In the first one, despite using his dog for dog-fighting, it is obvious Octavio cares for his dog. After it is shot, Octavio retaliates by killing the man who fired the gun, then runs away along with his injured dog. In the second story, Valeria gets extremely upset when she loses her dog underneath the floor of the apartment. Her attempting to help her dog is what ultimately led her to her leg amputation. And in the third story, El Chivo had a stong and deep love for all dogs - caring for them and keeping them around.
There was also a dark theme in each part of the movie. In each story, there was one form or another of abuse, hatred, or lack of care for another person, which displayed human's capability for evil and negativity. The movie was one that we well done. The acting was very good and all the actors were definitely convincing of their roles. The stories were well-written and it kept me curious from beginning to end. Amores perros is a film that kept me interested the whole way.
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