AMORES PERROS
Amores Perros(Details here), took film festivals across the world by storm upon it's release, and is claimed to have been a major part of the Latin filmmaking explosion that has taken place across the globe.
Following the stories of three people living in Mexico, who's lives are interwoven together in brief moments throughout the film. Each story focuses on love in one of it's guises, and presents the audience with very different lives that are somewhat linked and show the emotion of life.
The most striking part of this film as a whole, is the narrative structure, which shows each story separately, however it gives us insights into the other character's lives at times also. This generates a fantastic level of enigma through the first half of the film. The narrative is hugely impressive and instantly sucks the audience in, however the middle story is rather weak, and pale in comparison to the others, the first being the best.
Acting is remarkable, transcending the language barrier, the cast give intense performances that convince and touch us. The characters themselves are highly three dimensional, not being narrowed into the usual categories of stereotypes, but being well constructed and made real.
Cinematography is of utter importance here, filmed without the aide of steady shot rigs, it gives the film a great deal of energy that puts the audience into the heart of the movie, making us part of the events. Within the first narrative, the movement is much more energetic, which matches the content perfectly, as does the slow movement of the camera within the second narrative.
This movie does feel like nothing else before it, generating a vast selection of emotions, with three different stories, any member of the audience would find a personal quality within one of them. However, this is also a downside, as whilst we becomes intensely attached to one character, or even two character's narratives, due to the broader spectrum, we find ourselves detached from a character and wanting the other characters to return instead. It does feel a bit like the director, Alejandro González Iñárritu, is trying to please too large an audience.
Without a doubt, Amores Perros is an impressive piece of filmmaking, deservedly sweeping up many awards. Whilst the audience will not enjoy each narrative to the same extent, there is enough in all of them to keep the viewer happy, and completely mesmerised when it comes to at least one of them. The pace of editing and cinematography are perfect for the narrative and it's structure, and is a supreme asset to anyone involved. Whether or not the Latin explosion can be attributed to Amores Perros does not matter, as this film is simply a masterpiece and an indubitably must see film.
