Amores Perros

Rating:
Summary: The best movie of 2001
Review: An amazing movie! Other film makers will no doubt be copying the techniques used. This film has it all, it is real, it is throught provoking and thoroughly entertaining. The soundtrack ROCKS too! not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: 2.5 hours of my life I'd like back
Review: Pain is universal whether you're a yuppie or working class. Life sucks. Love stinks. If you want to revisit these "truths" then this film will appeal to you. It is unfortunate that an interesting narrative structure and some terrific acting is wasted on characters who are as transparent as they are corrupt and who cause as much, or more, pain as they are subjected to. Trying to understand what critics saw to recommend in this film, I'd have to say that it rejects most of Hollywood's easy answers (and that's always something to applaud), but what does it provide in their place? Hopelessness. No thanks.

Rating:
Summary: This movie had me in it's grip! 3 cheers for Mexican cinema
Review: I completely lost track of time as this movie kept me entranced with its character's dilemmas of jealousy, want, and loss. The car accident seen was potent and fascinating to see from three different angles as they related to the three subplots. Despite the moral bankruptcy of these characters I still felt for everyone of them. I also loved the way tragedy knew no class distinction here. Human suffering has a way of sneaking up on anyone. Hearing Celia Cruz's rendition of the rose colored "La Vida Es Un Carnaval" (Life is a Carnival) while watching the hit man on the prowl sent a chill down my spine. So many times I have I heard that optimistic song while out salsa dancing and now I hear it while watching this gritty and hardened killer on the hunt. The dogs are a great theme. My interpretation? I think the film is obviously saying that in some ways we are no better than dogs and for that reason the characters can't help but bond and identify with them. Yes the movie is violent and terribly sad but I knew this was a work of film (not reality TV) and this tragic portrayl of human kind was absolutely fascinating. When you look at the El Chivo character try not to think of the unibomber or that American boy who joined the Taliban. When you look at the model think about how much value is placed on physical beauty which is so fleeting and fragile. When you look at Susana and Octavio's situation you will find your self shifting your moral sympathies from one person to the next until you can't sympathize with anyone. This is a movie of violence and action but it is also one of human emotion and tangled relationships. Enjoy! You will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: a gritty ride
Review: This is one of the best movies that I've seen. The not-for-the-timid violence is presented in such gut-wrenching, brutal honesty that is succeeds in letting the viewer know that this is the norm rather than the exception in today's Mexico City... Chilling, no? People unfamiliar with the language or jargon will lose ALOT in the translation/subtitles. Pulp Fiction?? Olvidate, brother!

Rating:
Summary: Best film of the year...
Review: I believe this was the best film of the year... wonderful cinematography, acting, and storyline. I am glad the academy recognized it by nominating it for best foreign picture. I really enjoyed it, and will definitely own it on DVD. I agree with all the praise it has gotten... it is well deserved, and as a Mexican I am glad to see that this artwork was recognized by people around the world.
I feel the negative reviews I heard are unjustified. Many of the negative reviews I read were in regards to the violent content of the movie. It surprises me the way some people think... many animal activists actually believed that dogs were harmed on this film. I am not sure if this was a complement to the gritty realism of the film (but, hey, I saw Saving Private Ryan and never believed for a second anyone was actually shot on Omaha beach in order to film it), or if it is due to a sort of bias towards a country like Mexico (heck, those third world countries have no laws against those types of brutalities). Well, the extras on the DVD put those doubts to rest... check it out.
By the way, the soundtrack is excellent... I own it and play it often.

Rating:
Summary: Dogs were not hurt...
Review: This is in response to one of the reviews. I didn't believe either that the dogs were not harmed but I found out that they actually weren't. You need to see the DVD with the extra features since they explain how they filmed all the dog scenes. They were all trained profesional dogs (most of them already actors). Loved the movie...

Rating:
Summary: Sick, violent and twisted
Review: A graphicly violent and bloody film about professional dog fighting. It seems obvious that animals were tortured and killed in the filming of this movie. I was so sickened by its' offensive content that I couldn't watch it all. (...)

Rating:
Summary: Almost Excellent
Review: Wonderfully directed, filmed, and acted. All the buzz around this film finally convinced me to rent it one night, but I expect it to be a disppointment after it had been built up for so long. From the very beginning, however I was riveted to the tv. From the first scene I wanted to see the whole story, know more about the characters, find out WHY this was all happening. I must admit that part of the charm of this film is the extremely sexy and vulnerable green-eyed Gael. I found him to be completely convincing as the misdirected youth. The interaction between the family characters (his mother, brother, and sister-in-law) are eerly accurate in portraying the stress of every day living in a small impoverished home. Equally, I thought the Sean Connery -lookalike homeless man was realistic and interesting, albeit slightly disturbing. The only story I didn't sympathasize or connect with was the maimed model. This film did its damndest to make us love her...her lost career...her depression...her lost dog. But it just didn't connect with me the way the other two stories did. This is the only thing that keeps me from giving the 5 stars this film otherwise would deserve. I have to wonder however...how it could be true that no dogs were injured?

Rating:
Summary: Excelente!
Review: Amores Perros simply took my breath away. It had been a while since I was so moved and horrified and impressed by a film. Alejandro Gonzalez created a magnificent movie: powerful, visually compelling, magical yet so realistic in portraying both human nature and life in Mexico City. Amores Perros is simply one of the best Latin America has to offer.

Rating:
Summary: Magnific-Honest and rude
Review: It's perfect... Excellent performances. Great and real human's stories. If you're in the 30's something, urban, latin, and a educated person, you have to see this movie.