Amores perros
Amores perros is a 2000 Mexican psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu in his feature-length debut and written by Guillermo Arriaga.[1] The film weaves three interconnected narratives set in Mexico City, linked by a catastrophic car crash, exploring themes of love, loss, violence, and fate through characters including a young dogfighter, a supermodel, and a wandering assassin.[1] Starring Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, and Goya Toledo, it employs dogs as central metaphors for human brutality and loyalty across the stories.[1] The film's raw, hyperkinetic style, marked by handheld cinematography and a pulsating soundtrack, captured the chaotic underbelly of urban life, propelling Iñárritu to international prominence and inaugurating what became known as his "Trilogy of Death."[2] Produced on a modest budget of approximately $2 million, Amores perros achieved commercial success, grossing over $20 million worldwide, with strong earnings in Mexico and limited U.S. release.[1] Critically acclaimed for its visceral storytelling and technical prowess, it holds a 93% approval rating from top critics, praising its emotional intensity and innovative structure.[3] Among its notable achievements, the film secured the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, multiple Ariel Awards in Mexico, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, marking a breakthrough for Mexican cinema on the global stage.[4] While lauded for authenticity, it drew scrutiny over depictions of dogfighting, though production ensured no animals were harmed through ethical handling and visual effects.[5]Synopsis
Octavio and Susana
Octavio, a young resident of a low-income neighborhood in Mexico City, lives with his older brother Ramiro, Ramiro's pregnant wife Susana, their infant child, and their mother in cramped conditions reflective of working-class economic hardship.[6] Ramiro, employed as a supermarket cashier, supplements his income through petty robberies and exhibits abusive behavior toward Susana, including infidelity and physical mistreatment, heightening family tensions.[7] Octavio develops an intense infatuation with Susana, viewing Ramiro as unfit, and begins pressuring her to elope with him, offering money earned from illicit activities while misinterpreting her reluctance as potential reciprocation.[6][8] To fund their escape, Octavio enters the family Rottweiler, Cofi, into underground dogfighting rings, where the dog's unforeseen ferocity yields successive victories, including the killing of a rival champion dog, generating substantial winnings amid the brutal, high-stakes environment of Mexico City's informal economy.[8][2] Ramiro discovers the scheme and demands a share of the profits, claiming ownership of Cofi and threatening harm to the dog, which forces Octavio to navigate escalating betrayals and resource strains within the household.[6] Susana participates reluctantly, accepting some funds but prioritizing her pregnancy and familial obligations over Octavio's advances, underscoring the causal chain from personal desires to risky enterprises.[7] The storyline culminates in violence when, following a major fight, a rival shoots and injures Cofi, prompting Octavio and an associate to flee in a car with the bleeding dog, pursued by antagonists in a high-speed chase through urban streets.[8][6] This pursuit, stemming directly from the dogfighting conflicts and Octavio's choices, ends in a multi-vehicle collision at a busy intersection, with Cofi severely wounded in the backseat, thereby interconnecting the narratives through the accident's immediate consequences.[2]Daniel and Valeria
Daniel, a 42-year-old publishing executive, leaves his wife and two young daughters to live with Valeria, a renowned Spanish supermodel whose image adorns a prominent billboard visible from their new luxury apartment in Mexico City.[9][10] The couple's newfound domestic bliss is shattered when Valeria's car collides with another vehicle at a busy intersection, an accident that severely fractures her right leg in a compound injury requiring immediate hospitalization and surgical intervention.[8][11] In the hospital, Valeria endures prolonged recovery amid media scrutiny focused on her fame and the dramatic crash, while Daniel grapples with mounting guilt over his family abandonment, compounded by the abrupt disruption to their affluent lifestyle.[11] Upon returning to the apartment, Valeria's cherished Lhasa Apso, Richie, chases a toy into a loose floorboard, falling through and becoming trapped in the space beneath, where it remains undetected for days.[8][12] Valeria's condition deteriorates as infection risks and immobility threaten her modeling career, paralleling Richie's desperate survival efforts; the dog, starved and confined, begins self-mutilating by gnawing its own leg, a grim manifestation of instinctual endurance.[2] Daniel eventually pries open the floorboards to rescue the severely weakened animal, whose bloodied state mirrors the couple's fracturing relationship and Valeria's deepening psychological strain from pain, dependency, and lost independence.[8][10] As Valeria's leg heals imperfectly, leaving her unable to walk unaided, she confronts Daniel with accusations of selfishness, highlighting his internal conflict between regret for his past choices and the harsh realities of their post-accident existence.[13]El Chivo and Maru
El Chivo, whose real name is Ugo Molinas, is a former university professor who abandoned his family to join an urban guerrilla movement in Mexico during the 1970s, resulting in a 20-year prison sentence after his capture.[14][15] During his imprisonment, authorities informed his wife that he had died, preventing any contact with his daughter Maru, who grew up believing her father was deceased.[16] Upon release around 1999, he adopted a vagrant lifestyle in Mexico City, residing in a squalid shack cluttered with refuse, newspapers, and metal sculptures resembling dogs, while sustaining himself through kidnapping operations and occasional hitman contracts.[17][2] Following the central car crash on December 30, 1999, El Chivo witnesses the collision while walking his pack of rescued stray dogs and intervenes to aid Octavio, who is severely injured, and his dog Cofi, shot during the preceding dogfight.[17] He transports them to his shack, where he provides rudimentary medical care using scavenged supplies; Octavio recovers sufficiently to depart after a few days, leaving Cofi behind, but the dog subsequently kills El Chivo's other pets in a fit of aggression.[17] Concurrently, El Chivo maintains a side enterprise of abducting low-profile individuals—often from marginalized backgrounds—and extorting ransom from their affluent relatives, as evidenced by a chained hostage in his dwelling whom he eventually releases after securing payment.[17][8] El Chivo's estranged relationship with Maru, now an adult woman in her thirties, resurfaces when he discovers her wedding photograph in a society magazine, prompting an unsuccessful attempt to telephone her; the call cuts off mid-message as he confesses his love and survival.[17] He shadows her briefly from afar but refrains from direct confrontation, underscoring his profound sense of paternal failure rooted in his revolutionary choices.[15] This personal turmoil intersects with a professional commission to assassinate a wealthy businessman's partner; instead of executing the hit, El Chivo kidnaps both men, binds them, and compels them to debate which should die, staging a moral confrontation that mirrors his own regrets.[17][8] The arc culminates in a pivotal confrontation with mortality when El Chivo chains the recuperated Cofi alongside his most ferocious surviving dog, Negra, anticipating a fight upon his return; discovering Cofi victorious but mistaking the outcome in the dim light, he shoots Cofi, only to realize the error moments later.[17][2] This incident, combined with the earlier loss of his dogs and failed outreach to Maru, prompts him to renounce his criminal existence; he divides the accumulated ransom funds equally between the kidnapped businessmen, leaves a photograph and apologetic note for Maru at her workplace, and departs his shack, abandoning all possessions to wander into the outskirts with his remaining strays.[17][15]Cast and Performances
Principal Actors
The principal cast of Amores perros features Gael García Bernal as Octavio, a youth drawn into underground dogfights; Emilio Echevarría as El Chivo, a vagrant with a revolutionary past; Goya Toledo as Valeria, a supermodel facing life-altering injury; and Vanessa Bauche as Susana, entangled in familial conflict.[18] Supporting roles include Jorge Salinas as Daniel, Valeria's affluent partner, and Álvaro Guerrero as Mauricio, a ruthless enforcer.[18]| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Gael García Bernal | Octavio |
| Emilio Echevarría | El Chivo |
| Goya Toledo | Valeria |
| Vanessa Bauche | Susana |
| Jorge Salinas | Daniel |
| Álvaro Guerrero | Mauricio |