Around the World in 24 Frames 01.22.10: Amores Perros

Posted by Len Archibald on 01.22.2010

Before he wowed every major film critic in the world with Babel, Alejandro González Iñárritu brought about the template for the current "hyperlink" film that is arguably the best of the bunch. I also give a look back and pick my favorite actor, actress, director and film of 2009! Come on in!



Goooooooooooooooooooood, FRIDAY! And that means another week of sailing around the cinematic globe with your favorite Arthouse columnist.

So, it is officially AWARDS SEASON~! – the time where critics and casual movie-goers alike all hand in their "best of" lists and watch as we find out what is considered to be the best of the best and the cream of the crop. Since I have my own column and I threw out my "Great Films of the 2000's", I figured, what the hell, so let me present to you…

THE FIRST (maybe only) ANNUAL ARCHER AWARDS

This is, simply, recognition for my favorite (key word) films and performances of 2009. No more, no less.

Special Jury Prize

Avatar

...for basically changing cinema history as we know it.

District 9

...for accomplishing compelling cinema with 1/10th of Avatar's budget.

Best Foreign-Language Film

NOMINEES
Broken Embraces (Spain)
The Class (France)
The Maid (Chile)
A Prophet (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)

Winner - THE WHITE RIBBON

No. Contest. At. All. Michael Haneke's best film.


Best Screenplay

NOMINEES
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Up in the Air

Winner - DISTRICT 9

This was the most original, creatively ingenious story that was put into film reality this year. Taking literal, creepy bug-like aliens to make a statement about racial apartheid isn't just ballsy, but inspired.


Best Editing

NOMINEES
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious

Winner - THE HURT LOCKER

When I first watch films, I watch them for entertainment purposes to get the actual feeling and to see if the filmmakers are able to achieve that emotional manipulation that they seek – before I rip it to shreds as a critic. There were moments during The Hurt Locker I found myself physically sweating it out with the characters, both from the heat, but from the tension created by the various moments in the story. This is the best example of "invisible editing" – a movie where one doesn't even notice the break in separate images, instead attaching themselves to the meat of the story. No film was better at creating, heightening and releasing tension than The Hurt Locker, and that is in part to it's glorious editing.


Best Animated Feature

NOMINEES
Coraline
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Up

Winner - PONYO

Not many people saw this film from Hayao Miyazaki – too bad. I did, and his hand-drawn animation and wildly inventive stories are still the benchmark for all animation – yes, even for the nearly perfect Pixar Studios.


Best Cinematography

NOMINEES
Antichrist
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Where the Wild Things Are
The White Ribbon

Winner - ANTICHRIST

The White Ribbon's look is startling, but achieves so only in black in white. The Hurt Locker's visualization is remarkable, but is only done in color. Where the Wild Things Are took a famed novel and de-saturized the colors to give a truly realistic tone and District 9 made aliens look commonplace in the world of humans. Antichrist created a parallel universe, used black and white AND color, expertly used light and shadow fusing German Expressionism with a strange Gothic flare and evoked moods out of images (sinking into grass, raining acorns, crossing a bridge!) that can't even be explained and that I can't escape. It is a miracle of visual filmmaking.


Best Supporting Actress

NOMINEES
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Winner – MO'NIQUE, PRECIOUS

A runaway pick. Mo'Nique went from sometimes-funny stand-up comedienne to unabashedly evil prick of a bitch and somehow evokes…sympathy for a moment by film's end? Unreal – and if she never shines this bright again, this will be her defining performance for the rest of her life.


Best Supporting Actor

NOMINEES
Matt Damon, Invictus
Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover (yes, I'm serious)
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

Winner – CHRISTOPH WALTZ, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

Another easy choice. Hans Landa is easily one of cinema's all-time great antagonists and Christoph Waltz is awesome. That is all.


Best Actress

NOMINEES
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Antichrist
Melanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Winner – CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG, ANTICHRIST

The final runaway choice for me. There was no female performance more fearless, more agonizing, more full of the highs and lows of emotion than Antichrist's muse for reigning chaos. The sentimental choice this year will either be Sandra Bullock (for The Blind Side) or Sidibe this year, but really – no one endured more in regards to true and brutally honest performance than Ms. Gainsbourg.


Best Actor

NOMINEES
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Simple Man

Winner – JEFF BRIDGES, CRAZY HEART

This was the hardest to call for me. To be honest, this was Jeremy Renner's to flat out lose, until Crazy Heart came into existence. I hummed and hawed and went back and forth and finally just went with who I "felt" more – which was tremendously difficult in itself. At the end, I felt more of a connection with Bridges' broken country-western singer than Renner's addicted-to-adrenaline soldier. Who would've thought the year when Morgan Freeman would be a shoo-in for a bunch of golden hardware, he would be met with TWO great performances at the same time?


Best Director

NOMINEES
Katheryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Neill Blomkamp, District 9
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon

Winner – KATHERYN BIGELOW, THE HURT LOCKER

While James Cameron basically took film technology to a whole new level with Avatar, that was the ONLY basis of his directorial style – push the boundaries of technology for the visual medium. Bigelow did what film directors *do*: fuse compelling acting, screenplay and visual style into a complete story. Cameron may have achieved more in regards to a visual style, but Bigelow got more out of the script and actors – and with a more-than-competent FX crew, achieved a more well-rounded picture in the end.



And finally…

Best Picture

NOMINEES

Avatar: Potentially the highest-grossing film of all time and a game-changer of how movies will be made and watched.

Inglorious Basterds: An explosive, terribly fun, adrenaline-charged piece of inventive history with great characters, great writing and an ending that leaves the audience satisfied.

The Hangover: The funniest film of the year, one of the top five funniest in the past decade.

The Hurt Locker: The best depiction of any film taking place in the Middle East. Good old-fashioned intense, suspenseful filmmaking at its finest updated for a modern audience.

Up in the Air: A compelling little story that becomes a more complex character study upon each viewing.


Winner – THE HURT LOCKER

It has been no secret my feelings for this film. Upon its release and viewing, I pretty much hailed it as the best war film since Saving Private Ryan. Katheryn Bigelow took something simple (or not, depending) as your typical war movie and turned it upside down as it became a character study of a man driven by his most basic impulses. Jeremy Renner acts circles around an impressive ensemble and the film's look, pacing, plot and characterization weaved a perfect storm of a story that is as thrilling and suspenseful as anything Spielberg or Hitchcock could dream of. The Hurt Locker may have not shattered B.O. records or create groundbreaking film technology, but it did what any great movie sets out to do: inspire and aspire great art through entertainment. This is as close to a perfect film one will get, and isn't only my favorite film of the year, but one of my favorites of the entire decade.

***************************************

I love movies. They represent escapism, art, intellect and spirituality. Some are nothing more than popcorn flicks, designed to ease the burden of "real-life" for a couple of hours. Some bring important issues to the forefront that challenges how we perceive our surroundings. The most important thing for me – if one is a serious filmgoer – is to constantly expand and discover new movies. This includes experiencing stories told outside of North America.

Yes, I know: "I don't like to read while I watch movies". Well, neither do I, but I won't use that to prevent me from finding a great story within the screen. It is important, as human beings to discover other cultures and expand our perceptions of those different from us and how they see the world. There are reasons that Bergman, Kurosawa, Fellini, Ozu and Truffaut are important in the movie world – They are just great at what they do.

I intend to highlight a new film every week that is considered "foreign-language"; now that definition is simple, yet broad and complex. For example, if you need subtitles to understand the events of the plot, I will discuss it. If it is a film from a primarily English-speaking nation, but is *NOT* in English (i.e. Leolo or Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner from Canada), I will discuss. If it is a film from outside the U.S. and it *is* in English, I will not discuss (sorry, Brits & Aussies) – for now. My goal is to shed light on some of these gems, and help quell the insatiable appetites for those who can't live without seeing a new movie. Enjoy!

Amores Perros

Country: Mexico
Release Date: May 14th, 2000
Distributed by: Nu Vision, Lions Gate Films and Filmax International
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Runtime: 153 minutes
Cast:
Emilio Echevarría
Gael García Bernal
Goya Toledo
Álvaro Guerrero
Vanessa Bauche
Jorge Salinas
Adriana Barraza
Gustavo Sánchez Parra

Alejandro González Iñárritu's masterpiece – and feature film debut, no less - Amores Perros, begins on a strange note. It opens with that famous disclaimer citing that no animals were harmed in the making of the film. That doesn't seem to be a big deal – until one realizes such a disclaimer is usually saved for the end credits. There was a reason for this, and a powerful one at that, too, once we are hurled face-first into the lives of two young punks speeding down a busy street.

Amores Perros caused a sensation when it premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, earning the "Prize of the Critic's Week Award", and followed that with a BAFTA award for Best Film Not in the English Language and a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at that years' Academy Awards. Many immediately hailed Alejandro González Iñárritu as a master filmmaker and compared Amores Perros to Pulp Fiction and considered the director as the Mexican equivalent of Quentin Tarantino.

…and that is where the similarities (if any) end. While both Tarantino's and Iñárritu's films deal with the seedy underbelly of crime and petty criminals, Tarantino makes his villains hip, cool and witty while Iñárritu's are bleak, without a shred of charisma and much more desperate. The Wolf would not be solving many problems in this universe. The Wolf would probably become a lamb to the slaughter.



As the film opens, the bustling sounds of a busy city street blare through. The sound isolates itself on one particular car making a mad dash and the excited, frantic, terrified exchange between two male counterparts. This is Octavio (Gael García Bernal) and Jorge (Humberto Busto) who are on the run from…what? We aren't sure of as yet. Iñárritu's film goes back and forth and cuts in with such a frantic pace that we aren't even aware that the bloody mess that Jorge is tending to in the backseat isn't even that of a human being, but of a dog. The dog is Octavio's prized canine, Cofi who was injured. This chase leads to a sudden car accident that becomes the thread weaving three separate stories together.

The theme of animal cruelty - or more specifically - cruelty to dogs is one that will continue to permeate throughout Amores Perros. There have been several interpretations to the film's literal translation, each with their own meaning: the most commonly used translation is Love's a Bitch - which could be used to explain the common thread of unrequited or lost love. There is also, Wretched Loves, or even a loose play of You Win Some, You Lose Some - from what I gather, and from research that supports this, I noticed that the three stories that intertwine all involve broken human-to-human relationships of the film's three protagonists, where they all share a strong and dependable emotional bonds with their various beloved dogs. In this sense the interpretation of Amores Perros, is "Amor es Perros" which means "love is dogs". (Love is a bitch=love is a dog – heavy stuff, right?)

The film is broken into three segments, but allow the freedom for lives from the other two stories to come into view from time to time. The first segment, entitled "Octavio y Susana", deals with the taboo (or is it?) nature of Octavio's love/lust/infatuation with Susana (Vanessa Bauche), his teenage sister-in-law. Susana is involved in a seemingly loveless and abusive relationship with Octavio's brother, Ramiro (Marco Perez, in a truly striking performance), who works as a cashier at a grocery store by day and armed robber by night. It is obvious from the very beginning that something very wrong progressed in regards to the brother's relationship – as they hurl insults, curses and constant disrespect to each other. They live poorly, with Octavio's and Ramiro's mother – and in the poverty-riddled streets of Mexico City, honest money is extremely difficult to come by.



Through a happy (and even that is a strange adjective) set of circumstances, Octavio discovers that the canine that Ramiro once gave shelter to, but no longer truly cares for, Cofi – has an unrivaled mean streak and can be used for profit for underground dog fights. Octavio uses this – as well as his contrasted kindness - as a way to convince Susana of his charms and intentions to take her away from his abusive brother and flee from their harsh life. Of course it is at this junction that Ramiro suddenly realizes that he claims ownership of Cofi, and all of Octavio's plans go awry. Apart from Perez's slow sociopathic turn and Bernal's remarkable talents as perhaps the only true sympathetic protagonist in the film, this story for me belongs to Vanessa Bauche – who gives me flashbacks of Anna Karina in Vivre Sa Vie - never giving away her secrets, feelings or intentions and concealing her emotions underneath layers of regret and paranoia. It is her performance that glues this story together, and I am always amazed that very few people notice it – for it is her intentions that drive the story and brings about the ultimate conclusion for this segment.

As Amores Perros progresses, other figures and stories slowly come into focus: the second, titled "Daniel y Valeria", stars Álvaro Guerrero and Goya Toledo. Daniel (Guerrero) is a successful magazine publisher who leaves his family to live with the Spanish supermodel Valeria (Toledo.) Unfortunately, Valeria's leg is severely broken in the opening accident and may be unable to continue working as a model. Valeria is confined to a wheelchair while she recuperates in the apartment she shares with Daniel. Her dog Richie disappears under the floorboards one day and stays there for days. The missing dog triggers serious tension for the couple, causing numerous fights which leads to doubts about their relationship on both sides. There is some powerful acting performances from Guerrero and Toledo, whose characters are higher up in regards to their wealth and status compared to Octavio and Susana, but may be even more empty inside. Roger Ebert compares this particular story with Luis Buñuel's Tristana, starring Catherine Deneuve as a beauty who loses her leg – a great observation that is heightened by Richie's plight.

During the first two stories, a lone wanderer with a bushy beard, long frazzled hair and constantly surrounded by dogs and a shopping cart comes into focus. He is "El Chivo" aka "The Goat" (Emilio Echevarría.) The final segment, titled "El Chivo and Maru" is my favorite of the three, and focuses on this man, who was a former private school teacher and became involved in guerrilla movements that landed him in prison for 20 years. Now, he appears as a bedraggled, nearly invisible vagrant that lives in perpetual squalor in an abandoned warehouse. He "appears" that way – because El Chivo is in fact a professional hitman. Chivo tries to make contact with his daughter, Maru, whom he abandoned when she was a two-year-old child when he began his guerrilla involvement. We learn in the film that instead of telling her the truth about the abandonment and the prison sentence, her mother told her that her father had died.



Chivo is hired by a man to kill his business partner and is somehow linked to the car crash, but I will not reveal this – as his involvement creates one of the film's great paradoxes; reminiscent of the tale about the man who doesn't understand why the snake bit him even though it said it wouldn't. "I'm a snake." Such is the nature of man and beast – and each plays out the roles made for them. Chivo's ultimate denouement leads to a sequence from Echevarría that blows my mind because he wasn't even considered for any major acting awards.

The three tales are extremely heavy on story and light on expository dialogue. We are told who is who and where the story is going, but the film is wholly organic – it circles back upon itself on numerous occasions to give the audience different points of views of not just the story, but the characters itself. A heartbreaking finale closes "Octavio y Susana" that changes the perception of the direction one may have originally thought the story was going, for example – but this is a film that is rich in atmosphere and tone. Rodrigo Prieto's photography is gritty, letting the film suffocate itself in washed out hues and greys – giving a cold, unsettling feel to the film. Gustavo Santaolalla's and Antonio Vega's score evokes a sense of tension at every turn. Iñárritu's approach isn't new, but its unusual nature of *how* it was done brought about the "hyperlink" craze where we saw films as Traffic, Crash and Iñárritu's Oscar-nominated Babel move to the forefront using the same storytelling elements.

Alejandro González Iñárritu grew up in a middle-class home in Mexico City, but just on the edge of a dangerous neighborhood where gangs were commonplace. He started his career as a DJ for a top-rated Mexican radio station and moved his way up to composing film scores. He studied the art and craft of being a filmmaker in Maine and Los Angeles. After the smashing success of Amores Perros, he went on to make the highly under-rated 21 Grams (2003) starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts and Babel (2006), becoming the first Mexican-born director to be nominated for an Academy Award. Those three films are considered his "Death Trilogy" - all films that focus on the theme of death in one way or another by interlocking tales.



Now, back to that title, and its meaning - the dogs in this film are just as important as the humans. Canines feature prominently in all three stories. Octavio makes his fortune by using Cofi – and taking care of him. Valerie loves her pooch more than a child (and, one might argue, more than Daniel) – and Chivo treats his animals with a greater respect for any human. By elevating dogs to this level of importance, Iñárritu made a statement about the level to which parts of our society has descended. It is a sad commentary when we live in a culture where we care more about dogs than other human beings – and that isn't just a statement in Mexico…I know and have met people who treat their pets or animals in general with a reverence over their own human peers – I get a strange Gates of Heaven or Grizzly Man vibe. Alejandro González Iñárritu picked up on that, ran with it – and essentially crafted one of the modern classics of cinema.

Trailer for Amores Perros


{Film Passport Stamped]

Coming Attractions: More "modern masterpieces" as I tackle a good ol' new-aged vampire film from Ingmar Bergman's home turf…washes the taste of Twilight right out of your mouth. I hope you know Morse Code!!!

Questions or comments? Completely disagreed with any of my picks? Are you in love with me? Leave comments below or email me at [e-mail]!!!

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