LOVE'S A BITCH
Ain't it so? :) And that's exactly what Amores Perros is trying to tell us. The story revolves around three main characters Octavio, Valeria and El Chivo and the dogs in their lives. Octavio is a young man who falls for his brother's young battered wife. Susana in turn remains loyal to her lowlife husband.. Driven by his passion and desire, Octavio enters his dog into the violent world of dogfighting (man, I just can't stand seeing blood all over the movie), and used his winnings to try to win Susana's affections and to coax her into running away with him. It seemed that his efforts were going somewhere, until the night Susana ran away with her husband, Ramiro (and with his money). It was the ultimate betrayal from the woman he so loved and yet, he was in denial. When Octavio and Susana met again in the wake of Ramiro, all she could say was "You don't get it.. He's my husband".. And in spite of how dreadful that relationship was, Susana held on to her love for her husband, leaving out Octavio in the cold. In the end, it doesn't matter what you do in the name of love, what matters is whether the object of your affection returns the same affections to you. Otherwise, you will end up betrayed and alone.


The story of Valeria is another tragedy. She is a budding model having an affair with a married TV producer, Daniel. He left his wife and kids to be with Valeria and it was all a fairytale until Octavio's car crashed into hers. She becomes needy and lonely, defensive and angry when she became disabled. Things turned for the worse when her "son", a cute pup called Ritchie, got stuck under the floor for days.. Somehow this mirrored her plight, being imprisoned by her fate and she does not know how to get out of it. And the affair that started like a fairytale was slowly becoming a nightmare. The couple had angry fights, hurling hurtful words at each other.. the paranoia setting in.. jealousy.. neediness.. all the elements that is bound to doom a relationship.. And in the end, they lost it all -- Valeria's leg and her glamour job, Daniel's money due to the divorce and medical bills.. and all they have is each other, not even sure about their love for each other anymore. Their segment ends with that uncertainty, desperation and helplessness...

The last segment is that of El Chivo, who, years ago, abandoned his wife and daughter in the name of principles. "I wanted to make the world a better place so I can come back to you... as you can see I have failed.." Now he is just a disillusioned bum who lives with his stray dogs, full of regret for forfeiting his right to his only daughter who thinks he is now dead. One of the most gripping scenes is his phone call to his daughter towards the end of the movie, where he poured out all his pent up feelings.. And in the end, he was cut-off before he could say "I love you..." And sometimes, life is like that. You lose your chance with with your loved ones. And no matter how you try to catch up to make up for the lost time, it is never quite enough anymore. There are some things you can never quite repair or bring back...

The movie is wonderfully done. Except for the sight of blood in a number of scenes, I didn't mind sitting out all two hours of it. All the three stories are nicely intertwined and the cinematography is excellent. Plus, the actors in this movie are just perfectly cast. And I'm not saying that because I'm crushing on Gael (again).. :)

The stories are very dark.. intense and raw.. And if you're the type who likes happy endings, then Amores Perros is not for you. This is the kind of movie that will have you reflecting about your own losses and misfortunes when it comes to love and life. And if you're a desolate mood yourself, well, expect to get more depressed.. But this movie is one of the best I've seen to-date. Two thumbs up!