Amores Perros is an emotionally exhausting tale of complex human relationships beyond the class disparity of Mexico. In 2006, Alejandro González Iñárritu showcased how human suffering is universal and so is hope through his film Babel. Years before, he created a masterpiece that made a new wave in Mexican and world cinema. Like Babel, Amores Perros is too a part of hyperlink cinema but inside the eclectic class divide of Mexico. Inarritu chose to display Mexico with hyper-realism without exploiting intense human emotions.
Cinematography and Spacial Design in Amores Perros
Inarritu displayed the class disparity through spaces, interiors, and camera angles. In the first story, Octavio and his family belong to the working class. The house of Octavio and Susana is chaotically messy and claustrophobic. The placement of old stickers and worn-out belongings creates a sense of nostalgic pathos. The dutch tilts and close-ups help in increasing the emotional intimacy towards each character. Privacy is a privilege in a small house of five, as Susana and Ramiro’s intimate moments are heard throughout the house. Wide camera angles and dog view angles are used during dog fights. In the second story, a wealthy magazine editor Daniel gifts his supermodel mistress Valerie a luxurious apartment. Initially, the apartment is spacious and shot with a normal camera angle. But, as the story takes a darker turn, the camera angle changes to close-ups and angular tilts. The beds and flooring turn into a cluttered mourning site as Valerie’s dog goes missing inside the floor. In the third story, the hitman El Chivo’s whole house seems like an abandoned and cluttered building. He lives there with stray dogs whom he feeds and takes care of. El chivo lives as a homeless man with stacks of old trash suffocating his space. The living conditions of El chivo are unhygienic and visually exhausting to watch. El Chivo’s palce is also captured through close-ups, dutch tilts, and wide angular shots. The interior design of Valerie is more westernized, while Octavio and El chivo’s house gives a more authentic Mexican vibe.
Love: Complex Human Relationships
Inarritu designed the character’s relationships based on real-world situations beyond happy endings. Their love stands on the pillar of superficiality, deceit, and lust. In the first story, Octavio starts an illegitimate affair with his sister-in-law Susana while his abusive brother Ramiro constantly cheats on Susana. Octavio is genuinely interested in Susana and promises to give her and the child a better life. Susana further double-crosses Octavio and flees away with his money. In the second story, a magazine editor chooses a supermodel Valerie over his wife and two daughters. Their relationship is based on superficiality until Valerie meets with an accident. As One of her legs gets severely fractured, Valerie goes into a state of despair which also hampers her physical beauty, career, and relationship with Daniel. But, as they share emotional trauma and pain, their relationship becomes more genuine. When Valerie’s dog falls into an apartment hole, Daniel realizes that Valerie loves her dog more than him. In the third story, El Chivo turns out to be an ex-hitman who is currently living as a homeless person. El Chivo chose his job over his wife and daughter. In his last years, he is longing for his daughter’s love.
Mexico is a Character
Mexico captured by cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto is unfiltered and unapologetic. The class inequality, dog fights, pseudo-westernized white collars, bright color contrasts inside and outside the houses, pop-colored tiles, and filthy living conditions speaks volume about the contemporary culture of modern Mexico as in the 2000s. Susana lives in the working class and is of typical Latino descent, while Valerie (the supermodel), whose posters are on the hoarding boards, is of Scandinavian descent. Thus, Inarritu symbolically points out the internalized racism in the country. Mexico is a city of contradictions where love is a sin, selfishness, hope, betrayal, pain, and death. The intensity of Mexico’s urban chaos can be felt through the screen. Amores Perros is emotionally exhausting but introduces us to an entirely authentic and raw side of Mexico. A morally decaying society that stands on a corrupted economic system.
Absent Father Figures
Inarritu’s third world is a reflection of masculine rage, toxicity, and destruction breeding in the cosmopolitan circus of Mexico. He showers an empathetic gaze on his male characters, who are ready to redeem their sins. All the female protagonists have moved on to prioritize their own meaning of happiness over their partners in the form of their own kids, a healthy future, careers, and pets. In the first story, Octavio promises his sister-in-law Susana a better future away from his abusive husband Ramiro. Ramiro works in a departmental store and is also involved in petty crimes. He is mostly absent, cheating on his teen wife. Susana goes to school and has a kid with Ramiro to take care of. Octavio and Ramiro are living in a small household without a father and a single mother. Most of the necessities for Susana and her kid are provided by Octavio as he gets money from the local dog fights. Thus, Ramiro is equivalent to an absent father. In the second story, Daniel leaves his two daughters and wife for a beautiful supermodel. He buys her an apartment. After Valerie meets with an accident, he permanently moves in with her. In the third story, El Chivo left his daughter while she was too young and his wife for his job. Years later, karma hits him as he longs for his daughter, who does not know about his existence.
Symbolization of Dogs in Amores Perros
In Amores Perros, the dogs signified loyalty and unconditional love. Amidst the testimonial of human betrayal, all the dogs were a mirror of their owner’s mental state and living standards. Octavio turned his loving dog Cofi into a tool to change his fate. He trained him to participate in violent dog fights. Cofi’s transformation into a trained cannibal signified the change in Octavio from a polite young guy into a voracious impulsive dealer. Octavio slowly evolved out to be like his destructive brother Ramiro. Valerie’s dog Richie has been trained to survive in a safe and luxurious environment. When Richie falls into a hole in Valerie’s home, she struggles to survive. Her barks heard from the floor are an illusion of Valerie. It can be acknowledged that Richie could not have survived the underground filled with dangers. The continued noises signify Valerie’s unconditional love towards her dog and the strained relationship between her and Daniel. El chico continues to live in isolation and takes care of the street dogs. El Chivo’s human contact is constricted to business. His vulnerability is only exposed to his dogs. He takes the injured Cofi to his shelter while ignoring the humans who met with an accident. When Cofi killed all the other dogs, El Chivo empathized with him as someone trained to kill his species.
Karma and Redemption
In Amores Perros, all the characters are three-dimensional complex humans. There are no heroes or villains. The impulses of these characters direct their actions. They are not well-versed in tackling the consequences of their actions. There is no exploitation of misery nor a nihilistic tone, as the characters are ready to redeem their deeds. There is still a ray of hope as each story ends on a cliffhanger, which is tragic but not the end of a more significant journey called life.
The Butterfly Effect – Perros Amores
Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Red often depicts the intersection of events with a spiritual and philosophical motif. In Red, all the co-incidences have a cause to unite the two strangers through several minor incidents followed by one major one. In Tarantino’s Pulp fiction intersection of different characters is through random encounters with a dark tone of humor. In Inarritu’s Babel, the characters never cross paths but are united through a more philosophical message of pain and hope. In Amores Perros, all the characters unify through heartbreak and misery. But, they cross paths through one violent accident that affects the lives of all three main characters.
If you like this analysis, please check out the review and analysis of another one of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s amazing creations – The Revenant.
