Amores perros follows three people who have different lives and stories that are brought together by a car wreck. Octavio, a handsome model who is in a car wreck that causes her leg to be amputated, uses his dog for dogfighting matches to make money. El Chivo’s daughter has been missing for so long that he is now trying to find her. There was nothing that binds the three characters together before the accident. However, they share a common love for dogs throughout the film.

“Amores Perros starts with a frenetic but fraught chase. The owner is chasing the dog through Mexico’s busy streets while the dog dies on the back seat. The chase concludes with a devastating crash which ties three different tales together” (Stendall, 2014). The same car crash is seen multiple times in the movie from various perspectives, revealing why each character was involved. The accident is caused by Valeria the model. Octavio has to flee from people trying to kill Octavio and Chivo who was at that exact intersection.

In the first story of the film, Octavio is involved with Susana. Susana has a married child. Octavio also has a brother who will soon have a baby. Octavio’s dog, Cofi is used in dogfights. “It is obvious that this film is not for dog lovers who are sensitive. The images of blood-stained fur and dead animals are common. Inarittu unleashes all the violence of carnal aggression when two dogs face off against each, with teeth bared. Octavio, Susana and their brothers are unaware that they have started an intimate relationship. Octavio makes thousands of pounds from Cofi by winning dog fights and killing his rivals. Octavio gives Susana all the money he has made in hopes that she’ll run off with him.

The second story involves Daniel, leaving his wife and two girls for a gorgeous model named Valeria. Valeria is featured in ads for perfumes such as ‘Enchant’ all around Mexico City. Valeria loves dogs and has a pup named Richie. Richie falls through the floorboards, but will not come back out. The crash left her in a chair and she broke her leg. This was eventually amputated, because she tried to push Richie back out. This ends her modelling career. Daniel, who had flirted about leaving Valeria in order to return to the wife, chose to stay with Valeria. He may not have been able to show his ethical strength by abandoning his family but he does so when he chooses to stay with Valeria, and not leave her in the moment of her greatest need.

“The final and third story examines the life and times of El Chivo, a transient and member of the upper-class who is a hitman in the corrupt police department. El Chivo’s physical appearance represents that of the lower class members in Mexico City, living in squalor and with just his dogs. His story isn’t one of poverty forever, as we discover. He is a man who has fallen. It is tragic to show that the current poverty of these people stems from their flaws. El Chivo was at the accident scene when Cofi died on the roadside after being left by paramedics. El Chivo has a number of dogs that are part of the Chivo family. Cofi, after saving Cofi and nursing him to health following a gunshot that he received in a dogfight, kills all of Chivo’s pets. Chivo was going to kill Cofi at first, but changed his mind.

Inarritu and Rodrigo Prieto’s cinematographer used different styles in the three stories. The Octavio story relies on extreme close-ups, where a single or part of a facial expression fills the entire screen. Valeria tends to be photographed at the same distance as most TV shows. In the El Chivo film, El Chivo is seen prowling the city, searching for his victim and daughter from a distance. Inarritu & Prieto used different film stocks on the plots. The Octavio & El Chivo films were bluer, while Valeria was warmer. Inarritu used nine cameras to film the critical car accident. This was one of my favorite films. The movie keeps you captivated for the entire two-and-a-half hours it is running. It is a beautiful and sad film that captures all three stories. This aesthetic includes all the violence and dog blood in the dogfight. Mexico City, upper and low class people are shown in the film. This is the first movie I’ve watched in a long time.