Amores Perros and M

I watched two movies on TV recently, the one with the most impact was Amores Perros (2000). This film, made by director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, is a hard hitting look at a variety of lives in Mexico colliding at a traffic accident. The story is told in sections involving all the participants in the accident and their lives before and after. Specifically, it shows three main storylines: The first of a young guy trying to win the love of his brothers wife and escape the city by using his dog in dog fights. The second is a supermodel in a secret affair whose career is jeopardized by the accident. The third is a former guerella turned bum / hit man trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

Stylistically, the movie is told in intercut sections with the characters weaving in and out of each other's storylines. It is reminiscent of Pulp Fiction or Crash, but with more plausibility and realism. It is shot with a lot of handheld camerawork with that bright, washedout look that screams "Realism!" It is well acted by all of the actors. particulary Gael Garcia Bernal who was also great in Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) and The Motorcycle Diaries (2004). This guy is showing remarkable consistency in delivering strong performance in good movies.

Overall, I highly recommend this film despite the long running time (2+ hours) and more dog abuse than you will ever see in this life again. I hope the dogs weren't hurt in the making of this film, it is so realistic it's hard to tell. As a dog owner, it was a little hard to take. Thematically, the dogs are crucial to the movie as they become symbols of the characters and relationships in the film. To the young guy, the dog represents his dreams of freedom and life. For the model and her man, the dog represents their relationship as it gets caught under the floor boards and gets stuck. The bum hit man's dog (same dog as the young guys) represents his capacity for love and lethal vicious instinct trained to perfection. This movie is not upbeat at all, but has a power and magnetism that holds your attention.

The second movie I saw was M (1931) directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre. It tells the story of a serial child murderer and his affect on the community. I wasn't expecting much from a movie this old, but it is well made and involving. Most of the movie is about how the killer affects society, detailing the police's efforts to capture the criminal. The crime underworld becomes upset by the constant police presence and resolves to capture and kill the man themselves. Peter Lorre gives his best performance as a deceptively docile man driven by an inner impulse to kill children.

Both movies are well worth watching, just remember they're not particulary happy and you may be a little bummed after seeing them.