A complex and powerful debut feature by Mexican director Alejandro
Gonzalez Inarritu, Amores Perros begs facile comparisons with Pulp
Fiction. Three separate, inter-twined stories deftly compete. The
first and best is frenetic and brutal, containing the graphic dog
fights that the media will set their teeth into. Even if the second is, by
comparison, tame and silly, it still has an edge (think: pampered
poodle). Besides, the third is more than redemptive. Amores Perros is a
film of real substance, both funny and compulsive. The impressive
direction and photography may induce many stomach-churning moments,
but the effect is entirely satisfying.
