Amores Perros (2000)

This absorbing Mexican marvel eschews Tarantino-esque quirkiness to emerge as a startling original, expertly fashioned into a stunning rumination on the traumas and desperation of love and desire. Shot with handheld camera for documentary-style immediacy, it is a uniquely twisted romantic tragedy and exhilarating masterpiece that is suspenseful, shocking, disturbing and ultimately very moving.

The film is the work of a born filmmaker who plunges into melodrama, coincidence, sensation and violence with passion. It is rich with character and atmosphere, reminding the critic of Buñuel, Ripstein and Jodorowsky in its comfort with society's scruffy underbelly.

This is a satisfying, tough-minded episodic film noir that immerses itself in melodrama without shame. González Iñárritu is unashamed to embrace the power of filmmaking and evolves into a grown-up love of narrative; it is rare for a director to enter films with this much verve and emotional understanding.

A major work that spins a timeless, universal tale of interlocking fate involving love, tragedy and redemption. Every moment seethes with vitality and passion for life even at its harshest; it is fully realized, ablaze with vital portrayals and rich in meaning, though its graphic depiction of cruelty to dogs will prove too intense for some.

The review calls it an engrossing, embittered, ironic vision with magazine-chic style and biblical undertones, owing more to Kieślowski than Tarantino. It prefers the less pat Los Olvidados but sees it as the film Kieślowski would have made in Mexico.

The critic praises Iñárritu's audacious debut for its raw immediacy, primal emotions, and kinetic energy in weaving three stories around a car crash, while noting its visceral dogfighting scenes. However, the connections between stories are seen as disappointingly vague and shallow, with trite ideas not matching the ambition.

The critic calls the film first-rate filmmaking that is horrific and tender, raw and lyrical, and urges viewers to see it. They single out the gripping, intricate storytelling across three linked tales and the effective use of dogs to reflect the characters' desperate situations.

The critic hails Amores Perros as a truly great film that restores faith in the power of cinema. They single out the extraordinary momentum of the direction, the confident editing that reveals thematic links on survival, instinct and loss, and the film's resonance despite its violence.

The critic praises the film's high-octane, Pulp Fiction-style storytelling that interweaves three tales around a car crash in Mexico City, highlighting its visceral dogfight scenes and strong performances. They single out the raw, virile direction and the way dogs serve as potent symbols across the stories.

The film is a hell of a first feature, a feverish Mexico City triptych that slams street-level toughs against glamorous high society and picks over the carnage after a car accident. It recalls Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction but is edgier, fundamentally moral, with the love of animals as a redeeming grace note amid savagery.

The critic calls the film exceptional and possibly the best two-and-a-half hours in the cinema that year. They single out its visceral emotional impact, fluid handheld camerawork, and strong performances, especially compared to more superficial genre exercises.