Amores Perros

There are three stories in Amores Perros, and each of them could be a full feature in its own right. But they interconnect by a chance traffic accident. And each character's life is affected by it in different ways. All the stories have to do with love. All the stories have to do with death. And all the stories have to do with dogs. In fact, in each story, the dog is as much of a character as the people. The first story stars Gael Garcia Bernal, who later became well known for his roles in "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "The Crime of Padre Amaro". He wants to earn money to run away with his young sister-in-law who is being mistreated by his brother. And so he uses his dog in dogfights. The film opens with a wild chase scene in which he is fleeing from a competing dog fighter. That's when the accident occurs. The second story is about a beautiful model and her lover who leaves his wife and children for her. She has a dog, which she loves as if it were a child. She is injured in the accident and becomes wheelchair bound. When her little dog gets trapped under the floorboards in her new apartment, the story escalates. The third story is about a homeless man, a former revolutionary, who makes his living as an assassin. He owns several dogs and rescues the fighting dog from the accident. As the story moves along we discover that he has abandoned his family years before. His grown daughter thinks he is dead and has no idea that he follows her around.

This movie was fanominal. I thoroughly enjoyed whatching this movie and much like "Yi Yi" it didn't feel nearly as long as it is. I love the fact that it is 3 different storys combine into one main theme. Dogs bring the movie together with the help of an accident. Roughly translating to "Lifes A Bitch" and "Dogs love," Amores Perros reminds me of "Crash" by taking multipule stories and pulling them all together in an unexpected but brilliant method. I would recomend this movie to anyone that wants to see what a great movie is all about, period.

"Yi Yi" (2000)

A wedding and a grandmother's illness reveal fault lines in the lives of one Taipei family in Edward Yang's extraordinary film. Yi Yi is built from deceptively simple elements that together create a complex, warm, and utterly convincing portrait of family life. NJ Jian is a businessman facing bankruptcy, but he has to juggle his financial problems with family strife when his mother-in-law falls into a coma. NJ's wife, Min-Min, brings her mother home, and each family member--including daughter Ting-Ting and her delightful little brother Yang-Yang--spends hours talking to the old lady. These conversations become confessionals and the characters gradually re-evaluate their relationships. There are no catastrophic conflicts, only the ordinary, sometimes troubled, unfolding of lives. Yang enhances the film's sense of reality by frequently holding the camera back from the action. The use of long shots and unexpected angles makes it seem like the audience is eavesdropping, catching glimpses of lives passing by.

I really enjoyed watching Yi Yi. Although it typically is not my kind of movie this one really drew me in. Despite its almost 3 hour playing time I never got bored, in fact it didn't even feel close to 3 hours. This movie is stunning; the way that the young boy seems to live vicariously through his camera is something you don't often see. By shooting the movie as if you are a bystander draws you in and gives you the sense that you are apart of the movie. I would recommend this movie to anyone, regardless of whether or not you are a fan of soap-ish dramas.