World Cinema Amsterdam | Internationaal filmfestival | 18 – 27 Augustus 2016

'Amores perros' roughly translates as 'love's a bitch': an apt summary of this remarkable film's exploration of passion, loss and the fragility of our lives. In telling three stories connected by one traumatic incident, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu uses an intricate screenplay by novelist Guillermo Arriaga to make three movies in close orbit to one another, expressing the notion that we are defined by what we lose: from our loves to our family, our innocence, or even our lives. These interwoven tales – about a young man in love with his brother's pregnant wife, a perfume saleswoman and her married lover, and a scruffy vagrant who doubles as a hired killer – are united by a devastating car crash that provides the film's narrative nexus, as well as by the many dogs the characters own or care for.

There is graphic violence, including controversial dog fighting scenes that prompted a disclaimer that these were harmless and carefully supervised, but what finally emerges from Amores perros is a uniquely conceptual portrait of people we come to know through their relationship with dogs. The film is simultaneously bleak, cynical, insightful and compassionate, with layers of meaning that are sure to reward multiple viewings.

Monday 16 August, 09.30 PM, Rialto
Tuesday 17 August, 09.45 PM, Rialto