Amores Perros (2000) Amores perros (original title)

Director:

Alejandro González Iñárritu

Writer:

Guillermo Arriaga (written by)

Release Date:

16 June 2000 (Mexico)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Love. Betrayal. Death.

Plot:

A horrific car accident connects three stories, each involving characters dealing with loss, regret, and life's harsh realities, all in the name of love.

Plot Keywords:

Car Accident | Dog | Mexico City | Money | Dogfight

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 55 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Emilio Echevarría	...	El Chivo
Gael García Bernal	...	Octavio (as Gael García)
Goya Toledo	...	Valeria
Álvaro Guerrero	...	Daniel
Vanessa Bauche	...	Susana
Jorge Salinas	...	Luis
Marco Pérez	...	Ramiro
Rodrigo Murray	...	Gustavo
Humberto Busto	...	Jorge
Gerardo Campbell	...	Mauricio
Rosa María Bianchi	...	Tía Luisa (Aunt Luisa)
Dunia Saldívar	...	Mama Susana (Susana's Mother)
Adriana Barraza	...	Mama Octavio (Octavio's Mother)
José Sefami	...	Leonardo
Lourdes Echevarría	...	Maru
Laura Almela	...	Julieta
Ricardo Dalmacci	...	Andrés Salgado
Gustavo Sánchez Parra	...	Jarocho
Dagoberto Gama	...	Alvaro
Gustavo Muñoz	...	El Chispas
Carlo Bernal	...	Javier
Rodrigo Ostap	...	El Jaibo (as Rodrigo Obstab)
Edgar González	...	Bebe Rodrigo (Baby Rodrigo)
Hilda González	...	Cajera (Cashier)
Patricio Castillo	...	Doctor
Ana María González	...	Enfermera (Nurse)
Roberto Medina	...	Conductor de T.V. (TV Announcer)
Ángeles Marín	...	Conductora de T.V. (TV Announcer)
Carlos Samperio	...	Hombre deshuesadero (Man at Junkyard)
Kazuyo Togawa	...	Sra. gorda (Fat Lady) (as T. Kazuyo Togawa)
Gema Aparicio	...	Empleada domestica (Maid) (scenes deleted)
Adriana Varone	...	Amante Luis (Luis's Mistress)
Bruno Salgado	...	Champignon
Adriana Islas	...	Lina
Regina Abad	...	Jimena
Leoncio Torres	...	El Pelón
Luisa Geliz	...	Secretaria Daniel (Daniel's Secretary)
Jean Paul Bierry	...	Hombre junta (Man at Meeting)
Alma Rocío González	...	Mujer junta (Woman at Meeting)
Mauricio Martínez	...	Judicial (Judicial Police Agent)
Juan Manuel Ramos	...	Policia (Policeman)
Ernesto Bog	...	Hombre 1 (Man 1)
José Luis Barraza	...	Hombre 2 (Man 2)
Jorge Arellano	...	Niño cuidador 1 (Boy Caretaker 1)
Jonathan Herrera	...	Niño cuidador 2 (Boy Caretaker 2)
Heriberto Castillo	...	Extraño (Stranger

Directed by
Alejandro González Iñárritu

Writing credits
Guillermo Arriaga		(written by) (as Guillermo Arriaga Jordán)

Produced by
Guillermo Arriaga	....	associate producer (as Guillermo Arriaga Jordán)
Raúl Olvera Ferrer	....	associate producer
Francisco González Compeán	....	executive producer
Alejandro González Iñárritu	....	producer
Pelayo Gutiérrez	....	associate producer
Mónica Lozano	....	associate producer (as Monica Lozano)
Martha Sosa Elizondo	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Gustavo Santaolalla

Cinematography by
Rodrigo Prieto

Film Editing by
Luis Carballar
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Fernando Pérez Unda

Casting by
Manuel Teil

Production Design by
Brigitte Broch

Art Direction by
Melo Hinojosa

Set Decoration by
Julieta Álvarez

Costume Design by
Gabriela Diaque

Makeup Department
Isabel Amezcua	....	hair stylist
Marco Antonio Garcia	....	assistant makeup artist
Eduardo Gómez	....	hair stylist
Marco Antonio Rosado	....	makeup artist (as Marco Rosado)
David Ruiz Gameros	....	makeup artist (as David Gameros)
Gabriel Solana	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Tita Lombardo	....	production manager
Tlacateotl Mata	....	post-production manager
Oscar Reboreda	....	production manager: STPC
Erick Tamayo	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Efren del Moral	....	second assistant director (as Efrén del Moral)
Adrian Grunberg	....	assistant director: second unit
Carlos Hidalgo	....	first assistant director
Julian 'Chico' Valdez	....	second second assistant director (as Julián 'Chico' Valdes)

Art Department
Pedro Alanis Alanis	....	decorative painter (as Pedro Alanis)
Luis Blackaller	....	graphic designer
Luis Blackaller	....	set designer
Miguel Cervantes	....	assistant props
Enrique Correa	....	art department
Gilberto Cortes	....	property master (as Gilberto Cortés)
Ernesto Cortéz	....	art department
Ismael Damián Castillo	....	art department
Alisarine Ducolomb	....	art department coordinator
El Flaco	....	art department
Antonio Godínez	....	assistant props
Alfredo Gonzalez	....	assistant decorator (as Alfredo González)
Jesús Hernández Villegas	....	art department
Víctor Hugo Libreros	....	art department
Fernando Llanos	....	storyboard artist
Francisco Javier Moreno	....	art department
Óscar Neri Torres	....	art department
Alberto Piedra Cortés	....	art department (as Alberto Piedra)
Álvaro Pungas	....	art department
Fernando Rodríguez León	....	art department
Carlos Rodríguez	....	art department
Carlos Sanen	....	assistant decorator
Tacho	....	stand-by carpenter
Fernando Ávila Alba	....	art department
Roberto Ávila	....	assistant decorator
Gilberto Avina Gomez	....	art department crew (uncredited)
Gilberto Aviña Gomez	....	art department (uncredited)

Sound Department
Antonio Diego	....	sound
Joaquín Díaz	....	sound editor
Efraín García Mora	....	sound editor
Daniel García	....	assistant boom operator
Martín Hernández	....	sound designer
Martín Hernández	....	sound effects recordist
Martín Hernández	....	supervising sound editor
Carlos Honc	....	assistant sound editor
Carlos Honc	....	sound effects recordist
Samuel Mendoza	....	sound effects recordist
Rudy Pi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andy Potvin	....	sound stereo supervisor: Dolby
Alejandro Quevedo	....	sound editor
Adrián Reynoso	....	assistant sound editor
Adrián Reynoso	....	sound editor
Rodolfo Romero	....	sound editor
Geoffrey G. Rubay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Leon Sandoval	....	boom operator (as León Sandoval Ortega)
Kaeri Tedla	....	sound effects recordist
Roland N. Thai	....	supervising sound editor
Rigoberto Torres	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Javier Martínez	....	special effects assistant
Alejandro Vázquez	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Guillermo Franco-Guevara	....	digital artist
Miguel Moreno	....	digital artist

Stunts
Gerardo Albarrán	....	stunt coordinator (as Gerardo Moreno)
Igor Aranda	....	stunts
Ubaldo Bucio	....	stunts
Jorge Luis Corzo	....	stunts (as Jorge Corzo)
Tomás Guzmán	....	stunts
Javier Lambert	....	stunts
Mauricio Martínez	....	stunts
Raúl Martínez	....	stunts
Gabriela Moreno	....	stunts
Rafael Valdez	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Benito Aguilar	....	gaffer
Donald Bryant	....	additional camera operator
Victor Manuel Camacho	....	video assist operator
Arturo Castañeda	....	first assistant camera
Pablo Castillo	....	grip
Joaquin Cervera	....	additional assistant camera
Norman Christianson	....	additional camera operator
Esteban de Llaca	....	additional camera operator
Fernando Díaz Torres	....	second assistant camera
Gerardo Flores	....	additional assistant camera (as Gerardo Julian Flores)
Federico García	....	still photographer
Héctor 'Fito' García	....	additional camera operator (as Héctor Marcos García)
Jesús Francisco García	....	video assist operator
Manuel García	....	electrician
Martín Gaytán	....	additional assistant camera
Jesús González	....	gaffer
José González	....	electrician
Pedro González	....	key grip
José Gutiérrez	....	additional assistant camera
Lorenzo Hagerman	....	still photographer
Edgar Hurtado	....	additional assistant camera
Antonio Jara	....	grip
Luis Lara	....	electrician
Ignacio Martínez	....	grip
Noe Muñoz	....	camera loader
Salvador Orendain	....	grip
Miguel Ángel Pacheco	....	grip
Ismael Parades	....	grip (as Ismael Paredes)
Victor Manuel Ramirez	....	electrician
Antonio Riestra	....	additional camera operator
Erick Sanudo	....	additional camera operator (as Erick Sañudo)
Humberto Sánchez	....	grip
Eduardo Flores Torres	....	additional camera operator (as Eduardo Flores)
Mauricio Vega	....	electrician
Lohengrin Zapiain	....	additional assistant camera

Casting Department
Jorge Guerrero	....	extras casting
Sonia Guerrero	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ismael Jardon	....	costume supervisor
Margarita Lozada	....	costumer
Carlos 'Pollo' Munguia	....	assistant costume supervisor (as Carlos Alberto Munguia R.)
Francisco Rodríguez	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Pablo Baksht	....	post-production coordinator (as Pablo Baksht Segovia)
Carlos Bolado	....	editing advisor
Alfonso Cornejo	....	post-production assistant
Guillermo del Toro	....	editing advisor
Mario Sandoval	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Carlos Arredondo	....	music editor
Carlos Arredondo	....	score recording engineer
Lynn Fainchtein	....	music supervisor
Herminio Gutiérrez	....	music coordinator
Daniel Hidalgo	....	original music
Anibal Kerpel	....	music engineer (as Aníbal Kerpel)

Transportation Department
Julio César Aivar	....	driver
Roberto Alcalá	....	driver
Arturo Ballesteros	....	driver
Eduardo Bonilla	....	driver
Eduardo Cortéz	....	driver
Raúl Escobedo Espinoza	....	driver (as Raúl Escobedo)
Alejandro Galván	....	driver
Enrique Garcia	....	transportation captain (as Enrique García)
Luis Miguel García	....	driver
Alejandro Gasca	....	driver
Urbano Guzmán	....	driver
Edgar 'Chivata' Lezama	....	action vehicles
Alejandro Linares	....	driver
Alfonso Medina	....	driver
Benito Meléndez Chávez	....	driver (as Benito Meléndez)
Mario Moreno	....	driver
Humberto Ochoa	....	driver
Omar Pedraza	....	driver
Antonio Saldaña	....	driver
Pedro Urbina	....	driver
Gustavo Vallejo	....	driver
Alejandro Vázquez	....	driver
Manuel Ávila	....	driver

Other crew
Ernesto Aparicio	....	dog wrangler
Jorge Barba	....	assistant location manager
Ernesto Bolio	....	personal advisor
Ignacio Borja	....	title designer
Tessa Brisac	....	translator: French
Fernando Camarena	....	assistant accountant
Patricia Cano	....	location manager
Larry Casanova	....	dog wrangler
Abel Casillas	....	delegate: ANDA
Oliver Castro	....	title designer: main title
Mario A. Cornejo Ruiz	....	production assistant
Philip Dale	....	translator: English
Adrian Enriquez	....	assistant location manager (as Adrián Enríquez)
Luciano Falcón	....	stand-in
Armelina Fritche	....	wrangler trainee
Mayte Gallegos	....	location manager
Fabio García Montes de Oca	....	production assistant
José Luis Guillén	....	stand-in
Lucero Gutierrez	....	assistant to director (as Lucero Gutiérrez)
Yissel Ibarra	....	subtitle supervisor (as Yissel Ibarra Espriu)
Luciana Kaplan	....	script supervisor
Juan Carlos Landero	....	production assistant
Fernando Llanos	....	making-of
G. Pekas Lozano	....	production coordinator (as Gloria 'Pekas' Lozano)
Paco Medina	....	production assistant
Tavatha Menendez	....	stand-in (as Tabatha Menéndez)
Omar Moctezuma	....	staff
Juan Carlos Navarro	....	stand-in
Rosalba Nogueda	....	secretary to director
Grace Olvera	....	stand-in
Claudia Puebla	....	location manager
Israel Ramos Vargas	....	dog wrangler assistant
Anna Roth	....	production advisor (as Anna Roth Kanarska)
Pablo Rovalo	....	title designer
Timothy J. Sexton	....	additional translator: English
Raúl Torres	....	accountant
Ernesto Trejo	....	set medic
Eduardo Vignon	....	stand-in
Silverio 'Chapu' Vázquez	....	dog wrangler assistant
Aurelia Álvarez Urbajtel	....	additional translator: French

Thanks
Monica Abin	....	thanks
Javier Aguilera	....	thanks
Jorge Aguilera	....	thanks
Eliseo Alberto	....	thanks
Miguel Alemán Magnani	....	special thanks
María Eugenia Armendariz	....	thanks
Antonio Armonia	....	thanks
Marianna Arriaga	....	thanks (as Mariana Arriaga A.)
Santiago Arriaga	....	thanks (as Santiago Arriaga A.)
Patricia Arriaga-Jordán	....	thanks
Fernando Bennazar	....	thanks
Eduardo Berrondo	....	thanks
Rosa Bosch	....	thanks
Lola Bravo	....	thanks
Simón Bross	....	thanks
Constanza Cavalli	....	thanks
Norman Christianson	....	thanks
Ignacio Cobo	....	special thanks
Rodrigo Cortés	....	thanks
Alfonso Cuarón	....	special thanks
Carlos Cuarón	....	thanks
José Augusto Cárdenas	....	thanks
Pedro Cárdenas	....	thanks
Guillermo del Toro	....	special thanks
Raúl Olvera Ferrer	....	special thanks
Enrique Figueras	....	thanks
Hector Gonzalez Gama	....	thanks
José Luis García Agraz	....	thanks
Octavio García Allende	....	thanks
Juan García Gutiérrez	....	thanks
Ricardo Garza	....	thanks
Eduardo Gavito	....	thanks (as Dr. Eduardo Gavito)
Federico González Compeán	....	special thanks
Arturo González de Cosío	....	thanks
Guillermo González	....	thanks
Guillermo González	....	thanks
Rodrigo González	....	special thanks
Jorge Guerrero	....	thanks
María Eladia Hagerman Jr.	....	special thanks
Carlos Hagerman	....	thanks
Mariana Hagerman	....	thanks
María Eladia Hagerman	....	special thanks
Richard Ham	....	thanks
Yissel Ibarra	....	thanks
Armando Iñarritu	....	thanks (as Armando Iñárritu)
Luz Maria Iñarritu	....	thanks (as Luz María Iñárritu Cervantes)
Alfredo Iñárritu	....	thanks
Alfredo Joskowicz	....	thanks
Eliseo Juan	....	special thanks
Vicente Leñero	....	thanks
Luciano	....	dedicatee
Alejandro López Freixes	....	thanks
Augusto López Valencia	....	thanks (as Augusto López)
Luis Mandoki	....	thanks
Ludwik Margules	....	thanks
Eduardo Martínez Solares	....	thanks
Jorge Martínez	....	thanks
Karla Moles	....	thanks
Jorge Mondragón	....	thanks
Celina Moreno	....	thanks
Carlos Olvera	....	thanks
Lila Ortega	....	thanks
Javier Prado	....	thanks
Ricardo Pérez Teuffer	....	thanks
Raúl Quintanilla	....	thanks
Julio Revueltas	....	thanks
Carolina Rivera	....	thanks
Pedro Rodríguez Garay	....	thanks (as Pedro Rodríguez)
Juan Carlos Rulfo	....	thanks
Alexis Sandoval	....	thanks
Antonio Serrano	....	thanks
Enrique Singer	....	thanks
Alejandro Soberón Kuri	....	special thanks
Héctor Suárez	....	thanks
Alberto Sánchez	....	thanks
Jorge Sánchez	....	thanks
Belinda Uriegas	....	thanks
Antonio Urrutia	....	special thanks
Francisco Vargas	....	thanks
Alejandro Villaseñor	....	thanks
Judith Weston	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Altavista Films
• Zeta Film

Distributors

• ArtCam (2001) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Eurocine (2000) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Filmax International (2001) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2001) (UK) (theatrical)
• Pyramide Distribution (2000) (France) (theatrical)
• X Verleih AG (2001) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Xenix Filmdistribution (2001) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Benelux Instituto Luce (Italy)
• CCV (Norway)
• CCV (Sweden)
• EDKO Film (Hong Kong)
• Europa Filmes (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Future Film (2001) (Finland) (all media)
• Intigrade Media (South Korea)
• LNK Filmes (Portugal)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2001) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Lions Gate Films (2001) (USA) (subtitled)
• Madman Entertainment (2002) (Australia) (DVD)
• Maple Pictures (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Nu Vision (Mexico)
• Shari Films (Israel)
• Sunfim (Iceland)
• Tokyo Theaters Company (Japan)
• Triangelfilm
• Umut Sanat (Turkey)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• World Film Magic (2001) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"Amores perros" - Mexico (original title)
"Love Dogs" - International (English title) (literal title)
"Love's a Bitch" - International (English title) (informal title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore, language and sexuality

Runtime:

154 min | Turkey:115 min (TV version)

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | Colombia:18 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Mexico:C | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Peru:18

Filming Locations:

Colonia Condesa, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Altavista Films

Trivia:

"Negro", the name "El Chivo" picks for his dog at the end of the movie is also the well-known nickname for the film's director, Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the industrial is murdered by El Chivo in the restaurant, peasants are seen walking in the street. One of them is a woman with sunglasses. That same woman appears at El Chivo's ex-wife's funeral.

Quotes:

Octavio:[to his brother Ramiro after being threatened] Being tough won't make you smart.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Prozac tango (2005)

Soundtrack:

Lucha de gigantes

Must've beaten Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the Academy Awards

I think we're talking about one of the best Mexican films ever (i say so, knowing there's been excellent Luis Buñuel films as well as Arturo Ripstein ones, like 'Principio y Fin' -Begining and End- that is this director's highest peak (based on the book by Naguib Mafusz)and Emilio 'El Indio' Fernandez ones that i don't personally like that much (even though he received the Golden Bear in the 'Berlinale').

Being surrounded by terrible Mexican movies, 'Amores Perros' was so refreshing and remarkably above every expectation that everybody could have about a first-time director (even though he was well-known for his wonderful work at advertising (changing the way ads were made in Mexico) and as a radio DJ in a WFM radio station that contributed to change radio in Mexico, too, along with Rock 101. Gonzalez Iñarritu (in cooperation with his almost personal screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga) creates such a complex yet flawless history based on three individual ones that converge not only in the dantesque (reference to Dante Alighieri's style, The Divine Comedy) car accident, but in their perception and description of how love can be harsh, as well as life itself, of how love can get to be a bitch, a struggle.

First Story ('Octavio y Susana') is about Octavio's (Garcia Bernal) obsession with his sister-in-law, Susana (Vanessa Bauche), but it's also about the violence, about an illusion, about betrayal, about loss. This is also reflected in the character of Octavio's dog, Cofi in a parallel relationship with his owner while he seeks his own destiny, having lost everything, he'll have to redefine his life. This parallelism also occurs in the second story('Daniel y Valeria'), an almost surreal one, where Ritchie being trapped underneath the condo's floor represents how it's owner Valeria (Goya Toledo) is trapped in a relation with Daniel that grows sicker as her injury (caused by the car accident) gets worse. The removal of the gigantic advertising of 'Enchant', the scent campaign that she used to be the image for, from the view of her balcony represents their decline: Daniel (Avaro Guerrero) left behind his marriage for this superficial mirage kind of dream, and she will have to make a whole redefinition of her life after losing everything. The dog-character parallelism with the main characters of this film can also be noticed in the third story ('El Chivo y Maru'), where 'El Chivo' (Emilio Echevaria), a former College teacher that left it all, family included, to become some guerrilla terrorist (is there a symbolism for Subcommander Marcos, from EZLN?), and now finds, by losing it all (all of his dogs being killed), but finding a new reason, new company just before a hit-man-type mission where he sets a confrontation between two brothers in such a biblical style the chance that none of the characters from the rest of the stories had: redemption. That's when he decides to retrieve some of the things he has lost, like Maru (Lourdes Echevarria -Emilio's actual daughter in real life), by at least apologizing to her, and redeeming himself finding a new life. It's clear that he'll stop being a homeless, because by the end of the movie he's got plenty of money. This story is one step ahead of the other two, cause after the loss they are all victims of, 'El Chivo' is the only one who gets that chance to start from scratch once again. Huge merit to Emilio Echevarria's performance for making believable the only character that was in risk of not being plausible of the film. Because of the relation within the characters, their dogs and their own love personal story, the title is, too a big success (both in Spanish and in English).

Of the episodic narrative structure of the movie (a few critics in the Cannes Film Festival compared it with Tarantino's Pulp Fiction), it can be said that besides making it more beautiful and complex, it's also necessary. One can't figure a way to resolve the situation other than this one. The thrill, the shock would never be the same. For example, if each one was a short film instead, it wouldn't work the same way as the whole movie.

In the film, Gonzalez Iñarritu allows himself to appear a few times: in the editorial where Daniel works, for example, verifying a magazine cover; having some of the TV spots he made in the 90's when he was a publicist shown in the movie; and in the last scene, 'El Chivo' names the dog he rescued (formerly known as Cofi) as 'El Negro', Iñarritu's nickname.