"AMORES PERROS"
(2000) (Gael García Bernal, Emilio Echevarría) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Extreme	Extreme	Heavy	Heavy
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	Minor	Minor	None	Extreme
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Extreme	Extreme	Heavy	Heavy	Extreme

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QUICK TAKE:

Drama: Various people are connected and affected by the dogs they own as well as a serious car accident that alters their lives forever.

PLOT:

Somewhere in Mexico City, Octavio (GAEL GARCÍA BERNAL) is a young man who lives with his brother, Ramiro (MARCO PERÉZ), that man's wife, Susana (VANESSA BAUCHE), and their dog, Cofi. Ramiro treats Susana horribly, a point that hasn't escaped the attention of Octavio who's found himself now in love with her. While they begin an affair and he wants her to run off with him, she's hesitant because he has no money.

When Cofi ends up killing a dog-fighting champion canine owned by local hood, Jarocho (GUSTAVO SANCHEZ PARRA), Octavio decides to enter the dog into such contests to raise money for Susana, and he's soon making more than he ever could have imagined. Yet, a series of events ends all of that and results in a bad car accident that leads to the film's second story. In it, Valeria (GOYA TOLEDO) is a leggy model whose body adorns large billboards across the city. She's having an affair with Daniel (ÁLVARO GUERRERO), an executive who's left his wife and kids to be with her.

When she's seriously injured in that car accident, her and Daniel's lives are forever turned upside down, a point only worsened when her beloved dog jumps through a new hole in their apartment floor and disappears. As the two try to find and remove the pooch, they must also contend with the likelihood that her modeling career is over.

In the film's third story, El Chivo (EMILIO ECHEVARRÍA) appears to be a street derelict who's actually a former anarchist who now makes a living as a hired assassin. His latest hire - arranged by a local corrupt cop, Leonardo (JOSÉ SEFAMI) - is Gustavo (RODRIGO MURRAY) who wants his partner and half-brother killed. While preparing for that hit and tending to his many dogs as well as one that he rescued from the car accident, Chivo also follows and tries to make contact with his now adult daughter, Maru (LOURDES ECHEVARRÍA), that he abandoned long ago.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or of Mexican cinema, it's not very likely.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For violence/gore, language and sexuality.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

GAEL GARCIA BERNAL plays a young Mexican man who's in love with his sister-in-law and uses their dog to make money in illegal dogfights so that they can run away together. He eventually has sex with Susana, uses strong profanity and smokes.

VANESSA BAUCHE plays his abused sister-in-law who uses strong profanity and has an affair with him.

MARCO PÉREZ plays Octavio's brother who robs places for money, and is abusive and disrespectful to his wife.

ÁLVARO GUERRERO plays an executive who leaves his wife and kids to have affair with Valeria. He also uses strong profanity.

GOYA TOLEDO plays a model who has an affair with Daniel, and then becomes depressed from her career seemingly being over and the disappearance of her dog. She also uses strong profanity.

EMILIO ECHEVARRÍA plays a seemingly homeless man who turns out to be a hired assassin who kills one man, smokes, and cares more about his dogs then people, other than the adult daughter he's trying to bring back into his life.

JOSÉ SEFAMI plays a corrupt cop who uses strong profanity and arranges hit man work for Chivo.

RODRIGO MURRAY plays a man who hires Chivo to kill his partner and then finds the tables turned on him.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity is listed as extreme due to the use of at least 47 "f" words (in English subtitles), while plenty of other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Some dialogue is sexually explicit, while various sexual encounters are seen and/or heard and include related sounds, making out, groping, movement and some nudity.

Most of those encounters involve various people having affairs (including a character sleeping with his sister-in-law), and the film is filled with various characters who display varying levels of bad and disrespectful attitudes and behavior. Some of that involves a hit man who's hired to kill people, others who rob establishments at gunpoint, and those who enter dogs in illegal dogfights. The results of the latter are often very bloody and include the sights of injured and dead (limp) dogs. A bad car crash leaves others injured or dead and very bloody, while another man is severely beaten. All of those scenes and others may be disturbing and/or suspenseful to viewers.

Various characters smoke (some quite a bit), while others drink, and some tense family moments are present in the form of an abusive husband, a father trying to reunite with his now adult daughter, and family members reacting to a death in a family. Thematic issues include what's listed above, as well as brief talk by a pregnant woman of wanting an abortion as well as a model who must contend with having her leg amputated.

Due to the severity of some of the material found in various categories, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings should you still be concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may want to see it.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

Some miscellaneous people drink at a dogfight.

Ramiro asks Octavio if he has a "joint" (he doesn't).

Chivo pours some liquor into whatever he's drinking.

Various people drink at another dogfight, including Octavio.

Susana picks up her baby from her mother and tells the latter that she can now stay drunk (and we see her drinking something from a glass).

A cop states that when he first met Chivo, the criminal was a wino.

Chivo pours alcohol on a dog's wound.

Chivo repeatedly offers a kidnapped man some rum, water or milk (and the man eventually chooses water).

BLOOD/GORE

We see a very bloody dog in the backseat of a car, while a man tending to him has that dog's blood on his hands (we see this scene again later in the film).

After a severe car crash, we see blood on the inside of Valeria's car window (with some on her as well).

We see a dead and bloody dog being dragged across a floor from a dog-fighting pit, leaving a trail of blood on the floor behind it.

We see another dead dog being dragged away across a floor.

We see some blood on Susana's earlobe that appears to be torn from where Ramiro evidently yanked out her earring (Octavio also has some blood on his fingers from touching her there).

We see another dead and bloody dog that was killed in a dogfight.

Chivo shoots and kills a man seated in a restaurant. We see blood squirt out of the wound and then see some on his shirt and other amounts run across a hot griddle where it sizzles.

Octavio head-butts Ramiro, giving the latter a bloody nose.

We see blood on Octavio's head that also runs onto a shower curtain after Ramiro hit him with a metal pipe while the former was taking a shower.

We see several more dead and bloody dogs.

Ramiro's face is very bloody and torn up after being repeatedly kicked (his shirt is bloody as well). We later see his severely scarred/torn up face.

A dog is bloody after being shot.

We see some blood on a knife blade.

We see a close-up shot of Valeria's injured leg (some time after the accident) and see a large and partially unhealed wound with rather severe looking stitches along it.

We see the above car accident again and see the various bloody occupants of the involved cars (a dead man is extremely bloody, while the others are very bloody).

A man is bloody after being shot (in the chest) and killed (blood from his nose and on his shirt).

We see blood all over a dog and then see that it's killed various other dogs, all of which are also very bloody, as are a man's hands who finds the dogs.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Those who participate in wage-based dog fighting obviously have both types of attitudes. One of these men even goes so far as to shoot and seriously wound an opponent's dog during a fight.

A man jokes about sticking a finger up a male baby's butt to see what he'll be in the future (if he kicks in response, he'll be a soccer player; if he laughs, he'll be a "homo"). When asked about girls, he replies that they finger them until they're eighteen.

Ramiro has both for the way he treats Susana (abusing her physically and psychologically) and for robbing various establishments at gunpoint. We later learn that he's also having an affair.

Some local hoods decide to sick their champion dog-fighter on any dogs they can find on the street.

Chivo turns out to be a hired assassin with a criminal past that includes killing others, putting a bomb in a mall, etc. He kills one man during this story and abducts two others.

We learn that Daniel is having an affair and leaves his wife and kids for Valeria.

Octavio and Susana have an affair.

Octavio arranges for some men to grab and then beat Ramiro.

Chivo breaks into his daughter's place to look around.

Depressed about her modeling career being shattered (along with her leg) and her dog being missing, Valeria develops a bad attitude and unleashes it on Daniel.

A cop turns out to be corrupt as he works as a liaison for Chivo and his clients who want people killed. Accordingly, a person who hires Chivo to kill his partner also has an extreme bad attitude.

Chivo takes Octavio's money and wallet from him moments after the latter is involved in a bad car accident.

We learn that two minor characters, who are married to others, are having an affair with each other.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence" and "Blood/Gore" may also be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. The same hold true for the film's various scenes that feature dogfights and dead and/or bloody dogs, as well as the bloody aftermath of a bad car accident.

Same bad guys in a truck chase Octavio and his friend in their car through crowded city streets, occasionally shooting at them with a handgun. After barely avoiding a collision, Octavio's car smashes into another car in a severe collision that leaves one person dead and two people severely injured.

Daniel finds Valeria on the floor and she initially appears to be dead, but we later learn that's not true.

GUNS/WEAPONS

Handguns/Knife: Used to threaten, wound, or kill people (and a dog). See "Violence" for details.

Machete: Carried by Chivo and briefly used to defend himself and his dogs from some local hoods.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases (in Spanish with English subtitles): "What the f*ck can I do?" "What the f*ck are you doing here?" "Shut the f*ck up," "Tell her to f*ck off," "You crazy f*cker," "F*ck you," "F*ck your mother" (nonsexual), "Drop dead, f*cker," "Don't f*ck around," "I don't give a f*ck," "Son of a f*cking bitch," "Bullsh*t," "Sh*thead," "Don't talk sh*t," "Don't bullsh*t me," "It's heavy sh*t," "You piece of sh*t," "Bastard," "Bitch" (said to a woman and used as an adjective), "Smart ass," "Nuts" (crazy), "Shut up," "Jerk," "Stick it up your ass," "Pissed (off)," "Idiots," "Faggot" (what various people call others who aren't homosexuals), "Pisses him off," "D*ckhead," "Chick" (woman), "I'll be damned" and "Screwing" (nonsexual).

Some kids could get the idea to stage dog fights for betting.

A local thug has various earrings and tattoos.

Ramiro and his partner rob various establishments at gunpoint.

JUMP SCENES

The sudden ringing of a phone may startle some viewers as it does two characters in the film during a quiet scene.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

A tiny bit of suspenseful music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None.

PROFANITY

The following occurs in Spanish with English subtitles: At least 47 "f" words (5 used with "mother," 4 used sexually), 27 "s" words, 3 slang terms using variations of "d*ck," 19 asses (13 used with "hole"), 3 damns, 2 S.O.B.s, 1 crap, 2 uses of "G-damn" and 1 use each of "Christ" and "Jesus" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

After joking about sticking a finger up a male baby's butt to see what he'll be when he grows up by his reaction to that, a man then adds that they finger girls until they're eighteen.

A man asks another man if he's ever "f*cked" a fat woman and when the second man says that he has, the first asks who and the second man jokes that it was the first man's mother.

We see Ramiro and Susana kissing on a bed.

Octavio's friend warns him about getting involved with Susana, commenting on Octavio just wanting to "f*ck her."

We hear the sounds of Ramiro and Susana having sex (both of their pleasured sounds along with the rhythmic thumping of their bed), as does Octavio who then interrupts them with a faked phone call. He then tries kissing Susana and feeling her clothed breasts from behind her, but nothing else happens as she returns to her bedroom.

Octavio comes into Ramiro's checkout line and jokes that he couldn't find any rubbers (condoms) that would fit him.

We see Ramiro having sex with a woman in the backroom of a store while standing. Accordingly, we see him between her legs (one that's up along his side) with movement, but don't see any explicit nudity.

A classic statue shows a bare breast.

Octavio runs his hand up along the inside of Susana's thigh until it disappears under her skirt while headed for her crotch. They then make out and there's some groping as he gets on top of her on the floor (we see him between her legs), but both are still clothed when the scene ends.

Octavio and Susana make out (with him standing and her seated on a dryer). In various shots, we see her bare breasts, him pulling down her pants (we see part of her panties) and their sexual movement (in a head and shoulders shot).

Daniel tells Valeria that since he's now separated from his wife, he and Valeria (who are living together) can now sleep together (apparently meaning in the same bed rather than having sex for the first time). The two then make out.

Valeria wears a very short skirt that shows a great deal of her upper thighs (but this is used as a later point of her legs being her modeling business rather than the camera just lustfully showing them), and a repeatedly seen billboard shot of her shows her hiking up another short skirt in a provocative pose.

Daniel kisses Valeria when she comes home in a wheelchair and she then asks what he's doing. He replies that he's examining her (he's apparently feeling her with his hand) and she states that she can't (fool around with him), but he says that she can.

While his hostage tries to figure out who hired the assassin to kill him, Chivo says that maybe it was "that chick you f

ck daily" in a motel.

SMOKING

Octavio smokes around 10 times, while Chivo smokes around 5, Ramiro, Daniel and a cop smoke once, and various miscellaneous characters smoke in various scenes.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

Ramiro and Susana don't have a good marriage (he's abusive to her) and both end up having affairs.

Chivo reads that his former wife has died, and we then see various family members grieving at a funeral. His sister-in-law spots him there, comes over and tells him to stay away, adding that his daughter thinks he's dead (we later learn that he last saw her when she was two).

Daniel leaves his wife and kids for Valeria.

Various family members grieve at a funeral.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Dog fighting.

The symbolic use of dogs in the film.

Women in abusive relationships.

Susana is upset that she's pregnant again (by Ramiro) and tells Octavio that she can't keep the baby because of the way Ramiro will respond.

Amputation and the emotional aftermath of that, especially for someone like a model whose career is based on their looks.

VIOLENCE

Same bad guys in a truck chase Octavio and his friend in their car through crowded city streets, occasionally shooting at them with a handgun. After barely avoiding a collision, Octavio's car smashes into another car in a severe collision that leaves one person dead and two people severely injured.

We see a dead and bloody dog being dragged across a floor from a dog-fighting pit, leaving a trail of blood on the floor. We then see a brief shot of two dogs fighting.

We hear the sound of dogs fighting and learn that one kills another (we later see the dead and bloody body).

We see some blood on Susana's earlobe that appears to be torn from where Ramiro evidently yanked out her earring (Octavio also has some blood on his fingers from touching her there).

Chivo shoots and kills a man seated in a restaurant (with bloody results).

Ramiro and another man rob a store at gunpoint.

We briefly see another dogfight (but hear more of it with accompanying yelping, etc.).

Octavio head-butts Ramiro, giving the latter a bloody nose.

We see blood on Octavio's head that also runs onto a shower curtain after Ramiro hit him with a metal pipe while the former was taking a shower.

We briefly see more shots of yet another dog fight, and then later see another dead and bloody dog.

A montage shows more dogs fighting as well as that of Ramiro robbing more establishments at gunpoint.

Ramiro threatens to shoot a dog if he doesn't get his money from Octavio.

Some men abduct Ramiro and then later repeatedly kick him on the ground until he's rather severely beaten and bloody.

Octavio's rival shoots and seriously wounds Octavio's dog during another dogfight. Octavio then knifes that rival in the gut and then flees, with two other men chasing after him and another man in the same car chase sequence that opened the film. It results in the same severe car crash.

We hear that Valeria was severely injured in the above car crash.

Daniel kicks open a door.

Daniel tears up an apartment floor trying to find and retrieve Valeria's dog that's hiding or trapped somewhere below it.

We see the above car accident again and see the various bloody occupants (one of whom is dead) of the involved cars.

Two men attempt to rob a bank at gunpoint and hold their guns on others in a threatening fashion. Another man then comes in, shoots one of the robbers dead, and holds his gun on the other.

We see blood all over a dog and then see that it's killed various other dogs, all of which are also very bloody and limp. Chivo then nearly shoots this dog, but can't bring himself to do so. He later pours gasoline onto the dead dogs and burns them (but we don't see any burning bodies).

Chivo abducts a man at gunpoint, and then later holds his gun on another man who's related to the first. He then kicks that second man in the crotch and then hits him over the head with his gun.

Reviewed April 16, 2001/ Posted April 27, 2001

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