Amores Perros

Being a fan of foreign movies someone suggested a great movie for me to watch. The movie's name is the subject of my post:Amores Perros meaning Love's a bitch. The movie lasted about two and a half hours but it was worth it. The plot was more than expected, It was absolutely thrilling. Octavio loved his sister in law and envied his brother for having her. His brother on the other hand had a love hate relationship with his wife Susanna. Then there was Valeria, the model, who after an accident went into a depressive state. She was having an affair with a married man (Daniel) who left his wife and children for her. Another character of note of course was the Saddam Hussein look-alike, Chivo. Chivo left his family to go right the world by enlisting as a guerilla. He served time in prison and lost his family in one sweep. He is spotted throughtout the movie as a wino. In a way he is the main character I would like to think but the stories are all interconnected. Chivo wants his daughter to know he exists so he eliminates the man who took his place when he left;nameless stepdad. Chivo then proceeds to hang out infront of his daughter's house and breaking into it to have a glimpse at her life. You have to watch this movie seriously. I am definately going to get a copy of it as soon as I can find it otherwise its amazon for me.

Speaking of which I also would like to recommend a couple of other foreign movies. Amelie is a feel good movie for everyone. The plot centers around Amelie who helps out everyone in her own unique way and ends up falling in love with Nino. Nino is also a unique character and you end up wishing for him to be the soulmate for Amelie throughout the movie. If you want a raw movie that will raise your hackles and you will love to hate the characters then you need to watch City of Gods. This movie succeeded in reminding me of the desolute and poverty that ranks to high heaven within the third world cities. I felt in tune with what the characters were saying and going through. The final movie I would recommend would have to be Dias de Santiago. Warning though before you watch this movie. If you are prone to being depressed this movie is not for you. The movie has a depressive cloud over it. Santiago is a war hero come back home to find nothing. His wife doesn't understand him and he can't find a job. He is paranoid and sees everything from a different light. He struggles to keep to normalacy. One scene that comes to mind is when his ex-military friends get together and decide to pool their brain power and think of some way of earning a living. They throw the idea of robbing a bank in the air and try to sell it to Santiago but he shoots it down. The parting shots of this movie leaves you bare, at least with me it did. I could have understood either path that Santiago would have taken in this case.

Enough playing Ebert for now. I think foreign movies have a lot to offer us. They are much more realistic and are not into romancing life as it is. No Just like Mike, no pretty woman and no rebound. Definately check out the sundance film lists when they are released, I am sure you will find a couple nice movies in there that will make you think instead of being duped into thinking life is a bed of roses; there are thorns hidden within that bed. By the by Eid Mubarak to everyone.