painted in the colors of rust , alejandro gonzález iñarritu's amores perros is a hard-edged epic of interconnected lives in the mean streets of mexico city . this has become a popular trend in independent films such as wonderland and the five senses , not to mention big-budget blockbusters like traffic . by blending different scenarios , there's the hope of creating a mass collage . it's not as easy to pull off as you might think -- consider the rhythm of your standard daytime soap opera . the concept of three juxtaposed narratives , at least in the " flavor of the month " sense , can be traced to quentin tarantino , as can the gunslinging desperados and pop music that have become the humdrum trademark of pulp fiction imitators . iñarritu is content to simply rehash those familiar elements . perhaps that's why so much of this academy award nominated foreign film comes off like a movie you've seen more than once , translated a espanol . despite the cinematic and structural predictability and an exhausting three hour running time , amores perros finds surprising flickers of humanity within the dead-end lives of ex-convicts , losers , young lovers on the lam , and hired gunmen . these almost-heroes are driven by an unfinished business of the heart , most notably the mysterious phantom hobo , el chivo ( emilio echevarría ) . he's a contract killer ( yes , a homeless contract killer -- it's not played for laughs ) for some elusive businessmen , but his attention is drawn away by an unexpected obituary notice that triggers memories of his long shrouded past . this sort of thing only happens in the movies , but let's cut iñarritu some slack here . el chivo lurks throughout the other two stories , but only in his exclusive section ( the final third of the film ) does the heart and soul of amores perros emerge . retribution is not seen as an easy mark , and iñarritu puts to one side the cheap violence and sadistic humor of his previous tales , replacing it with the empathetic sorrow of a distant love ballad . poetic and slighty cheeseball , but oh so sweet . it's almost too little too late . example : one of the parallel stories follows a young buck ( gael garcía bernal ) attempting to raise money to run away from home with his beloved sister-in-law ( vanessa bauche ) . he finds a financially lucrative solution in pitting the family pet in a series of blood soaked dogfights . for all its combustive energy , it's a one-note tragedy as he makes enemies of his brother and the local goon squad . things fall apart in a predictable hail of tears and bloodshed . the other subplot steals images wholesale from krzysztof kieslowski , presenting the arid relationship of a frivolous supermodel , valeria ( goya toledo ) and her boyfriend , a successful businessman ( alvaro guerrero ) . the building block poster of valeria across the street from her dream home is a direct lift from red ( in which irene jacob played a petulant model , natch ) . when she is hospitalized in a terrible car accident , the event that brings all of amores perros' characters together , it forces her to reevaluate her empty life . it'd be sad if she weren't such an annoying phony . the title , amores perros , directly translates as " love's a bitch . " meaning , life stinks . it also means , literally , that love is a female dog . that explains the constant presence of mutts throughout . el chivo is surrounded by runaway scamps , the supermodel has a pampered pooch , and the young buck has his attack dog . it sounds a little too neat - and it is , really -- but the canines provide our nasty heroes someone who they can relate to with unconditional affection . that unabashed sentiment bridges amores perros through the hyperkinetic overdrive of whiplash images , smash cuts , and the pulsating cacophony of street noises on the audio track . it's too much . in his eager passion to fill amores perros with explosive imagery , iñarritu nearly drowns his audience in visual excess . if he doesn't watch out , he'll turn into ridley scott . let's hope not . this fresh new filmmaker does make the most of his locations , finding the epitome of downbeat urban squalor ( you can almost taste the mined-in dirt ) , but he should have listened to dennis hopper's advice in tarantino's true romance : " slooooooow it down , man ! " he's got an eye for the strong visuals representative of the overcrowded , noisy , polluted excess of mexico city . now all he needs is a steady gaze . 
