21 Grams suffers of the same problem even to a more irritating degree: everyone blames others for their problems, show no real care to others and become completely shitholes when the critical moments comes - or when Iñárritu needs it. In the long run, that becomes very irritating and one-sided - and forced in a way too. In Amores perros everyone are either obvious bastards or hide their bitchiness under a shallow expression of happiness and kindness. So I guess when you show people as complete bitches and bastards you are told you understand the humans completely.
I once read a review which said that in Amores perros Iñárritu shows a "deep understanding of people", or something along the lines of that. Inside these storylines, there is not a single jump in chronology. Basically, Babel does use this a lot, but you wont notice because the storylines are separate enough so that it doesnt become confusing. I guess it is intended to be a puzzle, but if it is so, then what is the use if you can figure out the puzzle before you've watched a complete third of the film? And it significantly weakens the film's dramatic impact. It is only extremely disorienting, childish and pretentious. What is even worse that the unstable and shattered structure serves no purpose at all. 21 Grams, on the other hand, plays it with even more, to the point of complete confusion during the first 30 minutes. The film's content is quite chaotic in other aspects too, so I think it is spot-on. Amores perros jumps back and forth in the chronology quite a lot, and thankfully it isnt used too excessively because it fits to the atmosphere completely. It seems that Iñárritu's trademark is to play with the chronology more or less. It is also explored on a completely emotional level. The most literal part, of course, is that in the Japanese storyline the main character is a deaf-mute, but is fascinatingly explored nevertheless. The film doesnt handle this matter only the level of "I cant speak this or that language", although it is one of the main points of the film. Because the film focuses on our difficulties to communicate, it is named after the Tower of Babel. So the title has a thematic significance which is OK.īabel, on the other hand, is a biblical reference.
It is a yet another offender (more on that later) in the film. The monologue asks questions like "is that how much life weighs?", which is ridiculous. The meaning of 21 Grams is revealed in the film's pretentious ending monologue: it is believed that everyone loses exactly 21 grams at the moment of their death. These words have more meanings in Spanish, and so the title can be translated figuratively as "that which is good and desirable in life and that which is miserable." Also, perros can be interpret to mean an unworthy person, a hired killer, and an unfaithful husband/boyfriend, all of which appear as characters in the film. Roughly examined, it includes the most essential story elements of each storyline: love and dogs. Amores perros can be translated (and interpret) in at least 10 different ways. All of these storylines have some sort of a connection to this event, but they are mainly separated examinations of how communication fails between people.įirst of all, each title of this trilogy has a more-or-less complex meaning to it. Babel's multiple storylines are kicked off when a boy accidentally shoots an American tourist. 21 Grams tells the story of a grieving mother, a terminally ill man and a born-again ex-con who are brought together by a terrible accident. There is dangerious rivalry between siblings over a girl, a divorced man who takes care of a famous and beautiful woman (and her dog) and lastly, there is a story of an old man trying to re-establish his relationship with his daughter. Amores perros focuses on several storylines which in turn concentrate on one relationship. Here are the plot introductions as briefly as I can put them. By this logic, we should call the Lord of the Rings "the Dwarves trilogy". For the other two films death is as essential as, say, dwarves are for Lord of the Rings films. The trilogy is often called the "Death trilogy", but I find that nickname confusing because death is only a major theme/factor in 21 Grams.
(the snapshots are only of Amores perros and Babel, I watched 21 Grams on TV)Īlejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu's films of his unofficial trilogy are among the favourites of most critics around the world.
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