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Latin America society through cinema

Updated: Mar 24, 2022


In my opinion Amores Perros (2000) capture Latin society in a nutshell from different perspectives; from Susana as a young mother who hasn't finished school yet to the abusive father of her child and brother of the protagonist Daniel, who takes advantage of Susana (Vanessa Bauche) since the Latin culture gives authority to the man to do whatever he thinks is right in his household and no one can interfere by saying otherwise.


I felt a little bit nostalgic after it seemed that even in poverty the people shared more than what they have, even if it's not much. I might not be Mexican but I think I have a pretty good idea of the sense of that kind of community since I'm from a very similar culture back in Venezuela. Iñarritu doesn't avoid showing the raw reality in some neighborhoods in Mexico City but without putting away the other side of the coin; the extreme inequality that Latin society shows. Like in the case of El Chivo, (Emilio Echevarría) who through his eyes we see how rich and powerful people don't notice him on the streets since he might be considered to that class a ghost, a ghost that doesn't deserve even looking.


I could understand why Octavio, (Gael Garcia Bernal) wanted to protect Susana´s son so desperately, (Vanessa Bauche) it was definitely because he was in love with her to the point of entering into the illegal business of dog's fight but also because he has always wanted what his brother had and in this case Susana was a part of it. That's why he takes advantage of his relationship with the dog's business boss, Luis (Jorge Salinas) whose he asks to beat Octavio's brother as a lesson to what he had done to Susana.


Latin American cinema has something that no other industry has; the undeniable necessity to be brave in front of the horror of life, the willingness to dream when reality slaps them on the face, and most importantly the relentlessness of never EVER giving up no matter what the world says.


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