Latin America society through cinema

Amores Perros (2000) captures Latin culture from different perspectives, from Susana as a young mother who hasn't finished school yet to the abusive father of her child. In contrast, the protagonist’s brother Daniel takes advantage of Susana (Vanessa Bauche). This is because the Latin culture gives authority to the man to do whatever he thinks is right in his household. No one can interfere by saying otherwise.

I felt nostalgic after it seemed that even in poverty, the people shared more than what they had, even if it was not much. I may not be Mexican, but I have a 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 leads. In the case of El Chivo (Emilio Echevarría), 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) desperately wanted to protect Susana’s son (Vanessa Bauche). It was definitely because he was in love with her to the point of entering into the illegal dog fight business 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), whom he asks to beat Octavio's brother as a lesson for 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.

#Latin #2000s #Mexican #Cinema #Cinephile