Published online: June 9, 2001 The Currents of Life: Analyzing "Amores Perros" & "Yi Yi" By Henry Y. Chung

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Written by Guillermo Arriaga
Starring: Emilio Echevarria, Gael Garcia Berna, Vanessa Bauche, Alvaro Guerrero, Goya Toledo
Running Time: 154 minutes

Yi Yi (A One and A Two)
Written & Directed by Edward Yang
Starring: Wu Nienjen, Eliane Jin, Issey Ogata, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang
Running time: 173 minutes

The film "Amores Perros" has a captivating translation: "Love's a Bitch." Though adequately formulated, the film is not necessarily about love (for love is only an element). "Amores" is about twisted human relationships. In director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's world, everyone cheats: husbands cheat on wives, wives cheat on husbands, brothers cheat on brothers, dogs cheat on dogs. It is truly a dog-eat-dog world in every sense of it. Edward Yang's "Yi Yi" is also about twisted human relationships, albeit more restrained. People do not cheat on each other. They attempt to, but are timely enough to pull themselves from potential unresolved outcomes. Both films do not provide solutions, and interesting enough, both directors use close to three hours of screen time to bring about the currents of life. These films are cinematic experiences and they should only be watched on the big screen.

Multiple characters and complex relations underline the similarity of the films, though the filmmaking styles are very different. While "Yi Yi" is told in a linear fashion, "Amores" reminds us of "Pulp Fiction" or "Traffic," where the main story is split into segments in which characters and plot intertwine. Filmmaking is the result of keen observation. When you have great observers like Inarritu and Yang, you know that your money is well spent on countless research alone. Yang's "Yi Yi" is his best film to date after so many noble failures (e.g. "Mahjong," "A Brighter Summer Day"). Yang has finally made a film that belongs to himself. For Inarritu, "Amores" is only his first feature. If he does not muck things up, he has a great future ahead of him. Honestly, I look forward to his next short project on BMW Films.

According to Inarritu, even animals are unpredictable in "Amores." A dog named "Blackie" attacks and kills all of the six dogs in a bum's worn out home. The bum "El Chivo" (played by the sensational Emilio Echevarria) threatens to kill Blackie at first, but he ponders the consequences: If he killed Blackie, he would lose his only friend. El Chivo grudgingly drops his gun and continues to travel with Blackie in his life's long journey. Intriguing, this scene only offers one of the film's most fabulous moments. Others include an awkward meeting of two brothers who intend to kill each other, a young man who knocks out his elder brother who works as a cashier in a supermarket, and a dog that disappears in a floor hole after chasing a ball. Many of these awkward scenes seem entirely incidental, but the director want us to admit that they are indeed possible. Most of all, they can be real.

The magic of Inarritu is the way he handles action. The initial car chase scene already creates a breathless atmosphere; there is no time for the audience to think. The action never stops with the exception of the second segment about a sad middle-class affair. The action is not created by special effects, but by creative use of camera angles, skin-poking dialogues and the actors' emotional charged performances (look at Emilio Echevarria's expressive or expressionless face for example).

Unlike "Amores," the actors in "Yi Yi" are not really trained actors (except for Elaine Jin who plays the mother). The main character NJ is played by Wu Nienjen, a notable Taiwanese screenwriter. The rest of the cast is supported by many youth and immature actors. Instead of acting out the scenes, they play the roles as if they are living them. The six-year-old Yang-Yang is the most Zen-like character in the film. His philosophy resonates throughout the film. For instance, he takes pictures of the back of people's heads "because that is the only part they can't see."

In one scene, Yang-Yang asks, "Daddy, I can't see what you see and you can't see what I see. How can we know more than half the truth?" Such an innocent quote shows the wisdom of a young child and reveals the presumptuousness and stupidity of adults. In Yang's kaleidoscopic worldview, adults are full of guilt, errors and secrets. In his older films, Yang does not give them a chance to repent or even confess. In "Yi Yi," his most mature film yet, Yang forgives NJ and lets him lead a new life.

So what does love play in these films? Love is here and there. But youth is the real thing. Both directors display the vitality of youth and youthfulness to the fullest extent. In "Amores," the sex scenes of the young adulterers Octavio and Susana are energetic and fierce. Octavio can also afford to mess with the wrong people just because he is young. In "Yi Yi," the romance between the youngsters Ting-Ting and Fatty is also sweet, innocent and mistakable. At one point, NJ meets with his ex-lover, a woman he could have married 30 years ago, and spends partial vacation time in Tokyo where he tries to re-live his youth. That is the most refreshing part of the movie. Both directors understand the very concept of "Blame It On My Youth," a Chet Baker song I'll always return to.

The films are not without shortcomings. For one thing, both films are too long. It's difficult for impatient moviegoers to sit through near 180 minutes. For instance, the second segment "Daniel and Valeria," an unfortunate love affair between a TV producer and a supermodel, is by far the weakest in "Amores." Though that segment provides some slapstick humor, Inarritu could have eliminated the entire chapter to make the film shorter and more effective. What Inarritu must learn next to how to make painstaking sacrifaces. But these films are not designed for ordinary moviegoers who have watched "Titanic" more than 13 times and those who enjoy "Pearl Harbor's" cheesy love story. "Amores Perros" and "Yi Yi" are for those who think life is a bitch and are willing to live it.

Amores Perros Homepage	Yi Yi Homepage
Other Links: Roger Ebert's Review of "Amores Perros" Roger Ebert's Review of "Yi Yi" Rotten Tomatoes Review of "Amores Perros" Rotten Tomatoes Review of "Yi Yi" HK Film Critics Society's Reviews of "Yi Yi" (In Chinese) Urban Cinefile (Australia) Review of "Amores Perros"