Usually, intersecting stories means the newest rom-com and 'how many 'famous' people can we fit in one film' but it can also mean, an excellent ensemble cast and hard hitting drama. Maybe that's going over the top. I went for a Mexican, Polish and Irish film this week, makes it different from my usual American and British picks.
Don't forget to check out what
Wandering Through the Shelves picked, the blog that started Thursday Movie Picks.
Amores Perros
I expect this to be a popular pick just because of the brilliant Alejandro González Iñárritu's vision, as he wrote and directed this film which was debut feature. Three stories which intersect through a fatal car crash. I've read that the classes in Mexico City are very far apart and they only way for the three protagonists to meet or interact is in this way. Working class Octavio, who goes into dog fighting to save money to run away with his sister-in-law, Valeria, the rich and famous model left in a wheelchair after the accident and the homeless/hitman El Chivo, who cares more his dogs than people. It's gritty but you become obsorbed in the stories. Plus, Gael García Bernal is in it, love this actor.
11 Minutes
To be fair, this is a cheat pick as it hasn't been released in the UK or US. I saw this film at the BFI Film Festival in October. Each 'story' covers 11 minutes of each character with a view point. They all intersect in small ways at first until a the massive pay off sequence near the end where every character we've seen so far is featured. It was Poland's official entry to the Oscars 2016, alas, it was picked but its a damn good film. I wrote a longer post
HERE if anyone is interested. I really hope it gets release date soon.
Intermission
Like Amores Perros, several characters all collide, at first, through a bus crash and cross over throughout the film. It's a black comedy with heartbreak, crime, reality TV and a debate over whether a female character has a moustache or not. It has a great cast and in parts genuinely funny but its quite dark too.
