© DR -AMOURS CHIENNES de Alejandro González Iñárritu (2000) p4 par tellurikwaves blog (75 Paris)

Shot in some of the more dangerous parts of Mexico City. It was not uncommon for the production crew to be robbed by street gangs.

Unlike most films, a disclaimer stating that no animals were harmed in the making of the movie comes at the beginning instead of being buried in the credits.

Controversial because of the fact it depicts dogfights, the dogs seen fighting each other were actually just playing. Careful editing makes it look a lot more vicious. Their muzzles were also covered with very fine fishing line so they were unable to bite each other.

For the scenes where the dogs appeared to be dead or dying, the animals were actually heavily sedated under the careful eye of the Mexican ASPCA.

The first film in a loose trilogy of death, all directed by 'Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu' and written by Guillermo Arriaga. The next two films were _21 Grams_ and Babel (2006). Between them, all three films racked up 10 Academy Award nominations.

All the images shown on the TV sets during the picture are commercials. These commercials were also directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. They include a TV station promotional, an ad for a bank, among others.

The man who plays the bus driver in the scene where Octavio (Gael García Bernal) decides not to get on the bus is Bernal's father, José Ángel García.

The car crash sequence was shot with nine simultaneous cameras, including two on adjacent rooftops and one hidden in a trash barrel. A stunt driver was in the black car, while the model's car contained a remote-controlled animatronic dummy. A practice run caused the black car to accidentally tear the rear bumper off the model's car, but since it was getting late, it was stuck back on and the shot attempted in toto. This time the model's car spun around, overshot its projected target by at least 100 meters, and smashed into a taxicab parked by the side of the road. This take was used in the final print.

It took seven months to edit all the three story strands together to 'Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu''s satisfaction.

The title can be roughly translated into "Love's a Bitch", tying in with the relevance of dogs in each of the three separate story strands.

The first cut was longer but Alejandro González Iñárritu was happy with it. After showing it to his friend Guillermo del Toro, this one said to González Iñárritu that he should trim it a little bit, because he see a great movie that could be a master piece, to which the director refused. Del Toro then asked permission to make a shorter cut, which González Iñárritu granted. After seeing his friend's cut, the filmmaker agreed with him and made the final 150 minutes cut.

"Negro", the name "El Chivo" picks for his dog at the end of the movie is also the well-known nickname for the film's director, Alejandro González Iñárritu.

El Chivo sarcastically congratulates Luis Miranda Solares for his imagination comparing him with a Publicist which is the occupation of the Director Alejandro González Iñárritu.

The Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in England filed a complaint to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) about a 21-second dog fight scene.

El Chivo (Emilio Echevarría) shouts at Luis (Jorge Salinas) "You are so clever! You must be a publicist," during the kidnapping scene. Salinas played a publicist in Sexo, pudor y lágrimas (1999).

CINEMA :Les blessures narcissiques d'une vie par procuration

© DR -AMOURS CHIENNES de Alejandro González Iñárritu (2000) p4

Director Cameo