Culture

The second life of a classic: 'Amores Perros' is remastered and back in theaters

NPR's A Martinez talks to Alejandro González Iñárritu and Gael García Bernal about <em>Amores Perros —</em> 25 years after the release of the film that inspired contemporary cinema in Mexico and launched their careers.

Published June 17, 2026, 8:43 AM
Updated June 18, 2026, 6:35 PM4.8K
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The second life of a classic: 'Amores Perros' is remastered and back in theaters

‘A new geography in cinema’: Amores Perros returns to theaters 25 later NPR's A Martinez talks to Alejandro González Iñárritu and Gael García Bernal about Amores Perros — 25 years after the release of the film that inspired contemporary cinema in Mexico and launched their careers.

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'Amores Perros' filmmakers talks about re-release of groundbreaking film

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Released in 2000, Amores perros has become am acclaimed piece of cinematic history and the

First released in 2000, the acclaimed film Amores perros, which was produced and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga, has been remastered and is returning to theaters. Mubi hide caption

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Before Amores Perros became widely regarded as a modern classic, it belonged to Mexico. The film premiered at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival in 2000, where it won The Grand Prix, launching a run of international acclaim that has never quite ended. This month, Amores Perros is back in theaters in a fully remastered format from its original Kodak film stocks.

The film's plot centers on three strangers whose lives intersect at the scene of a car crash. Each story wrestles with overlapping issues of social class disparities, crime and familial betrayal. The release in Mexico coincided with the end of the Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI's 71-year hold on power. Amores Perros was followed by a period of original, contemporary films in Latin America that would prove the region's studios could compete with Hollywood in scope and complexity.

One of the film's lead charachters, Octavio, is played by actor Gael García Bernal.

One of the film's lead charachters, Octavio, is played by actor Gael García Bernal. Mubi hide caption

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The film marked the directorial debut of Alejandro González Iñárritu, who would go on to win four Academy Awards including back-to-back best director awards for Birdman (2014) and The Revenant (2015). In a recent interview with NPR, Gael García Bernal, a lead actor in Amores Perros, called the film's launch "a new geography in cinema."

González Iñárritu and García Bernal spoke with Morning Edition's A Martinez about their early collaboration and the film's continued resonance with new audiences.

Listen to the interview by clicking on the blue play button above.

The broadcast version of this story was produced by Margaux Bauerlein.

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