Perro come perro

When the ending titles of "Perro come perro" came out, movies like "The Long Good Friday", "Once upon a time in America" and "Cidade de deus" came to my mind. This film is made with the same artistry, the same dark humor and specially with the same approach to criminal life.

Great character development, accomplished cinematography and a clear understanding of the Cali underworld are some of the qualities this movie brings to the viewer.

This movie is for Cali what "Snatch" was for London and it works so well.

Of course there are some flaws, but this movie is such and acomplishment that you can let them go.

A breath of fresh air for Colombian Cinema and the "Dago-Formula" that comes every year.

My deepest congratulations to the crew of "PCP", you've made a mark in Colombian Cinema History.

A few hours ago, I was talking with two female acquaintances about violence in movies, and how difficult it is for them to cope with this issue.

Truthfully, after watching this film, I felt some of the emotions and feelings they described,why? the violence in "Dog Eat Dog" is intense but I am not talking about the physical violence, I am not talking about the blood and gore, but the mental and psychological turbulence that the characters have to endure, and with them, us the viewers. It is like watching Reservoir Dogs for the first time, but darker,with elements of black magic, that can be understand by the Latin culture, in a different way than Hollywood standards.

Because of the atmosphere created in this mentally- violent story, I felt proud of understanding two languages,because even though I am not from Colombia, I was able to sync with the angst and desperation of these bad guys, even though I found them despicable, all of them! each in a different way. And still I found myself wishing for the bad guy, (as I did for Bruce Willis in "Pulp Fiction") to find his way out of the mud.

I did not find comedy in this movie, "Sierra" is not funny in any way, he is just the classic bully, sarcastic and brutal with a smile on his face. As a crime story it fills with meanness, nastiness and despair, and unlike "Bummer" (2003) , there is no, loyalty or camaraderie, or honor, it is a cold world where money means everything to the extent of chopping another human being into pieces.

I found it even "Hitchcock style" building up, getting into your nerves and making you feel the heat of their city, and like in 'The Plague Dogs" (1982), you feel like all hope should be abandoned and discarded.

As I have said in my reviews, I have seen it all and hardly get impressed by a movie, unless it's one of those rare gems as "Cold Blooded" (2012) or this time "Perro come perro".

I really recommend this one, but if you are not really into movies as a form of art, better stick yourself to "Transformers" or "I Frankenstein'" or "Sin City" because they are easy to digest and comprehend, I said this because I think you may be really unhappy not catching up about who was "Adela", that is easily identified in the movie "...vos como te llamas?" The rest is to put two and two together.

This sun-baked slice of nihilism from Colombia is a very interesting watch indeed. Although there's plenty of yelling and gun-waving, there's also a very ominous feeling about the whole show. Marlon Moreno definitely has presence as the lead, Victor, who must deal with family problems and tries to solve it by stealing money from a dead lackey belonging to his big boss, a snarlingly fun Blas Jaramillo. Holed up in a hotel room with fellow gangster Eusebio (Oscar Borda) Victor waits for the order to find and kill whoever stole the money (himself) and keeps receiving crazy phone calls from a half-mad man looking for a woman named Adela. If this all sounds like fun to you, it is. On top of all that, Eusebio may or may not be "cursed" by a dead man or just going bugnuts crazy. Yes, there's something for everyone here. The only drawback I can think of is it feels a tad too short and a few of the lead characters aren't fleshed out enough to truly care for them when the screws are really put to them. There's plenty of style, however, and you'll being humming the title theme long after it's over.

The most amazing about this marvel is that you will hardly find any information about Carlos Moreno in Internet. The directing of this Colombian gangster drama is impeccable. As cruel and cynical as Tarantino's and Rodrigues' artificial works, it's based on real Cali life. And it's deeply moralistic, despite all its cruelty. The movie boasts with at least four brilliant acting performances, each of them worth festivals' laurels. Charismatic Marlon Moreno acts unforgettably with glances and silent pauses, being responsible for the dramatic tension throughout the movie. Multifaced Alvaro Rodriguez deserves the Best Supporting Actor award at any festival. But the truly brilliant is Blas Jaramillo ("El Orejón"), a theatrical actor from Bogotá, who wasn't able to see the final cut, having left this world because of pancreatitis and peritonitis in his 39.

No dog-suffering scenes.

This is a dirty little Columbian thriller, that has many things going for it. It's mature, it's violent (suits the genre/the story) and it's as gritty and crazy as it can get. In all the positive ways that there are.

The crazy part might put some people off, of course. I won't get into details, but it's pretty out there. But that also makes this movie unique in my eyes. It's not only a simple story, it has these other things going for it. It also is pretty violent and not for the faint hearted. Acted and edited great, the story is confusing at times, but still worth watching, especially if you're fed up with same ol' stories!