I think the dogs are symbolic to the storylines, yes.
The first one being obviously about brutal, bloody, ugly love, a constant fight, both pshysical and metaphorical, for love and survival. Circumstances turn Octavio's dog into a killer, much like circumstances turn Octavio himself into a killer. If he wasn't so hopelessly in love with his brother's wife, none of the events of his story would've occured.
The second one is more complex and ambiguous, though. I don't think Valeria's love for her dog was superficial. Why would it have anything to do with image, when there were no cameras or even people when she was obviously very concerned about her dog in the middle of the night? I took it as a story about realizing how lost you could be in a new world, where genuine feelings are involved. Yes, their affair seemed superficial, but both of them wanted to feel love, they wanted to find it (the guy obviously didn't love his wife, despite the moment of desperation on the phone), but they were as lost, as the dog under the floor. That's what pushes Daniel to finally save the dog, he is now ready to fight for love. Valeria will never be a super model on a giant poster again, but she is now a real human being. She lost her leg, but the dog was found and one could argue that the dog is symbolic to her character's painful transformation, since it could've easily found itself back, plotwise.
The third is the most emotional and yet simple one. A man who has taken lives and has alienated the people he loves, befriends the killer dog. After he finds the rest of the dogs killed, he wants to shoot it, but he realizes... that's basically him. It's what he's been doing all along. And he can't shoot it. That was probably my favorite scene in the whole film. Instead, he undergoes a complete transformation, leaves his estranged daughter a final message, and begins a new life with his dog who will always remind him of that crucial point in his life. The final shot is ambiguous itself, because him and the dog are seemingly headed into the nothingness of life, as if they were finally taking responsiblity for what they've done.
At the end, the second story, despite ending on a sad note, seems to leave more room for optimism than the other two. We don't know whether Daniel and Valeria have found true love after the dog is foumd, but we see them together and he hasn't left her just because of her amputated leg, which is what a real superficial person would do. At the sames time, Octavio's dream scenario about him and Susana escaping together is once again shattered, even though his brother is now dead. As for El Chivo - many people think his is a happy ending, but I disagree. I think being too late for love is nothing to be happy about. He was devastated to leave his daughter a final message, she was obviously the thing he loved the most in this world and he would never see her again. Him entering the nothingness is basically a metaphor for what's left in his life after the blood work is now done.
"We all go a little mad sometimes"
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates - Psycho (1960)
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baz678
8 years ago
Interesting. I see El Chivo facing the sometimes difficult and barren world with courage. I found the scene uplifting. Young he was angry and impulsive and idealistic. He fought and killed (anger turned against others). Later he fell in depression (anger directed inwards) seeing everything as futile. Finally he lets go of his anger.
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