Perro Perro *** (2025, Germán Flood, Juan Ramos) – Classic Movie Review 13,907

Some men are literally dogs. Marco Berger’s 2025 charming and beguiling Argentine film Perro Perro [Dog-Dog] explores the nature of love and companionship.

Germán Flood stars as holidaying city boy Juan, who finds a stray man (Juan Ramos) acting like a dog in the wilderness while on vacation with girlfriend, renting a riverside cottage on an island. He takes care of him, feeds him, plays ball, shows him much-needed affection, and eventually names him (‘Max’), allows him in, bathes him, and lets him on his bed. However, his girlfriend warns against becoming too attached.

There seem to be parallel worlds where ‘normal’ humans find themselves surrounded by needy man dogs (we see only two) and possibly woman cats (we see none). The man dog picks his man and sticks with him, provided the man is loyal. Well, that’s a turnround turn up for the books, or the cinema in this case. But is the man going to be loyal? You really can’t trust them, can you?

Writer/ director Marco Berger’s 2025 rather charming and beguiling Argentine film Perro Perro [Dog-Dog] is an exploration of the nature of love and companionship and of the complexities of human relationships. Marco Berger takes a lot of risks with this film, but is up to its challenges, and really rather triumphs. It moves slowly and soporifically, quite beautifully, along its alluring black and white images, while developing the shaggy dog story of a man and his man dog. It all goes to show that a man’s best friend is his dog, of course.

Juan Ramos has no lines, understandably, and doesn’t even bark or woof, but he creates a real, living, very much alive and appealing character, throwing body and soul bravely into the role, sitting up and begging for love, and Germán Flood is equally expressive and sympathetic in a role that doesn’t have that many significant lines either. It’s all in the eyes, the looks, the love. It’s all there. The other roles are unsympathetic cyphers, but it isn’t about them. They’re just wallpaper bad guys to the main love story.

It could all be a bit pervy, but it turns out to be arty and sweet instead. Nice.

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 13,907

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