Directed by:
Damián SzifronScreenplay:
Damián SzifronCinematography:
Javier JuliáComposer:
Gustavo SantaolallaCast:
Darío Grandinetti, María Marull, Mónica Villa, Diego Starosta, Héctor Drachtman, Rita Cortese, Julieta Zylberberg, César Bordón, Leonardo Sbaraglia (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Vulnerable before a reality that can suddenly be modified and become unpredictable, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line that divides civilization from brutality. A story about love deception, the return of the past, a tragedy, or even the violence contained in an everyday detail, appear themselves to push them towards the abyss, into the undeniable pleasure of losing control. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (6)
Reviews (13)
Latin American Czech show Bachelors but this time cynical. None of the short stories lack a basic idea (if nothing else), but without exception, everyone here more or less lacks more elaboration of the introductory "cynical teaser", it does not hit the right note, it lacks gradation and punchline. Szifron has good ideas, but someone else should have written it for him in the form of a script. This is a waste of good potential, which still works mainly thanks to the duo of segments "Auto squabble" and "gritty bash".
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Argentine bachelor's stories with a bloody coat of paint, sometimes insanely convulsive (the introductory Pasternak barely holds up as a TV sketch, even if the authors of Pečený sněhulák would tear off Szifron's hands), attacks on social criticism killed in shallow morals (jBombito and a story with a wreck), all character limits, structurally and ideologically defensible by the fact that they are "stories" and similar reductivity pertains to them. There is nothing to object to - I just claim that this is an unbalanced film, more for fun than really entertaining and it is explicitly shallow in its more ambitious moments. Only the final wedding is really "wild", but even then one’s smile is replaced by a slightly raised eyebrow. Purely filmed, audience-friendly, but otherwise absolutely amounting to consumer goods. It can be justified by the fact that the (un) ordinary absurdity of existence coincides with the films of Roy Andersson, but Szifron's film does not even come close to its penetration and vision. [60%]
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The stories “Audi vs. redneck” and “a betrayed pregnant girl” are masterpieces – the former thanks to its atmosphere
and filmmaking imaginativeness, the latter thanks to its dialogue and brutal escalation of an already hellish situation.
The opening pre-credit scene is also great, with an unforgettable transition to the title of the film. The other stories were
decent, though the last one could’ve been shorter, as it sometimes gets too long-winded and self-obsessed. As a whole,
the movie is inconsistent both in its feel and formal aspects, but always fun enough. Finally, someone aptly filmed our
daily social anxieties and disagreements with the system.
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The calculated push for mischievous points forces the viewer to not take the creative effort too seriously. That’s quite a shame, considering that morally I only liked the engineering odyssey and that the wedding revelry offered everything that its predecessors didn't, i.e., above all, a twisted merry-go-round of absurdity that presents those cynical life messages with utter sovereignty and ease, as if life itself had written them. I can't help but think that the filmmakers were capable of more.
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Once I visited a psychiatrist and anxiously asked him if I was okay, as I am constantly faced with increasingly intense cravings to strangle my children. He assured me that it is a part of almost every parent's fate and that he also experiences it. He said alcohol helps him, and when he doesn't know what to do next, instead of using cutting, stabbing, or shooting weapons, it is better to take out a little ball and squeeze it in the palms until completely calm. Unfortunately, the heroes of Argentine film stories do not use a ball and give full expression to their emotions seasoned with typical South American temperament. I consider this black comedy, which looks at society's flaws and human weaknesses with sarcastic detachment, to be the most pleasant film surprise of 2014. I somehow identified with the humor of Wild Tales and especially envy the protagonist of the first story for his uncompromising efforts because only a few of us have the ability to bring things to a perfect end. Out of the 6 stories, I consider 5 of them to be highly outstanding, while one somewhat does not fit into the overall poetic and comedic style and either the screenwriter should have added a bit more exaggeration and comedic tone, or he should have left it out completely. But that doesn't change the fact that I enjoyed this film about the corruption of the system, albeit differently from the others. Overall impression: 90%.
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