Review of Wild Tales (2014) by Vinicius G — 01 Mar 2015

4 out of 5 stars. "Wild Tales" is the most entertaining of the 5 Foreign Film Oscar nominees this year, even though the haunting "Ida" from Poland deservedly won the prize. Satire and humor often misfire when shown in other countries, which is a reason American comedies rarely do as well as action films and big visual FX films as the most successful film exports.

So "Wild Tales," with its 6 short films about revenge by people who cross the line from rational to madness, could easily go off the rails and seem overdone. Instead, the sure hand of new world class filmmaker, Damian Szifron, provides first rate and confident control with great visual style.

Often omnibus films cobbled together with short films by different directors are very uneven, but in this case, because the six short stories are all written and directed by the same person, there are overall themes and consistent stylistic choices which tie the whole film together and make the collection work.

Several of the stories are dark, violent and macabre, while others are laugh out loud farces. All are skillfully acted and written, with social commentary specific to Argentina, but universal enough to be understood worldwide.

Definitely a funny and provocative examination of ordinary people pushed to breaking points in the modern world, often with unexpected results. Szifron is a filmmaker to watch and if brought to America with an increased scale and budget, could soon follow Cuaron and Inarritu to even greater success.