Review of Wild Tales (2014) by Glenn G — 22 Mar 2015

DON'T CRY FOR ME, ANTOLOGÍA - My Review of WILD TALES (4 Stars).

Argentina's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee for 2014 is an audacious, edgy, hilarious collection of 6 short films by writer/director Damián Szifron called WILD TALES. While none are directly linked to each other, this group of short stories seems to share similar themes of rage and revenge and of people caught during their most stressful moments. Its opening credits alone, a series of wildlife stills indicates we're about to experience behavior of the basest levels. We follow people on a plane, in a diner, on the road, at a towing facility, after an accidental hit & run, and at the world's most insane wedding reception ever and I spent a good half of the time with my hand over my mouth trying to suppress either laughter or an "Oh no they didn't!". It's almost impossible to discuss this film without mild spoilers, but I'll do my best not to reveal anything too specifically.

The film opens with its shortest tale, a group of passengers on board a plane who quickly discover something diabolical is afoot. It ends with a gasp-inducing freeze frame you won't soon forget. It deftly sets the stage for the sick and twisted stories to follow, all displaying varying degrees of anger at the world and the terrible luck so many suffer. Shot with great muscularity by cinematographer Javier Julia, and infused with a wonderful nihilistic sensibility, each segment has its own style, and I felt like I was experiencing a great Coen Brothers film at every assured turn.

In a secluded diner on a rainy night, a server finds her sole customer to be an arch enemy from her past. Goaded on by her increasingly sadistic co-worker (memorably and hilariously played by Rita Cortese), this revenge fantasy simultaneously raises the dramatic stakes while playing off our distaste for awful, entitled customers and slow-moving service people. I loved how quickly one character wanted to murder another simply based on another person's recounting of past events, a perfect encapsulation of our too-quick-to-judge, don't believe everything you read on Facebook culture.

From there we're racing along a desert road as a handsome, well-to-do driver (Leonardo Sbaraglia, who first came to my attention in the film BURNT MONEY) gets stuck behind a slow-moving and weaving vehicle. His ill-advised choice to yell at the man leads to a face-off which redefines taking things too far even by Tex Avery standards. Imagine Steven Spielberg's DUEL cranked up to mythical proportions. It's in this segment where every single shot meant something, with the camera put in just the right place, and the editing and writing ratcheting up the tension with perfect, inevitable ease. Clearly final shots mean something to Szifron, and it's in this story where his last moment adds an extra, juicy layer to the storytelling.

Next, one of Argentina's most famous actors, Ricardo Darín (THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES), expertly mines every moment of his put-upon sad sack who naively takes on the system after getting towed. What makes this segment sing is the fact that his character is set-up as a man addicted to causing drama. I found my loyalties shifting constantly from his p.o.v. to those of the bureaucrats he torments. Again, every moment counts, from the initial set-up at a construction site to its homage to TAXI DRIVER.

The film continues with an unfortunate hit-and-run accident perpetrated by the son of a wealthy man (a great slow-burn by Oscar Martínez), who keeps making one ill-advised decision after another in an attempt to make the situation go away. This story exposes the never-ending levels of corruption and greed, placing a sad, lower class patsy into the mix (a terrific Germán de Silva) to remind us how stuck the 99% often feel in their lives. Knowing full well that no good can come from this situation, Szifron ends this tale with abrupt and off-camera sounds, putting just the right capper on its hopelessness.

Finally, a wedding reception from hell ends the film on a funny yet disturbing note as a cheating groom played by Diego Gentile (clearly Argentina's answer to Bradley Cooper) faces off against his distraught bride (Erica Rivas, explosively going past any semblance of sanity). Their performances are electric, and I wasn't surprised to discover that nearly the entire cast received nominations from Argentina's version of the Oscars. The jealously and rage of our newlyweds keeps boiling over, ending (here we are again with Szifron's mastery of final shots) on an image combining sex and messiness. It's a perfect way to summarize the experience of this thoroughly entertaining, not-to-be-missed film.