Damián Szifron's 'Wild Tales' is a deliriously creative, deliciously diabolical anthology film about modern day violence. It is an outrageous collection of shorts set in Szifron's homeland—a sextet of improbable shaggy-dog stories, insane urban legends and entertainingly twisted cautionary yarns of the sort that people dispense during a night of heavy drinking, tied together by violent themes. Through six short parables, every facet of violence gets held up to the camera: its capacity for destruction, for vengeance, for justice, for renewal - in its most cathartic but glorious form.
The film opens with one of the most daring "eff-you's" in years involving a group of plane passengers who make a terrible, terrible discovery after take-off. From there follows five more stories: a young waitress struggles to decide whether or not to put rat poison in the food of a loan shark who ruined her family's life; two motorists - a self-centered yuppie and a fed-up average - see how far road rage can push them in a game of deadly one-oneupmanship; a demolitions expert becomes a folk hero after fighting back against a corrupt transportation department; a rich father gets in over his head after he tries to bribe his grounds-keeper to take the blame for his drunk son's fatal hit-and-run accident; a wedding goes off the rails as a newlywed bride systematically humiliates and emotionally annihilates her groom after discovering that he cheated on her with a comely brunette and then invited her to the wedding reception - each story ups the ante in terms of rage.
Szifron never attempts a grand statement about the nature of violence. He just lets each situation take itself to its logical, exaggerated conclusion. But something else lingers underneath all of this damn-near macabre madness. Most of the stories include a tug-of-war between social castes, with the upper and working classes duking it out over who can do the most dirt. But every time, the grim veneer of gallows humor shimmers through. While the stories themselves are about the joys of losing control, their creator knows exactly what can be achieved with crafty pacing, masterly editing and a precisely controlled balance between the matter-of-fact and the shamelessly hysterical. This is a master craftsman presenting a confident vision of revenge and primal anger that ranges from playful to disturbing. Szifron has a devilish good time crafting the shorts and exhibits a sophisticated eye, and a flair for creating morally ambiguous characters you don't know whether to root for. But that's Wild Tales for you - a wondrous, whacked-out look at volatile human beings doing what they think is right, when wronged.
Wild Tales is a splendidly anarchic portrait of a world on the verge of a nervous breakdown - as sharp as a corkscrew and every bit as twisted. Like a vicious predator, it sinks its claws into your neck before you even see it coming - a provocative film that dares you to have a good time while it churns your guts.
The film opens with one of the most daring "eff-you's" in years involving a group of plane passengers who make a terrible, terrible discovery after take-off. From there follows five more stories: a young waitress struggles to decide whether or not to put rat poison in the food of a loan shark who ruined her family's life; two motorists - a self-centered yuppie and a fed-up average - see how far road rage can push them in a game of deadly one-oneupmanship; a demolitions expert becomes a folk hero after fighting back against a corrupt transportation department; a rich father gets in over his head after he tries to bribe his grounds-keeper to take the blame for his drunk son's fatal hit-and-run accident; a wedding goes off the rails as a newlywed bride systematically humiliates and emotionally annihilates her groom after discovering that he cheated on her with a comely brunette and then invited her to the wedding reception - each story ups the ante in terms of rage.
Szifron never attempts a grand statement about the nature of violence. He just lets each situation take itself to its logical, exaggerated conclusion. But something else lingers underneath all of this damn-near macabre madness. Most of the stories include a tug-of-war between social castes, with the upper and working classes duking it out over who can do the most dirt. But every time, the grim veneer of gallows humor shimmers through. While the stories themselves are about the joys of losing control, their creator knows exactly what can be achieved with crafty pacing, masterly editing and a precisely controlled balance between the matter-of-fact and the shamelessly hysterical. This is a master craftsman presenting a confident vision of revenge and primal anger that ranges from playful to disturbing. Szifron has a devilish good time crafting the shorts and exhibits a sophisticated eye, and a flair for creating morally ambiguous characters you don't know whether to root for. But that's Wild Tales for you - a wondrous, whacked-out look at volatile human beings doing what they think is right, when wronged.
Wild Tales is a splendidly anarchic portrait of a world on the verge of a nervous breakdown - as sharp as a corkscrew and every bit as twisted. Like a vicious predator, it sinks its claws into your neck before you even see it coming - a provocative film that dares you to have a good time while it churns your guts.