Wild Tales is certainly crazy, but every single vignette is a unique take on revenge and the animalistic urges we all have.
Unlike a lot of foreign language films, the English title for Argentina’s “Relatos Salvajes” is a direct translation to “Wild Tales.” I point this out because this, along with the opening title sequence (a montage of various wild animals), perfectly sums up what the movie is about. It’s about the animalistic side all of us have. The six short films in this anthology are connected by their themes of vengeance and, as horrible as it sounds, it shows the things that we wish we could do to the people we think have wronged us.
Anthology films, which are usually reserved for the horror genre, are often a mixed bag. You never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes, especially if each vignette is directed and written by different people, the quality is inconsistent at best. Also, often times the constant switching of stories makes the movie lose any momentum it has built. However, “Wild Tales” is able to get past these drawbacks. First, all the stories are written and directed by Damián Szifron, which helps make each of the stories consistent in quality, but more importantly stylistically consistent.
In addition to being connected thematically, each vignette has a wholly satisfying black humor that makes you want to keep watching. Each 20 minutes section could be watched without the others and still be lauded for its quality. But it’s the message that the sections together portray that make the movie great.
SPOILER ALERT: After the jump I’m going to be talking about each story. You’ve been warned.
The first tale, a cold open if you will, is called “Pasternak”. It opens on a model (María Marull) as she boards a plane, she finds out that she’s unable to get frequent flier miles for her ticket since someone else paid for her ticket. While talking to a fellow passenger, she finds that they both know a man named Pasternak, she was his ex-girlfriend and the other passenger a music criticized his work. Then, another passenger reveals she’s connected to him. It can’t be a coincidence. So, what is happening?
The next tale is one of morality called “The Rats”. A man walks into a diner. The waitress (Julieta Zylberberg) instantly recognizes him as a corrupt official who drove her father to suicide. She would love to tell him off or rid the world of his evil, but the thought doesn’t became a realistic plan until the diner’s cook (Rita Cortese) suggests she poison him. The waitress is torn. The cook makes it sound so easy, but it’s obviously immoral… right? Well, in this world, revenge is a dish best served with french fries and fried eggs.
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Easily the most shocking of the tales, “The Strongest” opens on a young businessman (Leonardo Sbaraglia) driving his new sports car through the desert. As he passes a dingy pickup truck, he yells insults as the driver. However, when he gets a flat tire further down the road, he must confront the driver who doesn’t take being insulted lightly. As their fight escalates, we realize, quite terrifyingly, that this is what we would want to do when someone gives you the finger on the road.
“The Strongest” kicks off a series of stories that talk about class relationships. In that film it’s rich vs. poor, in “Bombita” it’s citizen vs. government. Simón (Ricardo Darín), a demolition expert, is picking up his daughter’s birthday cake when his car is towed. He goes to the towing company complaining that he was not aware it was a towing zone since it wasn’t marked. From there, that one even effects every aspect of his life, from his marriage to his job. As the story unfolds, we realize we’ve felt the same way every time we get a parking ticket or have to stand in line at the DMV.
“The Proposal” goes back to rich vs. poor as it follows a family that has to figure out what to do when the son hits a pregnant woman in a hit-and-run accident. They offer their gardener $500k to take the fall, but when the number of people they have to pay off increases, the patriarch (Oscar Martínez) has to decide how much is too much. It becomes a tale of morality and responsibility. Will the son take responsibility, or will daddy make it go away?
The final story is the perfect topper to this ridiculous, darkly comic movie. “Till Death Do Us Part” starts at a wedding reception. It’s perfect. The guests are excited, the bride and groom look like they could fly to the moon. That is until the bride (Érica Rivas) discovers that her newly minted husband (Diego Gentile) cheated on her with one of the guests. At first she’s heartbroken and even suicidal, but she quickly learns that you shouldn’t get sad, you get even. And did she ever. If you take anything away from the story, it’s that hell hath no fury like a woman scorn.
In the end, “Wild Tales” is a cautionary one. It warns us of the savages we become when we are driven by vengeance. Damián Szifron tells each story with a specific visual flair that helps make “Wild Tales” the best anthology movie I’ve ever seen. 8.5/10
Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.