Monday, March 16, 2015

Wild Tales

You’re on a plane. Minding your own business, flipping through a magazine. A man sitting next to you strikes up a conversation. You make idle talk – “Business or pleasure?” – those sorts of things. He tells you what he does for a living, and through this bit of information, you both soon realize that you have an acquaintance in common. You used to date someone who this man offended a long time ago. How odd. The conversation continues, and a woman sitting close by chimes in. She knows this acquaintance as well. So does the dweeb in the back of the plane. So does… seemingly everyone on the plane. What’s going on and where are we going? And how in the ever loving hell did we get here?

This is Wild Tales, the fantastic new film out of Argentina that is currently enjoying a (far too) limited theatrical release following its recent Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie is an anthology in which the only shared connection between the six stories is violence. The violence is strictly emotional in some segments, and brutally physical in others. But no matter who’s being hurt and who’s doing the hurting, there is a steady undercurrent of humor in every tale that makes the film undeniably compelling. At first, you won’t know if you’re allowed to laugh, but writer/director Damián Szifron is so unforgiving in his humor that he quickly crumbles any hesitation the viewer may have to laugh. Wild Tales is pitch black humor at its finest, and the second the movie was over, the only thing I hoped for was six new segments to magically appear.
I’m not going to fully describe the other segments. The bit on the plane opens the film, but I’ll leave the others for you to discover. Some take place in real(ish) time, others cover weeks in the life of a desperate soul. All are expert at exploring the random coincidences of life, and the hell that can follow a seemingly harmless act. For example, in one segment, we watch a man’s life fall apart after his car gets towed. The car being towed itself isn’t the problem. But it creates a snowball effect of disastrous events that ruins this poor bastard’s life. You ever feel like nothing is going your way, and when you’re describing your troubles to a friend, they can’t help but laugh? That’s what it’s like to watch this guy. You empathize with him, but you can’t help but howl at his misfortune (and, later, revenge).

Wild Tales is so good at establishing dread in each segment, that when one begins with a joyous wedding reception – strobe lights pound away as an excitable DJ blasts David Guetta’s “Titanium” – we can’t help but wonder how long it will take for things to go very, very wrong. So, chiefly, the script for Wild Tales is the standout star. So confident is its humor, so fierce is its sense of dismay. But all told, this film is shot, scored and acted to perfection.

As noted, Wild Tales is only playing in a handful of major cities right now, which is a damn shame. A movie this good, not to mention one that has found success at Cannes, Sundance, Telluride, TIFF and at the Academy Awards, should be out there for everyone to see. If you can track it down, do so immediately. Had I seen the film in 2014, it would’ve surely been included among my Top 10 favorite films of the year. A

Click here for a full list of theaters where Wild Tales is, and will be, playing

20 comments:

  1. I've been asked by Cinema Axis to review this but it's not playing in my city as I want to see this.

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    1. I think you'd love it. Such a shame it received such a small theatrical release.

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  2. Great review! I'm gonna be watching this one this week, it really looks fascinating and I heard nothing but praise for it.

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    1. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it. It is SO fucked up, in the best possible ways.

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  3. Oh, I loved Wild Tales! No holds barred dark comedy at its finest. My favourite segment was the last one, with the wedding. Great review!

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    1. Thanks! One of my favorite things about watching this movie was trying to guess how that wedding scene was going to go wrong, because you just knew it was.

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  4. Ohh, this sounds interesting! I will definitely have to check this out when it comes near me. Great review!

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    1. Thanks! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Hope you're able to see it soon!

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  5. Unfortunately it doesn't look like this one will be coming anywhere near me. It sounds like something I'd love. I hope it comes to Netflix or Amazon.

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    1. I definitely think you'll like this one. And it seems perfect for Netflix/Amazon. Hopefully soon!

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  6. Now wasn't this a tremendous film or what? Your review makes full justice to this free-spirited, thoughtful and deliciously dark comedy and I must say I look forward to rewatching the film as soon as possible. It's been 7 months since I first saw this at a film festival and I had a real blast watching it. And that wedding scene, hell, it could easily stand alone as one of the most inspired and well-executed film shorts ever made. A terrific film, really. How awesome would it be if it had won Best Foreign Language film? Now that would be a fantastic surprise.

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    1. So happy you like this one as much as I do. I had no idea it was going to be that good, you know? And yes, that wedding vignette was so epic. I liked Ida a lot, but I definitely prefer Wild Tales - would've been great if it won the Oscar.

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  7. I saw this film at Glasgow Film Festival and loved it! And I do the same as you in real life, I describe the opening plane scene and leave them intrigued about the rest! Fantastic, refreshing film and I love your review of it!

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    1. Thanks so much! This was such a special film. Definitely my type of humor. Whatta gem.

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  8. Oh god, I LOVED this film! I was soooo annoyed to have missed it at the film festival here. Otherwise, it would have been in my top 10 too. I thought it was brilliant. This is like my favourite kind of humour ever. Also, I need to go to a wedding like the one at the end. I must.

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    1. This is my exact type of humor as well. So dark and dry. Fucking hysterical. I've attended some weddings that were real doozies, but shit, can you imagine being there for that one? Hilarious.

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  9. I went to see it three or four months ago when it was released here in Spain. And I LOVED IT. It's also one of my favourite films of the year. I was laughing out loud.
    My favourite tale is the one with the car. Such black humor. I also loved the last one, the wedding. But the great thing about the movie is that none of the tales are out of tune. All of them bring something new to the table and all of them are masterpieces in their own right.

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    1. YES to those last two sentences. Couldn't agree more. Honestly, I haven't found one person who doesn't like this movie. It is so damn good. Really pleased you dig it as well.

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  10. I can't wait to see this! Glad to hear it's one of the best of 2014. I have a feeling it might get some CinSpec recognition when I finally see it. ;)

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    1. Oh I think it will! I think you'll really dig this one. So good.

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