Every time I watch a Spanish or South American film, I resolve to do so more frequently. Yet, it has been over a year since I last saw Cary Fukunaga’s Mexican adventure, Sin Nombre. There’s a refreshing directness to the storytelling; it feels uncensored and genuine, a quality often lacking in typical Hollywood productions. Wild Tales is an episodic film by Argentinian director and screenwriter Damián Szifron. Through six distinct narratives, Szifron explores humanity’s darker tendencies: betrayal, infidelity, violence, revenge, and, in some instances, outright madness. For two hours, we follow six separate journeys, each unfolding in a different setting and featuring a cast of skilled actors. Despite their apparent dissimilarity, the episodes are linked by their exploration of shared dark emotions and relatable, everyday situations.
In the first episode, Pasternak, we witness a surreal flight that serves as a concise yet effective introduction to the film’s pervasive theme: revenge, one of humanity’s most powerful and destructive instincts. The second episode, Las Ratas, transports us to a café where a waitress encounters an old tormentor. She faces a moral dilemma: does the crime she suffered earlier in life justify the opportunity for revenge now presented to her?
While the initial two episodes primarily address underlying violence and the potential consequences of revenge, the third, El más fuerte, escalates into a full-blown spectacle of brutality. It also serves as a cautionary tale, reminding us to exercise greater caution in traffic and to consider carefully at whom we direct our horn. You never know who might be behind the wheel of the other vehicle…
Bombita, the fourth episode, centers on a demolition expert whose life unravels after his car is unfairly towed. Ultimately, he seeks retribution against those responsible. This skillfully crafted narrative possesses a disturbingly high degree of relatability, highlighting the rigid and often infuriating nature of our social systems. Ricardo Darín delivers a convincing and compelling performance as the main character, Simón. Episode five, La Propuesta, illustrates how a stressful and chaotic situation can expose the worst aspects of human greed. It’s a truly unsettling story about a family whose teenage son accidentally kills a woman and her unborn child in a hit-and-run. Their solution is to pay their gardener to take the blame. However, the situation spirals out of control as everyone involved, including corrupt police officers and lawyers, demands an ever-increasing share of the payment offered by the protective father. Finally, Hasta que la muerte nos separe (Till death do us part) presents the story of a woman, portrayed with extraordinary skill by Erica Rivas (who has received numerous accolades for her performance), who discovers her husband’s infidelity during their wedding reception. Damián Szifron concludes Wild Tales with arguably the most outlandish of the six episodes, which is simultaneously one of the most entertaining and disturbing.
A subtle yet pervasive sense of humor serves as a unifying element throughout Wild Tales. The film’s consistently dark and violent tone is effectively complemented by its pitch-black and often unsettling humor, which, despite the discomfort it evokes, elicits laughter from viewers on multiple occasions. Overall, Wild Tales is a brilliantly conceived film featuring compelling themes and straightforward visuals. It is a disturbing yet masterfully executed work with talented actors, and the sound design enhances the storytelling in each episode. It is, simply put, a masterpiece in all its glorious madness.
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