Wild Tales – Movie Review by Frank L.

Directed by Damian Szifron

Writer: Damián Szifrón (as Damián Szifron)
Stars: Darío Grandinetti, María Marull, Mónica Villa

Wild Tales is comparable to a first rate collection of short stories by a gifted writer; the collection however comes in the form of six brief films. Each has a common enough run of the mill situation as its genesis. However in the twenty-first century life is complicated and fraught. As a result an ordinary person may lose his or her self-control as for all their outward composure he or she in reality is quite close to the edge. So much so the opening story has an unnerving echo of the grim events which took place in the French Alps last week. The other films have as there starting point an over-zealous lender seeking a meal in a late night café, a driver infuriated by a road hog in front of him, an engineer infuriated by a parking fine incurred where there was no double yellow line, an adored rich son involved in a hit and run and a glitzy wedding where the groom’s past comes into view. Each results in an uncompromising act of revenge; each story is told with elan and flair.

The co-producers of the film are Agustin and Pedro Almodovar. Pedro’s own great use of vibrant colours and superlative vignettes of all too familiar characters are part of what makes his collection of films so memorable. Szifron has similar skills which he deploys in these six triumphs. He has the same excellent eye for detail with an ability to create acts of Latin revenge out of proportion in their intensity to the original insult. Sadly unlike a book of short stories there is not any time for reflection at the end of each one. Each film has its own moments of black humour but on leaving the cinema there will be a smile on the lips and a skip in the step. It is a delight.