Storie Pazzesche

This is a very watchable and often extremely funny anthology of six short films. The dialogue is in Spanish, the director and settings are Argentine. The stories are all slightly-over-the-top-realism in the manner of Almodóvar tinged with the dark surrealism of the Buñuel of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. The scenarios are graphic rather than subtle, but they all work well most of the time, because most of us can identify with the main characters, recognizing how little it can take to shake us from complacency into violence.

The official English title "Wild Tales" suggests madcap craziness. But these tales are savage ("selvaje" in the original Spanish), a word that better suggests the ferocious beast lurking not far under the skin of all of us. The beast can be unchained by nothing more complicated than being cut off by a driver who doesn't signal or finding that our car has been impounded for an unwitting parking infraction.

In the first and shortest episode, what appears to be an absurd series of coincidences linking all the passengers on a plane turns out to have a logical and sinister rationale. The ending explains why in the opening scene the woman checking in at the airport is told that she will not earn frequent flyer points for her trip! And the final, longest episode hilariously tracks the chaotic degeneration of a stereotypical Jewish wedding party, initiated by the bride's discovery that the groom has been cheating on her with one of the guests. This is not a film for young children or for people who aren't willing to admit how close they sometimes are to dissolving in animal rage.

There will be times within us all when rage surrounds, when the urge to lash and kick the world compounds, when the consequence goes missing, and you're left distraught and wishing, that you hadn't set that foot outside the bounds. This result will more than likely cost you dear, as you cascade, crush, curtail all your fears, when adrenaline explodes, hackles raised you're on your toes, seeing red - but there is nothing else that's clear. As the dust begins to settle consequences, of your actions may reveal extreme expenses, incarceration in a place, after losing more than face, reputation and your life now in cessation.

This Argentine film that found itself nominated for the 2014 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award comes to us from director Damián Szifrón who has crafted a feature film comprised of a series of 6 vignettes/small stories about human beings from all walks of (Argentine) life who are all tested and taken to their limits ... until they finally lose control. While mostly disastrous the film is also WILDly thrilling and wholly original in its daring cheekiness ... as the film is a bitter dark comedy (with tinges of brutal drama).

It is a film about a myriad group of people on a plane; a young waitress who still finds herself grieving over a family tragedy of the past; an encounter between two men from different social classes on a desolate highway; a man growing tired of the rat race of life in which we are all destined to lose; the aftermath of a horrible automobile accident; and a wedding reception like none you've ever seen before. All feature one or two characters taken to the edge ...

It is how each of them handles their various situations that give us our WILD stories. Fascinatingly grim at times, the film almost always miraculously produces laughter and grins. Much of the laughter might be heavily muffled as one chuckles under his/her breath as others around them fail to see the director's (WILDly) wicked sense of humor come into play in some of the film's intense situations; but the dark tone pervades the entire film.

While the film is most definitely tragic in many instances, Wild Tales is a comedy of errors about human nature and who we are. Some can watch this and most-likely not pick up even a hint of humor; but it is there ... and it is fantastically facetious.

Wildly thrilling. Wildly fun. Wildly original. It is courageously wild.

6 Stories - 6 masterpieces! They perfectly combine thriller, drama, humor and the common topic is the violence.

Each tale is independent from the other, but all of them have something special that makes you really enjoy.

The situations introduced in each story are actually based on real life, of course the are intentionally exaggerated with a sense of satire and irony that really makes you laugh.

The picture is the best I have seen in an Argentina movie and the music "made ​​in" Santaolalla is sublime.

The actors/actresses are amazing (specially the bride - Erica Rivas) In my opinion it is one of the best non-English Language movies ever.

Greetings again from the darkness. Do you often get accused of having a slightly demented sense of humor? Do you have secret crazy thoughts of seeking revenge on those who have wronged you? If so, writer/director Damian Szifron has a collection of short stories just for you!

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Oscar, Argentina's entry is just now opening in the Dallas market where I live. To say Wild Tales is a wild ride would be quite an understatement. There are six short stories blended together, and while you may not recognize the theme immediately, it doesn't take long before rage and retribution jump to the forefront in these seemingly typical slices of everyday life.

The best short stories make a quick grab for attention, and manage to convey character and setting from the beginning. The writing is crucial and can easily collapse in the hands of a less-proficient short story writer. But when it works, it's fascinating to watch, and Mr. Szifron has a real talent for making us laugh in the midst of truly awful situations.

Not to give away any details, but the six stories involve: a remarkable "coincidence" on a flight, an unwelcome customer at a local diner, a close-quarters brawl at a bridge, the frustration of dealing with "the system", misguided parental instincts in protecting their kid, and the most wheels-off wedding reception ever filmed.

If you are ever searching for an example of a dark comedy, this one will provide clarity. The seemingly unrelated stories are woven together through payback, though the price is often pretty high. Mr. Szifron's stories remind us that life is not fair, but when it's happening to someone else, we can still laugh about it.