Wild Tales

Argentine bachelor's stories with a bloody coat of paint, sometimes insanely convulsive (the introductory Pasternak barely holds up as a TV sketch, even if the authors of Pečený sněhulák would tear off Szifron's hands), attacks on social criticism killed in shallow morals (jBombito and a story with a wreck), all character limits, structurally and ideologically defensible by the fact that they are "stories" and similar reductivity pertains to them. There is nothing to object to - I just claim that this is an unbalanced film, more for fun than really entertaining and it is explicitly shallow in its more ambitious moments. Only the final wedding is really "wild", but even then one’s smile is replaced by a slightly raised eyebrow. Purely filmed, audience-friendly, but otherwise absolutely amounting to consumer goods. It can be justified by the fact that the (un) ordinary absurdity of existence coincides with the films of Roy Andersson, but Szifron's film does not even come close to its penetration and vision. [60%] (09/10/2014)

The stories “Audi vs. redneck” and “a betrayed pregnant girl” are masterpieces – the former thanks to its atmosphere and filmmaking imaginativeness, the latter thanks to its dialogue and brutal escalation of an already hellish situation. The opening pre-credit scene is also great, with an unforgettable transition to the title of the film. The other stories were decent, though the last one could’ve been shorter, as it sometimes gets too long-winded and self-obsessed. As a whole, the movie is inconsistent both in its feel and formal aspects, but always fun enough. Finally, someone aptly filmed our daily social anxieties and disagreements with the system. (07/23/2014)

Wild Tales that get the nerves flowing, strain to bursting and they do burst, but the cynical diaphragm also comes into its own. The driver war clearly won it for me, but I can't say that the other stones in this black-humored mosaic were much worse. True, I would have liked it even more if the writer/director had also interwoven the stories in other ways than the ubiquitous insanity, but that's probably the only flaw I noticed.___P.S. If I were to watch Falling Down now (which I was reminded of by the short story with a pyrotechnician), it might not end well with my surroundings. (04/03/2016)

The calculated push for mischievous points forces the viewer to not take the creative effort too seriously. That’s quite a shame, considering that morally I only liked the engineering odyssey and that the wedding revelry offered everything that its predecessors didn't, i.e., above all, a twisted merry-go-round of absurdity that presents those cynical life messages with utter sovereignty and ease, as if life itself had written them. I can't help but think that the filmmakers were capable of more. (12/29/2014)

A few more or less crazy stories that definitely don't spare the viewer. You don't know whether to cry, laugh, or maybe turn it off to keep your sanity. But the adrenaline that flows under the skin of all the characters will ultimately decide for you. You simply must watch this. Each of the stories is mediocre at the very least, but most of them are powerfully above average. I was most excited about the wedding and the tire. 4.5 stars. (03/01/2016)