Overview
Death and vengeance are the common threads in Damián Szifron’s Wild Tales, one of the most deliriously savage black comedies to hit cinemas in years. Argentina’s nomination to the most recent Foreign Language Oscar race, the film consists of six separate vignettes, following six everyday people driven to the point of no return. The ensuing mayhem resembles the spawn of the Coen Brothers, Almodovar, Tarantino and Bunuel; a wicked tour de force as sharp as a corkscrew and every bit as twisted.
Whether it’s a wealthy couple trying to cover up their son’s indiscretions, a lowly waitress taking revenge on the man who ruined her family or just two drivers struck down by a serious case of road rage, every chapter in the film is propelled by a wonderful inevitability: eventually, everything will be thrown horribly, hysterically and often violently out of control. And believe it or not, there’s actually method to Szifron’s madness — an intelligence lurking beneath all that wonderful chaos. The cathartic pleasure we feel watching his characters rebel against what’s socially (and ethically) acceptable comes directly from our own frustrations with the everyday world.
Wild Tales is in select cinemas (Sydney: Dendy Newtown and Palace Verona. Melbourne: Palace Brighton Bay and Cinema Nova) from May 21, and thanks to Sony Pictures, we have 15 double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and then email us with your name and address. Read our full Wild Tales review here.
Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au
Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au
