WILD TALES/ RELATOS SELVAJES

Argentina, 2014, 122 minutes, Colour.
Leonardo Sbaraglia, Walter Donado, Ricardo Darin, Rita Cortese.
Directed by Damian Szifron.

Wild Tales was the official entry by Argentina for the 2014 Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film.

The film certainly lives up to its title, and not just one tale, but six. They are not related by characters or situations, but are linked as stories of some kind of revenge.

The audience is immediately put in the mood with the opening pre-credit story, called Pasternak. While it starts simply enough, two people on a plane chatting across the aisle, others start to be involved in the conversation, listening in, making connections, until it emerges that the whole planeload of people, including the steward, have all been in contact with a man called Pasternak, using him, exploiting him, mocking him. And then they are informed that he is in the cockpit and has locked the door. Then we see the plane veering towards an elderly couple sitting in their backyard, the plane getting ever closer.

This story sets the tone for the rest of the film.

Each of the stories is nicely self-contained and each of them works well as a short story. The second one is called Rats. Again, a straightforward story in an isolated diner on stormy night with a waitress recognising the gruff guest as someone who has destroyed her family. The cook observes this from the kitchen and suggest rat poison. The waitress does not want this and is caught in some dilemmas when the cook actually puts the poison in the food. And the man’s son arrives and eats some of it. Again, complications arise, with the cook intervening.

Anyone who has been tempted to road rage will relish the third story, The Strongest. An impatient driver in a remote part of the country (with intriguingly beautiful barren scenery) tries to overtake a driver who impedes him. When the first driver gets a flat tyre, one can anticipate what is going to happen – an increasingly vigorous and violent exercise of road rage with dire results, although they are presented in a comic fashion.

Two other stories are city-set. One, Little Bomb, concerns a skilful engineer who oversees the implosion of a large building, goes to get his daughter’s birthday cake and finds his car towed away. This leads to all kinds of heated arguments, threats, alienation from his wife and daughter, until he decides to take vengeance into his own hands, targeting the towed car area – although there is something of a happy ending, even though he ends up in prison! The other story concerns prison, The Proposal, when a young man’s car hits a pregnant woman, kills her. He wants to confess but his wealthy father decides to pay a groundsman to take his place, having to fork out more and more to the groundsman as well as to the lawyer.

The final story, Until Death Do Us Part, is quite farcical, a very, very happy wedding reception, everything being photographed, the bride absolutely exhilarated until she notices the groom talking to a young woman, get suspicious, creates a scene, walks out of the reception onto the roof, goes into a clinch with a workman, comes to hate her husband, wanting to destroy him, much to the embarrassment of the in-laws as well as the wedding guests.It certainly does not end up in the way that we might have anticipated.

The films are all well-scripted, well-photographed, both dramatic and comic. An insight into Argentina, its people, its emotional issues and how they handle them.

1. An Argentinian perspective on life? Oscar nomination, 2014? acclaim?

2. The title? The film living up to the title, each story?

3. The Argentinian background, city stories, countryside, the mountains and scenery? The interiors, the wedding reception?

4. The six stories and one leading into the other?

5. Desperate situations, revenge and its variations?

6. Pasternak: the two people chatting across the aisle, people overhearing the conversation, everybody claiming to know Pasternak? The links, people exploiting him, using him, mocking him? The variety of jobs? The revelation of Pasternak in the cockpit? The couple in the garden – and the plane crashing down?

7. Rats: the diner, the remote area, the two women, the rain and the weather, the visitor, his sordid background, lending money, cruelty towards people, causing their deaths? His abrupt manner? Wanting to be Mayor? Ordering his meal, arrogance towards the waitress? The cook, her conversation with the young woman? The rat poison? Her having been in prison, the waitress’s reaction, not wanting to kill the man? The cook putting the poison in the food? The woman’s dilemma, warning the man or not? His son’s arrival, eating something, sick, the man’s fight with the woman, the cook and her knife, the police – and taking her away to prison?

8. The Strongest: An entertaining and ironic story of road rage? The driver, impatient, the vehicle blocking his way? The remoteness, the mountains, the highway? The flat tyre? The driver catching up, the man in the car, afraid? Ringing for the police? Pushing the truck into the water over the cliff? The driver’s return, himself going over the cliff, onto the other car? Getting the petrol, the driver in stranglehold from the car door? The fire, the two men burning – and the police speculating whether it was an accident of passion?

9. The Little Bomb: The engineer, the building implosion, his skills, going to the shop, his daughter’s birthday, getting the cake? Parking the car? Getting the ticket? Going to get his car back, arguing with the clerk? Protesting there were no yellow lines? Wanting refund for the taxi, for the taking of the car? Going home, his wife’s reaction, the daughter’s reaction at his missing her party? Getting advice, his wife leaving him, packing the car with explosives, the tow truck area blown up? His going to prison, hoping the prisoners and becoming a hero, wife and daughter visiting him?

10. The Proposal: The young man, killing the pregnant woman, her husband wanting vengeance? His talking with his father, the father and his plans, getting the groundskeeper to take the boy’s place, the big payout? Consulting the lawyers, each wanting more money and rewards? The boy wanting to confess? The father relenting, angers?

11. Until Death Do Us Part: The wedding sequence, the joy of the wedding, the photography, the happy couple, dancing, the bride noticing her husband talking with the other woman, her change of mood, reactions, anger? The confrontation? Going to the roof, the cook, explaining his situation, the sexual encounter, wanting to be promiscuous, get all the money from her husband? The in-laws and their presence? The photographer and filming everything? The guests and their bewilderment? The bride looking dishevelled, her return, the husband and his exasperation? His finally coming to her, the reconciliation, the dancing together?

12. Serious themes – with the comic and ironic touches?