Relatos salvajes 2014

Bruce Ingram, Chicago Sun-Times: If everyone behaved the way the characters in Wild Tales behave, civilization would crumble. But the real take-away lesson here is how easy it might be for any of us, swept up in a moment of bloodlust, to consider pure raging hostility a fair trade. Read more

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: In its gaudy, predictable way, "Wild Tales" is enormous fun, and the consistent wit of the quiet stretches shows there's more to Szifron than shock tactics. Read more

Jay Weissberg, Variety: A wickedly delightful compendium of six standalone shorts united by a theme of vengeance -- the kind that explodes in spectacular bursts after a put-upon soul is screwed over too many times. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Szifron brings everything to the table here: anger, rage, betrayal, malice aforethought and panic. But he leavens this with humor, style, cleverness and wit. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Szifron gives us a window onto other people's worst impulses rather than a mirror reflecting our own; the laughs come fast and full, and they come a little too easily. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: How to discuss this giddily inventive Argentinian feature without ruining its many surprises? Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: If you've ever fantasized about busting up somebody's nuptials, this movie is for you. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: A collection of six vignettes all connected by themes of victimhood and vengeance, and spring-loaded with ironic twist endings worthy of O. Henry, the film feels like Pulp Fiction filtered through the baroque pop sensibility of Pedro Almodovar. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: Szifron's voice is nonetheless very much his own, a mischievously blunt response to a culture of inescapable corruption, economic and social inequality and injustice. Read more

Charles Solomon, Los Angeles Times: Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but Argentine writer-director Damian Szifron allows it to sit until it congeals in the dreary six-part anthology "Wild Tales." Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but the dark comedy Wild Tales (Relatos salvajes) argues that payback is more satisfying when it's doled out in fiery, bloody and outrageous doses. Read more

Elaine Teng, The New Republic: Each of the stories in Wild Tales could have been a full-length movie in itself, but each vignette is so exquisitely crafted, the sequence so carefully chosen, that the six fit flawlessly together. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Entertaining, over-the-top and more than a little anxiety-inducing. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: Each of the segments involves violence and illustrates the arrogance of the wealthy and powerful, but their moralizing is as facile as the plotting is mechanical. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: You're sorry when one episode ends; you can't wait for another to get to the gruesome point. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: The film is an anthology - a collection of six separate and unrelated stories - every one of which lives up to that title. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, New York Daily News: Six unrelated tales examine how dignity and propriety shut down in the face of anger, exasperation or the lure of a quick buck. All are funny because all feel true. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: In between its shocker start and equally startling windup, this Argentine anthology offers up a scabrous, often unsettlingly funny look at human behavior in extremis. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Wild Tales - Relatos salvajes in its original Spanish - is, indeed, savage. And surprising. Your jaw will drop, your head will shake, more than a few times. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Argentina's nominee for the foreign-film Oscar is a farce about revenge that is feral, ferocious and gut-bustingly funny. You'll laugh till it hurts. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Outrageous, rude, a refreshing change of pace. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: With the darkest of humour, it graphically illustrates what happens when the stress of 21st century living causes regular citizens to "go postal." Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Damian Szifron spins a series of superior yarns, all of them unpredictable yet at the same time recognizably human. Any anthology film runs the risk of being judged by its weakest link, but there's not a single dud in the bunch. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: The funniest of the six stories is a brilliantly extended riot of absurdly brutal road rage. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Well-acted, cleverly written and exquisitely crafted. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Wild Tales has so much feral, prickly energy that it gives off warmth rather than coldness. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Whatever the style, the point is blunt, reductive: Civilized humans can transform, in an instant, into blindingly destructive forces of nature. Not exactly an original thesis, but as a source of movie fodder, it's scarily entertaining. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: The half-dozen chapters vary in length and subject matter, but not in style or the efficiency of their message. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: You never lose interest for a moment, and the images are often striking: Javier Julia did the stylish cinematography. Yet there's little lift from the carryings-on, not much buoyancy in the misanthropy. Read more