Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) - with many spoilers

Relatos Salvajes is a darkly comedic anthology film from Argentina. The six short stories are each in Spanish and focus on acts of revenge.

The stories of Relatos Salvajes(Wild Tales) are; Pasternak, Las ratas (The rats), El mas fuerte (The strongest), Bombita (Bombs), La Propuesta (The Proposal) and Hasta que la muerte nos separe (‘Til death do us part).

Verdict

My movie ratings consist of thumbs up or middle fingers as sometimes one starring something doesn’t shame it enough. 5 thumbs up = an absolute triumph. 5 middle fingers = a complete piece of shit, go fuck yourself.

Relatos Salvajes - 4 thumbs up It is difficult to find fault with this movie. Productions like this, that consist of a series of shorts held together by a theme have always been a favourite of mine. I enjoyed The ABC’s of death; parts one and two when they were released and thought quite a lot of VHS among others. As far as anthology films go I think Relatos Salvajes might be my favourite. Each of the stories are brilliant in their own way and are 5 star short stories for sure, but as a feature length film I don’t think it would be fair to rank a film such as this in the same tier as say Fight Club or The Godfather or any other widely accepted 5 star movie. Saying that, If this film had never existed and each short had won awards on their own I would probably have never heard of them.

Favourite quote “No need to wake up the dog, but I’ll need to speak to your wife and son” - The Police investigator questioning the Family in La Propuesta, after realizing the gardener was the wrong height to be a suspect.

“I don’t think I’ll get married again” is another humorous line from the movie after the scenes that unfold during Hasta que la muerte nos separe.

Favourite scene

During the escalating events that unfold in El mas fuerte, one the men competing to exact revenge climbs onto his rival’s bonnet and shits on his windscreen. This came completely as a shock and provided a moment where I was horrified by the man’s actions, yet I couldn’t look away.

My favourite story from the feature was Hasta que la muerte nos separe (‘Til death do us part). I’m a sucker for a RomCom.

Best meme from the movie

Analysis

Pasternak - The epitome of ‘I’m taking you down with me’. Everyone on the Gabriel Pasternak highway to hell had it coming. This was the simplest of the tales, just demonstrating what it is like to have had enough, and the only tale where we never actually see the character whose story we’re hearing.

The rats - ‘The rats’ is a grim modern day fairy tale demonstrating getting your own back on a horrible villain. The protagonist has been forced to work in Cinderella like circumstances due to the mob boss creating a situation for her family that leads to her father’s suicide and with it the loss of income and lifestyle. She works in a hell hole of a small restaurant with a plump older lady who tries to look out for her during their scenario and takes matters into her own hands by poisoning the mob boss and eventually stabbing him to death. The lady acts like the protagonist's ‘Fairy God-mother’ and takes the blame for the crimes committed. She is taken away by the police at the end of the story. One Cinderella, one Fairy God-Mother and definitely one bad apple.

The Strongest - This example of one-upmanship and hellbent petty revenge is probably not as much of an exaggeration as it should be, compared to everyday life. The example of road rage which starts off as a very minor incident snowballs until both characters are desperate to destroy each other no matter what consequences they inflict upon themselves. The closing scene of this tale depicts the men’s embracing skeletons being recovered by the police who presume it was a ‘crime of passion’, which is hilarious given the circumstances. “Re-calculating” from the SatNav after the car is driven off the bridge also adds to the not too surreal situation.

Bombs - There is nobody alive who can’t empathize with the protagonist in this story. The man is a hero in my eyes, just as he is depicted at the end of the segment. The battle between a standard bystander being fleeced by a faceless system, whilst trying to argue against terms and conditions and other legislation represents a standard citizen being walked all over by ‘the man’. He’s lived by the rules of ‘the man’s’ making his whole life and through no fault of his own they’ve moved the goal posts and he is forced into hard times. Everyone hates getting a parking ticket, especially in the age of aggressive parking infringement enforcement. Take those cameras out of supermarket car parks you Bastards. And stop reading my bloody license plate.

The Proposal - The proposal turns a search for justice into a business arrangement. To some, this short probably highlights the corruption surrounding the legal system in South America. To me, it is a study in negotiations. The haggling between the Lawyer, the Father, the Gardener and the Police Officer is really what this story is about, and it’s pointlessness as their dillydallying gives a bereaved Husband time to exact his revenge on who he thinks is the Hit and Run culprit. The moment that summarizes this story best is when the Son wants to confess to the crime, but the negotiating has gone too far and even the man taking the fall for him urges him not to as he has too much to gain.

‘Til death do us part - ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’ summarizes this tale. The transition from the best day of their lives with the lavish DJ set, big smiles and apparent wealth into a bloody rage makes for great entertainment. After discovering her husband of about 5 minutes has been cheating on her, the bride commits to taking him down at all costs and at some point adopts a persona not too dissimilar to a mob boss. Demanding the filming of her new husband crouched down and reduced to tears in his mother's arms so that she can display it on a moving digital photo frame was a level of coldheartedness that can almost compare to murdering all of your rivals in a plane, in my opinion.

Each of the stories are neatly tied together with clever scene swipes and a brilliantly suited musical score from Gustavo Santaolalla, which is a ridiculous name. The opening credits Show lots of beautiful images of predatory animals, which as far as I’m aware aren’t renowned for exacting calculated revenge... but the reference to primal animalistic behaviour is not lost. FINALLY, the best thing about this movie beyond all shadow of a doubt is hidden in the closing credits in tiny writing - unless you are watching it with subtitles, like myself where it is basically screamed at you, silently.

I think this may be the biggest Fuck You I’ve ever witnessed. It appears the movie itself is a festering act of revenge. What’s the next step for Damian Szifron? Flying a plane into his Dad’s garden?

The bottom line

Those were some pretty wild tales. I have taken notes from each of them. Never wrong me. This film is a must see and probably my favourite anthology movie of all time.