What it’s about
Six stories set in present day Argentina revolve around themes of vengeance and animalistic behavior. Travellers on a plane realize that they all know, and once slighted, the pilot; a waitress recognizes a loan shark from her past; two men let road rage get the better of them; an explosives expert starts a feud with the DMV; a rich man covers for his wimpy, criminally irresponsible son, and a bride finds out that her new husband has cheated on her with one of the wedding guests.
Why we love it
Pedro and Agustin Almodovar produced this wickedly subversive anthology that slips in stark social realism beneath its pitch-black surface humor. Each story contemplates a lone individual wronged by an uncaring culture, and there’s a gleeful satisfaction in watching the absurd, often over-the-top comeuppances that follow. Playing with genre norms, yet never bowing to parody, Argentinian director Szifron is in firm control of each compact mini-film, with the road rage and wedding sequences particularly memorable. Exceptional music and tight editing complete this Oscar-nominated slice of schadenfreude. “Wild,” indeed!