Wild
Tales (2014/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: C+ Film: B-
Damian
Szifron's Wild Tales (2014) is a clever Argentine-Spanish
black comedy/anthology film comprised of six standalone shorts united
by a common theme of violence and vengeance. Starring Ricardo Darín,
Oscar Martínez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Erica Rivas, Rita Cortese,
Julieta Zylberberg, and Darío Grandinetti, an all star-foreign cast.
The film in total is pretty fun and enjoyable and I can see now why
it was nominated for an Oscar.
The
six segments (giving you an idea of what to expect) are entitled:
-Pasternak
-Las
Ratas (The Rats)
-El
mas fuerte (The Strongest)
-Bombita
(Little Bomb)
-La
Propuesta (The Proposal)
-Hasta
que la muerte nos separe (Until Death Do Us Part)
Full
of violence, sex, and rat poison, the international film is about
love deception, the return of the past, a tragedy, or even the
violence contained in an everyday detail, appear to push towards the
abyss, into the undeniable pleasure of losing control. What I found
interesting was that there was no thematic middle story to tie the
anthology together as in tradition, instead we simply move from story
to story which is still pretty effective.
The
transfer here is pretty perfect with a crisp 1080p high definition
image and a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and both Spanish and
German lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 tracks, though
the Spanish is the original, of course. Several variety of subtitles
options are also added. Extras include Wild Shooting: Creating The
Film and An Evening at the Toronto International Film Festival with
Director Szifron.
All
in all, if you are a fan of foreign films or if you like anthology
pieces, Wild Tales is definitely one that you should give a shot.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.facebook.com/jhl5films
