Wild Tales Review

The first of six standalone short films sets the tone for the entire experience. We meet various characters on an airplane as they all meet each other, discovering the strange "coincidence" that they all seem to know the same person, a man they have all wronged in one way or another. One of the passengers refers to this seemingly chance small world encounter as "cosmic" but in reality it is anything but. It's an implausible, absurdly calculated opportunity for revenge and only minutes after we are introduced to these people and their stories their tale ends, the screen goes black and we move on to a new chapter. 

If you watch Wild Tales and hope that the people and their plights will all be tied together eventually with a neat little bow, it isn't going to happen. No, the only dots that can be connected here are stylistically and thematically as each short is it's own animal, although the animal is always violent, angry and looking to quench a thirst for revenge. The most important connection here, however, is a very simple one that is sure to be the reason everyone needs to experience Wild Tales: it's so damn funny.

On paper the premise of this anthology feature sounds quite dramatic but it's actually a comedy of the very dark variety, and I was laughing early and often. It's littered with terrific dialogue and wonderful characters and delicious satire, worthy of the Oscar nomination it received earlier this year for Best Foreign Language Film. Despite this 2014 recognition, unfortunately a theatrical run didn't occur in the U.S. until a couple months into this year so spoiler alert: look for Wild Tales when I count down the best work of 2015 down the road. You will absolutely discover that it made the cut when all is said and done.

If I were to nitpick a flaw here it would be that the six separate short films are not created equal, as some of them excel more than others, but at the same time this fact makes the chance of discussion and debate all the more fun. Everyone is sure to have their favorites, their reasons for connecting to some and not all, and for me the best of the bunch were the third short titled El Mas Fuerte (The Strongest), an absolutely brilliant scathing satire on the absurdity of the concept of machismo masculinity, the fourth installment titled Bombita (Little Bomb) about a man who gets fed up with society and the fact that his voice isn't heard and carries no weight until he does what he does best to make a very loud statement, and the final of the six called Hasta que la muerte nos separe (Until Death Do Us Part) that shows us a wedding that starts off as an expensive, over-the-top celebration until the bride discovers a scandalous secret about the man she just married earlier that very day. 

Overall, Wild Tales is a hilarious success, a very clever and unique experience that never truly missed but rather hits with a little less force in some spots but bowls us over in others.

4.5/5

Jauja Review

As I continue to explore fascinating foreign language cinema, the types of work I used to unfortunately ignore, I have found myself constantly puzzled and being forced to sleep on a film before being able to form a coherent thought or two to start my write-up.

In other words, it has been an amazing and rewarding time for me and my understanding of the medium lately, and that continues with the gorgeous new film Jauja. The final frame left the screen and there I was, staring at a spot on the wall as I contemplated what I had just seen. A shit eating grin plastered on my face, I'm sure.

Jauja debuted last year at the Cannes Film Festival and has been seen at other fests and released in other countries since, but it is finally getting its limited release here in the United States just now. I recall catching wind of some very positive word of mouth months ago and being annoyed at just how long it would be before I could see it.

It was worth the wait.

Director of Photography Timo Salminen puts a very unique spin on this film with the way it is framed, using a 4:3 aspect ratio with rounded corners that brought a surreal feel to the entire experience, as if I was watching an old slideshow of moving photographs rather than a film. By utilizing this approach with the landscapes that make up the setting of the picture, the result is an overall haunting and spellbinding enigmatic movie that is difficult to wrap my head around.

A friend and fellow cinema enthusiastic mentioned a similarity to the Australian classic Picnic at Hanging Rock by Peter Weir, which I watched and reviewed for the first time recently, and I definitely could feel those vibes flowing through Jauja. At one point a mangy dog plays an important role as to literally what direction Gunnar (Viggo Mortensen) takes going forward and I couldn't help but notice that it looked like it had walked out of the "Zone" in the Tarkovsky masterpiece Stalker and headed straight for the desolate landscapes of Jauja. 

I have no idea what previous pictures played a role in influencing this fascinating new work from Lisandro Alonso but it's easy to tell that the lifeblood of incredible work from decades past is flowing through the veins of Jauja. Some may find the languid pacing to be more trouble than its worth, and at times during the first half of the film I will admit it felt as if very little was actually happening, but for me the methodical movements within a frame and the way shots would linger on seemingly nothing all added to the mysticism that I completely fell in love with.

It's early and literally dozens of pictures are still on their way to try and surpass it, but as of right now Jauja is my favorite film of 2015.

4.5/5