Relatos salvajes: Everyone is Guilty

"Relatos salvajes" is a black comedy comprising six independent stories with no interconnection. What makes it remarkable is its avoidance of excessive narrative intricacies, maintaining a clear and concise rhythm. It cuts deep into human nature, seizing the essence and leaving an indelible mark. Overall, it is both stunning and successful.

The film's structure, composed of standalone short stories, is noteworthy. In a future where information exchange is instantaneous and various internet communication tools are highly advanced, knowledge becomes increasingly fragmented and people crave more information without the patience to delve into a single truth. The era and societal psychology welcome such straightforward short stories, capable of conveying central ideas and complete storylines within twenty minutes, challenging directors' skills in editing, directing, and artistic intuition. The rapid consumption and swift dissemination of the internet age will give rise to even greater and more precise artists, but it will also generate more ephemeral, profit-driven, and transient garbage.

From this perspective, "Relatos salvajes" exhibits experimental and visionary elements in its form. Its succinct and clean style reveals the dark and bestial side of humanity—rage, bloodlust, loss of control, greed, vengeance, blind adoration of violence and the powerful, the desire for control, cunning, and greed. The stories depict insatiable retaliation and extreme selfishness, portraying a destructive psychological inclination that would rather embrace collective doom than let go of a nemesis.

These tales unveil the hidden dark facets of humanity. Like a weeping bride turning into an unfeeling avenging angel, throwing rivals through glass windows. Even the seemingly cultured individuals of society can transform into roaring beasts in the next moment, attempting to ruthlessly kill a stranger. Behind the facade of civilization, order, self-discipline, and success, we easily succumb to uncontrolled rage and vengeful desires. These eruptions of anger and revenge lead us into a deceptive roulette of fate, distinctly different from what preceded.

After watching, I found myself contemplating. This contemplation extends beyond the dualities of human nature and delves into the blind and chaotic nature of human existence: ever-changing visages, identities in constant flux, relationships that defy trust, marriages built on deception and betrayal, families easily shattered and reassembled, and the ambiguous and elusive face that includes both ourselves and an uncertain future.

Behind a society seemingly steeped in order, cultivation, history, and civilization, we remain devoid of logic, bewildered, confused, and rash, much like animals. Faced with provocations, we easily succumb to anger, lose control, and inadvertently destroy our lives. Alternatively, enticed by a hint of gain, we transform from moral exemplars into insatiable beings, resorting to any means to extort and exploit others for personal advantage.

The third story - Mutual Annihilation

In this story, initially, a man driving a new Audi mocks an old truck blocking his way. Later, when he stops to change a tire, the truck driver further humiliates him, leading the Audi driver to ram his car into the truck. This escalates into a violent struggle, resulting in both of them meeting a tragic end.

A minor conflict sparked by discrimination and verbal violence culminates in a fatal car crash. The escalating pattern of violence between individuals unwilling to compromise leads to a destructive outcome. The accumulating conflicts and imminent emotions eventually drive two strangers, who briefly crossed paths on the road, into a dire situation.

The intriguing aspect is the dark conclusion, where the two individuals, initially engaged in a physical fight inside the car, determined to kill each other. The car eventually explodes, reducing them to two tightly embraced gray skeletons, resembling a pair of male lovers who, in despair, embraced each other in a tragic end.

The fifth story - Money is the Most Ruthless Game

Wealthy magnate Mauricio's son causes a fatal accident, resulting in the death of a pregnant woman. Mauricio is willing to go to any lengths, including hiring a lawyer to fabricate evidence, making his gardener a scapegoat, and promising a substantial compensation. However, the investigator appointed by the police quickly recognizes the forgery. Mauricio attempts to once again bribe the investigator, sending his lawyer to negotiate. The process of fabricating evidence snowballs, with the lawyer complicating matters by claiming that the investigator is demanding a $1 million negotiation fee (secretly intending to share in the proceeds), and the gardener, dissatisfied with his initial compensation, demanding more money and a beachfront villa.

As the saying goes, "One lie often requires more lies to sustain." In less than half an hour, Mauricio realizes that these three individuals have made exorbitant demands beyond what he can bear. Mauricio, not being foolish, strategically seizes the moment, boldly declaring that he no longer needs the assistance of these greedy individuals and their fabricated evidence. He announces that he will instruct his son to surrender immediately. Mauricio's sudden withdrawal catches the three individuals off guard, and they reluctantly agree to split the $1 million among themselves to settle the matter. This negotiation drama, unfolding in the magnate's mansion, vividly portrays the endless depths of human greed behind the facade of respectability, justice, and honesty. It illustrates how, in the world of opportunistic extortion, everyone willingly plays their role as actors, with no one innocent in the end.

The sixth story - A Marriage of Life and Death

In the midst of a luxurious and perfect wedding, the bride, Romina, unexpectedly discovers her husband, Ariel, secretly involved with another woman seated among the guests. Romina, in tears, confronts her husband and, driven by madness and despair, rushes to the rooftop in an attempt to commit suicide. She engages in a sexual encounter with a chef, only to be discovered by her husband who came looking for her. "I want to have everything of yours. Your house. If you die, I'll have it all! Only death can separate us!" Romina, in her frenzy, laughs maniacally on the rooftop, delivering a proclamation so venomous that it induces vomiting in Ariel.

The blue lights at the wedding venue follow the escalating conflict between the two, gradually turning darker and more mysterious. The scene becomes surreal and terrifying, with the carnival procession dragging the enraged couple, Romina and Ariel, who are now engaged in direct sexual acts on the spot. This is a plot twist that is difficult for people to comprehend, yet it leaves everyone with an unsettling sense of the abnormal and perverse. The establishment of a relationship marked by mutual love and mutual destruction, a fervent slaughter to see who dies first. The final shot pans over the scattered cake crumbs, as if capturing the couple lying on the cake table making love, resembling beasts roaring, gorging, and indulging in a feast of love and hatred. The couple's tightly embracing posture in the end mirrors the tragic demise of the two drivers in the first story. Impulsive and reckless emotions devour all plotlines, while logic and morality are systematically dissolved. Romina and Ariel betray each other, yet in one aspect, they conspire: to be bound together until death, to see who succumbs first, to witness who dies first. Behind the facade of a loving couple lies the insurmountable selfishness and hypocrisy, an enduring form of veiled murder.

This story is both shocking and filled with an excellent dark atmosphere, serving as a brilliant climax to the entire film.

The capricious nature of fate exploits the weaknesses of human beings, manipulating and controlling anyone with the slightest twist of events, leading to profound changes in life and the emergence of human abnormalities. People can be distorted beyond their control, their faces contorted, willingly transforming themselves into demons to destroy others, gazing into the abyss only to find it staring back. Engaging in prolonged battles with dragons may turn one into a dragon; coexisting with resentment, burning together with fire and greed. Whether it is a cunning and calculating tycoon or a man sitting in an Audi; whether it is a model flying with a free plane ticket or a bride with a luxurious wedding, the surface advocacy of kindness and tolerance is easily punctured and torn apart. The deeply rooted bestial nature and the fervor for revenge manifest prominently, leading us, driven by dark anger, to rush down the wrong path, mutually strangling and persistently heading towards the self-dug grave.

In this tragedy, everyone bears guilt, with each person having responsibility for their actions and character. The constant calculation, the eye-for-an-eye mentality – once wronged by others, the instinct is to exact revenge at any cost. Extreme selfishness not only harms others but can also destroy the original purpose of our lives. Yet, countless people willingly maintain relationships of mutual harm and destruction, driven by an uncontrollable, irrational, and exceptionally brutal beastly nature. "Wild Tales" does not unfold in a primitive and savage land; it takes place in the civilized world, in the actions and hearts of each individual. When we believe our intelligence is sufficient to dominate the world and ourselves, the world subtly and forcefully twists our fragile destiny and ingeniously exploits our frenzied desires. Together with the world, we intricately weave the entire tapestry of human fate.