Ash Is Purest White (2018)

This is a modern Chinese movie if there ever was one. How many gangster movies feature a tough female protagonist? You see how fast and drastically China has changed in just 17 years.The passage of time is a major theme in the movie, simply told against the backdrop of a changing China. The grand scope doesn't always benefit the movie, but I get it.

A Touch of Sin (天注定) (2013)

A Touch of Sin preceded Wild Tales by 2 years. It's hard to believe that Damian Szifron was unfamiliar with this movie. I assume that someone in film would be familiar with the works of Jia Zhangke. But Szifron essentially remade A Touch of Sin in Spanish. They are both anthology movies based on a theme of revenge or anger (except the second story doesn't quite fit the theme, and is my least favorite of the four stories). I quite like both movies, but I think I liked Wild Tales a little better because it's comedic. But Jia's movie is enthralling nonetheless. It is surprisingly critical of Chinese society. Well, it's not surprising that Jia is critical of Chinese society, it's surprising that China allowed him to be so critical. It's pretty bleak, dare I say an accurate portrayal of China.