six separate short stories of dark comedy in almodovar's style, with crisp direction, lovely visuals, a wicked script, and hilarious visual gags (those camera angles on the rat poison box, the various glass and mirror shots, "crime of passion!") everything can erupt in violence. sometimes (often) it's revenge, sometimes it's the buildup of small frustrations, sometimes it's just that one thing, and sometimes it's just rage and opportunity. violence as a disruptive force shapes lives, including those of collaterals. all except the 4th cover a very short interval (the shorter less than an hour), yet include a beginning, escalation, and consequences for the violent act. the tone and execution are so different that it seems more of a compilation than one creative team's movie. "pasternak" (1) is straight up comedy about a man's over-the-top, villain-in-a-movie revenge - until the very end which starts the movie's theme of violence ricocheting on innocent victims. but then "the rats" (2), while similarly a tale of revenge, is dark in both content and execution - a waitress recognizes the sole client as someone who ruined her family, and the cook hatches a revenge plan. gone is the light, absurd touch; taking revenge is debated by both sides in terms of not just what it entails, but of real consequences. again though, the apparently fortuitous opportunity leads to the unpredictable. "the strongest" (3) awesomely starts in car-commercial style, and is straight up about road rage; it's graphically violent, but consistently funny. "little bomb" (4) is also about rage, but the one born out of repeated frustrations and a sense of persecution. i'm not sure how long each segment is, but this one felt more elaborate - maybe because it covered a timeline. while the main character is definitely flawed and his violence on par with the funny segments 1 and 3, this one gets into social issues, into the corruption and indifference of the system. i see the choice for the happy ending in that light, though i don't particularly like it. "the proposal" (5) is more of a drama, touching on class privilege in a straight, non-comedic way. the wealthy father of a son who accidentally killed a woman in a hit-and-run offers money to the old ground keeper, the family lawyer, and later to the investigating officer so that the employee takes the fall instead. while the others were explicit about violence in revenge or rage, there is more of a slow burn here, with people constantly mistreating each other - until the end, which blows everything up. "until death do us apart" (6) is about the escalating violence and chaos during a wedding party, after the wife realizes that her new husband cheated and the woman is one of the guests. it is absolutely hilarious, features great acting, and a bonkers ending. it was a high note for the finish.