Review of Big Bad Wolves (2013) by Panta O — 13 Mar 2014

Big Bad Wolves ?(Mi mefahed mezeev hara) Israeli comic thriller film. It was written and directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado. Starring Lior Ashkenazi, Rotem Keinan, Tzahi Grad, Dov Glickman, Menashe Noy, Dvir Benedek, Kais. It was the official selection of Tribeca Film Festival. It was shown at Vancouver Film Festival.

Film starts slo-mo, with two teenage girls and a boy playing hide-and-seek in an abandoned area - in which incident one of the girls has disappeared from the lone-lying closet. The next frame shows a schoolteacher 'Dror' (Rotem Keinan) is tied to a chair and beaten by Israeli police detectives led by 'Miki' (Lior Ashkenazi) who's in charge of the case. Dror is prime suspect 'pedophile' - he is soon released but still chased by Miki. Police finds headless body of a girl - the prime suspect 'Dror' is now hunted by victim's father 'Gidi (Tzahi Grad) who's an ex-military personnel in his middle of 40s.

Miki successfully kidnaps Dror and brings him to an isolated forest to extract truth out of him on whereabouts of victim's head. Gidi arrives at the scene and knocks down both Miki and Dror unconscious - he brings them to his newly rented house (in Arab village) where he inflicts sadistic pains and tortures upon Dror - while also negotiating with Miki to help him, who's stuck between his job and what's going on around. Film then turns to fierce show of torture and comic interruptions; which involves, the arrival of Gidi's father (who later joins his son - as well as recommends Israeli military kind of tortures).

Big Bad Wolves is yet another substance like 'Prisoners' or '7-Days' - the subject of which always tackles a father's desperation to seek revenge and experience moral-principles. Photography is brilliant - editing is normal. Excellent pool of actors who devote touch of comic and delivery of hilarious dialogues (which sometime turn into humor / sarcasm / wit-full). There is quality of humor between exchange of dialogues between Miki and a young Arab horse-rider, in the dark-hour of the night.

Keshales and Papushado have made sure that audience do not lay their trust quickly in these characters - there is sense of self-determination to find out: who's wrong? And who's right?...and if there really is there a 'head'; or other victims to further your suspicion. Go and check this out - at least you're going to take an experience of 'humor', 'torture (I know nobody likes it but what should you be doing when faced by conflicting situations of who's dear to you and who do you despise the most!).