BIG BAD WOLVES

A little girl goes missing and the local cops believe they know who's responsible: quiet school teacher Dror (Rotem Keinan). The team assigned to surveying his movements decide to drag him into a disused car park and, at the hands of detective Micki (Lior Ashkenazi), attempt to beat a confession from him. He, however, continues to protest his innocence.

Good cop Rami (Menashe Noy) restores calm by ending the violence and escorting Dror home, complete with an apology and a pay-off for his silence.

Alas, the incident was captured on a hidden youngster's 'phone and is quickly uploaded onto YouTube for all to see. Police commander Zvika (Dvir Benedek) has no choice but to first assign Micki to the traffic department, and then suspend him from his duties altogether.

This latter act mirrors Dror's fate, as he too is given an indefinite imposed break from his job when his pupils graffiti their own homework with accusations of him being a paedophile.

When the cops are tipped off anonymously as to the whereabouts of the little girl, they find her dead in the local woods. Now, more than ever, they're convinced that Dror is the killer and that he's taunting them.

Micki determines to stalk Dror in a bid to prove his guilt. Zvika even goes some way to encouraging this - "civilians can do whatever they like ... as long as they don't get caught", he tells his suspended detective. Meanwhile, we learn that Micki and Dror have something else in common - they both have little girls from former relationships, both of whom have birthdays coming up.

While Micki spies on his quarry, he too is being observed by Gidi (Tzahi Grad) - the dead girl's grieving father. Once he realises who it is Micki's following, he uses an ex-girlfriend who works in real estate to acquire a remote country cabin and sets about converting its huge soundproof cellar into a torture chamber.

Micki one day decides to take his surveillance one step further, attack Dror with a taser and drive him into the woods where he plans to force a confession from him. Gidi gives chase, wanting the suspected child-killer for himself...

BIG BAD WOLVES may sound as dark as Hell. But somehow Israeli co-writers and directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (they also made minor hit RABIES together) have managed to take disturbing subject matters such as child murder, police brutality and vengeful obsession, and fashion a film that is as fun as it is stylish.

Each character is funny in his own deadpan way. The ways in which they react to desperate, absurd situations are comically realistic. Their dialogue is sardonic and wisecracking even during the most mordant of circumstances. And yet, this is a grim film with pitch-black humour: it is not a comedy. There is no farce in evidence, no comedians as such and definitely no slapstick. The balance of humour and tension is perfectly straddled, allowing BIG BAD WOLVES to ratchet up the suspense and retain a grisly darkness that marks this out clearly as a thriller. And an agreeably engrossing one at that.

The humour, as black as it certainly is, becomes more necessary in the film's second half as the action descends into torture porn territory. The breaking of Dror's fingers receives a horribly tense build-up, and the apprehension is heightened by a couple of quietly hilarious stalling techniques (a coin-toss that goes awry; a 'phone call received at a crucial moment etc).

Elsewhere the film bears obvious similarity to SEVEN DAYS plot-wise, while its central theme - the futility of fighting evil with evil - can be likened to I SAW THE DEVIL. Both good films. And BIG BAD WOLVES can sit comfortably beside either one.

Shot in beautiful widescreen compositions with a keen eye for striking colour schemes, BIG BAD WOLVES has an arty stylishness to it that further helps it rise above the average thriller. Factor in a host of engaging, committed performances, a final 45 minutes that really up the ante in terms of violence, and even a mischievous twist in the tale, and you have yourself a most tantalising proposition: the best crime thriller to come our way in some time.

Metrodome are releasing BIG BAD WOLVES onto UK DVD uncut, in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Their transfer is 16x9 enhanced and looks pretty spectacular. Colours, depth, texture, detail, blacks ... everything is as it should be; nicely filmic, crisp, organic and pleasing to the eye.

The Israeli audio is provided in both 2.0 and 5.1 mix options. Either is a safe bet, offering impressive range and intelligent channel balancing. Quieter moments are clean while noisier set-piece moments soar and crunch with appropriate impact.

English subtitles are forced, but at least they're well-written and always easy to discern.

The disc opens to an animated main menu page. From there, a static scene-selection menu allows access to the film via 12 chapters.

Disappointingly, there is no supplementary material on offer. This, along with the fact that Metrodome have opted against releasing the film onto blu-ray (though Magnolia are affording it the HD treatment in the US) seems odd to me given the great response this film has already received from publications such as Empire magazine, and the fact that it comes with a "best film of the year" seal of approval from Quentin Tarantino. Ah well.

All we get, then, are trailers for JACKPOT, PRINCE AVALANCHE and THE GATEKEEPERS.

BIG BAD WOLVES makes for an excellent night's entertainment. It's also a film that's built to last, with nuances galore in the performances and dialogue which will reward further viewings. It looks and sounds superb on Metrodome's DVD, but has been sold pitifully short in the extras department.

By Stuart Willis