Tarantino's 'Best Movie of the Year' Finally Arrives

At the 18th Busan International Film Festival in 2013, Quentin Tarantino made headlines when he spontaneously joined a post-screening talk and excitedly declared, "This is the number one film of the year!"

A girl playing hide-and-seek in an Israeli forest goes missing. Days later, her body is discovered deep within the woods. The girl had been assaulted, and her head was missing from the body. The man arrested as a suspect in this brutal murder is Dror, a small, seemingly upright middle school teacher. Dror consistently denies the charges, and though the detectives resort to violence to force a confession, they fail to find evidence and he is released.

The entire violent encounter is recorded by an unknown party and uploaded to a video-sharing site the next day. As a result, Detective Mickey is removed from the case and reassigned to traffic duty. However, still convinced of Dror's guilt, Mickey begins an unauthorized investigation in secret.

Meanwhile, Kidi, the murdered girl's father, is also plotting to abduct the suspect and force a confession. Kidi tails Mickey after he apprehends Dror, and takes them both to a secluded house deep in the forest. He confines Dror to a dimly lit basement, where his shouts cannot be heard outside, and begins to torture him, mirroring the cruelties inflicted upon his daughter. Kidi continues the torture, even as Mickey protests, "This is too much." The story then spirals into an irreversible direction, leading the three men toward their own destruction.

The Ambiguity of Fixed Notions of 'Justice' and 'Evil'

The film is directed by emerging Israeli filmmakers Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado. They drew inspiration for this work from the conflict-ridden Israeli society. The core of the story began with a dark twist on fairy tales the directors heard from their parents as children. Their most compelling theme revolves around morality, the nature of good and evil, and how these concepts impact ordinary lives. The film's premise stems from the idea that sometimes good people inflict punishment, and vice versa.

To what extremes will a person go in the name of revenge and justice? By depicting the blurred lines of conventional good and evil through the distinct motivations of three different characters, the film evokes unprecedented emotions within the narrow definitions of morality. What, then, is true evil? The shocking conclusion will leave its mark on your soul.



'Big Bad Wolves'
Opening Saturday, November 22nd, at Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho and other theaters.
Directors | Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado
Starring | Lior Ashkenazi, Tzahi Grad, Rotem Keinan, Dov Glickman
Distribution | Showgate
2013 / Israel / 110 min / Original Title: 'Big Bad Wolves'
http://www.bigbadwolves.jp/
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