Big Bad Wolves, an award-winning Israeli revenge thriller layered with subtexts and humour, is landing at Mayfair Theatre Jan. 17.
“We tried to do something . . . that will attract more innocent viewers to come and see a very violent film,” co-director Navot Papushado said with a laugh in a phone interview from Tel Aviv, Israel.
The film deals with a bible studies teacher who is suspected of raping and murdering girls. In and out of the law, a father, a rogue cop and eventually the cops father all pursue the suspect.
The film “doesn’t judge or portray one villain—it asks the question . . . who is the real villain, who is righteous?” Papushado said.
“The subtext in the film is subtle . . . people tend to digest it better than when it’s a film about the subtext,” Papushado said. “People are fed up with films about the conflict or films about . . . us and the Palestinians. They also want to be entertained.”
Papushado said the film’s framework is still that of a fairy tale.
“We love to find new ways of telling a familiar story,” he said.
In the process, Papushado and his co-director Ahron Keshales said they asked themselves how much they could play with the tone—the film, they said, is funny one moment and terrifying the next.
Omitting female characters apart from the preyed girls was intentional, because Papushado said he wanted to reflect what is happening in Israel today.
“The male is dominant and just wants to take justice into their own hands, play in the basement, play by their own rules,” Papushado said.
The directors first met as a professor and student, Papushado being the latter.
In the making of the play, they both respect and challenge one another. Papushado said he would say “let’s go further, and Ahron is like yeah but I could go even further, and I say okay let’s go even further and Ahron says, ok let’s stop.”
Big Bad Wolves, their second film, won five awards at the Ophir Awards, the Israeli-equivalent of the Oscars, and the Israeli Film Critics Association’s best film award.
The Mayfair’s programmer Lee Demarbre said he picked the film to show based on its growing reputation.
“I noticed the film picking up raves and accolades, that’s enough for me,” he explained via email.
Quentin Tarantino, known for directing films like Kill Bill, called it the best film of the year in 2013.
“Ahron says it’s like talking to Elvis and he tells you ‘hey, you seem pretty good,’” Papushado said.
