Wolf DVD Review

     Actors: Chemseddine Amar, Mark Catuogno, Steef Cuijpers

Director: Jim Taihuttu

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: Dutch

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: September 30, 2014

Run Time: 123 minutes

 

 

        For being overlong and often a familiar blend of successful gangster films from cinematic history, Wolf is a remarkably watchable entry into the genre from the Netherlands. With gritty black-and-white cinematographer and a main character who balances a life between crime and professional boxing, comparisons to Raging Bull are inevitable, but it has a raw energy that often remind me more of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher trilogy. Though there are few surprises in the narrative, at least filmmaker Jim Taihuttu has good taste in what influences his work.

 

        The film’s rarely sympathetic protagonist is a young Moroccan man living in a bleak Dutch town with his family after being released from prison. Despite a job working a steady job at a factory with prospects as a professional kickboxer, Majid (Marwan Kenzari) returns to a life of crime. This causes his family to turn their back on him, making him the metaphorical wolf of the title; solitary and likely to lash out in violence when provoked. He is un-trainable, for his family, his coach, or even to the criminal bosses that he works for. 

 

        I fear that the film is already too predictable without giving more of the plot away, though there is plenty of time in the running-time to guess what ending from which better film will be borrowed. Two hours may be asking a bit much for a character as unsympathetic as Majid. The DVD includes a making-of featurette, a documentary about the music, along with music videos. There are also additional featurettes, including one with Kenzari giving wolf training. A trailer is also included.

 

Entertainment Value: 6/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 7/10

Historical Significance:  5.5/10

Special Features: 7.5/10



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