Movie Review: Rabies (2010)

 

A random group of characters and a series of unfortunate events make up the first horror movie to ever come out of Israel. In my review of Big Bad Wolves, Israel's hugely successful film from last year, fellow blogger Elwood Jones reminded me of Rabies and I am so grateful to him for that. Be warned, though: Rabies is most definitely not what I would call your typical horror film.

The movie opens on an adult brother and sister pair who have run away from home and end up in the woods on a fox reserve, where the sister has fallen into a trap. When the brother goes for help, he runs into a group of travelling young people, who in turn run afoul of two cops. These intertwining lives get even more tangled as things go downhill for everyone.

That's about the best I can do on a plot description for a movie that basically has no plot. Usually that doesn't mean anything good for a movie, but for Rabies, the fact that it has no real plot is the movie's gold. It works, and I don't understand how the filmmakers made it work, as that takes some real talent. Rabies was actually the debut film of the same writing and directing team that knocked my socks off with the aforementioned Big Bad Wolves, and I only hope that they continue making movies like this because they are obviously good at it. Like, really fucking good at it.

With no main character, the movie jumps around between all the random people that show up in this one area of isolated woods - and they all represent the epitome of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, just for different reasons and in different ways. The humorous events in the film would almost be slapstick if it weren't for the horrific undertones. Comedic scenes sometimes end with a punch of horror - like the untimely death of a character (it's a horror movie, that's not a spoiler!) - which really manages to keep the audience on their toes. With this kind of tone, you never know where the movie is going to go, and with the kind of surprises that Rabies has in store for you, this is actually a wonderful thing. It's all so confusing, uncomfortable, intense, and yet light at the same time - such a jumbled mess of emotions, but I love it!

One of the greatest techniques utilized in Rabies is when the filmmakers actually choose not to show the audience specific scenes. I found this to be a bit of a delightful disappointment, as odd as that sounds. There are a couple of scenes - specifically, the bear trap scene and the standoff with the molester cop scene - where a lot of tension is built up for what is going to happen before the scene cuts to something different. When we come back, the exciting thing has happened off-camera.  Though you're disappointed that you didn't get to see it, you're also sort of gleefully impressed at the film's ability to fuck with you.

All of this is brought to life not only by the talented writers and directors, but also by the actors. Lior Ashkenazi, who played funny cop Micki in Big Bad Wolves, is a cop here again but a much different one. One of the uncomfortable elements of the story is the encounter the two girls have with the two cops - Lior is the nervous, adorable one who wants to reconnect with his wife, and his partner is the complete opposite. Seizing the opportunity of being out in the middle of nowhere with two hot chicks in tennis outfits, Lior's partner starts molesting one of the girls and actually implies raping them later (and that he's also probably raped before). The other girl gets pissed and takes the cop's gun and things escalate from there. This scenario is just one of several crazy ones interlaced in this story, and is a great example how they take a horrific situation and keep it light, even ending it with something that is hilariously satisfying... but still horrible. Everything else you'll just have to experience for yourself, because there is way too much going on in Rabies for me to talk about here.

I bet pretty much everybody who watches this movie is left wondering one thing. Well, they're probably left wondering a hundred things, but the biggest question I had is, Why the hell is the movie called 'Rabies'? I've thought about this long and hard, and... I have no clue. If you ever find out, please tell me. Until then, I'll just take Rabies for what it is - a brilliantly written and executed film by some very talented artists. Highly recommended movie.

Movie Review: Big Bad Wolves (2013)

 

As soon as I read the description for Big Bad Wolves, I knew it that it was a movie that I was not only going to see very soon, but also love completely. And I was more than right! I have no problem calling this Israeli dark comedy thriller a full-blown masterpiece. With its brave take on a very tough subject, you won't see this one coming, that's for sure.

In Big Bad Wolves, a rogue cop gets in the middle of a bereaved father's quest for justice when the father kidnaps the prime suspect in his daughter's murder, and the murders of several other young girls. He takes both the cop and the suspect, a school teacher, to a secluded cabin to make the suspect tell him where he hid his daughter's head.

Big Bad Wolves is a brilliant movie, told in a darkly funny way that is both entertaining as hell and immensely uncomfortable. How can they tell this story of a father torturing the man who brutally raped, tortured and murdered his daughter and make me laugh about it? But I'll be goddamned if the tone isn't spot-on the whole way through, often leading the viewer into a false sense of security about what they might see. The title of the film immediately puts you in the frame of mind to see this whole thing as a fairy tale - and indeed there are a few fairy tale references thrown in there - and what are fairy tales but morality tales? This tale is of course a look at vigilante justice and the rights and wrongs of it, told in a way that makes you continually change your morals until you end movie maybe not knowing what to think at all.

Our three main actors are perfect in each of their individual roles. Gidi, the father, looks unassuming enough with his big glasses and cute little sweater, but plays out his fantasies to hurt the man who killed his child in a very cold fashion, never becoming overemotional. The cop Micki provides a lot of comic relief even during some pretty difficult scenes. His character actually got to the suspect before Gidi in the movie's first scene where has some goons beat the snot out of him and which leads to his removal from the case. Micki, though again not really showing that much emotion, is obviously determined to prove this guy's guilt for whatever reason he has, maybe simply for the fact that he has a daughter himself. Dror is the curly-haired Bible studies teacher that is at the center of this story. He plays the role in a such a way that there is totally believable doubt about his guilt, one of the things that will constantly nag at you while watching. While he certainly looks like the stereotypical pedophile, his unchanging pledges of his innocence are convincing enough to make you wonder if Gidi and Micki even have the right guy.

Much of the film's brilliance comes from the perfect shooting style and cinematography, and even more by the fantastic use of music. The score is used in all the right places and is wonderfully kitschy and whimsical, but always with a definite foreboding tone underneath. They manage to make perfect use of the Buddy Holly song "Everyday" as Gidi makes a cake full of tranquilizers. The look of the film is crystal clear and gorgeous, with not too much by way of fancy camerawork, but rather just some very expertly framed shots. One of the best shots in the movie is when Gidi's daughter's body is found at the beginning. A trail of gummy worms leads one detective to the horrific sight, of which the viewer thankfully does not get to see all. It's disturbing to see the girl's bloody ankles tied to a chair with her underwear pulled down, but when it is revealed later that the murderer also decapitates his victims, you realize that the sight could have been much, much worse. Later on, the torture scenes are also quite squirmy, really getting at the core of what freaks people out with fingers being broken, toenails being ripped out, and blowtorch flames to the chest.

Throughout all this, you think that the humorous nature of the film is setting you up for a nice, juicy, satisfying ending with everything turning out the way you want it to. One of the things that I both loved and hated about the movie is that it does not do this at all. The last plot twist has you tense with anticipation to see it all work out, but as events quickly go downhill, the audience ends up being left with nothing more than a final shot that will absolutely crush your hope and your soul. I actually found myself yelling at the TV, "You sons of bitches! You can't end the movie like that!" But of course, they can end the movie like that, and that is perhaps the most right ending for this tale. I don't want to make assumptions about the filmmakers' intentions without knowing for sure, but it does seem like their message is decidedly against the idea of vigilantism, in effect saying that no matter how right it may feel, it's always wrong in the end for all involved.

 

I could spend many more paragraphs gushing over Big Bad Wolves but the only thing that will convince you of its greatness is to see it yourself. Again, a masterpiece of filmmaking from beginning to end, Big Bad Wolves will have you literally entranced and so invested in the story that what you see will make you keep thinking about it for days afterward.