It’s not so easy shifting your life around. Even when you want to, trust is broken, learning to adapt takes time, and people already (understandably) hold what you did against you. Wolf is about an ex-con who stumbles upon a golden opportunity to actually do so– to get money for his brother’s medical bills through the physical, violent strength that once got him in trouble. However, while he tries to keep focus on the sport, his character– his loyalty to his friends and loved ones, his unresolved anger, and the energy he needs to expend– inevitably pushes him to the film’s end. Wolf has a familiar, even cliché, small-town crime thriller plot, but it’s done well in the side streets that Dutch cinema doesn’t usually visit.

If you’re an English speaker, try to find subtitles rather than voice dubbing, if you can.