The kind of movie that won't grow old.

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2011)

An alcoholic father and husband is captured and kept in captivity during 15 years without knowing why. When he gets out, he's hell-bent on revenge and discovering why he was imprisoned. This is a powerful movie with strong dramatic performances. It's intense and constantly keeps you on your toes. The story is amazing and full of twists and turns until the very end. Speaking of twists, the film is a bit twisted in itself by the themes it portrays. It does make us question what is moral and acceptable in revenge. The directing is bold and inventive.
There's a long fight scene without cuts in a corridor that's practically an anthology piece. Other memorable moments involve teeth and a tongue. Notice how the director often plays with our expectations showing relatively little but creeping us out nevertheless. The story also plays with our perceptions of the characters, making them more or less sympathetic. The main character has quite the character arc transformation, completely changing physically and psychologically during the course while keeping the viewer on edge because he's a bit unstable... So, it's overall quite fascinating, intellectually stimulating, viscerally gripping, and heartily recommended provided you don't expect a simple, typical revenge movie and you keep an open mind.
Rating: 8.5 out 10 (remarkable)