“THE WOLF, THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD” // 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
BY MATEO MORENO
One of the most visually stunning pictures I’ve seen at Tribeca in all of my years reviewing, THE WOLF, THE FOX AND THE LEOPARDis a bold and wildly imaginative film that takes a good deal of concentration to latch onto all of the themes and symbolism held within, but the dedication to that is worth it. It’s an epic tale that’s divided into several chapters and even switches its narrative focus, changing out the main protagonist almost immediately. The film starts with an unseen narrator (Naomi Kawase), telling us how it was “In the beginning there was no story. It was just nature. An era ends and at that time, she arrives.” The “she” in question doesn’t arrive right away. First, we meet a young man named Dylan (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen) who seems to be our protagonist but actually twists away to follow our main story. The story of the Wolf. A nameless girl (Jessica Reynolds) lives and runs with a wolf pack and has been raised by them into her teenage years. She has no concept of human relationships, human language or of the world outside of her pack. That is until one day when she is captured and taken to a lab where they plan to study her and solve this polarizing mystery.
The narrator calls her ōkami, which is The Wolf, in Japanese. All too fitting. From there, she’s kidnapped again, by a husband/wife duo (Nicholas Pinnock, Marie Jung) and we also finally come face to face with the up-until-now faceless narrator Tanaka Hana (Naomi Kawase). The couple live on an abandoned oil rig and just might believe that this girl may be the key to save mankind. What’s wild is that all of that, and that’s a lot, is simply ticking on the very surface of this story. Writer/director David Verbeek has crafted a visual masterwork of wonder, filled with symbolism in every corner, delving its plot into the ongoing climate crisis. There are big ideas and big swings, most that land and some that don’t. But even when it doesn’t, the sheer magnitude and bravery of the swings make it all the more appealing. Jessica Reynolds is simply stunning in the lead role. Her performance is fearless, feral and beautifully stunning. You will not be able to take your eyes off of her the entire film. She is a wonder. It does pack a lot into its 2 hour running time, which makes it hard for every moment to really strike gold. But so much of it is just breathtaking and original I can’t help but forget the shortcomings. How can you not when a film that’s this ambitious, this beautiful has so many powerful things to say?
GRADE: A-
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY David Verbeek STARRING Jessica Reynolds, Nicholas Pinnock, Marie Jung, Naomi Kawase, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen FEATURED AS PART OF THE 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO:https://tribecafilm.com/films/wolf-the-fox-and-the-leopard-2025