TIFF 2026 Review: Wild Wild East – “The plot is full of twists and the acting is solid”

During World War II, a German official travels to a remote Polish village to investigate the disappearance of a lawyer believed to be safeguarding a stockpile of gold belonging to a wealthy Jewish family.

A mysterious man travels on horseback into a desolate Polish village, claiming to be a German clerk seeking the whereabouts of a certain lawyer who would know where to find the gold belonging to a Jewish family caught in the religious purge executed by the Nazis. But nothing appears as it seems, as the villagers are as dangerous and full of secrets as their German occupiers.

Bookending the narrative with the pages of a comic book drawn by the nephew of the self-appointed leader of the village was bold and intriguing choice. The desaturated colour palette brings the imagery closer to a black-and-white film noir aesthetic, which inspired filmmaker Jan Holoubek. The horseback arrival resembles something out of The Man with No Name trilogy, though the protagonist does have a name; however, is it the real one? The plot is full of twists and the acting is solid, with the lead, Itay Tiran, resembling both in look and thespian prowess a young Kenneth Branagh.

The ending takes on a Dante’s Inferno vibe which is a critical plot point but is so jarring that it comes across more exploitative than truly necessary. Shadows are always found in the frame, which in turn heightens the sense of peril and mystery. The snow adds to the bleakness and conveys that these are indeed desperate times where anybody would do anything to survive. The pacing is good and the graveyard shootout is fun to watch as the viewer begins to wonder which one is the prey and the hunter as the sequence progresses.

The 51st Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10-20, 2026, and for more information visit tiff.net.   

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.