Customer Reviews

Brotherhood of The Wolf

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw this when it came out on DVD and it was the french version with subtitles. I couldn't get over the film, so I had to buy it. Alas, I bought the version that was dubbed. And, it just didn't work for me. So, I mustered up my courage and found the french version with subtitles. This is a film that has everything: mystery, romance, martial arts, rich history, and frankly a lot of extremely good looking people, and of course one super creepy villian. If you like a roller-coaster movie, this is the one for you!

At Christmastime, in 2004, my wife, daughter and I traveled to Maine to see old and good friends. I took with me my trusty Mac portable, on which I had developed the habit of watching movies, in the middle of the night, when I could not sleep. With a pair of earphones from my iPod I was a happy, if sleepy the next day, man. A local movie rental shop in the little town of Union had this movie, and being a fan of good horror movies, I rented it. I was totally captivated. Recently it occurred to me to track it down on amazon. It is an amazing film. The acting is superb. The action kept me happily awake all through the movie. It made me cry (not only do I cry during hopeful scenes in movies, where someone is kind to another, but for violence when it is very well done--such as recently with Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight (Batman)). If intelligent horror/fantasy/historical (loosely based)/erotic (somewhat)/martial arts movies are your thing, I recommend this one especially.

Imagine a fairy tale... but with grit, blood, stylized camerawork, and lots of French kung-fu (savate).

That about sums up "Brotherhood of the Wolf," an epic horror/martial-arts/erotic/action movie loosely based on the French legend of the Beast of Gévaudan, but with a chilling story woven around it. Christophe Gans could have given it a bit more character development, but it's a simple flaw in an otherwise terrifying, intense experience.

An enormous, savage wolflike beast is killing young women and children in the French countryside. And so royal naturalist Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) and his Native American sidekick Mani (Mark Dacascos) arrive to investigate, and find that the local authorities are incompetant, the Beast is larger than any wolf, and it's still savaging the locals.

Mani and Grégoire set about tracking down the beast, finding it to be too large and intelligent (and with metal fangs too). But something more sinister than animal attacks is going on -- Fronsac uncovers a mysterious, treasonous society connected to the Beast, and a mysterious courtesan (Monica Belucci) with hidden motives.

It may be based on a real incident, but "Brotherhood of the Wolf" soon takes off into its own storyline. And director Gans crams the whole thing with whatever he likes -- horror, action, fantasy, political period drama, and some French martial arts. It's like an old fairy tale mutated into a live-action anime.

And Gans' direction style can include a little of everything too -- he handles rosy-skied romantic scenes with the same dexterity as raw sex scenes, rainy sludge and bloody chases. And he handles the camera just as well, although the style comes as a bit of a shock in a period film -- it zooms down cliffs and through underbrush, rapid-pans, and lingers on the fairy-tale landscapes of the French countryside.

One of the best examples of this is near the beginning, with Mani and Grégoire encountering a pair of gypsies being bullied, and Mani whipping the bullies with savate and a little la canne. It's a wild, dizzying scene, and thoroughly effective in showing these guys as a force to be reckoned with. But at the same time, Gans wraps the beginning and end in a sense of poignant regret.

If there's a flaw, it's that the plot and rich direction take up so much time that it's hard to wedge in some character development. Bihan fares pretty well as the inscrutable taxidermist, and over the course of the movie, you develop a liking for him and his girlfriend. But it would have been nice if the characters of Mani and Sylvia were explored a bit more than they were -- as it is, Belucci and Dacascos do amazing jobs with their characters.

This horror/action/period/French kung-fu flick breaks all the rules, and it's all the more enjoyable for it. A glorious action classic, and a must-see for cult film lovers.

This period piece laced with martial arts is interesting to watch, especially considering since it's been 7 years since its release. Undoubtably the angles and camera work are interesting. However, several times I thought the story arcs were strange, and dragging. I felt the movie could have been completed 1/2 hour earlier-it was anti-climactic in parts. The plot reminded me a bit of "The Village", where the town had created a beast to keep residents in line. However, that does not take away from the film. I can say that I wish that I spoke French, as I watched the dubbed version yesterday, and found it a bit distracting. It's definitely worth a look, especially if you like mythicism and interesting settings/camera work, but suspend disbelief when thinking about the actual structure of the film's flow.

An 'almost' true story, reputed to be more than it is: a stiff period piece that eventually/finally turns into a mock-monster movie (too late though to be worth the misery I had to endure before it got to that part...the very last 1/8th of a very long movie).
In fact, for awhile I even thought I had the wrong movie altogether. Why was everyone telling me this was a horror movie? Instead, there was a relaxed commingling of bizarre character types and not one or two but three long set pieces featuring martial arts actor Mark Dacascos fighting what seemed like a never ending consortium of villains/henchmen. And...
I just kept impatiently waiting for the plot to unfold (as I already had about 45 minutes invested in this movie I stubbornly felt I had to see it through to the bitter end). An hour more and still nothing but endless chatter and fearful whispers about THE BEAST! At that point I was beginning to doubt the existence of this beast; casting it aside as mere hearsay. Because in the meantime there was a wolf hunt, palm readings, tarot cards in a brothel, time out for sex, a snow storm, more muttering about THE BEAST and its 12 victims, another hunt...Egad, where's this beast for pity sake!
I will say the long wait was almost worth it. When the beast finally showed its hideous features it was dramatic. Whoever designed that thing did a spectacular job; it's impossible to describe, definitely the stuff of nightmares. Loved it. And from that point the story boils with incredible action and not a little intrigue. Unfortunately, for me, it was too little too late: the trip was far too long and the reward not great enough. I will never subject myself to the ordeal of watching this movie again. I ejected it from my collection without a hint of regret. Kudos to the people who loved it.