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Brotherhood Of The Wolf

2001, Movie, R, 142 mins

Brotherhood Of The Wolf: Review

BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF | LE PACTE DES LOUPS
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A rip-snorting, no-holds-barred mix of multinational, multigenre conventions that borrows liberally from classic American monster movies, high-octane Hong Kong martial arts pictures and melodramatic French costume epics and gives the resulting concoction an irresistible lowbrow sheen. Irresistible, at least, to a certain kind of moviegoer, namely the die-hard movie buff who's spent a lifetime drinking in offbeat films of all varieties, and harbors an abiding affection for pulp fictions in general and Italian exploitation movies in particular. Only the second feature outing for CRYING FREEMAN director Christophe Gans (he also directed a segment of 1996's NECRONOMICON: BOOK OF THE DEAD), it's a remarkably assured accomplishment. 1864: The Gevaudon region of Southern France is under siege. Men, women and children are being brutally killed as they herd their animals, tend their farms or simply venture outside their houses. Wolves are blamed, but slaughtering them doesn't stop the rampage. Enter noted naturalist Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), accompanied by Iroquois shaman and martial artist Mani (Mark Dacascos), whom de Fronsac befriended while traveling in the New World colonies. Hot-headed, one-armed nobleman Jean Francois de Morangias (Vincent Cassel) pretty much sums up the feelings of the local bluebloods about their visitors: They resent having to listen to some fancy consultant from Paris and they don't much care for being expected to treat a long-haired, tattooed savage as though he were a gentleman. But de Fronsac is determined to stay. For one thing, he's there on orders of the king, whose advisors worry that the longer this "Beast of Gevaudon" (as the marauder has come to be called) business goes on, the more likely it is to undermine the regime's authority. For another, he's taken a shine to de Morangias's forthright sister, Marianne (Emilie Dequenne). And finally, de Fronsac has found a sympathetic sidekick in open-minded aristocrat Thomas d'Apcher (Jeremie Renier), who agrees that there's more to the Gevaudon situation than meets the eye. Before the story has played itself out, de Fronsac will have met a glamorous prostitute (Monica Bellucci) with a secret agenda, uncovered a widespread conspiracy, lost one of his staunchest supporters and nearly sacrificed his own life to the mystery. Some viewers will absolutely hate this combination of costume drama, monster movie clichés (though there was a historical beast, whose nature was never satisfactorily established) and MATRIX-style martial arts action, but if you have the right temperament for it, it's absolutely exhilarating. (In French, with subtitles.) leave a comment --Maitland McDonagh
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