BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF (2001)

This movie is ten pounds of bullshit stuffed into a two pound bag and, actually, that's a recommendation. This French film from director Christophe Gans is a period piece about the notorious Beast of Gevaudan, apparently an actual historical event in France's history. Close to a hundred people died over a three year period in the province of Auvergne, reportedly attacked by an enormous wolf-like creature. In Gans' movie, the King's naturalist, Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), is summoned to the Province to help catch and then study the Beast. Recently returned from America, de Fronsac brings his bloodbrother Mani (Mark Dacascos), a Mohawk Iriquois shaman, with him to investigate. Of course, as was the way with men who travelled the world back then, they both know kung-fu. As the French would say: Mais oui!

It's almost as if Gans had made a list of every movie he saw that he liked and went about assembling a script that would allow him to do so. It's fairly easy, and fairly accurate, to say Brotherhood of The Wolf is like The Ghost and The Darkness in Sleepy Hollow by way of The Name of the Rose with kung-fu as shot by the cinematographer of Gladiator and directed by a very big John Woo fan. And there's more: Gans is the type of filmmaker who will rip off the opening of Jaws but figure out a way to set it on a mountainside. To me, there's a certain whacked out genius in that. And the movie really does looks great, and also somehow manages to convince you that the tricorn is the coollest and sexiest fashion accessory ever invented.

That said, the movie is honestly not very good. It looks beautiful, but it's badly plotted, the kung-fu scenes are choreographed and shot obfuscatorily, Le Bihan is pretty low in the charisma department, even by French movie standards (he's like a broader-shouldered Kiefer Sutherland without even that tiny lick of gravitas that Kief's managed to carve out for himself in the last five years), and there's actually a theme to the movie, what with its opening and closing set during the years of The Terror, about political machinations and the Age of Reason and faith vs. philosophy, that the movie returns to enough times you know the director feels like he should explore it but can't bring himself to muster his concentration. Indeed, the movie feels like it was made by somebody with advanced ADD. It is more than willing to go where it wants when it wants (Some child just got brutally attacked: hey, let's go to a whorehouse and have a dream sequence!) figuring that if it does so stylishly enough, the audience won't mind.

And for the most part, I didn't mind. It was like watching a Hong Kong flick with French subtitles and some bare boobs--I walked out feeling like I had seen three movies for the price of one, and the fact that none of the movies was better than okay didn't bother me too much. I had fun. I envy the fourteen year old who sneaks into it, and can recommend Brotherhood of The Wolf to those of us who have our own inner fourteen year olds who are more than happy to get, if not something new and different, than at least a very new and different combination of the same ol' bullshit.

More About This Movie

Previous Movie

Next Movie

Back To Movie Index

Back To Home

All written material on these pages is © 2002 by Jeff Lester. With the exception of non-profit distribution, all other rights are reserved.