Brotherhood Of The Wolf
(2001)
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BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF is a wild mix of martial arts, horror, and French period drama. Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), a charming naturalist and libertine, arrives in Gevaudan with his companion, Mani (Mark Dacascos), a taciturn Mohawk Iroquois Indian with amazing fighting skills. Fronsac has been sent by the king to investigate a mysterious beast that is slaughtering women and children across the countryside. The local gentry include the friendly Marquis Thomas D'Apcher (Jérémie Rénier), Jean-François de Morangias (Vincent Cassel), a one-armed adventurer with a suspicious nature, and his beautiful sister, Marianne (Emilie Dequenne of ROSETTA). Though Fronsac is immediately attracted to Marianne, he still finds time to visit Sylvia (Monica Bellucci), a mysterious prostitute with a penchant for sharp objects. Fronsac and Mani quickly realize that the killer is not a wolf, but something bigger and far more deadly. As they attempt to track the beast, they encounter unexpected resistance from the locals, and find themselves in grave danger. BROTHERHOOD, a huge hit in France, is a uniquely entertaining film, featuring stunning fight scenes, suspense, and campy high drama. Director Christophe Gans captures it all with a visual panache few Hollywood directors can match. |
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Blending historical fact with hysterical fiction, this flamboyant fantasy from Crying Freeman director Christophe Gans attempts to give substance to France's own Loch Ness Monster legend — the fabled Beast of Gévaudan that is said to have killed over a hundred women and children between 1764 and 1767. Taking this still unexplained visceral mystery as his inspiration, Gans details how forward-thinking naturalist Samuel Le Bihan and his Iroquois blood brother Mark Dacascos are sent to Gévaudan by King Louis XV to destroy the mythical creature once and for all. There he falls for aristocratic Emilie Dequenne, quarrels with her sinister one-armed brother, Vincent Cassel, and uncovers a demonic plot to overthrow the monarchy. Often resembling an expensively produced Hammer horror with Sergio Leone's atmospheric sensibilities and Matrix-style martial arts, this Gallic version of Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow is an incredible visual tour de force, yet that can't obscure the hollowness at its centre.
