Brotherhood of the Wolf

If you read through some of my past reviews from the last year or so, you'll see I like a wide variety of movies with a few obvious favorites. But just because I don't review some movies as much as others (like comedies which I find hard to review) doesn't mean I don't like them. Then of course there's that rare movie that can't be pigeon-holed into one genre. More and more in the last decade or so movies have gone down that road, and God bless them for it.

One movie that absolutely refuses to be identified by just one genre is 2001's Brotherhood of the Wolf. I can say with complete conviction that it is a science fiction, martial arts, action adventure historical period piece with a dose of romance thrown in for good measure. It is all of those things and none of them at the same time, the story bouncing around so much you won't even notice how absolutely crazy the whole thing is. I intentionally didn't review this right after I watched it because I wasn't quite sure what I'd watched. I knew I enjoyed it but didn't want to overdo it. Well, 24 hours later, I think I might like it even more.

Director Christophe Gans uses the true story/legend of the Beast of Gevaudan as the basis for this extravagantly told, beautifully shot genre mixer. The legend tells of a freakishly large wolf that terrorized a region in France for over three years, killing over 100 people and wounding many more. With that as the very basic background, Gans injects gallons of steroids into the story to turn it into what it is now. This is not a movie that is based in reality in the least so know what you're getting yourself into while watching it. I was skeptical going in but found those concerns quickly fading away.

It's 1764 and a mysterious beast is terrorizing the French region of Gevaudan. As the bodies continue to mount, the king sends one of his naturalists to investigate the goings on and see what's happening. That naturalist is Gregorie de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) who travels with a sidekick, Iroquois warrior/mystic Mani (Mark Dacascos). Arriving in the region, Fronsac and Mani find a wide variety of people, some more willing to help than others. Fronsac quickly falls for Marianne de Morangias (Emilie Dequenne), a daughter of a local nobleman. But even as he falls in love with Marianne, more attacks come and the evidence leads Fronsac to believe this wolf is an immense creature the likes of which have never been seen. With the government and church involved, Fronsac goes about capturing and killing the beast.

To say this is a werewolf movie or even a thriller wouldn't do it justice. As much as I enjoyed this movie, I'm finding it difficult as to what I should talk about...mostly because there's TOO MUCH to talk about. The story is jumpy at times but necessarily so because so many characters and situations need to be dealt with. But even with that jumpy story, the movie's 150-minute run time moves along at a lightning pace. Throughout though, there's one constant, the cinematography. This is one of the most drop dead beautiful movies I've ever seen full of colors, light and shadows that make each scene look like a painting. Gans clearly spared nothing in terms of sets and wardrobe to make this movie feel authentic as possible.

If I was going to break down this movie subgenre by subgenre and character by character, I'd need a much bigger, much longer post so I'm going to try and key in on what appealed most to me, starting with the ridiculously cool choreographed action scenes Sam Peckinpah, Bruce Lee and John Woo would be proud of. Check this montage out, just watch it on mute. Fronsac and Mani's introduction is something straight out of a western. Riding into the region in a pouring rain, the duo meet a gang of disguised soldiers. Mani single-handedly takes them out in a slow-motion sequence that brings everything to a halt as the raindrops bounce off him. It's a hauntingly beautiful scene that sets the stage very nicely for what is to come. And while there is elements of horror and romance, the movie is at its best in its action scenes of which there are many.

In a movie as extravagantly over the top as 'Brotherhood' is, it would be easy for the cast to get lost in the shuffle. But here the actors/actresses seem to embrace the movie's oddness and uniqueness. Le Bihan and Dacasco carry the movie as Fronsac and Mani, two of the coolest characters I've ever seen in a movie. Fronsac is a man who loves life but is very capable of defending himself, and Mani is a warrior mystic able to communicate with and through nature with some bad ass martial arts moves to boot. Other strong performances include Vincent Cassel as Jean Francois, Marianne's older brother and a renowned hunter, Monica Bellucci as Sylvia, a prostitute with ties to everyone and anyone including Fronsac, and Jeremie Renier as Thomas, a young marquis along for the hunt.

Without overselling it with this movie -- trust me, I'm trying not to -- I can't recommend this one enough. It is an epic movie that blends a long list of genres together and does it successfully. How often can you say that? There's an interesting love story, great action sequences, very cool characters, a memorable musical score from Joseph LoDuca, elements of science fiction and the supernatural to go along with a historical epic, Brotherhood of the Wolf has it all. It is a French-language movie so beware you'll be reading subtitles, God forbid. Know that you're watching an absolutely crazy movie going in, and hopefully you'll love it too.

Brotherhood of the Wolf <----trailer (2001): ****/****