TC Candler's Review A

This is a superb, visually stunning film that begs to be watched on an enormous screen with a fantastic sound system. 'Brotherhood of the Wolf' is infinitely more cool & more fun than most movies ever dream of being, and is one of 2002's most entertaining films!

A wolf-like beast is terrorizing a French region named Gevaudan. Hunting and brutally killing the locals, its reputation grows to that of mythical legend. When Paris gets wind of the attacks, two mysterious men are assigned to find and kill the beast. Gregoire de Fronsac (Le Bihan) is a scientific man who is a skeptic at heart and believes the beast can be caught and killed. Most of the locals believe the beast is pure evil and cannot be stopped. Fronsac's companion is Mani (Dacoscos), an Iroquois Mohawk Indian, who is a man of very few words. He is almost mystical. He fights like no man you have ever seen and appears to be almost supernatural in his abilities. It is hard to say this film is just about the hunt for the beast. This is not just a run-of-the-mill horror story. Brotherhood of the Wolf introduces elements of martial arts, mystery, masonry, the occult, sword fighting, politics, sexual intrigue, spirituality and love. A truly genre defying film if there ever was one.

It would be silly to think any of this film is intended to be serious. It is pure fantasy entertainment that makes Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter look childish and dull. This is a cinematic exercise in cool, and it passes the test gloriously.

The way the director uses slow motion and sped up film to accent the action sequences is quite amazing. The cuts and fades are stunning; unlike anything you have ever seen. One fade is very unique in that it transposes a close up of a woman's body into snowy landscape with mountainous peaks... I am sure you will be very impressed with the director's work here as well as throughout the film.

The cinematography is spectacular. The rich colors and elaborate costumes jump off the screen beautifully. All the seasons are represented and this lends versatility to the cinematographers. Snowy mountains, rainy marshes and fields, Summer meadows and Autumn trees decorate each and every scene in this visual masterpiece. The plot may be a tad convoluted, but you will forgive that just for the extreme pleasure of watching great filmmakers at work.

The fight scenes are about as 'kick-ass' as I have ever seen. Usually, I hate it when ANYONE uses the term 'kick-ass' in any context, especially when referring to a film. But, here, it could not be more appropriate. Mark Dacoscas is a fabulous athlete and delivers the goods in every scene. Samuel Le Bihan is not as impressive physically, but sure can handle a sword better than anyone since William Wallace in Braveheart.

The heat is delivered handily by the two female leads, Marianne (Dequenne) who attracts the attention of Fronsac, and Sylvia (Bellucci) who is the high class woman of the night with mysterious secrets of her own. Every other character handles their part with supreme confidence and a straight face, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. Special note should be paid to Vincent Cassel who is very good as the intelligent and yet deceitful Jean Francois de Mangias.

The score is very appropriate and rather good. I would categorize it as dramatically classical... with a beat.

Okay, so the plot is ludicrous. But so what? We must learn to forgive some films like this and just appreciate the way they show us things we have never seen before. However, there is a section, about two thirds of the way through the film, that lags quite substantially. It comes just before the climax and could have been trimmed for time without losing anything of substantial value. A film such as this may be too long at 142 minutes.

However, try not to do anything other than strap on your seatbelt and enjoy the ride. It is scary, mysterious, beautiful, silly, intense, and ultimately fun and exciting. You will assuredly walk away smiling and appreciating how much fun you had.

© Written by TC Candler

How We Rated This Film TC Candler - A Richard Propes -     Jacob Hall -

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