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Cast:
Samuel
Le Bihan
Vincent
Cassel
Emilie
Dequenne
Monica
Belluci
Jeremie
Renier
Mark
Dacascos
Action:
Kuo
Chui
Producer:
Richard
Grandpierre
Samuel
Hadida
Director:
Christophe
Gans
Score:
 
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BROTHERHOOD
OF THE WOLF
AKA:
Le Pacte Des Loups
Year:
2001 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Based
on a true story, 'Brotherhood Of The Wolf' follows the
adventures of Fronsac (Li Bihan) and his assistant Mani (Dacascos)
as they undertake a mission from the King to seek out a
mysterious beast that is terrorising the rural parts of
France. However, this is no ordinary beast for his jaws
are twice the size of any wolf and he only prays on unarmed
and defenceless women which seems just a little too
intelligent for a blood-thirsty animal. Using Fronsacs
amazing powers of deduction and Mani's talent for fighting,
the two set about interrogating the population of the town in
the hope that they can uncover the truth behind this mystery.
'Brotherhood
Of The Wolf' is a fantastic looking film. There I said
it! This film looks great and aside from whatever else I
thought of it, the cinematography is excellently handled with
each scene looking more stunning than the last.
Unfortunately though, that was probably my most favourable
memory of a film that really isn't quite as good as the hype
that surrounds it. Perhaps being a Brit, which is
probably the culture furthest from the French, I was never
going to fully appreciate this film but even still, I found
the dialogue and acting somewhat wanting. This is mainly
due to the fact that a lot of "padding" is used to
fill in the sequences between the hunt for the beast and
amazingly, the film still barely manages to create characters
that the audience can warm to. The poor excuse for a
romantic subplot and the weak relationship between our two
leads (although Dacascos really doesn't get to act all that
much) do little to hold your attention whilst you await the
outcome of the mystery. For me, the 'Brotherhood'
mentioned in the title is a far more interesting discovery
that is only touched upon as the film is drawing to a close
but if I say any more then it is most likely I will give away
the ending.
Forget
that though, let's get down to what you all came here for -
the action! Dacascos is obviously the major star here
and his adaptability in the Martial Arts never ceases to amaze
me. We have seen him go from Capoeira to Karate to kung
fu throughout his varied career with the greatest of ease and
here he is given the role of a Red Indian (??) with
substantial skills in fighting. Despite what you may
have heard though, there is actually very little action
throughout this film but the short segments in which we get to
see Dacascos he does look as impressive as ever, utilising a
range of simple kicks mixed in with a few acrobatic flips.
Each scene is relatively enjoyable, if not slightly hindered
by Gans' sloppy direction. The combination of distorting
camera angles and excessive slow motion only reduces the
viewer's enjoyment which is disappointing as this could have
been the film's real saving grace.
What
remains the most bizarre aspect of the fights for 'Brotherhood
Of The Wolf' is the fact that the majority of the leading
characters (Dacascos aside) are displayed with no ability in
combat until the finale in which it suddenly appears everyone
is a student of the Martial Arts. This is particularly
noticeable for the main character, Fronsac, who took no part
in any of the film's previous scuffles but is suddenly pushed
to the forefront to flip his way around the screen as if he
were Wong Fei Hung. Personally, I felt it would have
been more fitting to establish these skills earlier in the
story rather than force them into the movie just for the
benefit of an all action ending. The truth be known, I
don't believe that the Martial Arts sequences were in the
original scripting for 'Brotherhood of The Wolf' at all, as
you can quite easily imagine the film without them. It's
most likely that the presence of Dacascos and the possibility
of international appeal was too great a temptation for the
filmmakers to pass up so they were added as an afterthought.
Overall,
'Brotherhood Of The Wolf' doesn't quite contain enough action
to hold fight fans' attention but also lacks the innovation to
make the story rise above an imitation Sherlock Holmes' style
murder mystery so ultimately, purveyors of each aspect will
find something to dislike. Although it is still
entertaining and offers a far better blend of fights and
France's golden era than 'The
Musketeer' did, 'Brotherhood Of The Wolf' still fails to
completely convince me that two such opposite styles can
successfully occupy the same movie space.
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