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    		•

    FILMS

    Brotherhood of the Wolf
    (Le pacte des loups)     (2001)
  • Starring Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Emilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Rénier, Mark Dacascos

  • Directed by Christophe Gans

    • French film with subtitles. These are two things that might sway the average movie-goer into purchasing a ticket for something else. Something American and overflowing with stupid humor, like, well here's a ferinstance, Freddy Got Fingered. "Bah!" I say. Bah! Let not the language or reading barriers dissuade you or yours from missing out on what may very well be the best film of 2001.

    Yes, I am quite aware of what I just typed. "The best film of 2001." I'm aware that, by saying this, I'm placing Wolf in a tough crowd. Am I saying that it's better than Beautiful Mind or Lord of the Rings (which I thoroughly enjoyed) or A.I. or Black Hawk Down or Moulin Rouge or the handful of indie and small-release films over which The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have messed their collective trousers? (Namely, Amelie, Gosford Park, and In the Bedroom.)

    I can't say for sure that it's better than all of them, as I've only seen about half of the movies listed above. But Brotherhood of the Wolf is a damn fine movie. (He says, adopting a strict and serious, no-nonsense facade.) Besides, figuring out which movie is "better" or "worse" can be fun for a lively discussion and is amusing from an academic standpoint, but it is ultimately a fool's game. Everyone has their point of view and few are rarely swayed by others' opinions.

    So, I'll be succinct: Go see this movie.

    You may regret a lot of things about your life, but these will be two hours that you'll wish to do over and over again. No regrets. Consider it the one (and perhaps only) good choice you've ever made. If you venture out to your local GooglePlex and don't like Wolf, well, allow me to judge you now: You're wrong—from every possible vantage point. Socially. Mentally. Physically. Economically. You're dead wrong. Stop wasting everyone else's time and money and oxygen and space. We (those of us that love this film) all hope you (those of you who don't like this film) die a horrible painful death by the Beast of France. Trampled under its filthy beasty hooves. Afterwards, perhaps it'll drool some beast mucus onto your still-twitching corpse.

    To say I liked Brotherhood of the Wolf would be a gross understatement.

    (Fair spoiler warning: Please stop reading if you haven't had seen Wolf. Come back later after you've had the pleasure. You'll thank me for it.)

    Eighteen-century France. A deadly beast is ravaging the countryside, killing anything it comes across. It has gained such notoriety that the King himself dispatches Grégoire de Fronsac (Bihan) and his Iroquois blood-brother, Mani (Dacascos) to investigate the matter. Fronsac is an anthropologist, of sorts. But he's really more of a renaissance man. He can shoot and fight with the best of the military, and yet, he can hold his own at a high-society dinner engagement. His companion, Mani, is a shaman as well as an all-around ass-kicking Native American. Ki-ya!

    The film is gorgeously shot. It's dark and moody. And did I mention it's dark? Most scenes are shot at night, the only light coming from torches or candles. Daytime in this film is always overcast and dreary. And rainy. Having never been to France I couldn't attest to whether or not this weather is accurate—but it sure as hell creates a great mood for Wolf.

    The director also uses a lot of slow-motion, but never to the detriment of Wolf—quite the opposite, in fact. The scene where the shepherdess is retrieving a lost lamb from a water-filled ditch is wonderfully suspenseful. You and I both know that the lady's gonna get rocked by the Beast—but we cheer her on anyway. She reaches out, so slowly, for the muddy banks of the pit—forsaking the lamb for her own safety. Bubbles and driblets of chocolate-milk water froth and foam and splash about her as she attempts to escape the pit. But her number's is up. We know she's going to die, but we still feel bad for her. The little lamb never even had a fighting chance.

    From my descriptions thus far, you may fear that this movie is nothing more than a French version of Holmes and Watson chasing down the Hound of the Baskervilles across the Frenchish moors. (Yes, Frenchish is a word. I used it, didn't I? Well then, it's a word, thankyouverymuch.) I suppose one could describe it that way. It is that, but it is also so much more. There's martial arts and courtly politics and romance and intrigue and death and cults and investigations and mysticism and visits to the brothel and, did I mention martial arts?

    This movie has mad kung-fu skills. Samuel Le Bihan and Mark Dacascos are so unbelievably cool. Dacascos' Mani redefines bravery when he strips down to his skivvies to face the Beast mano-y-mano, with nothing more than a small hatchet, a knife, and some fearsome body paint. (For those of you who haven't seen Brotherhood of the Wolf yet, let me explain that the Beast is about the size of a Volkswagen.)

    And if you're not into martial arts or monsters or mystery or French things—there's always the ever-wonderful element of T&A. As mentioned above, there's plenty of shots of Dacascos voguing his cut abs and pecs for the camera, wearing nothing but a loin-cloth and some knee-high boots. That's for the ladies. For the guys, there's one or two scenes in a French whore-house! Huzzah! Actually, most of the girls therein are not terribly exciting. They're naked, sure enough, but it is such a casual state of nudity that it lacks any real titillation (pun intended). Please note, however, that I said, "most." The expensive Italian broad that shares her bed with Fronsac is incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately, she's also quite deadly, what with being the Vatican's concubine-assassin and all.

    Word the wise: If you're hot, don't ask to borrow her fan.

    One of the best parts of this movie is also one of the worst parts of this movie. (I'm serious here, if you haven't seen the movie, I highly suggest you stop reading right now.) Mani's death is the epitome of Dickens' "the best of times the worst of times." While I'm incredibly sad that the silent Iroquois goes off to the happy hunting ground, I understand that it is a necessity for the story. It makes the world of Wolf very real for the audience. Fans would be incredulous if the hero (Fronsac, in this case) faced a horrible beast and it's cult members and there was no cost. Every heroic success usually costs something of the hero—and in this case it was his best friend's life. Had Mani lived, the story would've felt too much like a bad comic book. "Well, Mani, good thing we were here to save the day. Now, let's go off to that whore-house. Those French chicks sure like your tattoos!"

    A friend pointed out to me that he believes, though it's not explicit, that Fronsac eats Mani's heart. Earlier in the film it's mentioned that Mani's people believe that if you eat someone's heart, you gain their strength. And boy, does it work for Fronsac or what? ("You could say that I ate Mani, and that he's in my stomach!") I completely believe this theory and am glad that my friend (OK, I'll give him credit, it was Mike Gentry) pointed it out. I don't think I would've picked up on that bit. Thanks, yo.

    I am sad at Mani's death. He was by far the best part of the movie. But part of the reason why I like him so much is because there is no more of him. A tragic hero, but a hero nonetheless.

    Sometimes I dream that Christophe Gans will create a prequel to Brotherhood of the Wolf. Perhaps the adventure of how Mani and Fronsac first meet?

    Whether we get more stories in the future or not, we can always take comfort in the fact that Mani is probably off somewhere, kicking someone's ass, and looking incredibly cool doing it.