The Wolves of Kromer

WOLVES OF KROMER is a low budget movie and you can see that all the time you watch it. Some may find the look of the wolves amusing (the furry tail sticking out of their pants in particular), but I think that's not the point. The director paid more attention to the case of two elderly ladies who kill another one -and this issue takes more time than the wolves actually. Another weakness of WOLVES is the lack of any deeper psychological attempt to explain why do characters act the way they do. But do we get that kind of stuff in fairy tales? No. Fairy tales are supposed to be enjoyable. And so are THE WOLVES OF KROMER. The movie is cute, charming at times, the music and photography are beautiful (and you'll love the landscapes). This is not a masterpiece, but just a nice and sweet fable. Don't expect to witness a great movie or you'll get disappointed. Expect to see simplicity, sweetness and beauty. And you'll have fun.

I really enjoyed The Wolves Of Kromer, more than I expected even. It's a small and heart warming film which takes the werewolves as an allegory for young gay men who search their place in the world. The film had a lot David Lynch feel to it, it was comedy and romance combined with creepy undertones and unique-dark-bizarre shots using special lightning techniques. several shots were truly a masterpiece and got me staring for a while. The scenery was beautiful and very pleasant to look at, so were the actors. The acting was very good, the characters' lines felt like each is actually saying what they are feeling (I actually felt a bit like i'm watching a play at some of the parts). I loved the implementation of a modern fairy tale (seeing the couple once boating in the calm river and on the other hand riding a bike). I loved the atmosphere. I even loved the fluffy tales! it was so sweet and original!! (reminded me of anime cat boys) I loved everything about this film, it's not very common for me to give such a high grade but this movie deserves it. :)

The movie takes place in a small British town. Seth and Gabriel are gay, in love and are werewolves. Meanwhile the townspeople are out to kill them because they're "different".

In this movie the werewolves are (very obviously) a metaphor for gay men. In fact the two actors are always in human form even when they're wolves (this movie was made on a VERY low budget). They just wear fur, have long claws for fingernails and have tails (a big mistake--they look laughable).

As you can tell, this is one strange movie. It's well done, beautiful color and scenery and a lush music score. Also, some of the jokes are quite funny but there are plenty of groaners too. The message is also very pro-gay. Unfortunately, this movie doesn't always work.

The acting is bad (it's obvious they hired models, not actors) and this is a cute idea but it's stretched out to 70 minutes.

So, it has its moments (especially if you're gay) but doesn't work as a whole. Still, I recommend it. When it does work it's great!

The Wolves of Kromer tells the story of two wolves who, despite being persecuted by the villagers of Kromer, fall in love.

The Wolves of Kromer is a "modern-day fairy tales" with a bit of a gay twist. The persecuted wolves aspect is supposed to be a metaphor for gays being persecuted by the straight community. Also - to add some not so subtle hints - all of the wolves are male...! The Wolves of Kromer had some potential with its interesting ideas and fresh approach to gay cinema - but unfortunately - it gets bogged down with a boring story-line featuring two old ladies trying to murder a wealthy woman to get her inheritance. The subplot doesn't really gel with the gay wolves at all.

If the movie had of been a bit more focused on the gay-wolf story - then it could have been a whole lot better. Despite all the criticism - there were some neat ideas and a half-decent twist at the end.

The message is one we've heard before, but it is nicely, sweetly told in this parable. What was the message? Don't be mean to people who aren't like you. There was more to it than that, but that was the main point -- and one that is well placed in a fairy-tale form. Rather than a Rosa Parks-esque sort of saga that leaves you with the feeling that the author wanted to pummel their message into your skull, Wolves of Kromer was light... despite a mixture of sadness in it. It was also refreshing to see the main characters, the wolves, were petty thieves rather than unblemished icons. I'm sick of movies that make the downtrodden into martyred saints rather than admitting everyone has failings. Few people are Gandhi. As such I was happy to find that though the people were all story-book caricatures, no one was pure goodness. And while the wolves a bit 'bad', the movie's village folk are more unscrupulous towards each other than the wolves were towards them.

The actresses playing the old servants gave excellent performances. Interestingly, the film had trouble casting the 2 lead roles as few actors wanted to tackle the openly gay parts in this context. According to the director (who was at the screening I saw), this lead them to put models in the leads. They did quite well.

This could almost be a kids' film, but for a scene where a girl is too obvious about enjoying sex. I would like to have seen that scene toned down so the film could reach a younger audience.