Le Pacte des loups

I am very much in awe of this movie. Brotherhood of the Wolf encompasses every genre of film; martial arts, action, romance, thriller, horror, drama, everything. Keeping with the spirit of all these genres, it invokes many emotions from the viewer. A beast is terrorizing the countryside of Gevaudan and the villagers believe no man or bullet can put it down. Enter the ultimate Jack of all Trades, Grégoire de Fronsac, and his brother-in-arms, Mani, who have come to town to stop/capture this menacing beast. The story starts here and has so many twists and turns it could make your head spin. The cast is incredible. I have no idea who this Samuel Le Bihan guy is, but he absolutely rocks it as Fronsac. This also has potential to be a breakout role for Mark Dacascos but we'll have to wait and see on that one. Even if he doesn't make it beyond the B action flick, Mani will always be an unforgettable character. And Vincent Cassel is incredibly suave and creepy at the same time. Brotherhood is an absolutely beautiful example of what film can look like. The cinematography combined with the editing makes for some truly fantastic scenes. Let's not forget the fight choreography. There are some tremendous fight sequences that rival those from Hong Kong cinema. Some movies become great because they have that one moment that will forever live on in your memory; Moments that are undoubtedly awesome. Brotherhood of the Wolf is simply just one big moment. Other than the films by Luc Besson, I've never really been a follower of French cinema. But with the coming of this movie and the equally dark and beautiful Crimson Rivers I could get into it.

Candle-lit interior cinematography, lush misty landscapes, strong characters, exquisite costumes, an authentic boudoir recreation of 18th century French society, a new kind of savage 'monster' and some of the finest stylized fight scenes ever laid down in a 'genre' film, place "Brotherhood of the Wolf" among the classiest horror adventure films of all time.

Great moments include the culminating rage of Samuel Le Bihan's gentlemanly character 'Fronsac' who explodes into a Conan-like fury as he meets out 'justice' to those that wronged his Iroquois-Mohawk 'blood brother' played by Marc Dacascos, Vincent Cassel suitably creepy as the decadent 'Morangias', sensuous Monica Belluci as the dangerous and vicious 'Sylvia', interesting historical plot-points, and a bond of friendship between an unlikely pair of frontier adventurers, make director Christopher Gans "Brotherhood of the Wolf" an original masterpiece of 'genre' film-making...

Brotherhood of the Wolf is all over the place. It's a French Revolution/ horror/ martial arts epic with style to burn, and makes up for the gaping holes in its story with sheer energy and sensory assault. Director Christophe Gans packs every moment of Brotherhood of the Wolf with either bone crunching action, (imagine if John Woo had directed Dangerous Liaisons), or some crazy audio / visual effects or busy scenes with beautiful people. Gans knows how to amuse the eye, he just isn't much of a storyteller, but Brotherhood of the Wolf is so entertaining that we'll forgive him just this once.

This is a grandiose monster movie from France that delivers the perfect blend of slick style and unsophisticated, gothic melodrama to make it one of the most appealing film fantasies in a long while. The international success of the film is not hard to understand; it's exhilarating in the same way that the old Hammer horror films were in their heyday. Everything about this elaborate movie is terrifically tacky, particularly the stunning production design. It's like seeing those artless, wilderness paintings containing hidden animal images come to life. The characters come off as if they were lifted right off of some garish paperback romance-novel cover. Best of all, the film has some nifty flourishes of sex and violence sadly missing from the current spate of half-baked, PG-13 Hollywood product. While some seem to be complaining of one martial-arts fight too many, faulty creature effects or simple-minded plotting; in this case, it's like bitching about KING KONG being over the top. This is a contemporary B-movie (albeit an expensive, subtitled one) for those who appreciate a good time at the movies. It delivers the kind of satisfaction audiences used to get seeing the work of Mario Bava or Ray Harryhausen; and that's saying a lot!

When it is cold and wet and foreboding outside, leaving one to fend for a good escape into fantasy and a time gone by, then this movie DELIVERS. Say whatever you want about miniscule "holes" in the story, or the tedium applied to the cinematography or the excessive use of slow camera effects in the fight sequences, THIS IS ENTERTAINMENT.

This movie carries the viewer into a whole new world- not like the one inhabited by Hobbits and Elves, and other creatures that obviously DO NOT exist- but rather a world of old France where the people are stranger than fiction and the times are changing. Fables meet their demise AND their verification in this film.

It's not a movie I would call a "favorite", but it IS a movie that I consider a "guilty pleasure" on a day that affords me three hours to slip out of my existence and follow a satisfying and well-presented fantasy. Every millimeter of every frame is a work of art, and that alone is worth getting lost in.