BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF
A Universal Pictures / Canal Plus release

review by Joseph B. Mauceri

SYNOPSIS: From 1764 to 1767, the Beast terrorized the region of Gevaudan and took more than 100 victims, mainly women and children. Accounts of those who saw it and lived claimed it is of colossal size and dragon-like. Some said it was the devil himself.
Delegated by the Royal Court, Gregoire de Fronsac arrives in Gevaudan one autumn night.  His mission is to find and destroy the beast.  Strong, spirited, and rational, the young noble horseman is accompanied by the taciturn Mani, a Mohawk Indian he met in New France during the Seven Years War.  The two are housed at the home of old Marquis D'Apcher's, whose grandson, Thomas, serves as their guide. During a dinner given in his honor, Fronsac meets Mariane De Morangias along with her brother Jean-Francois. A traveler as well, Jean-Francois lost an arm during a great African hunt. 

The Beast's attacks multiply as winter arrives. Fronsac is met with animosity from the more influential people of the region.  The King, unhappy with the lack of progress during the numerous hunts, dispatches his own lieutenant to the region.  No sooner does he arrive than he captures a wolf, claiming falsely that he has killed the Beast.  Under the order of the King, Frosnac is forced to participate in this pretense before being allowed to return to Paris.

Braving the King's mandate not to return to Gevaudan, Fronsac decides to respond to Thomas D'Apcher plea to organize one last hunt.  This time, Mani will head the hunt, using ancient Shaman techniques.  However, nothing will prepare them for what they discover.

REVIEW: There are certain filmmakers who emerge and set new artistic standards. Further, there are those rare few who continually raise the bar of cinematic achievement. Ridley Scott broke new ground with "Blade Runner" and "Alien." In juxtaposing visuals and narrative, director Neil Jordan ignited audiences' imagination with his films "Company of Wolves," "Interview with a Vampire," "Butcher Boy" and "In Dreams." After receiving critical acclaim with his film "Cronos," director Guillermo del Toro has created a symbiotic relationship between his independent films and Hollywood films that perpetually elevates the quality of each new work. Then there is the remarkable work of New Zealand's Peter Jackson and his critically acclaimed masterpiece "Lord of the Rings." Now from France emerges a new visionary, whose sense of image and narrative rivals the achievements of France's most successful director to date, Luc Besson.

Director Christophe Gans transforms the facts surrounding the historical events of the Beast of Gevaudan into a sweeping epic Gothic Fairy Tale enhanced by martial arts action. He may have even given birth to a new genre.

The film is cast with some of the hot youngest stars Europe has to offer. Samuel Le Bihan's screen presence is a little Harrison Ford with a bit of Christopher Lambert. Mark Dacascos, who played the Crow of the syndicated television series, takes the elegance of Bruce Lee and wields it with all the charm of a Fairbanks. Gans' female characters are as strong as they can be mysterious. Emile Dequenne is delightful to watch and a vision to behold, but Monica Bellucci is truly bedazzling.

Gans extracts these amazing performances and weaves them into a rich tapestry of location, costumes and effects. The production designs are not overly produced as to reek of Hollywood fantasy, but he maintains a sense of rawness that adds an authenticity of the period. Gans travels to actual locations and captures them on film with a sense of magic and wonder that translates to the viewer. In essence, he is a master conductor who unites all the sections of his craft to create a sweeping and emotionally charge experience. And like a good piece of music, Gans' allows breathing room for the viewer's imagination to wander, enhancing the depths of the mystery and suspense.

The lynch pin to the film's power is execution of the Beast. A student of the classics monster movies, Gans takes the lessons of films like "Frankenstein" or "King Kong" and applies the to his creature. Be it convenience or craft, Gans turned to the Jim Henson's Creatures Shop to breath life into his creation. We've become desensitized to the fact that our "monsters" are an extension of nature and can therefore be sympatric, and even tragic. Working with the folks at Henson's the director does more then simply bring this creature to life he gives it a soul. He there by closes the circuit and captures that spark of life that allows BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF to become this cinematic tour de force.

BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF is a spellbinding adventure that rivals anything that has yet to come out of the European film industry. The director's strong narrative and the sum total of the strength of his visuals elements provide a far richer fare that anything the Hollywood machine could serve up. BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF is the types of film that the cinematic dream palaces were built for, and that good it open here in New York City at one of those vanishing American treasures - The Ziegfeld. 

OFFICIAL WEB SITE:
http://www.brotherhoodofthewolf.com

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