Brotherhood of the Wolf

[msmoon]

So... Brotherhood of the Wolf came in the mail yesterday, thanks to BlockBuster. I decided to watch it today...

Rating: 3 out of 5

 

The Brotherhood of the Wolf or Le Pacte des loups by it original title…is a very interesting movie. It is actually taken from French History (and that’s the only thing that saved it), though it is expounded upon to be a more interesting story. Much like Memoirs of a Geisha, I viewed it as a folk tale of a country, and that’s the only reason I do not hate it.

It is set to the narration of an aged Marquis d'Apcher, writing his memoirs in his castle while a mob outside yells for his execution. Unperturbed by this mob, the Marquis writes out his story as he is the only one left who knows the truth. Of course, his execution isn’t important, the movie is all about his role during the mid 1760’s when a mysterious beast terrorized the province of Gévaudan. We’re quickly introduced to our odd couple, our dynamic duo. Firstly, we have Grégoire de Fronsac (played by Samuel Le Bihan), a knight, naturalist and…as I understand it, the king’s taxidermist (…Quoi?). He’s accompanied by Mani (Mark Dacascos), an Iroquois priest…who…knows kung fu, karate and other martial arts (….quoi?!). These are our heroes, the protagonist, the ones who may not always be sure of themselves but eventually end up being on the right side of things.

At first...I didn’t like this movie. Too much convolution before the truth is revealed. Mythical creatures that never show themselves but are eluded to...large packs of wolves being killed just because the locals think they’re the culprit, erotic whore houses…and brothers…who love their sisters a little too much...well, you get the point. But, my curiosity is a very strong thing, and in many cases it is the only thing that saves a movie/book/anything from being tossed aside. I’m willing to ride out the most preposterous stories in order to understand them better – though the end must justify the means. …

Le Pacte des Loups translates to “The Pact of the Wolves”...which, really makes a hell of a lot more sense, btws. The whole time I had been hoping for Werewolves...but no such luck. The “Brotherhood” is really a cult that was formed by religious extremist who have…a secret weapon. All this time, the kings men (or anyone who just isn’t in on it) are chasing their tales, and this beast continues to chase them, killing off mostly women and children. Of course, the Brotherhood would be nothing without Henri Sardis (the local priest) and Jean-François de Morangias, who lost one arm fighting a lion (or so we’re led to believe).

Grégoire de Fronsac quickly falls for Jean-François’s sister Marianne de Morangias...even if he does frequent the local whore house and spend most of his nights in the bed of an Italian courtesan (this does cause a rift between him and Marianne, but the courtesan Sylvia mends the rift). Convoluted…non? Throughout the film, Mani (our favorite Iroquois priest) is hated and made fun of by the Frenchmen for being an Indian. This I despise, but understand that this is actually how Frenchmen would’ve behaved in that era (or any other era, I suppose). Mani ends up being killed by the cult and their leaders, which sends Grégoire over the edge, taking everything he learned from Mani into battle with him. Marianne is attacked, and from what we’re led to believe, rapped by her brother Jean-François, who is in control of this beast and second in the cult to Sardis. Sardis (the priest?) actually founded the cult because he believed the King was undermining God, and he wanted to make the beast kill to show that God was angry with the people...The Pope believed Sardis to be mad, and sent Sylvia (the Italian courtesan?) to spy on him...or whatever.

It turns out the Beast was an offspring of a "strange beast" that Jean-François brought back from Africa. Strange beast my ass….even under all that crap, you can tell it’s a lion...the eyes and its vocalizations give it away. It was tortured into becoming vicious, trained to attack humans, and dressed in metal armor along with metal implants in its jaw to make it more formidable and frightening. Another great injustice, I felt very sad when they put the beast down in the end. I do understand it though, as I doubt it never could’ve adapted after what it had been put through. Still...it seemed almost sorrowful in the end...and I do hate to see an animal suffer when it isn’t at fault. The movie then goes back to the Marquis, who leave the safety of his home, and walks down a path made by the mob towards his death.

So...everyone dies (not really, but they may as well have)...typical of a foreign films it seems. Normally, this would upset me, but I understand that history and legends are actually not as wonderful as we always hope, and rarely do they end with ‘happily ever after’. Still, it’s intriguing enough that you do want to see the end…that has to say something I suppose.

….the creature was kinda awesome...