brotherhood of the wolf (Le pacte des loups) Review
They say the riches are in the niches. Turn of millennium French film Brotherhood of the Wolf (BOTW) didn’t get the memo. The film is all at once flamboyantly dressed period piece, conspiratorial drama, whodunit, action and horror film. It has strong romantic elements as well. That’s a lot of stuff. Normally a movie dabbling in so many disparate genres fails to fully succeed in any. Not so with BOTW. It boasts legitimate scares, top notch fight choreography, academy award level production design and second to none cinematography. It’s a film that truly earns the overused cult status moniker. Its very nature (and 142-minute runtime) requires a patient and thoughtful viewer. Starring martial arts extraordinaire/bad guy from John Wick Chapter 3 Mark Dacascos and relative unknown (to US audiences) Samuel Le Bihan, BOTW is a film that must be seen to understand its wonder. Imagine the mystery, eerie sense of place and unceasing dread of fellow 2001 film From Hell mixed with the stunt and action choreography of a western blockbuster film - this is a close approximation of BOTW. I’m hard pressed to identify another film that even attempts to check all the same boxes. The decision to mix so many genres is an ambitious one and BOTW does so confidently and with flourish. There are a few slower exposition-heavy sections but the mystery unraveling across the second and final acts pays it all off. Speaking of the final act, it turns the proceedings into a traditional revenge film and does so with the style and panache lovingly associated with that genre. Samuel Le Bihan (or his stunt double, I had a hard time identifying one) acquits himself as a purveyor of martial arts almost equal to that of Dacascos. I didn’t see it coming and you won’t either. Watch the French language version with subtitles if you can. The dubbed version has some wacky voices.
BOTW receives a score of 8/10 for general audiences and 9/10 for cinephiles that can appreciate a film that successfully combines action, horror, costume drama, romance and mystery while treating each genre with due respect.