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mylescorcoran at 08:59am on 10/09/2004
mylescorcoran at 08:59am on 10/09/2004Last night Sam and I watched Brotherhood of the Wolf, directed by Christophe Gans. I'd heard good things about it when it had a cinematic release so was glad to finally see it on DVD. It's a very silly film.
Out of the way French district is ravaged by a Beast, thought to be a wolf of mythic proportions. Long sequences establish that the local people, particularly the nobility, are bestial and savage themselves, in obvious contrast to the noble savage, Mani, aide to protagonist Gregoire de Fronsac. Fronsac is a naturalist sent by the King to investigate the case of the Beast and to return its corpse to Paris for study once killed.
Eventually, for it is a long film, we get to the action sequences, lots of people hack away at one another with unfeasible weapons (a sword made of bone that is articulated also like a chain, two or three foot long paired claw-like blades wielded like second-rate Wolverines), people die, and it is revealed that almost all of the local nobility are in a secret society that uses the Beast to terrorize the locals and send a message to the King of some sort. It's not particularly clear exactly what the message is supposed to be. Apparently the Pope was involved.
Fronsac gets way with the girl, leaving the corrupt nobility to hang for their crimes. Monica Bellucci proves to be less a high class prostitute, than a female Italian 18th Century James Bond. That's pretty cool, I suppose.
Not a wasted evening, but I'm glad I didn't go to see this one in the cinema.
Out of the way French district is ravaged by a Beast, thought to be a wolf of mythic proportions. Long sequences establish that the local people, particularly the nobility, are bestial and savage themselves, in obvious contrast to the noble savage, Mani, aide to protagonist Gregoire de Fronsac. Fronsac is a naturalist sent by the King to investigate the case of the Beast and to return its corpse to Paris for study once killed.
Eventually, for it is a long film, we get to the action sequences, lots of people hack away at one another with unfeasible weapons (a sword made of bone that is articulated also like a chain, two or three foot long paired claw-like blades wielded like second-rate Wolverines), people die, and it is revealed that almost all of the local nobility are in a secret society that uses the Beast to terrorize the locals and send a message to the King of some sort. It's not particularly clear exactly what the message is supposed to be. Apparently the Pope was involved.
Fronsac gets way with the girl, leaving the corrupt nobility to hang for their crimes. Monica Bellucci proves to be less a high class prostitute, than a female Italian 18th Century James Bond. That's pretty cool, I suppose.
Not a wasted evening, but I'm glad I didn't go to see this one in the cinema.
(no subject)
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Brotherhood of the Wolf was indeed tres cheesy, and like you I'm glad I saw it on DVD (and a friend's DVD at that, so it was free!) rather than plunking down cash on it. The concept of a movie around the Beast legends was sound, the execution failed in some interesting ways.
The best MST3K line I remember from our viewing? "Man, when it's in bullet time *getting off the horse* you know you're in trouble!"
Re: Brotherhood of the Wolf
Re: Brotherhood of the Wolf
Back to the BotW thing, I do find it interesting how HK action sequences have infiltrated other nation's cinematography, so it was worth watching just to see how the French handled it. It just shows how Feng Shui is quickly becoming a universal system, which ought to make Paul Mason's head explode.
If you're looking for a quality movie, go check out Incredibles when you have the time. Rachel and I just got back from a matinee and it was as close a translation of the FF/Family of Supers concept you could ever hope to see on the screen.
Re: Brotherhood of the Wolf
I'm really looking forward to this one. The buzz from various fans and net-friends is good, and Pixar have been pretty reliable in the past. All we need to do now is pin down a baby sitter.