Brotherhood of the Wolf

Infobox Film | name = Brotherhood of the Wolf


caption = United States poster
director = Christophe Gans
producer = Richard Grandpierre Samuel Hadida
writer = Christophe Gans Stéphane Cabel.
starring = Samuel Le Bihan Vincent Cassel Émilie Dequenne Monica Bellucci
Jérémie Renier
Mark Dacascos
music = Joseph LoDuca
cinematography = Dan Laustsen
editing = David Wu
Sébastien Prangère
Xavier Loutreuil
distributor = Universal Pictures (USA) (theatrical)
Focus Features (USA) (director's cut DVD)
TVA Films(Canada)
Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
United International Pictures (Australia)
StudioCanal(international sales)
released = flagicon|France 31 January 2001 (France)
flagicon|USA 11 January, 2002 (USA)
runtime = 142 minutes
151 minutes (director's cut DVD)
country = France
language = French German (a few words) Italian (a few words) Occitan (a few words)
budget = $29,000,000 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0237534/business]
gross = $70,752,904 (worldwide) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0237534/business]
website = http://www.brotherhoodofthewolf.com
amg_id = 1:237147
imdb_id = 0237534

"Brotherhood of the Wolf", also known by its French title "Le Pacte des loups" (literally "The Pact of the Wolves"), is a 2001 French movie directed by Christophe Gans, starring Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Émilie Dequenne and Mark Dacascos, and written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel.

The film is loosely based on a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century and on the famous legend around the Beast of Gévaudan. Parts of the movie were filmed at Château de Roquetaillade. Being a historical drama film, it has anachronistic martial arts fight sequences; it also contains elements of erotica, mystery, horror, politic, romance and fantasy.

This $29 million-budgeted film was an international box office success, grossing over $70 million in worldwide theatrical release. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0237534/business Box office / business for "Pacte des loups, Le" (2001)] ] In the United States of America, this film also enjoyed commercial success; Universal Pictures paid $2 million to acquire the film's United States distribution rights [ALISON JAMES, " [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117799270.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 $30 million 'Adventurer' venture: Gallic helmer Gans goes English for actioner] ," "Variety" (May 14, 2001).] and this film went on grossing $10.9 million in limited theatrical release in the United States, making it the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States in the last two decades (this film also did brisk video and DVD sales in the United States). [ [http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jan/03/entertainment/et-munoz3 "Little pictures have a big year"] , "Los Angeles Times", 3 January 2003.]

Plot

The movie begins during the French Revolution with the aged Marquis d'Apcher (Jacques Perrin) as the narrator, writing his memoirs in a castle, while the voices of a mob can be heard from outside. The film flashes back to the mid 1760s when a mysterious beast terrorized the province of Gévaudan and nearby lands.

Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), a knight and the royal taxidermist of King Louis XV of France, and his Native American companion Mani (Dacascos), an Iroquois, arrive in Gévaudan to capture the beast. Upon arrival, they rescue an aged healer and his daughter from an attack by soldiers. The young and enlightened Thomas, Marquis d'Apcher (Jérémie Renier), befriends them and assists their investigation.

Fronsac is initially skeptical about the beast's existence, since survivors describe it as much larger than any wolf he has ever seen. However, by studying the bite size on a victim of the beast, he deduces that it must weigh roughly 500 pounds. Captain Duhamel (Eric Prat), an army officer leading the hunt for the beast, has killed dozens of ordinary wolves, but has not come close to the actual killer.

While staying in Gévaudan, Fronsac romances Marianne de Morangias (Émilie Dequenne), the daughter of a local count, whose brother, Jean-François (Cassel), was also an avid hunter and a world traveler, before losing one arm to a lion in Africa. Fronsac is also intrigued by Sylvia (Bellucci), an Italian courtesan at the local brothel, in this part of the film they make passionate love together.

While investigating another victim, Fronsac finds a fang made of steel, and his doubts of the Beast's existence thicken. Another witness swears that the Beast is controlled by a human master. Fronsac studies the patterns of the attacks and victims, trying to find a common thread and reveal a murderer. As the investigation proves to be unfruitful, the king's weapons master, Lord de Beauterne (Johan Leysen), arrives to put an end to the Beast. But instead of doing so, Beauterne kills an ordinary wolf and tells Fronsac to alter the corpse so it resembles the monster accordingly. Fronsac does so, and the bogus wolf is sent back to Paris, where it is put on display, much to the pleasure of the king and the French aristocracy.

In Paris, the king’s advisor shows Fronsac a copy of a book titled "L'Édifiante" ["The Edifying"] with treasonous theories, stating the Beast has come to punish the King of France for his indulgence of the philosophers, and that the modern embracement of science over religion is heresy. Fronsac realizes that the Beast is an instrument of a secret society, The Brotherhood of the Wolf, working to undermine public confidence in the king and ultimately take over the country.

Fronsac is told that "officially" the Beast is dead, warned to keep his mouth shut, and bribed with an appointment to travel to Senegal. Back in Gévaudan, the attacks by the real Beast continue.

Ignoring his orders, Fronsac returns to Gévaudan, determined to put an end to the Beast's killings, and also to take Marianne away. Upon his return, the monster attacks and he sees it with his own eyes. It kills a man, but mysteriously refrains from attacking Marianne.

Fronsac, Mani, and the Marquis set out into the forest and set up an array of traps to capture the Beast, but it proves to be too powerful and intelligent to be captured by anything they can set up. After a violent encounter, Mani sets off solo in pursuit, where he finds a catacomb used as the Beast's holding pen, inhabited by the Brotherhood and a band of Gypsies working with them. These include, ironically, the elderly veterinarian, the Beast's tender, and his daughter, whom Mani saved. Outnumbered and distracted by the daughter, Mani is shot in the back, overwhelmed and killed, but not before slaughtering a good number of his attackers.

Fronsac is broken when he discovers his best friend has been murdered. Performing an autopsy, he finds a silver bullet, Jean-François's signature weapon. In a fit of rage he goes to the catacombs and seeks revenge, finding a pile of copies of "L'Édifiante". He kills many of the Gypsies and discovers the Beast's lair before leaving so that he can burn Mani's body at dawn. After collecting Mani's ashes, he is then overpowered by the local authorities and imprisoned. Sylvia visits him in jail and reveals to him that she is a spy for the Vatican. The local priest, Henri Sardis (Jean-François Stévenin), is the leader of the Brotherhood, believing that he is restoring worship of God to France. Pope Clement XIII has decided that Sardis is insane, and sent her to eliminate him. She then poisons Fronsac, telling him he knows too much.

Fronsac is presumed dead, and buried, when in fact Sylvia's poison has only put him into a temporary coma. Henri Sardis wants to kill Marianne, and he persuades Jean-François to do so (as a way to combat his incestuous lust for his sister). Jean-François comes to Marianne's room and reveal to her that he is the Beast's master; it recognized his scent when it came near her, which is why it did not attack. Jean-François then rapes and nearly kills Marianne.

Sylvia's agents exhume Fronsac and he appears at one of the Brotherhood’s secret sermons. In the climactic battle, he kills several Gypsies, and duels Jean-François to the death. The other members of the Brotherhood attempt to flee, but are rounded up and arrested by Captain Duhamel and his men. Sylvia personally kills the Gypsy veterinarian's daughter. Sardis escapes into the mountains, but is mauled to death by a pack of wolves, in an example of poetic justice.

Fronsac attempts to heal Marianne with a potion carried by Mani. He and the marquis Thomas go to the Beast's lair, where it lies grievously wounded after the fight in the forest. It turns out the Beast was an offspring of a "strange beast" that Jean-François brought back from Africa (which director Christophe Gans insists is a lion [Ain't It Cool News " [http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=10793 Euro-AICN Special: An Interview with "BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLVES" director Christophe Gans from the Paris Underground] ".] ). 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. Fronsac performs a mercy killing on the Beast.

The film then returns to the opening time period of the French Revolution. The now-elderly Marquis d'Apcher finishes writing his account of the killings, just before he is led to his execution by a revolutionary mob.

In the final scene, the marquis has a flashback, in which he narrates that he does not know what happened to Fronsac and Marianne but he hopes that somewhere, they are happy together. Fronsac is shown traveling to Senegal with Marianne to start a new life together, scattering Mani’s ashes at sea. It is left unstated whether the two are alive and happy or, whether this is indeed the marquis' dream.

Cast

* Samuel Le Bihan - Grégoire de Fronsac
* Vincent Cassel - Jean-François de Morangias
* Émilie Dequenne - Marianne de Morangias
* Monica Bellucci - Sylvia
* Jérémie Renier - Thomas d'Apcher
* Mark Dacascos - Mani
* Jean Yanne - Comte de Morangias
* Jean-François Stevenin - Henri Sardis
* Jacques Perrin - Thomas, Marquis d'Apcher (old)
* Édith Scob - Geneviève de Morangias
* Johan Leysen - Antoine de Beauterne
* Bernard Farcy - Laffont
* Hans Meyer - Marquis d'Apcher
* Virginie Darmon - La Bavarde
* Philippe Nahon - Jean Chastel
* Eric Prat - Capitaine Duhamel
* Jean-Loup Wolff - Duc de Moncan

Critics' reception in the United States

"Brotherhood of The Wolf" garnered mostly positive reviews, with a 71% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brotherhood_of_the_wolf/ Rottentomatoes.com, retrieved May 6, 2008] ] Roger Ebert of "Chicago Sun-Times" wrote that this film is "entertaining". [ROGER EBERT, [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020111/REVIEWS/201110301/1023 "The Brotherhood Of The Wolf"] (January 11, 2002).] Michael Atkinson of "Village Voice" wrote "It's easily the most disarming and inventive movie made for genre geeks in years." [Michael Atkinson, " [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0203,atkinson,31505,20.html Sexy Beasts and Sweet Nothings] ," "The Village Voice" (January 15th, 2002).] Harry Knowles of "Ain't It Cool News" wrote that this film is "exciting, alluring and thrilling". [ [http://www.aintitcool.com/node/11079 New "BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF" Trailer!] ]

Director's Cut DVD

In the United States, Focus Features (the art house films division of Universal Pictures) released a two-disc director's cut DVD of "Brotherhood of the Wolf" on August 26, 2008. Beside having a longer cut of the film, the DVD also has several extra features: deleted scenes, theatrical trailer, 2 behind the scenes documentaries("The Guts of the Beast" and "Documentary"), "Legend" documentary (a documentary that reveals the historical facts about the Beast of Gévaudan), and Storyboards gallery. [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-15-2008/0004868161&EDATE=] [http://www.amazon.com/Brotherhood-Wolf-Directors-Two-Disc-Special/dp/B0019PL2P2/]

Awards

Won

* 2002 César Awards: Best Costume Design (Dominique Borg)
* Sitges Film Festival: Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver (Christophe Gans)
* Cabourg Romantic Film Festival: Best New Actress (Émilie Dequenne)
* 2003 Home Entertainment Awards (helded by Video Software Dealers Association): Foreign Language Title of the Year (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) [ [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/20+Video+and+Video+Game+Titles+Are+Honored+with+2003+Home...-a0105988146 20 Video and Video Game Titles Are Honored with 2003 Home Entertainment Awards; Winners Demonstrate the Diversity of Home Video Entertainment] ]

Nominations

* 2002 César Awards: Best Music Written for a Film (Joseph LoDuca), Best Production Design (Guy-Claude François), Best Sound (Cyril Holtz and Jean-Paul Mugel).
* European Film Awards: Best Director (Audience Award)-(Christophe Gans)
* 2002 Saturn Award: Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, Best Costume (Dominique Borg), Best Director(Christophe Gans), Best Music (Joseph LoDuca), Best Special Effects (Arthur Windus, Val Wardlaw, Hal Bertram, Nick Drew and Seb Caudron), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Dacascos), Best Supporting Actress (Monica Bellucci), Best Writing (Stéphane Cabel and Christophe Gans).

Titles

*Argentina: "Pacto de Lobos" ("Pact of Wolves")
*Brazil: "O Pacto dos Lobos" ("The Pact of the Wolves")
*Croatia: "Vučje Bratstvo" ("Brotherhood of the Wolves")
*Czech Republic: "Bratrstvo vlků - Hon na bestii"
*Denmark: "Pagten"
*Estonia: "Hundi Vennaskond"
*Finland: "Susien Klaani"
*Germany: "Der Pakt der Wölfe" ("The Pact of the Wolves")
*Greece: "H Aδελφότητα Των Λύκων" ("Brotherhood of the Wolves")
*Hungary: "Farkasok szövetsége"
*Iceland: "Bræðralag úlfsins" ("Brotherhood of the Wolf")
*Israel "Akhvat Ha-Ze'evim" "אחוות הזאבים" ("Brotherhood of the Wolves")
*Italy: "Il Patto dei Lupi" ("The Pact of the Wolves")
*Mexico: "Pacto con Lobos" ("Pact with Wolves")
*Norway: "Ulvenes klan "
*Poland: "Braterstwo Wilków" ("Brotherhood of the Wolves")
*Romania: "Frăţia lupilor"
*Russia: "Братство волка" ("Brotherhood of the Wolf")
*Serbia: "Pakt Sa Vukovima" ("The Pact with the Wolves")
*Spain: "El Pacto de los Lobos" ("The Pact of the Wolves")
*Sweden: "Vargarnas pakt"
*Turkey: "Kurtların Kardeşliği" ("Brotherhood of the Wolves")
*UK: "Brotherhood of the Wolf"
*USA: "Brotherhood of the Wolf"

References

External links

* [http://www.brotherhoodofthewolf.com Official website]
*imdb title|id=0237534|title=Le Pacte des Loups
*rotten-tomatoes|id=brotherhood_of_the_wolf|title=The Brotherhood of the Wolf
*mojo title|id=brotherhoodofthewolf|title=Brotherhood of the Wolf
* [http://www.traileraddict.com/tags/brotherhood-wolf United States theatrical trailers (two different versions)]
* [http://www.hollywoodvideo.com/Player/VideodetectiveTrailer.aspx?ID=557289 United States DVD trailer]