Year of Release: 2001
Director: Christophe Gans
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Renier, Vincent Cassel, Émilie Dequenne, Jacques Perrin, Christian Marc, Philippe Nahon, Karin Kristrom, Virginie Darmon, Eric Prat, Pierre Lavit, Edith Scob
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
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Synopsis and Review
Christophe Gans made a name for himself in the 1990s with his directorial debut, "Crying Freeman". Since then he hasn't had a very prolific output as a director, but "Le Pacte des Loups" which premiered in 2001 was a huge hit in France. The film focuses on the character of Grégoire de Fronsac, a knight and the royal naturalist of King Louis XV, who alongside his Iroquois companion, get involved in the investigation of a series of killings that are taking place in the area of Gévaudan. The population there seems to think the killings are being done by a wolf, but Fronsac disagrees as he collects evidence that indicates otherwise. A witness who escapes an attack also states that the beast that is doing the killings is controlled by someone. Fronsac eventually realizes that the creature is an instrument of a secret society who has sinister goals of their own. As he and his companion Mani and their local supporter, a young Marquis, decide to tackle the creature on their own terms, they manage to injure it, but are unsuccessful in its capture. Mani eventually sets off alone in its pursuit, but is ambushed, and eventually killed by the brotherhood. While Fronsac attempts to get his revenge, he is outnumbered, and is imprisoned. Help comes in the shape of the courtesan Sylvia, who as it turns out, is a lot more than she appears to be. With her own agenda in mind, she orchestrates something that not even Fronsac could have foreseen.
"Le Pacte des Loups/Brotherhood of the Wolf" is an interesting mix of genres, one that could have benefitted from a tighter story editing. The film introduces an eclectic array of characters, all of whom have just enough detail to fit into recognizable archetypes, very much similar to the typical B-movie structure. However Christophe Gans, both as co-writer/director, manages to bring some additional nuance to this narrative, with some allusions to Jean Cocteau's "La Belle et La Bête", though he prefers to focus more on the inclusion of his action/b-movie stylings, namely through some nicely choreographed fighting scenes. This rather modern stance does seem to imply a rather brisk pacing to the storytelling, something that turns out not to be the case. The film has several issues in terms of pacing, as if the director knows where he wants to take the narrative, but makes the path in getting there tortuous and filled with superfluous set pieces that add nothing to the feature itself. All these elements end up making the film feel like a rather patch of different stylings that don't necessarily all fit together very coherently. And for all its blown up duration, the film never provides additional detail on the characters, even those who end being the most interesting ones, such as Sylvia, or even Mani. The cast is solid and brings these characters to life, particularly Jérémie Renier, Monica Bellucci, and Émilie Dequenne, whereas Vincent Cassel goes into overacting mode quite frequently. The production team is effective, particularly Dan Laustsen's cinematography, Guy-Claude François' production design, and Dominique Borg's costumes. It's a film that is ultimately undone by its lack of focus, but is still watchable (and forgettable).
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