If, as we learned in From Hell, Jack the Ripper kick-started the 20th century, then the Beast of Gévardon did the same to the French Revolution. The bulk of Brotherhood of the Wolf takes place in 1764, just 25 years prior to the start of the Revolution (and, indeed, the film is nicely book-ended with scenes from the big uprising).  Wolf is full of people even most arthouse viewers won't recognize, and, yes, it's in French, so you may be wondering what the heck it's doing at your local googleplex in the theatre between Orange County and Snow Dogs.

The answer to that question is dividing critics and viewers alike.  Though Wolf is a period piece in another language (and played in the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto Film Festival), its distributors feel the film is accessible enough for mainstream America to enjoy, even though I can't remember a foreign-language film ever enjoying a wide release without the benefit of a Best Picture nomination.  The film's writer-director, Christophe Gans, pays homage to all of his favorite genres, and that's just fine with me because we apparently have very similar tastes.  You'll see, among others, Sleepy Hollow, The Last of the Mohicans, Eyes Wide Shut, Jaws and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in Wolf.  The Jarmuschian hodgepodge of genres on screen, as well as the medley of international flavor behind the camera, has caused many to throw their hands up in the air and shout, "This is a frigging mess!"

Well, they'd be right, but it's a beautiful mess.  Wolf is completely over the top, but, unlike Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge, in a watchable way (and it has guys wearing those adorable little tri-cornered hats that were all the rage back then).  The film is set in Gévardon in the south of France, where some wolf-like creature is savagely attacking women and children. Already embarrassed by losing ground in the war over the New World, King Louis XV sends Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan, Venus Beauty Institute), a natural scientist with vast animal expertise and a military background, to capture and kill the Beast.

Aided by the Iroquois blood brother (martial arts expert Mark Dacascos) he met back in New France, Fronsac hunts and hunts and hunts, but to little avail.  Perhaps he's distracted by the shockingly high quality of tail in Gévardon, as he gets friendly with both a prim aristocrat (Emilie Dequenne, Rosetta) and a dirty Italian whore (Monica Bellucci, Malèna).  Fronsac and his sidekick find time to do a great deal of ass-kicking, as well.  A lot of simpletons are complaining about the duo's particular brand of martial arts not being around at this point in time, but make no mistake, the film is based on an absolutely true story (well, the Beast part, anyway).

Imagine John Woo directing a lush French period horror film with fight choreography from The Matrix's Woo-Ping Yuen, and you'll have a pretty good idea what to expect from Wolf.  It's all over the place, which isn't much of a surprise when you peruse the list of people involved in the film.  Producer Samuel Hadida worked on True Romance, Freeway and the upcoming Resident Evil video game adaptation.  David Wu has edited the very best films of both John Woo and Tsui Hark, while fight choreographer Philip Kwok worked his magic on Woo's pièce de résistance, Hard Boiled.  Danish cinematographer Dan Lausten shot both versions of Ole Bordenal's Nightwatch, and The Evil Dead's Joseph LoDuca adds a bit of a spaghetti-western feel to his score.  Throw in the Beast itself (created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop), and, yeah, it's a little messy, but a whole lot of fun.  And if you don't think Gans had a good time making it, watch for the shot where he flawlessly fades from a pair of bare knockers to snow-capped mountains exactly the same size and shape.

2:24 -

for strong violence and gore, and sexuality/nudity