Rating- * * * * * (5/5)
Every time I begin to feel a little jaded about the modern motion picture industry, a little gem like this comes along and gives me hope that progress does indeed continue in this greatest of art forms. Now brace yourself, because I am about to get a little artsy and elitist. Up until now it seemed as though every art form except motion picture had reached what we call a post-modern stage. Post-modernism is basically an artistic movement that expresses today’s culture by combining as many different works, mediums, colors, and styles as possible. Kind of like a collage but with a lot more thought and effort put into it. With Brotherhood of the Wolf, I am starting to wonder if we are beginning to see post-modernism in the movies at last. The story isn’t jumbled at all but the style…wow! I don’t even know where to begin categorizing this one. It starts out as a period piece set in 17th Century France, with the elaborate set design, costumes, and of course all the dialogue being in French with English subtitles (for my thoughts on subtitles read my article in the Matt on Movies section). But as the movie opens, we witness a horrifying death scene straight out of a Spielberg monster movie. Just as you decide, “ok this is a horror movie”, two cloaked figures save a damsel in distress in a butt-kicking, Matrix-like kung fu scene. This movie synthesizes everything great about modern movie making and adds a great story to boot. It would be impossible for me to give you even a glimpse of this very complex and very intriguing storyline but, as usual, I’m going to try anyway. A vicious animal known as The Beast is terrorizing the French countryside by killing hapless women and children and then elusively escaping. The king decides that something must be done about it so he sends a well-educated and very knowledgeable explorer named Fronsac (played by French actor Samuel LeBihan) and his Native American companion, Mani (played by Hawaiian actor Mark Dacascos). As the two carry out their search, they meet some of the local nobility and inquire them about The Beast. Fronsac and Mani soon uncover a vast conspiracy by a cult-like religious brotherhood that is controlling the Beast and using it to carry out the prophecies of the Book of Revelations on the sinful people of France. There are several other storylines running parallel to this that converge dramatically in one of the greatest climaxes in recent film history. While Brotherhood offers very little in the realm of meaning or message, it is a milestone in genre mixing. If movies are to get any better, they must depart from the ordinary and the cliché and transcend to something original and new. If you are a movie lover of any kind, you can’t afford to miss this one.