Originality is something that I value in a movie above almost any other quality. Show me something I’ve never seen before and even if I don’t like it, I will probably be impressed. It seems like much more than a year since I first convinced my friends to go see this movie with me, but I still remember everything about it and I’m still blown away every time I watch it. Brotherhood of the Wolf represents, for me, what all filmmakers should strive to do. It breaks out of every mold known to cinema and creates something entirely new from anything the world has ever seen. It combines things from genres that should have nothing to do with each other. Period pieces, martial arts, horror, and sophisticated drama all play a part in Christopher Gans’ mixed up, insane masterpiece of a mess and just when you think you know what is coming next, you are proven completely wrong. To try and describe this film to someone will almost certainly turn them off, no matter who they are or what their tastes in movies. What do you say to them? “It’s a French kung-fu movie about a giant wolf sent by the Pope to kill all the sinners in France and only a gardener and a Native American priest can stop him.” Good luck with that. I’ve found that the best way to get people to see this is to just simply show it to them. It is a cinematic experience that must be had by the individual in order to truly appreciate its maddening brilliance. I had hoped that Brotherhood would mark a new era in filmmaking where defined genres would be a thing of the past, but its complete lack of attention by the mainstream press and the rest of America seems to prove otherwise. Perhaps this film will take its place in history as a cult classic, one of those films which is forever enshrined by the few who know its brilliance and that brings joy to each new film lover who happens upon it in the back aisle of their local Blockbuster. There is not much I can say about this film because words cannot adequately describe it. All I can say is that it is a film experience that is simply mind-blowing and is worth anyone’s time who loves movies as much as I do. See this film. See this film. See this film.