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So what happens when "the Matrix" steamrollers into "Hound of the Baskervilles" at a hundred miles an hour and then gets slammed into by a kung-fu film at the same time?
An almighty mess? Not quite.. You get an oddly American French film. Argh!! Don't run away! I know I said French but this film could just have easily been an American action film. There's none of that arty-farty nonsense you might associate with French cinema. No jump-cuttery ŕ la Godard and no lens filters/strange plots/men in berets saying "oh la lalalala". Nope the only clue that the film is French is the realisation that you are reading the subtitles... but you soon forget that too, and anyone who's done French up to A-level standard shouldn't have too much difficulty understanding the language.
In a just world this film would be every bit as successful as "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon": the film that proved that any film could overcome the language barrier to box-office success simply by containing a hell of a lot of fighting. And believe me, the fight scenes in this film are worth the entrance fee. They fail to reach the giddy heights of "Crouching Tiger" standards, but this is deflected slightly by the sumptuous shooting of every scene. Indeed it seems that excellent camerawork has become a pre-requisite of French cinema. As a reviewer on imdb points out the film contains an exceptionally good crossfade (Having watched "Ghost Dog: way of the samurai" I lost almost all faith in crossfading) and dare I say it, this is the best crossfade in cinematic history. As our hero paints Monica Bellucci and the camera pans over her naked breasts, it crossfades to two mountain peaks exactly the same shape as Miss Bellucci's own contours. Genius.
Now Monica Bellucci is a big-name actress and she is relegated to what is essentially a minor-ish character. That's because the film does contain some stellar talent, but not in the American box office sense. Best of all you can see Vincent Cassel playing the villain of the piece. It's a marked departure from his usual disillusioned skin-head role, and while he may still be rough and tough, the gruffness has transcended into a far more noble accent. In fact I was only able to spot him because of his visibly broken nose. He's ably supported by a cast of attractive young French nymphettes and some odious noblemen and martial arts pro's Marc Dacosas and Samuel le Bihan.
Now you may have noticed that I haven't gone into the plot at all yet... well, this is because the film's plot is at best passable and at worst farcical. I'm not talking about an "Exit Wounds" style plot where a script has been written around however many fight scenes, but it's hardly going to win the most complex plotting award 2002. Having said this, others have found the plot complex, the main problem for me was that I had read "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle and so I was all too prepared for the various twists and turns, unfortunately. However, Sherlock Holmes would never have exposed the villain while locked in an epic battle involving swords, special telescopic extendable swords and jumping off walls. And that is why this film rocks; it has great fight scenes and a plot that ties them together satisfactorily.
For those who aren't familiar with the story, I'll give you a brief précis..
The film is set in 18th Century France, where a beast is out stalking and murdering women. Sent into the breach is naturalist and philosopher Gregoire de Fronsac and his native american allie Mani. In their attempts to reach the bottom of the mysterious killings they uncover a secret cabal and Fronsac falls for the daughter of an aristocrat. This sets up the basic box-office hit recipe: take a pinch of mystery, add a smattering of love interest, cook for two and a half hours and then add as many fight scenes as possible to taste.
This formula may be simplistic but you shouldn't ignore the addition of wonderful camerawork that sets this film apart from every other fight-scene film I have seen, with the exception of "the Matrix". The fights are shot exquisitely using slow motion, lingering stills and the occasional moment of calm where director Christophe Gans hesitates on a particularly sumptuous visual. It is beautiful to behold, especially on the big screen. Also of note is the best itself, when we finally set sight upon its CGI-created body it is impressive to say the least, perhaps even frightening. The fact that you are denied a glimpse of the best for so long is a testament to the taught pacing of the film. There isn't ever a dull moment because something is always left hanging, leaving you eager to find out what happens next.
I know I've talked up this film a lot, but I would give on word of warning. It did leave me rather cold. As some of you know I watch a lot of films, often foreign, and for me this film marks French cinema's first tentative steps into the mainstream. SUre films like "Amelie" have achieved success despite, and because of, their French kookiness. However, "Brotherhood of the Wolf" makes no attempt at following French conventions, instead preferring the well-trodden route of the American blockbuster. The film is a great deal better than any blockbuster I've seen, and thus it is with some sadness I concede that this probably won't enjoy the same success, but that's mainly because it doesn't go the full distance and go for an English dubbing. Unfortunately this leaves the film in a somewhat awkward position. In the cinema in which I watched it, the majority were University students studying French, who seemed disappointed. However, I expect you "Matrix" fans will be equally as wary due to the presence of subtitles and French speech.
Ultimately, I'd recommend this to you if you like action films mixed with a blend of fantasy. "Brotherhood of the Wolf" is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, and if you liked "the Matrix" you will love it. So why not give subtitles a chance and discover a film rich in fantasy and fighting?
Maintenant ŕ vous!
An almighty mess? Not quite.. You get an oddly American French film. Argh!! Don't run away! I know I said French but this film could just have easily been an American action film. There's none of that arty-farty nonsense you might associate with French cinema. No jump-cuttery ŕ la Godard and no lens filters/strange plots/men in berets saying "oh la lalalala". Nope the only clue that the film is French is the realisation that you are reading the subtitles... but you soon forget that too, and anyone who's done French up to A-level standard shouldn't have too much difficulty understanding the language.
In a just world this film would be every bit as successful as "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon": the film that proved that any film could overcome the language barrier to box-office success simply by containing a hell of a lot of fighting. And believe me, the fight scenes in this film are worth the entrance fee. They fail to reach the giddy heights of "Crouching Tiger" standards, but this is deflected slightly by the sumptuous shooting of every scene. Indeed it seems that excellent camerawork has become a pre-requisite of French cinema. As a reviewer on imdb points out the film contains an exceptionally good crossfade (Having watched "Ghost Dog: way of the samurai" I lost almost all faith in crossfading) and dare I say it, this is the best crossfade in cinematic history. As our hero paints Monica Bellucci and the camera pans over her naked breasts, it crossfades to two mountain peaks exactly the same shape as Miss Bellucci's own contours. Genius.
Now Monica Bellucci is a big-name actress and she is relegated to what is essentially a minor-ish character. That's because the film does contain some stellar talent, but not in the American box office sense. Best of all you can see Vincent Cassel playing the villain of the piece. It's a marked departure from his usual disillusioned skin-head role, and while he may still be rough and tough, the gruffness has transcended into a far more noble accent. In fact I was only able to spot him because of his visibly broken nose. He's ably supported by a cast of attractive young French nymphettes and some odious noblemen and martial arts pro's Marc Dacosas and Samuel le Bihan.
Now you may have noticed that I haven't gone into the plot at all yet... well, this is because the film's plot is at best passable and at worst farcical. I'm not talking about an "Exit Wounds" style plot where a script has been written around however many fight scenes, but it's hardly going to win the most complex plotting award 2002. Having said this, others have found the plot complex, the main problem for me was that I had read "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle and so I was all too prepared for the various twists and turns, unfortunately. However, Sherlock Holmes would never have exposed the villain while locked in an epic battle involving swords, special telescopic extendable swords and jumping off walls. And that is why this film rocks; it has great fight scenes and a plot that ties them together satisfactorily.
For those who aren't familiar with the story, I'll give you a brief précis..
The film is set in 18th Century France, where a beast is out stalking and murdering women. Sent into the breach is naturalist and philosopher Gregoire de Fronsac and his native american allie Mani. In their attempts to reach the bottom of the mysterious killings they uncover a secret cabal and Fronsac falls for the daughter of an aristocrat. This sets up the basic box-office hit recipe: take a pinch of mystery, add a smattering of love interest, cook for two and a half hours and then add as many fight scenes as possible to taste.
This formula may be simplistic but you shouldn't ignore the addition of wonderful camerawork that sets this film apart from every other fight-scene film I have seen, with the exception of "the Matrix". The fights are shot exquisitely using slow motion, lingering stills and the occasional moment of calm where director Christophe Gans hesitates on a particularly sumptuous visual. It is beautiful to behold, especially on the big screen. Also of note is the best itself, when we finally set sight upon its CGI-created body it is impressive to say the least, perhaps even frightening. The fact that you are denied a glimpse of the best for so long is a testament to the taught pacing of the film. There isn't ever a dull moment because something is always left hanging, leaving you eager to find out what happens next.
I know I've talked up this film a lot, but I would give on word of warning. It did leave me rather cold. As some of you know I watch a lot of films, often foreign, and for me this film marks French cinema's first tentative steps into the mainstream. SUre films like "Amelie" have achieved success despite, and because of, their French kookiness. However, "Brotherhood of the Wolf" makes no attempt at following French conventions, instead preferring the well-trodden route of the American blockbuster. The film is a great deal better than any blockbuster I've seen, and thus it is with some sadness I concede that this probably won't enjoy the same success, but that's mainly because it doesn't go the full distance and go for an English dubbing. Unfortunately this leaves the film in a somewhat awkward position. In the cinema in which I watched it, the majority were University students studying French, who seemed disappointed. However, I expect you "Matrix" fans will be equally as wary due to the presence of subtitles and French speech.
Ultimately, I'd recommend this to you if you like action films mixed with a blend of fantasy. "Brotherhood of the Wolf" is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, and if you liked "the Matrix" you will love it. So why not give subtitles a chance and discover a film rich in fantasy and fighting?
Maintenant ŕ vous!
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Action-wise, this film was amazing. But the dialogue and connection between scenes was annoying. But the action was amazing-ly hip of the hoppety-top-hip.
I did hate it originally.
Because I went with a poncy movie mate that frowned at the kung-fu breast action.
It ruined it for me.
Then I got it again and, with no beard stroking, realised it rules
Because I went with a poncy movie mate that frowned at the kung-fu breast action.
It ruined it for me.
Then I got it again and, with no beard stroking, realised it rules
Goatboy wrote:
> I thought this movie was terrible.
> And I can't pretend to like it just because it's in French.
>
> The French make bad films just as often as America.
--
But I thought you loved it? ;)
Sorry about popping this, just randomly using the search tool.
> I thought this movie was terrible.
> And I can't pretend to like it just because it's in French.
>
> The French make bad films just as often as America.
--
But I thought you loved it? ;)
Sorry about popping this, just randomly using the search tool.
I saw this on release. I had to bully my friends and generally push them all the way to see it, and I loved it. My cinema rules. On a lighter note, I saw Monsters Inc today. It's was OK. Nothing special. Shrek was far better.
I was left with an empty feeling after seeing this, bit disappointing really. Crouching Tiger had much more of a sembelance of plot than this and was based on a famous story, so cannot be accused of coming up with a story to fit around the fighting, like this can.
hm, some French cinema is good, City of Lost Children for one, but not this.
hm, some French cinema is good, City of Lost Children for one, but not this.
I agree with you 100%.
The difference between you and my mate is that you don't immediately dismiss something just because it doesn't have subtitles or Russian peasants wandering about being distressed.
I like my mate, but he needs to watch Canonball Run and calm down.
The difference between you and my mate is that you don't immediately dismiss something just because it doesn't have subtitles or Russian peasants wandering about being distressed.
I like my mate, but he needs to watch Canonball Run and calm down.
Damn it. It may be a hazily written review but it's not advocating BotW as the latest in avant garde French cinema. The gist of it was nice camera work shame about the plot.
My point is that now international cinema boundaries are becoming blurred and this film proves it; it's american in all but language. Personally I think people who enjoyed the Matrix will enjoy this film and that while it may not be grund-breaking it more than holds its weight with its contemporaries, ie American action flicks.
I've seen reviews of this film trying to draw parallels to the post-revolution mentality of France, with each character representing a different far-fetched ideal. That is quite clearly a misconception. It's the French "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" and not much more, and not much less.
Believe me, I will not rave about everything and anything that's in a foreign language. I have sat through many turgid and entirely pointless arty films in French that I neither liked nor want to watch again. IF I do tend to post about foreign films on here, then it's usually the ones I like. In the case of BotW I made an exception, as I'd just seen it and thought it would be a nice stop-gap for anyone awaitng the Matrix 2.
Surely the point of some posts should be to expand people's ideas and preferences of films. Many people will go through the whole life never watching anything even mildly challenging. BotW may not be challenging at all, but other foreign films are, and I don't think that people should neglect a film simply because it has subtitles. America does not have a monopoly on good films, and nor does any other country have a monopoly on any aspect of cinema. If you are overly concerned I shall dig out some of the french films I have hated and post reviews, but there is little point in writing a review telling people to watch a film that they weren't going to watch anyway.
It's not out of pretentiousness or a desire to be obscurist that I watch foreign films, it's because often you can find some absolutely brilliant films. Billiant films like "Amores Perros" that the majority of cinema-goers will ignore. Maybe it takes films like "BotW" to convince people that a foreign language film isn't as daunting as it first seems. As things stand, however, unless you dub the film into English it makes little commercial impact over here. This means that films with all the production values of America, with all the acting talent and with genuine innovation will fail to even get a screening in mainstream cinemas.
There are bad French films as there are anywhere:
Les Enfants du Marais - crap French film about two peasants who get into a fight with a boxer played by Eric Cantona at some point.
Les Visiteurs - distinctly unfunny French time-travelling story
Hell. There's a host of foreign films that are awful, at the cinema I went to yesterday they had a Japanese film that lasted 4 hours. 4 hours of black and white sepia tinted shots of arty things. I could not watch a film like that. But there's no point writing a lengthy post discussing its crapness. When a film like Hannibal comes out you do get posts criticising it because they provoke discussion. Perhaps one day everybody will go down to their cinema to watch the latest French film and we can all post our various opinions and have merry arguments long into the night. Until that day comes (probably never) it makes more sense to tell people which foreign films are good and are worth watching. If that makes it seem like I think that every foreign film is good then let me write a critical review of Les Enfants Du Marais and watch it sink down unresponded to.
I know that you like La Haine. Imagine how many people will never see that film, or dismiss it out of hand because it's in black and white and French. That is why it's worth stoking up a little positivity about Foreign cinema, because otherwise they all sink without a trace.
My point is that now international cinema boundaries are becoming blurred and this film proves it; it's american in all but language. Personally I think people who enjoyed the Matrix will enjoy this film and that while it may not be grund-breaking it more than holds its weight with its contemporaries, ie American action flicks.
I've seen reviews of this film trying to draw parallels to the post-revolution mentality of France, with each character representing a different far-fetched ideal. That is quite clearly a misconception. It's the French "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" and not much more, and not much less.
Believe me, I will not rave about everything and anything that's in a foreign language. I have sat through many turgid and entirely pointless arty films in French that I neither liked nor want to watch again. IF I do tend to post about foreign films on here, then it's usually the ones I like. In the case of BotW I made an exception, as I'd just seen it and thought it would be a nice stop-gap for anyone awaitng the Matrix 2.
Surely the point of some posts should be to expand people's ideas and preferences of films. Many people will go through the whole life never watching anything even mildly challenging. BotW may not be challenging at all, but other foreign films are, and I don't think that people should neglect a film simply because it has subtitles. America does not have a monopoly on good films, and nor does any other country have a monopoly on any aspect of cinema. If you are overly concerned I shall dig out some of the french films I have hated and post reviews, but there is little point in writing a review telling people to watch a film that they weren't going to watch anyway.
It's not out of pretentiousness or a desire to be obscurist that I watch foreign films, it's because often you can find some absolutely brilliant films. Billiant films like "Amores Perros" that the majority of cinema-goers will ignore. Maybe it takes films like "BotW" to convince people that a foreign language film isn't as daunting as it first seems. As things stand, however, unless you dub the film into English it makes little commercial impact over here. This means that films with all the production values of America, with all the acting talent and with genuine innovation will fail to even get a screening in mainstream cinemas.
There are bad French films as there are anywhere:
Les Enfants du Marais - crap French film about two peasants who get into a fight with a boxer played by Eric Cantona at some point.
Les Visiteurs - distinctly unfunny French time-travelling story
Hell. There's a host of foreign films that are awful, at the cinema I went to yesterday they had a Japanese film that lasted 4 hours. 4 hours of black and white sepia tinted shots of arty things. I could not watch a film like that. But there's no point writing a lengthy post discussing its crapness. When a film like Hannibal comes out you do get posts criticising it because they provoke discussion. Perhaps one day everybody will go down to their cinema to watch the latest French film and we can all post our various opinions and have merry arguments long into the night. Until that day comes (probably never) it makes more sense to tell people which foreign films are good and are worth watching. If that makes it seem like I think that every foreign film is good then let me write a critical review of Les Enfants Du Marais and watch it sink down unresponded to.
I know that you like La Haine. Imagine how many people will never see that film, or dismiss it out of hand because it's in black and white and French. That is why it's worth stoking up a little positivity about Foreign cinema, because otherwise they all sink without a trace.
I had a row with a pretentious mate that loves anything foreign and lectured why this was so good.
I wanted to set him on fire, I just felt like screaming in his face
"Nobody cares. You sound a total ponce for always going on about obscure Polish melodramas. It doesn't make you an interesting person, you're a bloody anorak!"
God I hate people like him.
Sorry, this just took me back to having to listen to loads of yuppies talking about the latest French flick because "It' so cineme-verite, totally sub-genre exploration of thematic values in France", when they didn't bother to watch "Dark Days" because it was American and therefore "So gauche"
Christ....*seethe*
I'm going to bed.
Bah
I wanted to set him on fire, I just felt like screaming in his face
"Nobody cares. You sound a total ponce for always going on about obscure Polish melodramas. It doesn't make you an interesting person, you're a bloody anorak!"
God I hate people like him.
Sorry, this just took me back to having to listen to loads of yuppies talking about the latest French flick because "It' so cineme-verite, totally sub-genre exploration of thematic values in France", when they didn't bother to watch "Dark Days" because it was American and therefore "So gauche"
Christ....*seethe*
I'm going to bed.
Bah
I'm not too sure about it. I thought it was good from an action point of view. But it did leave me rather cold. Personally I would rather have watched La Vie Tranquille, which looked suitably bleak, but I thought I'd give this a shot.
The fight scenes were good. The dialogue was shakey. Some of twists were a little implausible. Overall it's an excellent French port of "Crouching Tiger" :-)
The fight scenes were good. The dialogue was shakey. Some of twists were a little implausible. Overall it's an excellent French port of "Crouching Tiger" :-)
I thought this movie was terrible.
And I can't pretend to like it just because it's in French.
The French make bad films just as often as America.
And I can't pretend to like it just because it's in French.
The French make bad films just as often as America.
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