neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Brotherhood Of The Wolf
	Christophe Gans Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Decascos, Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel 2001		The foundation of this florid French horror film is a legend about a werewolfish thing that supposedly killed scores of people in rural France during the 1700s. It's a period piece, yet it follows the recent tendency in far-fetched action pix to incorporate Hong Kong-style martial-arts sequences with combatants flying around on invisible guide wires. Due to the supernatural story elements, the aerial ballet isn't as jarring as it was in the lame Dumas rip-off "The Musketeer." Herein, a trusted chevalier (Samuel Le Bihan) and — Holy Tonto! — his faithful Indian companion/expert tracker/fighting machine (Mark Dacascos) are sent by the king to unearth the truth about a series of murders in les boondocks. The mayhem is juicy, as is the parade of freaked peasants and corrupt nobles. But it all goes on far too long. Only beauteous Monica Bellucci ("Malena"), playing a witchy courtesan, deserves more screen time. With Vincent Cassel ("The Crimson Rivers") as a weird, one-armed aristocrat with a secret.