Brotherhood of the Wolf

This is a film like no other I've seen.

A renowned traveller and his kung-fu fighting native American sidekick arrive to investigate a wave of killings by beast which have been occurring in a dismal part of southern France. The army have proved brutal and incompetent and the whole area is sunk in soggy fear.

It starts very slowly, as various landed sorts parade their prejudices and discuss their theories and a rather annoying love interest is introduced. If you see it in English the dubbing is awful. Let none of this put you off. It's a long film, which builds its momentum in its own way, and repays your patience lavishly.

I don't really want to tell you any more for fear of spoiling it. The "rules" for such films are ignored. There are plot twists galore, amazingly crafted scenery, indoors and out, and a sumptuously magical-yet-still-just-real sort of atmosphere, through which parades a carnival of grotesques. It's great.

When you get to the final unravelling, take a moment to consider that it's all based on actual events. There really is no beast as beastly as a human.

Ian Threadgill