adAzz MoFo
David Walker
Gans/Dacascos Interview
DATE: 2001/11/30
URL:BadAzz MoFo.com
BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF
An Exclusive Interview with Christopher Gans and actor Mark Dacascos
by David Walker
It's pretty rare that I see a film and I want to meet the people involved in making it (unless, of course it is to beat the shit out of them for wasting my time and insulting my intelligence). But after about the first ten minutes of director Christophe Gans' BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, I knew I had to talk to this guy.
Set in 1765, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF combines fact and fiction to create a pre-French Revolution political thriller fused with a horror mystery, that may or may not have supernatural overtones, all wrapped up in an action packed, romantic kung-fu revenge film. Seriously. The film draws it's basic inspiration from the real-life tale of the Beast of Gevaudan, a mysterious creature responsible for attacking over 100 people, as the focal point. For King Louis XV, the Beast is a source of embarrassment, and a symbol that he is incapable of effectively ruling or protecting his subjects. Samuel Le Bihan stars as Gregoire de Fronsac, a naturalist sent by the king to capture and kill the creature. That much of the story is based on fact.
But rather than tell a straightforward costume drama, Gans uses the Beast of Gevaudan as a catalyst for a much bigger and epic tale. Gans deviates from reality and ventures into the realm of fantastic adventure with Mani, Fronsac's Iroquois blood brother, played by martial arts superstar Mark Dacascos. Mani is Kato to Fronsac's Green Hornet, and Le Bihan and Dacascos, both together and separately, radiate with charisma as they investigate who or what is responsible for the brutal murders. What the two adventurers discover when they reach the remote region is a land both terrified by the deadly creature, and torn by the conflicting ideologies that will lead to the revolution.
Fusing nearly every conceivable genre you could imagine, Gans has crafted one of those films like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and RESERVOIR DOGS, that pays tribute to the movies that inspired him. Amazingly enough, this cross-genre creation works �� and it works really well. In the hands of a filmmaker that doesn't know or respect such genres as kung-fu or spaghetti westerns, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF would have been a silly film that seemed hobbled together from the scraps of too many genres. But instead it is a seamless marriage of all the things that make movies cool, and at the end of the day, it is the sort of film that fills you with that same sense of wonder you had when you were a kid, watching the sort of cool flicks they just don't seem to make anymore.
BadAzz MoFo.com
David Walker
Gans/Dacascos Interview
DATE: 2001/11/30
URL:BadAzz MoFo.com
BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF
An Exclusive Interview with Christopher Gans and actor Mark Dacascos
by David Walker
It's pretty rare that I see a film and I want to meet the people involved in making it (unless, of course it is to beat the shit out of them for wasting my time and insulting my intelligence). But after about the first ten minutes of director Christophe Gans' BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, I knew I had to talk to this guy.
Set in 1765, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF combines fact and fiction to create a pre-French Revolution political thriller fused with a horror mystery, that may or may not have supernatural overtones, all wrapped up in an action packed, romantic kung-fu revenge film. Seriously. The film draws it's basic inspiration from the real-life tale of the Beast of Gevaudan, a mysterious creature responsible for attacking over 100 people, as the focal point. For King Louis XV, the Beast is a source of embarrassment, and a symbol that he is incapable of effectively ruling or protecting his subjects. Samuel Le Bihan stars as Gregoire de Fronsac, a naturalist sent by the king to capture and kill the creature. That much of the story is based on fact.
But rather than tell a straightforward costume drama, Gans uses the Beast of Gevaudan as a catalyst for a much bigger and epic tale. Gans deviates from reality and ventures into the realm of fantastic adventure with Mani, Fronsac's Iroquois blood brother, played by martial arts superstar Mark Dacascos. Mani is Kato to Fronsac's Green Hornet, and Le Bihan and Dacascos, both together and separately, radiate with charisma as they investigate who or what is responsible for the brutal murders. What the two adventurers discover when they reach the remote region is a land both terrified by the deadly creature, and torn by the conflicting ideologies that will lead to the revolution.
Fusing nearly every conceivable genre you could imagine, Gans has crafted one of those films like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and RESERVOIR DOGS, that pays tribute to the movies that inspired him. Amazingly enough, this cross-genre creation works �� and it works really well. In the hands of a filmmaker that doesn't know or respect such genres as kung-fu or spaghetti westerns, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF would have been a silly film that seemed hobbled together from the scraps of too many genres. But instead it is a seamless marriage of all the things that make movies cool, and at the end of the day, it is the sort of film that fills you with that same sense of wonder you had when you were a kid, watching the sort of cool flicks they just don't seem to make anymore.
BadAzz MoFo.com
