History Film / BrotherhoodOfTheWolf

Fronsac and Mani are quickly enlisted to hunt down the beast and study it. Along the way, they encounter a mysterious group of gypsies and a number of French aristocrats who may or may not be behind the beast's attacks. Creator/VincentCassel plays a one-armed hunting enthusiast who also takes an interest in the beast. Creator/MonicaBellucci also stars as a seductive Italian prostitute who is far more than she seems.

[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brotherhood_of_the_wolf_8534.jpg]]

A French film, originally titled ''Le Pacte des Loups'', released in 2001 and directed by Christophe Gans, who was previously known for his LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/CryingFreeman''.

Overall, the film is notable for cramming just about every possible genre it can into its rather generous running time. It's a kung fu film, a monster movie, a mystery, a romance, a political thriller and a historical epic all rolled into one great big hodge-podge.

* DoesNotLikeGuns: Mani. [[AnAxeToGrind Tomahawks Are Just Better]].

It is ''very'' loosely based on the real, historical mystery of "the Beast of Gévaudan" — a creature which allegedly killed almost 100 people, most of them women and children, over a three year period in a remote, rural area of France corresponding to modern-day [[UsefulNotes/DepartementalIssues Lozère]]. In the summer of 1764, King UsefulNotes/LouisXV arranged a great hunt, and a wolf claimed to be the beast was slain, but subsequently more killings took place. "The Beast" has never been identified.

A French film, originally titled ''Le Pacte des Loups'', released in 2001 and directed by Christophe Gans, who was previously known for his LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/CryingFreeman''. It is ''very'' loosely based on the real, historical mystery of "the Beast of Gévaudan" — a creature which allegedly killed almost 100 people, most of them women and children, over a three year period in a remote, rural area of France. In the summer of 1764, King Louis XV arranged a great hunt, and a wolf claimed to be the beast was slain, but subsequently more killings took place. "The Beast" has never been identified.

%%* MookChivalry

%%* TownWithADarkSecret: Oh boy...

%%* WeaponizedAnimal: The Beast.

* LoveInterest: Marianne.

* TownWithADarkSecret: Oh boy...

* WeaponizedAnimal: The Beast.
* {{Werewolf}}: Not really, but the Gevaudan myth is so often associated with werewolves that the movie must at least play with this trope in passing, most notably with Jean-François' silver bullets, with Fronsac teasing him about believing in werewolves (it's really so that his bullets will be distinctive).

* CoolSword: Doesn't get much cooler than the one used by [[spoiler: François]]: a {{BFS}} made from a large animal spine... whose segments are linked together by an extendable chain, allowing it to be converted into a WhipSword and back again in an instant.

* CoolSword: Doesn't get much cooler than the one used by [[spoiler: François]]: a {{BFS}} made from a large animal spine... whose segments are linked together by an extendable chain, allowing it to be converted into a SwordWhip and back again in an instant.

* CoolSword: Doesn't get much cooler than the one used by [[spoiler: François]]: a {{BFS}} made from a large animal spine... whose segments are linked together by an extendable chain, allowing it to be converted into a ChainWhip and back again in an instant.

* GreatWhiteHunter: Frosnac is sent to investigate the beast because of his skill as a naturalist and a hunter.

* {{Werewolf}}: Not really, but the Gevadaun myth is so often associated with werewolves that the movie must at least play with this trope in passing, most notably with Jean-François' silver bullets, with Fronsac teasing him about believing in werewolves (it's really so that his bullets will be distinctive).

* FacialMarkings: Mani's warpaint.

* BrotherSisterIncest: [[spoiler:Jean-François towards Marianne. It's never quite clear what exactly happens outside of his mind, but he looks quite psychotic and certainly ''wants'' her]].

* ActionPrologue: The film begins with a martial arts fight between the two heroes and some local goons. The original script began with an extended chase through Parisian sewers.

* BadassNative: Mani, a native American Indian and exceptionally skilled tracker and fighter both hand-to-hand and with a tomahawk.

The hero of the film is nobleman Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), [[GeniusBruiser a soldier/scientist/taxidermist]] recently returned from Colonial America with his {{sidekick}}, the [[MagicalNativeAmerican wise]] [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie kung fu-practicing]] Indian Mani (Creator/MarkDacascos).

The hero of the film is nobleman Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), [[GeniusBruiser a soldier/scientist/taxidermist]] recently returned from Colonial America with his {{sidekick}}, the [[MagicalNativeAmerican wise]] [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie kung fu]] Indian Mani (Creator/MarkDacascos).

The hero of the film is nobleman Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), [[GeniusBruiser a soldier/scientist/taxidermist]] recently returned from Colonial America with his {{sidekick}}, the [[MagicalNativeAmerican wise]] [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie kung fu]] Indian Mani (Mark Dacascos).

* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Jean-François. Aside for being the Beast's master, he is also a sadistic psychopath obsessed with his own sister. No wonder the cult hired him for its dirty work.]]
* BackFromTheDead: Played with. [[spoiler:Fronsac was presumed dead after being poisoned by Sylvia; turns out the effects were just temporary.]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:La Bavarde and Jean Francois.]]

* NonMaliciousMonster: [[spoiler:the Beast is actually a big lion disguised as a monster with metal spikes and shards by the Brotherhood members and trained to scare and/or kill the villagers. But the Brotherhood, and Jean-François in particular, are the real villains.]]

* PsychoForHire: [[spoiler: Jean-Francois to the Brotherhood.]]

A French film, originally titled ''Le Pacte des Loups'', released in 2001 and directed by Christophe Gans, who was previously known for his LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/CryingFreeman''. It is ''very'' loosely based on the real, historical mystery of "the Beast of Gévaudan" - a creature which allegedly killed almost 100 people, most of them women and children, over a three year period in a remote, rural area of France. In the summer of 1764, King Louis XV arranged a great hunt, and a wolf claimed to be the beast was slain, but subsequently more killings took place. "The Beast" has never been identified.

* AllThereInTheManual: According to supplemental materials, the martial art that Manni displays proficiency in is actually a pre-modern form of savate, taught to him by Fronsac after aiding him during the French and Indian War. However, his style and Fronsac’s look rather different.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The villains of the piece are killed and their plot is thwarted, but the heroes don't fare much better. Mani's dead; the much feared beast was just an innocent animal who was forced to slaughter people by its sadistic owner, and Fronsac has to MercyKill it; the Marquis d'Apcher - one of the few decent people in this whole thing - is recalling the story as he's about to be sent to the guillotine; and all he can do is hope that Fronsac and Marianne got their happily ever after. At least there are hints that they did get it.]] Actually, the REAL Marquis d'Apcher lived through the Terror and died in Barcelona in 1798. So... [[SparedByAdaptation spared by real life?]]

* BrotherSisterIncest: [[spoiler:Jean-François towards Marianne. It's never quite clear what exactly happens on his mind, but he looks quite psychotic and certainly ''wants'' her.]]

* ChurchMilitant: [[spoiler:Sylvia is actually a spy for the Vatican.]]

* DeadpanSnarker: one of the first thing's we're told about Fronsac is that he's "a wit," which he lives up to especially when flirting with Marianne (who herself can give as well as she gets).
* DesignatedGirlFight: [[spoiler:Sylvia is the one to take out La Bavarde, though Fronsac does kill a number of other gypsy women. It's more of a CurbStompBattle though.]]
* DoesNotLikeGuns: Mani. [[AnAxeToGrind Tomahawks Are Just Better]]
* DragonInChief: [[spoiler:Although Sardis is the leader of the Brotherhood and the big decision-maker, it is Jean-François, the Beast's trainer, who is the film's primary antagonist.]]

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Henri Sardis, creator and leader of the Brotherhood]] escapes arrest only to be chased down by the pack of wolves, a number of which were previously slaughtered en masse under the misguided assumptions of being the Beast.

** A villainous example occurs with [[spoiler:Jean-François, who spends most of the film as a somewhat foppish, crippled aristocrat who likes guns. In the third act, he reveals that he's not a cripple after all, but a rather hulking bruiser with a sword made from an animal spine.]]

* MagicalNativeAmerican: Mani has an air of mysticism about him -according to Fronsac he was "a sort of priest" to his tribe, presumably a shaman and/or medicine man- and seems to have some sort of psychic connection with a wolf. He also shows hints of being fully aware of the archetype and quite the DeadpanSnarker.

* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Fronsac, towards the ''Beast'']]

* RedOniBlueOni: Fronsac and Mani, respectively. It reflects on their fighting styles: Mani's is gracile and based in a continuously flowing rhythm and he avoids killing, but Fronsac's is savage and direct, relying in linear attacks, and he certainly doesn't care about butchering opponents.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Jean-François ''didn't'' lose his arm in a hunting accident. It just got badly mangled, and he's had it tied behind his back pretending to be crippled ever since, probably to throw the scent off his trail as the enforcer of the Brotherhood.]]

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Fronsac [[spoiler:after Mani is killed.]]

* ScaryImpracticalArmor: [[spoiler:The Beast wears armor covered in bone and metal spikes that is simply there to make it appear more monstrous. The armor doesn't appear to hinder its movements, however.]]

* ShoutOut: The WhipSword is lifted directly from ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur''

%%* SlashedThroat
* SuspiciouslyStealthyPredator The Beast [[spoiler: actually a lion in ScaryImpracticalArmor]] somehow manages to sneak through the French woods and countryside without leaving a trace.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Sort of. [[spoiler: As his thoat has been slashed by Fronsac, Jean-François grabs one of Fronsac swords with his WhipSword. Fronsac lets the sword go when Jean-François pulls his whipsword back to reassemble it, impaling Jean-François in the process. The slow motion in that scene feels like a SpecialEffectFailure though.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: Fronsac after [[spoiler: Mani is killed]]. Or at least, it seems that way from the point of the view of the rest of the characters, since up until then Fronsac had been content to let Mani handle badass duty. It turns out he was just as Badass as Mani all along, [[UpToEleven if not more so]], and when properly motivated he [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge plows a path of utter destruction]] that makes a viewer wonder why he even kept Mani around at all. However, in the deleted scenes, the first fight segment (Mani vs the villagers with staffs), Fronsac tags in later, and finally the two fight together.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The Beast of Gevaudan is the name given to a man-eating wolf-like creature that terrorized the the province of Gevaudan from 1764 to 1767. Suffice to say, the director and the screenplay writers took plenty of liberties with the story. [[spoiler: Also, the real Marquis d'Apcher survived the French Revolution and died in 1798.]]

* WeaponizedAnimal: The beast.

* TheWisePrince: Thomas, young Marquis d'Apcher, one of the few aristocrats that fully trusts Fronsac and who sees Mani as a person, and not as a savage. [[spoiler: It's possible that this is why the other aristocrats never considered him to join their cult]].
* WouldHitAGirl: Mani and Fronsac don't have much of a problem fighting the female gypsies, though Mani seems to go a bit easier on them in their initial dust-up. [[spoiler: Except La Bavarde, the woman they saved when they first arrived into town. This ends up costing Mani his life.]]

French film, originally titled ''Le Pacte des Loups'', released in 2001 and directed by Christophe Gans, who was previously known for his LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/CryingFreeman''.

It is ''very'' loosely based on the real, historical mystery of "the Beast of Gévaudan" - a creature which allegedly killed almost 100 people, most of them women and children, over a three year period in a remote, rural area of France. In the summer of 1764, King Louis XV arranged a great hunt, and a wolf claimed to be the beast was slain, but subsequently more killings took place. "The Beast" has never been identified.

* AllThereInTheManual: According to supplemental materials, the martial art that Manni displays proficiency in is actually a pre-modern form of savate, taught to him by Fronsac after aiding him during the French and Indian War. Anyways, his style and Frosnac's look rather different.

* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Jean-François. Aside for being the Beast's master is also a sadist psychopath obsessed with his own sister. No wonder the cult hired him for the dirty work.]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Played with. Fronsac was presumed dead after being poisoned by Sylvia, turns out the effects were just temporary.]]
* BadassBookworm: Fronsac is a scientist by profession, being one of the most accomplished in his field, and a veteran of the French-Indian Wars who rose to Captain through valor in battle, and shown to be just as skilled as Mani in melee combat.
* BadassNative: Mani, a native American Indian and exceptionally skilled fighter both hand-to-hand with a tomahawk.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The villains of the piece are killed and their plot is thwarted, but the heroes don't fare much better. Mani's dead; the much feared beast was just an innocent animal who was forced to slaughter people by its sadistic owner, and Fronsac has to MercyKill it; the Marquis d'Apcher - one of the few decent people in this whole thing - is recalling the story as he's about to be sent to the guillotine; and all he can do is hope that Fronsac and Marianne got their happily ever after. At least there are hints that they did get it.]]
** Admittedly the REAL Marquis d'Apcher lived through the Terror and died in Barcelona in 1798. So... [[SparedByAdaptation spared by real life?]]

* {{Cult}}: [[spoiler:More of a secret society, really. The eponymous Brotherhood of the Wolf is a group of conservative aristocrats seeking to hold on to the old ways by putting the fear of God into the hearts of the commoners by way of highly trained, homicidal beast. From their point of view, perhaps a justifiable plan, seeing as the film ends with aristocratic good guy Thomas d'Apcher - now old, he's been retelling experiences from when he was a young man - being taken to his execution by revolutionaries.]]