Review - Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001 - Dir. Christophe Gans)

Continuing our birthday celebrations we come to the final entry in our Mark Dacascos Season, and it is one of my favourite films of all time.

The idea of mixing the genres of kung fu, horror, mystery and period french drama, whilst adding a savage stonking great wolf as a garnish may seem a tad foolish. But it works stunningly well, making for one of the most refreshingly original films I've ever seen.


Naturalist (not naturist - that would have been one genre too many. I don't think wolves play volleyball anyway) Gregoire de Fronsac, played by Samuel Le Bihan is sent by the King to the small french province of Gevaudan, along with his native American sidekick Mani (Mark Dacascos). Numerous deaths have been occurring and they have been attributed to a rather large wolf. Fronsac and Mani investigate this general unpleasantness. And hit people a lot. So what we basically have is a berzerk version of Hound of the Baskervilles (not a bad thing).

Gans certainly loves his slow motion and Dacascos has never looked cooler. Forget his Straight-to-DVD actioners. This is what he is truly capable of. There are so many well choreographed fights. His assailants, in true kung fu fashion, take their turn, coming at Mani with fists and various weapons, but he just sorts them. No messing. The sound effects are excessively loud and crunchy, further adding to the stylised nature of the fights. Bihan also gets to do a fair bit of scrapping and is not too shabby in the 'hitting people hard' departpartment.

There is love interest in the form of the gorgeous Émilie Dequenne (The Pack) and Monica Bellucci (Irreversible), just enough to add yet another dimension to the film. Both female leads are great but Dequenne is so great she should get her own season. Now, there's a thought... 

You also get Vincent Cassel as a really creepy villain. He's always good value for money and doesn't let the side down here. Supposedly, he put in a lot of training for his fight sequence and it shows.

Let's get the one negative out of the way. Surprise, surprise, it's the CGI. The wolf looks ropey and a bit too light and lacking in contrast compared to the backgrounds for my liking. Saying that, the close-ups (by Henson) using a practical wolf are premium quality (again, surprise, surprise).

For a film to be so full of disparate elements and still be coherent and top fun is a testament to Gans' skill as a director. (It's a shame Onimusha fell through. That would have been a treat.) He brings out the best in Mark Dacascos (see Crying Freeman) and it would be great to see them work together again. So do the dodgy effects knock the rating down at all? For sheer audacity, I'll let it off.
10/10
evlkeith

(Please note: It's well worth getting the Blu-ray because with the DVD you are limited to a plain stereo soundtrack if you opt for the french language version, the 5.1 sound is only available on the useless dubbed version. The Blu-ray has got the proper full surround experience. Way better. And not smelly.)


If you like this you could also try:
Crying Freeman, Drive, The Pack, the 2002 BBC version of Hound of the Baskervilles.

Interview - The Saw Lady

As mentioned in my previous post, the main highlight of our first year has been receiving a comment from the Saw Lady ( amazingly enough, that's not her birth name - that would be Natalia Paruz). It seemed fitting that she should be the subject of the first obscurendure review.

In England, most children's first experience of playing a musical instrument is playing the recorder (or miming in my case). Why did you decide to play the saw rather than a more traditional instrument?

I went through traditional instruments as a kid, too - started with a recorder, learned some piano & guitar, but none of the traditional instruments stuck with me. The reason why I love unusual musical instruments is because there is usually a striking visual that goes along with the sound, and also there is a degree of whimsy. Also - it's a greater challenge: the musical saw is harder to play well than say, a piano, because it's just a chunk of metal, so the satisfaction I derive from figuring out how to make it sing (there are no music conservatories you can go to to be taught how to play it - it's a process of self discovery through trial and error) is greater than just taking lessons.

Of the videos I have seen, you seem to perform the work of other composers. Do you write your own compositions for the saw or is that something you would like to develop in the future?

I enjoy taking a written piece of music, practicing it until it is "made my own". I like to interpret music rather than creating a piece of music from scratch. It's sort of like fitting myself into an existing world. I work with many composers, such as Scott Munson (www.ScottMunsonMusic.com) who composed for 'Another Earth', who write for the saw or even write specifically for me - I love these collaborations. So, no - I don't feel an urge to compose myself.

Playing a saw must be more dangerous than playing a piccolo, for example. Have you ever had any saw related injuries?

I have never cut myself (nor anyone else) but holding a saw in one's hands does command a certain respect, which is helpful when busking - all the bullies leave me alone :)
I did break two saws, though. The saw's sound comes out of the vibration of the metal, and when the temperatures are around freezing, the metal does not want to vibrate. I was busking in winter, and forcing the saw to vibrate. That's when I learned that I can break steel...

The most memorable moment for me in Another Earth was the saw playing sequence. How did you come to be involved in that project?

The director, Mike Cahill, saw me playing in the subway (see below) and that gave him the idea to incorporate a saw into his film. He asked me if I would help choose the music for the saw's scene, and record it. He also asked if I would then coach William Mapother, the actor who had to appear to be playing a saw, to act as if playing in a convincing way. It was a lot of fun for me to work with William, because it was different from what I usually do, which is teach people how to actually play. Here, the visual was important, not the sound (he never actually made a sound).

You have also worked on other film soundtracks: El Carnaval Sodoma, Dummy and I Sell the Dead. Have you any plans to work on other films? If not, is there a particular director who you would like to work with?

Right now I am working on a couple of music videos - one with director Sohail Javed who is one of the best video directors in Pakistan, and the other with director Maderling Suquet for the UK 'Danger Global Warming' project.
I would love to work with M. Night Shyamalan. He never uses stock sound effects, he insists that all audio be originally created and he always works with James Newton Howard for the musical score.

Finally, which obscure film would you recommend?

Peau d'Ane (English: Donkey Skin) - I'm not sure whether it is considered obscure by a film connoisseur such as yourself, but I loved it when I was a kid... The music is by Michel Legrand (who was in the same music class with my mother at the Paris Conservatoire).

For more information on the Saw Lady go to http://www.SawLady.com or visit her facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natalia-Saw-Lady-Paruz-musical-saw-player/129253832734


All that remains to be said, is a big thank you to the Saw Lady for taking part in this interview. I hope I haven't jinxed her into having lots of saw related accidents, after a graze-free career, now that I asked that question. Also, expect a review of Peau d'Ane at some point in the future...


evlkeith

Feature - The First Year of obscurendure.

A year ago today, Doccortex and I sat down in front of my computer and entered the mysterious world of blogging. With minimal knowledge we just gave it a go. At the beginning of the year we would have been happy if even one person had looked at obscurendure and actually read it.


I can remember, in the initial weeks, looking at the statistics on Blogger and giggling inanely every time there was a hit in a new country. It was like a blogging version of Risk. At one point the country that we had the 2nd most number of pageviews from, was Iran. Strange. It's all settled down now, with America at number one and the UK at number two. Another strange fact is that, although we have never explicitly stated that we live anywhere near Sheffield, the place we get the most hits from in the UK is Sheffield. Perhaps there is an automatic South Yorkshire recognition factor.

I don't know what kind of website Google thinks we run but their choice of adverts that complement our output is slightly worrying. First there was idateasia.com for all of you out there who want a lovely asian bride. Since then we've also had Muslima.com, Asiamatch and my favourite, FilipinoCupid.com. Who do they think we are? Human traffickers? Okay, we had one run in with the courts, but that case was thrown out. On a minor technicality. 


One day I was looking at who refers people to our site: Google, Facebook, Twitter, sickfetishphonesex. What!?! Again, what sort of site do they think it is? I daren't even visit that site to see where the link is for fear of repercussions. Well, maybe just the once...

The hardest moment of this first year was definitely the review marathon of Celluloid Screams. Getting 14 reviews and other features out there in a couple of days was rather tiring. Let's face facts, I'll do it again this year. It can't have been too bad.

Most humourous moment? The absurd number of pageviews that the intermission Dinner Party Tips got just before Christmas. I can imagine people looking for some great swanky ideas for their parties and getting to a page that's all about top seventies finger food. There was probably a bit of swearing on their behalf.

The three top moments of the year have been: being emailed a short film to review, getting our first follower (Chris from movies and songs 365) and receiving our first comment, from The Saw Lady no less. Actually getting a comment from someone who has worked on one of the films reviewed caused some major geeking out.

It will be interesting to see where we are in another year's time. All that needs to be said is a big thank you to you, dear reader, for taking the time to read our deranged ramblings. If you have any suggestions, comments or there's a specific film that you want us to review then send us an email or pop a comment at the end of this feature. We've got some good (?) stuff planned for this year (and next!) so there's plenty to look forward to.

As a treat for you, I'll be posting a special interview with The Saw Lady later today! There will be the final instalment in our Mark Dacascos Season tomorrow and finally, Doccortex has painstakingly compiled a year of quotations which will be posted on Monday. Yes, I am the Ambassador. I spoil you.


evlkeith