SHADOW OF THE WOLF
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating: 4.9 out of 10 (D, *1/2 out of ****)
Date Released: varies Running Length: 1:52 Rated: PG-13 (Violence, brief nudity, sexual situations)
Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips, Jennifer Tilly, Toshiro Mifune, Donald Sutherland Director: Jacques Dorfmann Producer: Claude Leger Story: David Milhaud and Jacques Dorfmann Music: Maurice Jaffey Released by Triumph Release Corporation
Agaguk (Lou Diamond Phillips) is a young Eskimo living as a member of the tribe of his father Croomak (Toshiro Mifune), the shaman. Agaguk is impulsive and when he declares that Igiyook (Jennifer Tilly), a woman Croomak has already chosen for his own, is to be his mate, his father exiles him from the tribe. On his way out, Agaguk attempts to retrieve a stolen polar bear pelt from a white fur trapper. A struggle ensues and the trapper is killed. Along with Igiyook, Agaguk flees Croomak's tribe. It isn't long before the police, in the person of Henderson (Donald Sutherland) come to investigate the murder, and eventually the clues point in the direction of the exiled son of the shaman.
I think perhaps the intention of SHADOW OF THE WOLF is to do for Eskimos what DANCES WITH WOLVES did for American Indians. If that's the goal of the film, it isn't achieved. In fact, regardless of the purpose of the movie, it's a failure. The only thing worthwhile in SHADOW OF THE WOLF is its cinematography, and even that isn't tremendously inventive or brilliant, merely effective.
The story is the movie's biggest weakness. It's convoluted, riddled with silly mystical aspects that destroy any hope of realism, and ultimately pointless. Many things happen that lead nowhere. It's as if the people behind the film had a beginning and an ending, but needed an hour of filler to pad out the middle. Better than half of this movie--including everything involving Henderson--could have been snipped without significant loss.
The dialogue is absurd. Most of the characters talk in grunts, monosyllables, words, and occasionally short sentences. Actually, they generally bellow and shout more than talk. Lou Diamond Phillips probably goes for nearly forty-five minutes before he has more than a couple of lines to say. Jennifer Tilly never says much of substance, which is probably good, considering the audience's tendency to laugh every time she said something in that high-pitched, squeaky voice of hers.
Just about everyone, except perhaps Donald Sutherland as a Canadian police officer, is miscast. Lou Diamond Phillips shows little charisma and less ability trying to portray the rebellious Agaguk. Toshiro Mifune, a fine Japanese actor, is wasted, as well as embarrassed, in his role. And it's impossible to understand where the production team came up with Jennifer Tilly for the female lead. Not only is her acting ability severely limited, but she looks nothing like an Eskimo.
The musical score is intrusive and melodramatic. At moments of high tension, it becomes strident, much like that of a soap opera. The overall sound quality is dubious. There are some scenes where dialogue dubbed in later isn't perfectly synched with the moving lips of the person or persons speaking (or chanting) it.
There are a few worthwhile moments in SHADOW OF THE WOLF, although not nearly enough to justify sitting through it. The igloo-building is fascinating, as is the whale-hunting expedition, and the trek to the "Top of the World." Other than that, however, everything is either overdone, underdone, or done so poorly as to not be worth watching. SHADOW OF THE WOLF has lofty ambitions--to be a saga centered around Canadian Eskimos--none of which are achieved.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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