"Absolutely Stunning": For the Director of Brotherhood of the Wolf, It's the Most Spectacular Action Film He's Seen in the Last 4 Years!

For Christophe Gans, the most spectacular action film of the last four years comes from India. Fascinated by "RRR", the director of "Brotherhood of the Wolf" speaks of a cinematic shock that is "absolutely stunning" and a legendary source of inspiration.

While many cinephiles ponder which industries are renewing the language of contemporary cinema, Christophe Gans has a ready answer. For the French director, known notably for "Brotherhood of the Wolf", India is currently one of the most stimulating territories for fans of grand spectacle.

Among the works that have marked him the most in recent years, one stands out particularly: "RRR", the spectacular epic directed by S.S. Rajamouli and released in 2022.

A Cinematic Experience That Deeply Impacted Him

The feature film immerses viewers in colonial India and tells the story of a formidable soldier clashing with the defender of a threatened tribe. But beyond its plot, it is especially the film's direction that impressed Christophe Gans.

During a meeting organized at the Forum des images in Paris, the filmmaker did not hide his enthusiasm.

"It was one of the greatest recent shocks I've had while watching a film. Because not only is it a film that resembles no other, nothing we know in the West, but it perpetuates in its way the tradition of Hong Kong cinema."

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According to him, the success of "RRR" lies notably in its ability to appropriate a cinematic heritage while transforming it.

"The strength of [RRR] largely lies in this heritage that has been wonderfully reinstalled. Because RRR (...) is the perfect cultural assimilation of a portion of film history through a new genre, a new cinematography, and what we see on screen is absolutely stunning. (...) It’s a wonderful film in terms of direction, an amazing three-hour epic, you have to see it to believe it. The action scenes in RRR are literally unforgettable, and it clearly shows that expertise today lies with India."

The Meeting with S.S. Rajamouli

Fascinated by the film, Christophe Gans quickly wanted to get in touch with its director. This endeavor led him to discover his entire filmography before meeting him.

"(...) I had the opportunity to do a major interview with Rajamouli. Because I instantly asked to see him and talk to him. I first watched all his films, then I called him, we met, and Rajamouli confirmed to me (...) that Bruce Lee was his god and that Hong Kong cinema was the alpha and omega of his idea of cinema. He confirmed to me in his own words what I had recognized through his film."

For Gans, this influence of Hong Kong cinema is clearly perceptible in "RRR", even though it has been reinterpreted through a distinctly Indian identity.

Veeren -Christophe Clovis / Bestimage

An Industry Capable of Self-Sufficiency

The admiration of the French director, however, is not limited to this single feature film. In an interview with the channel Faim de Séances, he highlighted the overall vitality of Indian production.

"But it's not just [RRR], there are dozens of others. And it's a cinema that, like Hong Kong cinema, does not need the rest of the world. Some Indian films – at least those that perform best – can reach 50 million viewers in a week. (...) They are self-sufficient and have created something that owes nothing to Western cinema, but a lot to Hong Kong cinema."

A New Vision of Action Cinema

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For Christophe Gans, Indian cinema has gradually developed its own way of conceiving spectacle, after drawing from various influences from Asia.

"They managed to absorb it by starting off by poorly copying it, then quickly assimilating it and producing their own conception of action. They have reformatted action cinema through the legends of the Mahabharata. It quickly turns into mythological film, so I would say that Indian cinema is perhaps the closest form to what Italian peplum was at one time."

This analysis perfectly summarizes the filmmaker's enthusiasm for an industry he now considers one of the most creative and daring in the global cinematic landscape.

Rated 4.1 out of 5, RRR is available to (re)discover now on Netflix.