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Father Henri Sardis is the main antagonist of the 2001 French thriller Brotherhood of the Wolf.
He was portrayed by the late Jean-François Stévenin.
Biography[]
He is the parish priest of St. Alban. He is introduced to Sir Grégoire de Fronsac, a knight and the royal naturalist of King Louis XV, and his Iroquois companion Mani with the other locals when they comes to investigate and capture the mysterious beast that had been terrorizing the region, which is the Beast of Gévaudan. He voices his opinion that the beast is a punish from God and that its presence is a sign not only of their lack of faith but of God's displeasure with King Louis XV embrace of the Enlightenment.
He is present in the dinner organized by Count de Morangias. When Grégoire expresses doubts about the nature of the beast, Sardis criticizes him like all the other inhabitants. He does not take part in the hunt for the beast the following days, though he is seen after engaging Mani in conversation to question the Iroquois man about his religion.
As winter arrives, Sardis delivers a sermon and reciting passages from the Bible speaking of a beast that hunts down sinners (some in the village believe the beast is a divine or diabolical manifestation). The service is interrupted as a man burst through the church doors to announce that the beast had returned.
Suddenly, a man enters Henri's church and announces that the beast has returned.
During the dismissal of Captain Duhamel for failing to track down and end the beast, Fronsac reveals a fang made of steel that was found on one of the victims. Father Sardis latches onto this and declared that this is proof the beast is no ordinary animal, but a supernatural one. Later, he is seen standing on a balcony watching over Marianne de Morangias and Fronsac while they talk.
Sardis is later seen after Mani’s death when he suggests to Grégoire to leave Gévaudan before being killed by the beast. Grégoire doesn’t listen and tells Sardis to leave.
Grégoire is arrested and sent to prison right after. Sylvia, a woman who was his prostitute, comes to visit him. She reveals Sardis has sent a letter to the Vatican 2 years ago. He announced the creation of a secret society named the Brotherhood of the Wolf. The goal was to impose the Church’ rules to the population, Sardis being disgusted by the Enlightenment.
Sardis learns of the apparent death of Gregoire and arrives at the steward's house to examine the body. He orders that they bury him quickly and that they forget to put a name on his grave.
Later, Jean-François de Morangias confesses to him his incestuous feeling about Marianne. To remedy this, Sardis gives poisoned food to Marianne's bedside.
Henri meets at night with the Brotherhood of the wolf members and announces the return of the Beast. Even though the king of France has censored the book, it will be met with terror from the population. Sardis will then take advantage of this state to threaten the king with the appearance of other Beasts in all the provinces of France. He then begins a reading of the book of Malachi. He is interrupted by Grégoire who everyone thought was dead. This one brought the authorities with him. Most of the members of the cult are arrested, but Sardis is not among them because he managed to escape. He is followed by wolves. He crosses a river but stumbles on the other side. The wolves then surround him and devour him, thus avenging their own who were used as scapegoats during the murders.
Personality[]
Henri seems at first glance to be a humble priest practicing the Christian values, but is revealed to be a fanatic whose reaction to the Enlightenment goes even beyond the Catholic Church. He has no qualms murdering many innocent people to manipulate the King of France to agree with his "suggestions" in order to restore the era before the Lumières.
He is also a bit cowardly, as he immediately flees when the authority dissolves the cult therefore leaving his followers at it mercy.
Gallery[]
