The Bear

source: The Bear

Trailer—L'ours

It's 1885 British Columbia. A cub and mama bear are digging in a rocky hillside for a beehive. The rocks come loose and the mama bear is killed in a landslide. The cub is alone in the world. Tom (Tchéky Karyo) and Bill (Jack Wallace) are bear hunters for their fur. They are tracking a large male Kodiak. The cub befriends the large male. The hunters capture the cub. The large male corners Tom in the climatic confrontation. It's a bit of animal adventure from director Jean-Jacques Annaud. An adult male would just as likely to eat the cub. Annaud tries to humanize the bears. It's harsher than the normal Disney family movie. It's probably not recommended for little kids. The big confrontation with Tom is a compelling bit of cinematic visual. Other than that scene, I would suggest a National Geographic show about bears.

From the first moment when you see the little bear and his mom digging for honey I was entranced with this film. The whole aura of life in the wild- the mountain lions that prey on other animals and the bear is certainly an omnivore! I don't know how the filmmakers got all that great footage but I enjoyed seeing life through the eyes of the orphaned cub. The scenery is breathtaking. The hunters were almost an intrusion in the film, but in the end they helped to bring the story full circle. This film was recommened to me by a man who never reads, he waxed so about this film I had to see it and I agree it is both a nature film and an allegory on life.

I am very fond of this movie. I watched it for first time when I was a very little kid and loved it. Years later, I watched it again and again I was enchanted. This is, in my opinion, the best film about animals ever made. It is very touching, with big emotional power, very beautiful movie. It has moments in which you can cry and moments, in which you can laugh, moments of high tension and moments, in which you feel the harmony of the nature. The bear cub is very, very cute and the big bear is quite formidable. I have such nice memories of this film, I'm very fond of it. I recommend it to everybody - it is a film about life, and there aren't that many of them. I rarely give a full mark, but here I can do it - 10/10.

The movie really cares about animals as the movie portrays them in a light that only an animal lover would. I should know because I love animals. Perhaps the most telling thing about the movie is it almost made from the viewpoint of a bear. The humans are part of the plot and are not the plot itself. The movie avoids two mistakes all animal movies seem to fall prey to(pun intended): silly talking animals or animal melodrama with significant roles for people. The score is perfect and the closing scene is nothing but heart warming and fulfilling. As a scientist and as a thinking sentient being, the movie portrays bears in the same way science is beginning to. Feeling and maybe maybe thinking. The only difference between us and them is a matter of degrees (speech, tools).They have feelings and thoughts as well. JK

"The Bear" is a rare film when it comes to the ordinary cinema that we usually view. The main characters are animals, and the connection we get from them is something no human actor could emulate. The movie is expertly crafted, especially the direction and the cinematography. The animal trainers are in a class all their own, making everyone else involved with the film seemingly a lot less talented. The film, as previously said, isn't for children, despite the PG rating. It has a fair amount of blood, peril, sadness, and some bear sex! The film is great though, and I'm so glad I found it at Walfart on DVD for $5.50! *** 1/2

I saw only a small part of this movie on TV recently but found it compelling enough to spend an hour on the Internet trying to find out its title and then rented it as 'The Bear'. It was worth the effort. What a refreshing change from the parade of Hollywood block busters. An orphaned bear cub is the star along with an adult Kodiak bear. They are being hunted by two men with guns and dogs in a breathtaking never ending landscape where no dialogue is needed. Appropriately, one of the few lines of dialogue has one of the hunters refer to himself as a "stupid human". I wondered how on earth some of the shots were achieved but not too much, the story is too compelling. "The Bear" is an enchanting glimpse into a world few people ever witness and a cautionary tale for hunters everywhere.

The Bear was an art film veiled in the guise of a nature film. I never looked at the roving vistas and sharp cinematography, because when I first watched this, I was more concerned with the bear cub. This is certainly a minimalist film, but the execution was so well done, the power of the images speaks more than the occasional piece of dialogue that is spoken throughout the movie. While it can never be described as kids movie, I think kids might be interested in it due to the very National Geographic-like quality of the film (only without the voice overs). While it has been a long time since I last watched this film (about four years ago), the interesting imagery and the simple, yet meaningful story of survival will always stick with me.

I have this on video but have not watched it for quite some time, the other night I watched it again and was of course entranced. The director has captured perfectly the life of the cub. If I have one gripe it is the use of a "human" voice for the emotions of the cub, in many scenes it is fairly obvious that it is a human being trying to express the emotions of the cub at the time. Secondly, while I understand the storyline of the hunters being integral to the film to be honest I felt that every scene with humans involved was boring beyond belief and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Overall this movie is a sheer joy to behold and the final scene where the cub finally goes to sleep without nightmares is pure bliss. You have to live with animals and know animals to realize how impressive this movie is and I firmly believe that the director has captured pure magic on film. Don't miss it.