The Bear

 

The Bear 1988

• Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
• Seen by this director: In the Name of the Rose
• Based on the book by James Oliver Curwood
• Cast: Tchéky Karyo, Jack Wallace, Bart the Bear, Youk the Bear
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? I like bears.
• Seen: 24 September 2023                 

             In the magnificent mountains of British Columbia in 1885 a bear cub (Youk) is orphaned when its mother is killed in a landslide.

       Two bear hunters (Karyo and Wallace) stalk a great Kodiak bear (Bart), and wound it.

       The Kodiak encounters the cub, who wants to be adopted. At first the Kodiak is hostile but gradually comes to accept, then protect, the cub.

       From the safety and comfort of my armchair, I love bears, but I’m not foolish enough to seek out bears in the wood to cuddle with them. Still, anyone who doesn’t fall in love with little Youk is an evil curmudgeon.

       It’s exciting, cruel, filled with humour, charm and glorious mountains (according to the Washington Post, the Dolomites (I hiked in the Dolomites this summer!), not the Rockies).

Go, Bears!   

 4* of 5