Bearby Anonymous
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July 12, 2003:
Everytime I see this film, I get overcome with emotion. Unlike the previous review, I love the music as well, it has stuck in my mind for days. I, too, am buying it today. It is an incredible nature film. I'll never forget seeing Bart the Bear at the Academy Awards on stage holding an envelope in his paw. He was a great actor. If you love animals, see this movie.
Bearby Anonymous
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December 17, 2001:
The Bear is a richly textured portrait of a orphaned bear, Youk, and the male Kodiak who adopts him. The older male, played by Bart the Bear (The Edge) shows through his face and body English (bearish?) that, although he can be fierce, he is also capable of kindness. This, of course, is a testimony more to the cinematography and editing (for which The Bear was nominated for an Academy Award) than to the bear's acting skill. There is very little dialog in this 93-minute film, and, indeed, the human actors seem almost superfluous to the story. They're not, of course, because what other animal can serve as a predator of a 1500-pound Kodiak? The Bear is not typical of your Bambi type film where the animals are good and sweet and the humans are evil and selfish. There's much more going on here than that. The big Kodiak commits one terrible vengeful act, and another act of terrible kindness. The humans are kind to their horses, love their dogs and also can show unexpected compassion. In one sequence (which I think goes on much too long), the viewer keeps expecting a human act of torment, that, blessedly, never comes. The Bear is visually stunning. It's mostly unsentimental. The small bits of sentiment that we do get are where the film falls down a bit. Bill Conti's music is occasionally sappy. And in the sequence where the baby bear eats the wrong kind of mushroom, his trippy bear visions are just silly. Still, I love this movie. I'm buying it today. Comparing it to other animal films, I'd say it compares with Never Cry Wolf in its compassionate yet unsentimental view of wildlife; with Babe in its believeable point of view; with The Edge in its beauty and bear action. There is some violence, some depictions of injured animals. The storyline includes the death of one bear, who dies in an avalanche; one dog, who is shot after being fatally injured; one horse, who is shown only from the neck up. There are several depictions of violence, most of these committed by one animal against another. Its violence rating would be quite low compared to your standard action-adventure fare, but here, the violence means more because we've grown to love these animals. I've seen this movie twice. Both times, the story and the beauty have stayed with me for days after.
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