the bear (and the jaguar )

The Bear (1988 film)


Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Produced by Claude Berri
Written by Gérard Brach
James Oliver Curwood (novel)
Starring Bart the Bear
Douce the Bear (infant bear)
Tchéky Karyo
Andre Lacombe
Jack Wallace
Music by Philippe Sarde
Cinematography Philippe Rousselot
Editing by Noëlle Boisson
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release date(s) October 19, 1988 (1988-10-19)
Running time 94 minutes
Country France
Language French
Gross revenue $31,753,898 (USA domestic)

The Bear, known as L'Ours in its original release, is a 1988 French film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. The screenplay by Gérard Brach was adapted from the novel The Grizzly King by James Oliver Curwood.

Set in late 19th century British Columbia, Canada, the film tells the story of an orphaned bear cub befriended and protected by an adult male grizzly as hunters pursue them through the wilds.

In the mountainous wilds of British Columbia, the grizzly bear cub Youk suffers the death of his mother from a rockslide. The cub is forced to fend for himself. Elsewhere in the mountains, a large male grizzly is pursured by two trophy hunters (Jack Wallace and Tcheky Karyo). The younger hunter attempts to shoot the bear, but, hitting the bear in the shoulder, fails to take the bear down. The bear flees.

Soon, the orphan cub comes across the big male grizzly and tries to befriend him. The male grizzly, soothing the bullet wound in a small pool of water, is uninterested in the cub and warns the young orphan away with a growl. The cub is able to get close to the wounded male and licks the wound. A friendship forms between the two bears. The big grizzly takes the orphan under his wing, teaching him how to hunt. At night, the young cub suffers from nightmares, reliving the tragic death of his mother.

The two hunters are joined by another hunter (Andre Lacombe) and a pack of hunting Beaucerons with an Airedale Terrier. The hunters go out in search for the big bear. The bears are chased over a ridge with the dogs in pursuit. The cub hides and the grizzly lures the dogs away, killing some of them. The big grizzly flees over the pass with the remaining dogs in chase. The hunters arrive to find the dead dogs, one of them being Dixie, the favorite Welsh Terrier of one of the hunters. They soon find the frightened cub and take him to their camp. Vowing revenge, the hunters plot how to kill the larger bear.

The cub is taken back to the hunters' camp where he is tied up and tormented. Soon the dogs that went in pursuit after the big bear over the pass return, most of them badly injured. This infuriates the hunters more, who plan to step up their efforts to kill the grizzly.

The hunters separate and the younger one takes a spot high on a cliff near a waterfall. Putting down his gun, the hunter goes to the top of the fall to drink. Now without his gun, the big male grizzly corners the hunter. Faced with the bear's menacing roars and snarls, the hunter cowers in fear and whimpers in the face of certain death. The grizzly, seemingly affected by the hunter's distress, turns and leaves. The younger hunter, impressed by the bear's actions attempts to scare him off by shooting into the air. The older hunter joins the younger who tells his older partner that the bear was shot and fell from the cliff. Seeing the bear ascending a scree, the older hunter raises his rifle to shoot only to be stopped by the younger hunter. The two hunters return to their camp. They let the orphan cub go free and ride off out of the wilderness. Once again, the cub is alone.

Forced to fend for himself again, the lone bear cub is confronted by a cougar and tries to defend himself. As the cougar nears, the cub begins roaring, seemingly scaring the cougar away. The cub then looks up to find his older friend and protector, whose roar was in fact what frightened off the cougar. The two bears embrace. Winter approaches and the two bears enter a cave. Settling down, the cub experiences his first peaceful sleep since his mother's death.

Production notes

The film was shot in the Dolomites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bear_%281988_film%29