Being a fan of Rebecka Liljeberg I picked up a copy of this film on DVD with great expectations. I was not disappointed. The story is that of the relationship between Lola (Liljeberg) and Misha the bear. Lola is a performer with a shabby traveling circus. Her mother and step father also work in the circus but life is far from perfect. Lola is given a baby bear and forms the kind of loving bond she is unable to have with the emotionally damaged circus people that surround her. In response to her love Misha reveals to her that he is a shape shifter and can transform from a bear to a man (Sergei Bodrov Jr). A beautiful love story unfolds with a unique and unexpected twist at the end. Rebecka Liljeberg is wonderful embracing the sad, lonely Lola trapped in the cheap and tawdry world of circus life. The film is directed admirably by Sergei Bodrov Sr. The soundtrack is haunting and sad but gets a little too heavy handed at times in my opinion. I would recommend this film to anyone interested in something a little different from the standard Hollywood fair.
6 Reviews
Well conceived, poorly executed
brujavu15 July 2012
...and still, I really enjoyed it. The story was great as were the visuals. But the script was poorly written... I had the impression that I was watching a student film from the Prague Film School... understandable, because it was written in English by a non-native speaker, and had the same effect... very minimalist dialogue... which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it didn't ring true to me. And the acting was some of the worst I have ever witnessed. The main character, the girl, was extremely wooden in her delivery. It felt like she was sight-reading the script. The guy who played the bear was much better.. maybe because, as a bear, he was naturally more reserved. Only some of the very peripheral characters (like the circus ringmaster) were believable. Yet, in spite of all this, the movie really held my attention, and I really liked it. The ending was satisfactory. If I were a 12 or 13 year old girl, I think this would be one of my all time favorite movies, so it really is worth a see.
a fairy tale is still a... bear tale
theredguy-15 October 2004
'Romantic' is the word most vividly associating with this movie - in all of the senses of this word, much of the Middle Ages' understanding of romance as a dream and a tragedy. An earlier experience with the Russian temper (especially if one is acquainted with Russian literature) can make the theme better understandable. I wanted to see this movie already a very long time ago (though succeeded only yesterday) mainly because of the "bear" Sergey Bodrov jr. (particularly remembering the film "Brother") and the overall plot description reminding of a fairy tale. In both of these I found what I expected. Mr.Bodrov is rather convincing embodying the bear's strength, wildness, well - bear-ness, and the general atmosphere of the film is so undeterminably magic. Also Ms.Liljeberg is expressive and positively incomprehensible as the lonely circus girl fighting all problems of life. The fantastic shapeshifting from bear into human and vice versa I regarded not only as a fairy tale feature, but also as something a bit symbolic. There is a lot of the human dilemma to be met, like loving the girl and still wanting to be a bear i.e. wanting to change for the sake of someone and to be who you actually are. But that, I guess, is a question of willingness to see. In general, the film doesn't pretend to a lot of symbolism or great revelations, though. But it is worth seeing at least because of the mild calm dreamy atmosphere, which is not met in movies often these days.
Bear's Kiss: a beautiful romance between a girl and a bear who can transform into a man.
amberheijne13 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Bear's Kiss is about a girl named Lola who lives in a circus. The problem is that she feels quite lonely. One day when the circus is in Russia they go to buy a new animal for the circus. Lola wants to have a baby bear and even though the bear is actually not for sale because it's too young Lola gets the baby bear. And in the following year she takes care of the bear and spends a lot of time with him. Then one day there is a young man in the cage of the bear and he claims to be Misha the bear. Lola at first doesn't know if she's crazy and if she's not crazy she doesn't know what to do. But while they travel more trough Europe there develops a love relationship between Misha and Lola. They are planning to leave the circus together. But one night before they go, a man from the circus tries to rape Lola. Misha escapes from his cage and kills the man. The police then wants to kill the bear, but Lola manages to get away together with the bear. But there's a problem: now that Misha has killed he won't be able to transform into a man anymore. Lola takes him back to Siberia, but she can't leave him there and she runs after him. First you see Lola running after the bear, then you see two bears running together. So it's a happy ending after all.
I really liked this movie. I think it's really different then most other movies. The people in the movie look like regular people and not like Hollywood stars and also the places in the movie and the conversations and even the story about a girl and a bear it's all very like a normal world and not glamorous at all. It's quite unrealistic that a bear can transform into a man and that you can have a love relationship with him, but everything in the movie looks very realistic. And I really like that in a movie. And the idea to find an impossible love while you're all alone, to find the lover that can protect you so good because he's strong like a bear. And the ironic ending when he protects her and because of that they can't be together (in human form) ever again. I think most people who like the movies in the cinema and all wouldn't like Bear's Kiss. But to the people who can appreciate a different kind of movie, i can really recommend this Bear's Kiss.
I really liked this movie. I think it's really different then most other movies. The people in the movie look like regular people and not like Hollywood stars and also the places in the movie and the conversations and even the story about a girl and a bear it's all very like a normal world and not glamorous at all. It's quite unrealistic that a bear can transform into a man and that you can have a love relationship with him, but everything in the movie looks very realistic. And I really like that in a movie. And the idea to find an impossible love while you're all alone, to find the lover that can protect you so good because he's strong like a bear. And the ironic ending when he protects her and because of that they can't be together (in human form) ever again. I think most people who like the movies in the cinema and all wouldn't like Bear's Kiss. But to the people who can appreciate a different kind of movie, i can really recommend this Bear's Kiss.
Surprisingly gripping ...
rjones-518 May 2004
Okay, the premise that the gorgeous Lola's grown up pet bear keeps transforming himself into a teenage lad (fully dressed) & then back again is off-the-wall daft. But IMHO, Rebecka Liljeberg as Lola keeps it together, with a fantastic performance (sultry teenager, coping bravely with the challenges of teenagerhood plus the ultimate in dysfunctional (step)folks and to top it, being besotted with a blinkin' bear). Early on I thought there might perhaps be some deep significance/ profound message going to emerge ... but when this possibility disappeared and (roughly 2/3 of the way through) and the movie crossed the line into total gobsmacking incredulity territory - I stayed captivated ... watching Ms Liljeberg. This lass has the talents and looks deserving of the Big Time (would have been great in the Scarlatt J 'Lost in Translation' role). Gosh, do all gals with exotic Scandinavian names have brilliant acting-talents & looks?
Everything bad except music and photography
Mousesnow5 May 2003
Premise: a girl from traveling circus adopts and grows up a bear. This bear starts to transform to a human and back. Girl falls in love with him.
Impression: bad plot, cardboard characters, unbelievable relationships, artificial turns - nearly everything witnesses against this film. But to make justice, one should mention excellent music and very good photography - thanks to composer and to cameraman, I guess.
Impression: bad plot, cardboard characters, unbelievable relationships, artificial turns - nearly everything witnesses against this film. But to make justice, one should mention excellent music and very good photography - thanks to composer and to cameraman, I guess.
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