By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Miguel Albaladejo
Starring: David Castillo | Empar Ferrer | José Luis García Pérez
Country: spain
Year: 2005
Running time: 99
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359045/combined
Michael says: “Many of you know how much I tend to dislike American films that tackle gay subject matter. I find that other countries tend to make better films dealing with the same subject matter (although I tend to think that other countries make better films on a lot of subjects.) To that end, BEAR CUB is a Spanish film that takes a potentially clichéd topic and builds something that might not be entirely successful, but is better than many American gay-themed films. The story sounds like
a bad novel; a sexually active gay man is taking care of his sister’s pre-teen son while she is traveling in India. She will be gone for about two weeks. Something goes wrong and the man ends up with semi-permanent custody of his nephew. We’ve read or seen that story before, yet BEAR CUB does several things right before ultimately falling prey to a bit of melodrama.
“The men in BEAR CUB are not the usual pretty boys featured in most gay films. They are ‘bears,’ hairy and stocky. Pedro, our protagonist, is particularly sought after by the other men. He is not interested in a relationship, yet there is reference to a steady partner in the past. He cleans up his life for his visiting nephew, Bernardo, staying in, avoiding his friends, and hiding his sexual paraphernalia. But Bernardo, whose mother is an aging hippie, and very liberal, is wise beyond his years and understands his uncle better than one would expect. Even Bernardo’s estranged grandmother, the ‘villain’ of the piece, is allowed to be sympathetic. Unfortunately, ¾ of the way through, the film takes a rather melodramatic turn and falls apart a bit. Too bad, really, because I found the first half to be pretty refreshing in its treatment of gay issues, particularly gay parenting. 3 cats”