The Bear is a 1988 French adventure drama family film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and released by TriStar Pictures. Adapted from the novel The Grizzly King (1916) by American author James Oliver Curwood, the screenplay was written by Gérard Brach. Set in British Columbia, Canada, the film tells the story of a young orphaned bear cub who befriends an adult male grizzly as two trophy hunters pursue them through the wild.
Several of the themes explored in the story include orphanhood, peril and protection, and mercy toward and on the behalf of a reformed hunter. Annaud and Brach began planning the story and production in 1981, although filming did not begin until six years later, due to the director's commitment to another project. The Bear was filmed almost entirely in the Italian and Austrian areas of the Dolomites, with live animals—including Bart the Bear, a trained 9-foot tall Kodiak bear—present on location. Notable for its almost complete lack of dialogue and its minimal score, the film was nominated for and won numerous international film awards.
Cast[]
- Bart the Bear as The Kodiak Bear
- Youk the Bear as The Bear Cub
- Tchéky Karyo as Tom Wallace
- Jack Wallace as Bill Wallace
- Andre Lacombe as The dog hunter