Customer Reviews

Bear Cub ( Cachorro ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I recently emailed the company that's releasing the DVD and asked them what the differences between the R-rated and Unrated version were. This is strait from them... "The difference is that there are two sex scenes removed from the U.S. theatrical version for the MPAA. We included the Unrated version to satisfy the director's original vision." Also, there will be NO English dubbed audio track. Only Spanish audio and English subtitles. I hope this answers the questions of people that are as curious about this kind of stuff as I am. :^) Take care!!

i just happened to be in dallas tx while this movie was playing and i am so glad that i had seen it. this movie is a testament to the bonds that form in a family. a gay uncle is forced to care for his nephew when his mother was detained in a foreign country. that is the basic premise of the movie. the true beauty of the movie comes through when the uncle is faced with the boy's grandmother blackmails the uncle into giving up custody of the child. you really see the emotion and the torment the uncle goes through when the grandmother uses his lifestyle against him in her fight to take away the child. in a very short time you see a father son relationship form between the two and it rips your heart out to see them separated. the young boy knows all about the world and knows all about his uncle and his homosexuality and the fact the he still loves and encourages his uncle is a beautiful thing to see. the movie hits all the right notes and does not pull any punches and lets you see who these characters are. i love this move and cant wait to get it on dvd, see it if you get the chance

I saw this movie in Spain, including the explicit sexscene in the beginning. I hope that is what the unrated version is. I heard about several (if not all) screenings in the US with the first (sex) scene cut from the movie. We're adults here thank you, just don't censor art and distort the director's vision.

Bear Cub (Cachorro) tells the story of a gay Spanish dentist who agrees to take care of his nephew while his hippie sister travels to India. However, when she gets in jail for drug possession, the man is forced to assume responsibility of the child and to battle his nephew's estranged grandma for custody.

The film opens with a pretty explicit credit sequence featuring sex between three gay 'bears' (the hairy, overweight type), but after that the sex quotient dies down to focus on the growing relationship between the protagonist and his 10-year-old nephew. This is the film's strongest aspect: the scenes between the gay man and his nephew ring true and make you care for the characters. Unfortunately, the filmmakers seem so intent in going against stereotype that the main character is given too much baggage to pull of convincingly as a full-fledged character, in spite of the best efforts of the actor. And the filmmakers really screwed things up at the end. Apparently they didn't know how to solve the conflict they set up, so they came up with a really unsatisfying conclusion. However, the first 2/3 of the film are great, its only during the last twenty to thirty minutes that the movie falls apart.

Its good to see a movie where none of the gay characters are obsessed with fashion and going to the gym. But the most interesting aspect of the movie is the film's take on gay parenting. While most U.S. gay media tries to present gay couples as essentially straight clones to convince people that they make good parents, this movie refuses to do that. The main character doesn't really want to be a father (though the child grows on him), turns down the chance to settle down as a couple (with a nice, responsible man he loves), and (despite initial hesitation) refuses to give up his lifestyle (uncommited sex, visits to bathhouses, pickups in bars and under bridges). And yet, he remains an excellent (if realistically imperfect) father figure and a more caring and responsible alternative to the child's mom and grandma.

Be warned that although the sex is tame by foreign movie standards, there are a couple of strong scenes (especially the credit sequence).

If the bear movement started in the United States, then how did Spain beat us at making a bear film? Moreover, it was quality and worked on sooooo many levels. If I ever met the cast and crew, I would bow to the ground and kiss their feet

Technically, this wasn't a movie about bears. In this movie, however and fortunately, bears are at the center. There is no bearphobia, unlike gay films such as "Parting Glances" and "Mishima: A Life in Four Acts." I must admit though that I was surprised that a man with a huge appendicitis scar was chosen as the lead. That just shows how European casting associates aren't afraid to pick actors that their American counterparts wouldn't touch.

Like so many recent gay productions, this is about how gays interact with straights, especially their straight relatives. Where "Ellen", "Kiss Me Guido", and John Goodman's bad sitcom failed, this movie succeeds. Unlike "The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca" and the universally-panned "The Next Best Thing," this film didn't cast gays to the side in order to push the heterosexual main narrative along either. The whole line about "being gay, but not just being gay" resonated here.

I guess in Spain that cliche about animals and child actors doesn't apply. The boy in this film was beating the hell out of this role. I hope he is nominated for Spain's Oscar or Cesar equivalent. Big props to him. Maybe he'll be the next Garcia Bernal, even though GB just stepped on the scene.

I'm a member of the "happy endings for homosexuals" club. It just broke my heart seeing the main character dump the bear pilot that wanted to be with him. I guess I'm so used to American films where the main character always has a devoted partner by the end of the film. Man, this dude could have had a constant companion to care for him as he faced you can guess what. Instead, he makes poor choices which will cause his downfall and may hurt others.

One character was kinda lispy, but otherwise, the Spanish here didn't differ much to New World Spanish, at least to my gringo ears. I didn't hear anyone say "vosotros." There are scenes where the main character and his dumpee, a pilot in Paris, speak French but the audience is never told that code-switching is going on. Coco Fusco and other Latin Americans have said that learning French is a sign of being cultured. Spain is multiracial just like the US, Britain, or France. I wish there could have been a bear of color in this film.

I've seen this movie, rented it from my local video store, and loved it very much. I'm assuming since it was a rented copy, what I watched was the rated version. My hats off to Michael Arentz and any other reviewers for telling everyone the difference between versions of movies like this. In a market where the difference between rated and unrated can be anything from a 10 second filler scene to major parts of a movie being cut out, it's often next to impossible to know what your getting. Unfortunately, the editorial section and/or reviews on Amazon rarely tell you the difference between various versions which I believe should practically have it's own section on each of the pages. Now that I know I've probably seen the distributors' presumptuously hacked "version" of this wonderful film, I will be buying the true version which the director intended.

Very simply, the reason I loved this movie is because it was such a sweet depiction of life involving a man who happened to be gay. He and his buddies are bear types. It was great to see a gay movie about real sexy manly type people instead of unattainable pretty boys. I highly recommend it.

The opening of Bear Cub shows two hairy over-weight men having sex with each other. The scene is sexually explicit and also quite tender, but most of all it shows that these men - who are so often marginalized in the wider gay community for not being attractive enough - can actually be sexual beings too. It's such a pleasure to watch a film that portrays the culture of these proudly paunchy gay men, who accept who and what they are and who refuse to buy into the chiseled gym ideal of what a gay man should be. Most of the middle-aged men in this wise, sophisticated, and sweet-natured Spanish film unashamedly believe they're sexy, and are for the most part, proud of it.

Pedro (José Luis García-Pérez) is an attractive and mature "bearish" dentist who lives a cosmopolitan life in Madrid. He's a well adjusted, kindly, and independent kind of guy, who thinks nothing of having his two best friends have sex in his bed while he takes a shower - maybe even participating in a threesome. His older sister Violeta (Elvira Lindo), a rubber-mouthed ex-hippie, leaves her son Bernardo (David Castillo) to stay with Pedro when she impulsively decides to take a two-week jaunt to India with her latest boyfriend.

Things don't work out exactly as planned for Violeta, so Pedro is left to become a temporary guardian of this world-wise and surprisingly cosmopolitan young boy. Bernardo is a hip, young urban sophisticate, totally in sync with Pedro and very aware and accepting of the fact that Pedro is gay, and even that he is HIV Positive.

Soon the two become totally enamored of each other forming a strong attachment. Their life together seems to be going well - Bernardo cooks for Pedro, and loves all his fellow bear friends. But when Doña Teresa (Empar Ferrer), Violeta's widowed, estranged mother-in-law, arrives on the scene, she begins to resent Pedro's closeness with the boy.

Dona Teresa is a lonely and embittered old woman who blames Violeta for her son's drug-related death. She's also eager to reestablish a bond with her grandson, who refuses to give her the time of day. She's concerned about the "influence" that Pedro may be having on the boy and wants to take over Bernardo's upbringing by sending him to a good private school in Valencia where he can learn English. The boy, however, is reluctant to leave his uncle and vows to keep his relationship with his Uncle intact.

Bear Club cleverly defies all expectations -with the director Miguel Albaladejo wisely never passing judgment on any of the characters - even on the manipulative Dona Teresa. And in keeping with the newly found openness of Spanish society there's absolutely no puritanical hand wringing about Pedro's supposed inappropriateness as a guardian and role model. In fact, Pedro goes out of his way to live his life as he would a single man: We see him going to bars, cruising back rooms, flirting with shop attendants in front of Bernardo, and even inviting his friends over for marijuana and coke-induced gatherings.

The film also cleverly explores Pedro's relationship with a flight attendant and part-time lover who seeks a full-time commitment that Pedro is unwilling to make. While throughout all of this Bernardo is either oblivious to most of what's going on, seems to take all in his stride, or at times even offers Pedro some sound romantic advice!

There's a lot of love, camaraderie, and laughter, especially amongst Pedro's lovable, big, burly "bears," and while the movie is occasionally over-talky and light on the drama, there's still a good deal of warmth, tenderness, and humor going on to satisfy most viewers.

Bear Club is an important movie, but it's also quite groundbreaking, because for the first time, we are given an intelligent, thoughtful, and quite perceptive insight into a section of the gay community that has long been marginalized by the wider gay community; they're a sub-culture that is obviously flourishing, but until now, they have received little or no recognition in queer-themed film. Mike Leonard July 05.

BEAR CUB (CACHORRO) is a delight! This joyous film has the wisdom (and courage, if US standards are applied!) to open the doors and windows depicting a segment of the gay population who are healthy in attitude, in lasting relationships and friendships, and who don't swerve from addressing issues such as AIDS, single parenting, recreational dalliances, the dangers of drugs, and the importance of family. It is honest in dialogue, in casting, and in demonstrating that all people are subjected to the same ups and downs, no matter their sexual proclivity.

Pedro (José Luis García Pérez) is a successful dentist, a warmly human man who is surrounded by caring friends - primarily men who call themselves 'bears', a subunit of the gay population identified by hairy faces and bodies, stout husky physiques instead of the usual gay image of the perfectly carved gym body, and a live-and-let-live philosophy of upfront honesty, warmth and caring for their extended families. Pedro is openly gay, a fact that his widowed sister Violeta (Elvira Lindo) and her 9-year old son Bernardo (David Castillo) happily accept. When Violeta and her current paramour Borja (Cali Caballero) decide to vacation in India, Bernardo is left with Pedro for the promised two week stay.

During their time together Pedro and Bernardo bond, Bernardo is introduced to Pedro's friends and is entirely comfortable by the healthy relationships he sees. Pedro is not partnered (his lover Eduardo died...) but he dates openly with Bernardo's knowledge. When Pedro is in his Dental Office, baby sitter Lola (Diana Cerezo) introduces Bernardo to go-go and other parts of the world outside and becomes a happy trio with the two males. News comes that Violeta and Borja have been arrested in India for drug trafficking, changing the two-week vacation into a time indefinite absence. Pedro and Bernardo adjust.

Things take a turn when Bernardo's estranged grandmother Doña Teresa (Empar Ferrer) enters the scene, haughty, disapproving of Bernardo's living situation, and taking advantage of the absence of her hated daughter-in-law to attempt to gain custody of Bernardo, 'the only thing I have left in life.'

Due to some unfortunate twists of behavior and fate, Doña Teresa gains evidence to blackmail Pedro, not only because of his sexual outings photographed by her investigator, but because she discovers Pedro is HIV positive. In her attempts to denounce Pedro we discover the Bernardo already knows of his uncle's HIV status (as well as Violeta's) and Bernardo pleads with Pedro not to let Doña Teresa take him away. A compromise is reached and Bernardo is sent off to a coed school in Valencia.

How all of these twists and turns resolve constitutes the surprising ending of this excellent film: each of the characters is shown to be wholly three-dimensional, even Doña Teresa, and the overriding importance of family and compassion and love rules the day. The ending is open ended, allowing the viewer to select the way to conclude the story.

Director and co-writer (with Salvador García Ruiz) Miguel Albaladejo is a master at finding the core of truth in each of his characters, their individual life styles, and the unfettered joy of living uncompromised lives. The cast is extraordinary: José Luis García Pérez is a natural actor, David Castillo is completely believable as Bernardo, and the remainder of the cast is outstanding. The original music by Nacho Canut and Olvido Gara is so in keeping with the tone of the film. Yes, there are some consensual sex scenes in this film, but they are treated with respect and decorum and without them the flavor of the film would be lacking. This is a refreshing film about the sanctity of love - and it just happens to be populated with one of the most lovable gay groups ever created! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, July 05

It usually takes a foreign film to successfully take on human issues that Americans avoid. "Bear Cub" is full of real characters with real emotions. These include the lead (Pedro), a determinedly single gay dentist, his liberal `hippie' sister, her educated well-adjusted son, a meddling grandmother and a cast of friends that could be the `gang' over for a football game. Pedro takes care of his nephew while his sister takes an unexpectedly delayed vacation. Although he tries to change his lifestyle for the child, he realizes there is no need. His friends take to the child as anyone's uncle would and all seems great. Of course, real life needs to interrupt this simple event and soon misunderstood feelings and good intentions make for a heartbreaking mix. Suffice it to say that "Bear Cub" is full of mild twists and surprises enough to give it a world-class appearance. Most Americans will be surprised at the openness of the playful affection between the men, but that soon fades as the more important issues start unraveling. With an even balance of comedy, drama and love, "Bear Cub" rises above most of its genre. This is one of those rare movies that show us a wonderfully human slice of life that is all around, yet private enough to portray it in an honest and respectful manner.