The Bear

"He's an orphan... at the start of a journey. A journey to survive."

1988 1h 37m FR

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

88%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.7

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 542🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●60Metacritic★7.7IMDB · 20,103

AdventureDramaFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An orphan bear cub hooks up with an adult male as they try to dodge human hunters.

“He's an orphan... at the start of a journey. A journey to survive.”

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Cast

Tchéky Karyo
Tom
Bart the Bear
The Kodiak Bear
Douce the Bear
Youk the Bear Cub
Jack Wallace
Bill
André Lacombe
The Dog Hunter
Bozo the Bear
The Mama Bear (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Writers: Gérard Brach
Languages: English
Countries: France, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Philippe Sarde. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Noëlle Boisson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tchéky Karyo and Bart the Bear and Douce the Bear carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean-Jacques Annaud directs. Philippe Rousselot behind the camera. Philippe Sarde scores. Noëlle Boisson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in France, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.
238 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: France, United States of America.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Philippe Sarde. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Noëlle Boisson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tchéky Karyo and Bart the Bear and Douce the Bear carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "He's an orphan... at the start of a journey. A journey to survive.".
10IMDB entry: tt0095800 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 13 themes, including "canada", "based on novel or book", "rocky mountains", "wilderness".